Bonny Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart: classic or dud?

they are not as long as there's an element of 'smarts' to it - not necessarily irony. also if you apply these to other genres (rock, dance) you will surely then have a pop single anyway?

In a 500 page novel if the overblowness etc isn't there all the way through it could be tolerable. Same with a movie: certain awful scenes but its a two hour thing.

I think there is space for grandiose but it is precisely bcz its all concentrated in a 3 minute pop single that it makes it 'bad' to me. Maybe if you played this in a disco it would be fine but I just don't understand how anyone could listen to this kind of thing at home.

yes, 'we' are better than you.

Hey, I didn't say that everything that's bloated and camp and manipulative is great. In this case, however, I just relish the it's a big, melodramatic wedding cake of a song. Is it entirely ridiculous? Of course, but it's crafted with so much loving care that I find it hard not to appreciate.

They aren't. Not neccessarily. Not when done by the likes of Genesis or Yes, that is, in a tastefull and sophisticated fashion.

Hair metal ballads don't fit into that positive category though

This is an oxymoron.

however,i was curious whether more people would be sympathetic to julio's arguement/reasons if we were talking about my heart will go on or something...

also,i was only a kid,but what did people think of this song when it was first released?

more classic clip on that video: the kid with no legs on the skateboard being chased by the rabid dog

Oh, and to answer the thread question, unutterably classic. And I was listening to it last week at my mum and dad's.

Total classic.

Source?

This should be in the FAQ!!!

I figure the reason I can't stomach power ballads like this one is that they're embarassing, though I don't mean that as a pejorative. Bonnie Tyler sounds so exposed, so naked when she sings TEOTH that I feel embarassed for her when I listen to it. It's the same feeling I get when hanging out with singers who frequently burst into song in public. In one sense I envy them for being so free and unrestrained, but I also know I'm not like that. When I want ballads, I listen to singers who sound timid or beaten down but still composed enough to sing their song with their head held high (Billie Holliday, Nick Drake, Robert Johnson, etc).

Look at how I originally spelled "artificially".

Actually, come to think about it "Make Over" is pretty out there...

W T F

Total Eclipse of the Lawsuit
He was a retiring co-pilot. She was an aging 80's rocker flying first class. No one expected her multi-platinum hit to "fall apart" but when Air France flight attendants awoke Bonnie Tyler and asked her to sing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in honor of a pilot making his final flight, passengers did more than just "turn around", they up and sued the airline. According to reports, a group of disgruntled travelers, believed to be Belgian, first lodged a complaint claiming they were traumatized by the experience, and are now alleging in a lawsuit, that Tyler's 1983 hit incited a celebration so raucous they feared for their safety. Good thing she didn't try "Holding Out For a Hero" or things might have really turned ugly.

By Emil Steiner | September 6, 2006; 2:29 PM ET