Sunday, March 27, 2011

An Ode to Rick Springfield

Let me just preface this post by saying out of the four of us, I'm probably the least music-y. I love music, don't get me wrong... but I'm fairly certain my taste in music would make Jenny Jerkface wretch uncontrollably.

Since we love to talk about our unhealthy obsessions for things here at Twitarded, I thought I'd relive some of my early days of lusting after Rick Springfield. Although I'm not sure if lusting is the right word since I was in middle school and honestly, I probably didn't know what lust was. I did know what kissing was and I may or may not have practiced on a poster veeeery similar to this one.


A few weeks ago, someone *cough*MamaCougar*cough* was talking about an upcoming Rick Springfield concert in her area. Of course I immediately had to go online to see if he was coming to New England. Nope. Fuck. The closest he'll get to me is the New York/New Jersey area which is just a little too far for me to go for even Rick Springfield. JJ said I could come and sleep on her couch but she refused to attend the concert with me. Pffffft...

If I had "the list" when I was in the 7th grade... if I even knew what "the list" was, Rick Springfield definitely would have been on it. Not quite the top because that was reserved for guys like Rob Lowe and Matt Dillon, but he definitely would've been included. I loved him. I had every single one of his albums and I listened to them on my record player incessantly. I watched him in "Hard to Hold" over and over again.


Oddly enough, I never watched him on General Hospital. In fact, I never watched GH growing up. Which now that I think back, it seems almost un-American. I honestly have no idea why I didn't watch it just for the mere fact that I could rush home after school to see Dr. Noah Drake every day and drool my fool head off over him. Maybe my mother poisoned me against any soap that wasn't Days of Our Lives.


I saw him in concert once. When I was in the 8th grade. It was magical. I remember being just riveted to the stage, unable to speak or move. If I had known what a blowjob was at this point in my life, I might have waited by his bus and offered him one. And holy shit, I had this t-shirt. I wore it so much, the damn thing was fucking threadbare by the time it met the rag pile.


As with anything I'm obsessed with, my love for Rick Springfield has waned over the years. I was happy to see him make a (sort of) come back in 2008, but that was somewhat short-lived. And that same year he popped back up on GH for a bit. He still looks pretty good for 6o-ish.


But nothing made me happier than seeing him in Season 3 of Californication playing himself. If you don't watch this show, you need to start now. The first three seasons are available on DVD. It's one of the most well-written shows I've ever seen. What is it with the writers for these Showtime shows? So smart and witty and fucking hysterical. Pure fucking genius.

I'm not sure if his portrayal of himself in this show is accurate, but holy fuck, what a douche... and I love it! The other characters only call him RickSpringfield - like it's one word. Every single time they referred to him, it was both names. I've included a little clip below of the magic.

[WARNING: This is from season 3 so if you haven't seen it yet, or think you may want to watch the previous seasons, you may not want to watch. Although it's not too spoilery.]



I know we love to talk about our crushes around these parts. But I have to know... Did you want to be "Jessie's Girl"? Did you take his "Don't Talk to Strangers" advice? Did you want to just "Love Somebody"? How many times do you say to your significant other "I've Done Everything for You"? Well, I always wonder "What Kind of Fool Am I?" for loving Rick Springfield. Are you a fool too?

49 comments:

  1. Holy shit balls did I want me some Rick Springfield when I was younger. Still have my LP and Jessie's Girl 45! Woot Woot.

    I'm old.

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  2. RickSpringfield? Never. I wanted Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad.

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  3. RS was cute and I loved Jessie's Girl but Matt Dillon was my biggest crush and all because of The Outsiders. I'd buy 17 and Tiger Beat just to get my Matt fix. God that takes me back...

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  4. Yup, i had all his LPs - they were hand me downs from my sister. Even Tao. i wanted to give him the "human touch", bad. He wrote some seriously catchy shit. However, i regretfully decline to click on your Californication link due to the fact that i cannot stand David Duchovny's facial weirdness. Just personal taste.

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  5. btw, if you want a laugh, go find the video for "Human Touch" on youtube and enjoy what 1986ians thought the future would look like.

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  6. Rickspringfield is old enough to be my dad...but regardless, Jesse's Girl is one of the best songs ever made.

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  7. LKW
    If sit back and think of all the crushes I had when I was younger...Where to start.

