Bon Jovi these days | pinartarhan.com

I can’t believe Jon Bon Jovi, lead singer of Bon Jovi, is 51! Not that 51 is old (just older:D), but it is a huge deal, considering he was 34 when I started listening to Bon Jovi. I was 12.

A lot has changed with the band in the past 17 years. Their music turned a bit softer and gained a little country influence, though it never lost the rock ‘n’ roll spirit.

The lyrics became a bit deeper, a bit more grown-up. But they stayed true to their core, always promoting being your own person, following your dreams, friendship and love.

My Bon Jovi album discovery timeline is skewed as the first Bon Jovi album I bought was These Days (1995), the band’s 5th studio album (their most recent at the time). It was a time when I was no longer satisfied with pop. I wanted something different and faster.

Bon_Jovi_These_Days — Bon Jovi, These Days album cover. From left: Richie Sambora, Tico Torres, Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan. Image via Wikipedia.

It was different and fast, alright and I absolutely loved it. It really was different from everything else I had listened to before. And as I later found out, it was quite different from what Bon Jovi did too.

After all, most people think of romantic ballads (Always, Bed of Roses) or rock anthems (Living on a Prayer, It’s My Life, Bad Medicine) when they think of the band.

Yet These Days couldn’t have been further away from the romantic, we-can-do-it-all attitude of the band.

The songs are more about losing faith than keeping it. There are beautiful “love” songs alright, but they mostly talk about doomed (Damned, where the hero is sleeping with a married woman) or ending relationships (This Ain’t a Love Song) or a couple trying to make ends meet (Lie to Me).

There are songs about drugs (Give Me Something For the Pain), questioning God (Hey God), depression (As My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms) and loss of innocence and dreams (These Days)…

Needless to say, I appreciated (and understood) the album more and more as I grew up. And it remains one of my favorites.

I remember finding it strange at the time that a band of rich, successful and (mostly) healthy rockers would write such gloomy lyrics in 1995. This is the band that wrote Keep the Faith, Living on a Prayer and Lay Your Hands on Me after all. In fact, go ahead take a look at Runaway (1984) and Hey God (1995) for absolute contrast. It’s fun.

(It’s also impressive how much better Jon’s voice got. It’s even better now. You might want to try their Hallelujah cover – it’s my favorite example).

At the time, I had attributed the depressive tones of the songs to their observational skills. Then I grew up, life happened and I found out that depression and hopelessness could happen to anyone, any time- regardless of the shiny happy elements of your personality (or good fortune).

After These Days, I decided to discover my new favorite group’s other albums and this time started from the first album Bon Jovi (dated 1984). I was surprised to realize the firt albums had a certain childish, naive elements to them and at times they were much harder to relate to than These Days. Even though the band members were in early to mid-20s at the time (of recording Runaway), I thought they sounded and acted much younger.

bon jovi, 1984 — From left: David Bryan, Tico Torres, Jon Bon Jovi, Alec John Such, Richie Sambora.

My suspicions were confirmed when I got into my 20s. These Days was was still a lot easier to relate to. I still play their first two albums sometimes or watch their videos, but not for musical quality. For nostalgic (I wasn’t probably not even born yet when they were recording Runaway-I was born in 84, December) and entertainment value. They are adorably young, goofy and badly-dressed. Yeah, Jon was pretty. Cute, but definitely not at his hottest…

In the 16 years I’ve been listening to Bon Jovi, I did quite a bit of growing up myself, mentally and emotionally: I became a lot more tolerant, patient and empathetic in many areas. In some areas, I became ever more determined, passionate, cynical, individualistic and idealistic. In others, I remained exactly the same: A dreamer with a good touch of realism, a romantic with some healthy cynicism.

I still believe in, and look for, true love.

I appreciate life a lot more. I believe in myself more. I believe that 21st century gives us better chances of making our dreams come true, no matter how impossible it might seem to others. I’m following my dreams more actively than ever before. And since I’m a writer with some huge dreams, it’s no wonder their lyrics appeal to me more than any other band’s.

I mentioned that I changed. So did my perception of events. Looking back, I was a bit of a drama queen in the late 90s, concerned about the future of Bon Jovi. Ah, teenagers… For instance, in 1997, I was in a full-blown panic over the fact that Jon was doing a solo album and that he was acting in films. My friends loved teasing me, saying that the band had broken up and there wasn’t much rock left in Jon. In their defense, Destination Anywhere wasn’t the hardest or the fastest of rock albums.

