Jermaine & Pia

I am so excited that I get to do Poptastic Day this week, because man oh man I got me a beaut to share. I expect to be patted on the back vigorously after this one. I was just a little kid in the eighties so I remember that decade only vaguely. But the music and the videos especially made a big impact on me back then. I remember that Sledge Hammer blew my little kiddy mind and Thriller scared me so much I sat behind my mother everytime it came on. Now I do that whenever I see Michael Jackson. Har har. But my very, very favorite video was the Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora duet “When The Rain Begins To Fall” from 1988. Hey don’t you judge me, I was 7! And here it is! If you’ve never seen it before I just want to say you’re welcome, Grasshopper. If you have seen this before: I’m sorry, it’s back.

Apparently the video is part of a movie called Voyage Of The Rock Aliens. I can’t wait to see it if the video is any indication of what the rest of the film is like. It is set in the future and the theme is forbidden love. There is also a not so subtle black versus white theme running, but the main theme is the naughty romance between Jermaine and the lovely Pia. I love the fact that it never even occurred to them that there might not be shoulder pads in the future. On no, on the contrary, they were bigger! It starts with Jermaine and his posse hanging out on the beach wearing their leathers, as they watch the white gang approach. I have to admit that something about it puzzles me: Jermaine says “Here they come” when he sees them, so you’d assume they know each other, but then all the leader of the other gang wants to know is whether there’s a “bar in this scumbucket town”. As an answer to this very common question, Jermaine bursts into a song about sand and sea. As expected, he woos the leader’s girlfriend(?) with his lyrical genius. It’s really not Jermaine’s fault that he gets so hung up on Pia’s delicate beauty. After all, the scumbucket town seems to only be inhabited by Jermaine and his all-male posse. The fight scenes are the best. Jermaine wins every time, but for the greater good, Pia rides away with the gang in white on his big, white motorcycle … with tassels. Mmm manly. I wonder where Pia is now. Is her hair still that big? More importantly, does she still have those fabulous shades??