    Donny Osmond, those purple socks
    Shawn Cassidy
    Andy Gibb
    John Travolta
    Glenn Scarpelli --Back then I didnt know. He did a record back then.
    Simon LeBon and Roger Taylor
    Jordan Knight
    Robby Rosa
    Roger Taylor of Queen.
    Benjamin Orr of the Cars
    Im seem to lean towards drummers. LOL

    Does it help me that I was an only child and was left alone alot?

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  8. I was never a Rick Springfield fan. When I was young (like 5) I told my mom I loved Elvis (I didn't know he was dead.) When I was of the age when I bought Tiger Beat magazine it started first with Johnny Castle (dirty dancing) then 90210 boys & NKOTB. Then it went to Jonathan Brandis & Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Highschool...Jason Behr. Dude. So embarassing. LOL!

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  9. OOOOH Yeah Rick!! I was into more of a rock genre.. I liked AC/DC, Lynard Skynard, Ted nugent, Aerosmith,Black Sabbath.. but I crushed on.. Emilio Estavez..Tom Cruise..Rob Lowe..Matt Dillon..Leif Garrett..etc.. oh to be young again..My dream will at least be a treasured memory.

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  10. i FUCKING LOVED me some Rick Springfiield!!!! i am an 80's girl 100% the hair bands are my thing, STILL can rock out to them!!!!!
    just got an invite to my 25th HS reunion!!!!! class of 86!!!


    FUCK ME I AM OLD!!!!!!

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  11. I was in grade school when "Jessie's Girl" was in heavy rotation on the radio. My bff at the time and I LOVED that song and every time it came on - which was often - we would race to the phone so that we could be the first one to alert the other that it was playing. All we would say is "Jessie's Girl!" and the station and hang up. So yeah, I guess I had a bit of thing. Until "Slippery When Wet" came out, anyway - lol...

    : )

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  12. As a teen of the 80's, i crushed on john taylor, nick rhodes (my new wave days), then billy idol, as well as nikki sixx and vince neil of motley crue! wtf right?

    was never into rick springfield back then but most of my friends would rush home to watch GH. looking back on how he looked back then, yeah, i gotta admit that he was pretty cute.

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  13. I saw Rick in concert a few months ago and let me tell you, the ladies who love Rick make the ladies who love Rob Pattinson look like nuns. They were scandalous.

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  14. Nah, was never into RS but I can see why someone would be. Steven Tyler has been my crush since 1976. I get to see him every week on AI & I'm lovin' it!

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  15. LKW, please don't hate me...

    Rick WHO?

    *runs and hides*

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  16. Rickspringfield was and still is really handsome. I saw him in concert back in the 80s and used to watch on GH all the time (more for Luke & Laura though). Those lips!

    He had some good pop tunes and was a decent actor. He's just one of those people that are so good looking and talented that people want to bring him down.

    My coworker just went to see him in concert a few weeks ago and had a great time. I teased her that she's like the older sister in Music and Lyrics and she just smiled.

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  17. @Jaymes805 - Um, Rick Springfield is actually a little OLDER than my dad!! I think I definitely didn't know how old he was back in the day... because frankly, that's fucking creepy that I would lust after a guy that was my dad's age when I was fucking 14!! I think I just threw up in my mouth a little...

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  18. OMG!!! I FLOVED Rick Springfield.
    I never saw him back in 'the day', but I saw him 5 years ago and 3 years ago & it was awesome. He walked around in the audience & folks were touching him & stuff. Mr. Junkie encouraged me to touch his butt, but I couldn't, you know, respect & all.
    And yes, I would say 'lusted' is an accurate term for how I felt about him.

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  19. I did think Rickspringfield was cute, but my heart was with Ralph Macchio. In 5th grade I carried a pic of him in my wallet. When I saw him on DWTS last week, all my pre-teen giddies came back. He's just a cutie. He was like the Beiber of the '80's for me. My walls were plastered with magazine pics of him... until I discovered the hair bands, then he was replaced by Bon Jovi, Crue, Cinderella, etc.

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  20. lurking Hisbella here...I loved Rick Springfield too! It started with Jessie's Girl. My bro worked for a record store (remember those???) and would get me each LP when it was released. I also watched on GH. Both stints. Does anyone remember the "Flash Gordon" film? I had such a thing for the guy who played Flash too! Sam J Jones. I moved on to Duran Duran a little later. John Taylor, yummy! I had a weird lust a few years ago: Dave Navarro. Rob cured me of that one.

