“Close your eyes, give me your hand … darling. Do you feel my heart beating?”
Earlier this week, I found myself swaying back and forth, a glass of Prosecco in my hand, belting out the lyrics to The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame,” my favorite song circa 1988. I was 8 years old when the tune came out and, at the time, it seemed far more important that I learn to tease my hair a la front woman Susanna Hoffs than study my multiplication tables for third grade math. I put even more effort into memorizing the lyrics to “Walk Like An Egyptian.” The song remains my karaoke standard to this day.
As I looked around the packed club at the large number of iPhones being held in the air, capturing the moment on video, it occurred to me that “Eternal Flame,” a song that had sounded so deep to me as a kid, was actually kind of trite. But I pushed the thought from my mind. I wasn’t hear to evaluate the artistic merit of the music I had loved when I was younger—I was here simply to revel in the fact that I had loved it. As the song ended, Susanna took a moment to address the crowd with some heartfelt words. “It’s the 30th anniversary of The Bangles,” she said. “All the love you’ve given to us, we want to give back to you.”
I jumped up and down, clapping wildly. And something occurred to me—I realized that I am a reunion tour junkie.