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  21. I never had a thing for Rick Springfield but I did think Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx, along with a few other hair bands, were the shiznit back in the eighties. And I had a huge thing for Trent Reznor for awhile too, until I discovered hardcore music. Then I was love in with Ray Cappo from Shelter. My tastes have clearly refined since I want to have like ten million of Honus Honus' genius music-making babies...

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  22. Loved Rick. Still love him. He's really good to his fans at shows.

    I also happen to lust after Jason Thompson, the actor that plays Dr. Patrick Drake, Noah's son on General Hospial. It was a case of extremely GOOD casting.

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  23. I can't lie...If I hadn't met The Bentist, I never would have known RS outside of Jessie's Girl. HE is the obsessed one. No matter that, like Jaymes said, he's old enough to be our dad. No, Bentist cares not. He FLOVES RS. He'll look up GH clips every once in a while just to admire him. Total Man-Crush. It's creepy/cute.


    vw: Spork ...that is all.

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  24. TT, Jason Thompson is Rick Springfield 20-30 years younger. Whoever does the casting there deserves a huge bonus. Lisa (character on GH) will get what's comin' to her!!!!

    So, do I need to scope out a Rick concert and send you tickets?

    I'm totally going and finding some RSpring on itunes now! "I can't choose, there's too much to lose"

    wv:Coorr (know a girl with this last name, she's a pistol!)

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  25. RS was well before my time. (Normally around here, I'd hide after a statement like that, but these days - go on, try me. Hormonal and dangerous. *grin*)

    NKOTB, however - now we're talking. I had a Jonathan poster <3 Actually saw them in concert with my girlfriends in 2009 and it. was. awesome.

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  26. @JennyJerkface - FKG A!!!! Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil! i loved the bad boys back in the 80's.

    but man, look at them now. eewww.

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  27. Ahhh...some of us are really showing our ages. :) I too loved RickSpringfield. I also loved Shaun Cassidy and Ralph Macchio. Then the Brat Pack came along (Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, etc). Then I fell in love with Bon Jovi. They were my first real concert. :) Too bad I can't afford to see them now. I think I paid like $25 back then and had really good seats. (Same for Aerosmith) The cheapest price for the crappy seats I just looked into for a Bon Jovi concert were around $150. :(

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  28. OMG, I just watched the clip. I am LMAO at how they say his name Rickspringfield each time. SO funny. Also, he is still really hot! And adorable. I'd still blow him :) after all, he made a girl come 7 times once.

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  29. Ok, this has nothing to do with this post. But I find it very funny and Im sure its been seen by everyone, but Im slow so I hope you guys find this as comical as me.

    http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Edward_Cullen

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  30. I LOVE me some Californication! Hank Moody gets me every time. I don't have Showtime anymore though so I'm not current with it. Thanks for the clip!

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  31. I usually had a thing for bass players instead of lead singers or actors. I really loved me some Rob Lowe, though! John Taylor of Duran Duran was first - then there was Jon Bon Jovi. Tom Cruise for a while before Brad Pitt took over. Then he went all Jolie on us.

    Now, it's all about Rob. DH doesn't support my Robsession, but he did get me a chance to see Rick Springfield in concert last October - along with a meet & greet. Pics are here:

    http://s1101.photobucket.com/albums/g426/LoriAnnTwiFan/

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  32. I'm familiar with the name and the Jessie's Girl song. That's. about. it.

    I was a big Nsync fangirl though! Lol Anyone else? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

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  33. There is so much damn WIN in this post, I don't know where to begin!

    Love it!!!

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  34. I am right there with you! I still have every album (yes album). I hung them on my wall because they always opened out to a full size picture. I even started watching Californication just to see him. But I do love the show now! Never watched him on the soaps because like you my grandparents had me hooked on Days of our Lives (Ah...Bo and Hope! Even though Jack became my favorite later on.) To this day I can see RickSpringfield coming down those stairs blasting the guitar at the concert I attended! Believe me if I knew then what I knew now my dreams of Rick would be in a totally different galaxy (fan fiction anyone?)

    Thanks for taking a crappy day and turning it into a lovefest for all things Rick!

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  35. Sorry, no Rick Springfield for me. But his music is great. I mean, who doesn't love his 80's hits.

    For me, back in the day, was John Taylor of Duran Duran all the way. I was smitten with him, and convinced that he would marry a 12 year old. Reflecting back on that, makes me want to vomit, but I didn't know what a pedophile was at the time.

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  36. Wait! Let me clarify my comment. John Taylor is not a pedophile. Only if he would have married me at 12. There, rumor diverted.

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  37. I too share a longtime love of Rick Springfield. So you can imagine how spazzed out I got when I finally met him last fall after almost 30 years! My totally dorked-out blog post:
    http://avagacser.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/my-affair-of-the-heart-with-rick-springfield/

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  38. @Ava Gacser - Thanks for the link! And I read your interview with him too. Nicely done! It's so amazing when you get to meet a life long idol... It hasn't happened to me yet.

    @Lindsay Rae - I cracked the fuck up over The Bentist and his man-crush on RS...that is too fucking cute.

    Honestly, when I wrote this post, I think my exact words to the team was "this post is going to tank!" I'm so happy to see so many RS fans out there.

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  39. No crush on Rick Springfield but I can appreciate his looks and his music. Is one of his new songs Victoria's Secret?? If it is, I love that song. If not, then I wonder who sings that.

    I didn't watch General Hospital either, in my house it was Guiding Light or nothing!

    Thanks for sharing your crush with is, I like knowing these little tidbits :)

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  40. My first concert was Rick Springfield. I still have the t- shirt. I was 11 and in love. Hard to Hold was the best movie to me and I got to see his BUTT! He played Nashville recently but I did not have the $40.

    Since I can never get my login to work I am posting anonymously, but I am really AprylRansom.

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  41. O - M - G!!! yes yes yes yes yes is all i can say with this post. i am not in the generation of rick springfield, he was on GH when i was in diapers but who the heck cares!! anyways i LOVE him and the fact that on TWITARDED, where i already love you guys sooo much, you guys had a post on him. wow it brings me so much joy you don't even know. i have seen him in concert 3 times and always pull for his career to make a comeback (he was on the NYC new years eve countdown this year). ok now i'm just rambling but i wanted to just say yay. i love him too and i love ya'll too!!!

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  42. Fucking hell, that was hilarious, the Californation clip...LMAO. Hey RickSpringfield, wanna go up to my room and listen to some records? LMAO!!

    I am GIDDY cuz I just looked it up and Californication is on Netflix! I'm ON IT! Thanks for sharing!

    And yes, I ADORED RickSpringfield, but I was also massively in love with Bryan Adams. Don't judge.

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  43. Sorry, no Rick Springfield for me. But his music is great. I mean, who doesn't love his 80's hits.

    For me, back in the day, was John Taylor of Duran Duran all the way. I was smitten with him, and convinced that he would marry a 12 year old. Reflecting back on that, makes me want to vomit, but I didn't know what a pedophile was at the time.

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  44. I saw Rick in concert a few months ago and let me tell you, the ladies who love Rick make the ladies who love Rob Pattinson look like nuns. They were scandalous.

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  45. RS was well before my time. (Normally around here, I'd hide after a statement like that, but these days - go on, try me. Hormonal and dangerous. *grin*)

    NKOTB, however - now we're talking. I had a Jonathan poster <3 Actually saw them in concert with my girlfriends in 2009 and it. was. awesome.

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  46. In Australia we all loved Rick Springfield in our teenage years when he was lead guitarist for the pop group The Zoot..... wore pretty clothes too..... that was before he went to America.... check him out here with the upside cross on the T shirt although in those days the real heart throb was the lead singer Daryl Cotton....The bass guitarrist is Beeb Birtles who went on to join The Little River Band (also Aussie)....
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFedv7ZoV7M&feature=related

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  47. Check this out.....before he was famous in America

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb53aBt_tC4&feature=player_embedded

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  48. Check this out.....before he was famous in America

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb53aBt_tC4&feature=player_embedded

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  49. Gawd, yes, I wanted to marry Rick Springfield! http://phaseslikethemoon.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/marry-me-rick-springfield-or-why-i-learned-to-play-guitar/

    And playing himself (or some evil variant of himself) was brilliant!

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