Guess what? I love listening to that album now. As a whole, I find it beautiful, raw and honest. And August 7, 4:15 – a sad (because the story is true), but remarkable rock song.

Then came 2000. The band made a come back with the song It’s My Life, and despite few pop-heavy tracks (I absolutely can’t stand Say It Isn’t So and Thank You For Loving Me – what were they thinking???), it was a rocking album (especially recommended: Just Older, I Could Make a Living Out of Lovin’ You.)

In those 3 years, I had also fallen in love a lot of other rock bands, seen and liked a lot of Jon’s films and come to grip with the fact that members of my favorite band were getting older. But that was OK, because so was I.

In the following years, a lot has happened. I got to see a lot of my favorite bands live (including two marvelous Bon Jovi gigs), travel a lot, meet a lot of great people, live a year abroad, learn about myself, start following my dream career…. And Bon Jovi stayed together.

Bon Jovi released Bounce in 2002, and while still featuring some pop stuff, it had several cool rock anthems: Every Day, Undivided, Hook Me Up, Bounce (my favorites). It also included one of my favorite Bon Jovi romantic songs ever: You Had Me From Hello. Solid lyrics, catchy music, very romantic, very Bon Jovi.

In 2005, Bon Jovi also released another album that rocked. “Have a Nice Day”, proving that just because they were growing up, they weren’t necessarily growing old. I prefer it to its predecessor Bounce. “Have a Nice Day” had less pop, more modern rock and I pretty much adored the entire album. Though if I have to pick favorites, I’d choose Have a Nice Day, Complicated and Story of My Life.

Other albums followed: Lost Highway (2007), The Circle (2009) and What About Now (2013). Interestingly, these albums have songs with country feel but there is this cool harmony in the genres they mix. While none of these three will be my favorite Bon Jovi albums ever (My top 3, with no specific order: Keep the Faith, These Days and Have a Nice Day – with New Jersey and Slippery When Wet closely following), they feature some gems I can’t stop listening to:

Lost Highway:

Lost Highway, We Got It Going On, I Love This Town

The Circle:

We Weren’t Born to Follow, Work for the Working Man, Brokenpromiseland

What About Now:

Because We Can, I’m With You, Not Running Anymore (Deluxe Addition), Every Road Leads Home To You (Deluxe Addition, vocals by Richie Sambora.

Yeah, there are some songs that I don’t enjoy. But then again, I don’t have to like everything that they make, and I am happy that I don’t see eye to eye on everything with Jon or Richie.

Because let’s face it, their rebelling, hard rock days are now somewhat shadowed by grown-up mentality and family responsibilities (especially Jon, who is still married to the mother of his 4 kids), whereas I’m 29, single, and still have a kick of singing I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead and Blame It on the Love of Rock’n’Roll, and meaning every damn word. Guess what? He and Richie (Sambora, lead guitars) were in their late 20s, early 30s when they wrote these favorites from Keep the Faith. So it’s only natural that I relate more to Keep to Faith and These Days than the others, with the exception of Have a Nice Day.

At the end of the day, if I absolutely had to pick three songs on how I perceive the world, rock ’n’ roll and everything else, I’d pick 3 from Bon Jovi (Complicated, Blame it on the love of Rock ’n’ Roll, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead or Story of My Life.

Jon is my favorite singer. He and Richie are my two favorite songwriters. The band’s rock shows are pretty kick-ass, even in their 50s. And they have this great chemistry, as a band, that they don’t need theatrics or special effects. It’s also cool that the band line-up only changed once, in 1994.

Mathematically, I’m pretty sure they have the highest number of songs that I love from any one band.

Then there’s the fact that you never forget your first(s), especially if they are good.

Below is the chorus from Story of My Life. Considering my topic, and my occupation, and my love for the song, it’s only appropriate…

“This is the story of my life

And I write it everyday

I know it isn’t black and white

And it’s anything but grey

I know that no I’m not alright, but I feel ok cos

Anything can, everything can happen

That’s the story of my life”

On the name of the band vs. the singer’s

Naming the band after the leading singer was the producers’ idea, so don’t blame it on the guy. But there’s a very funny stint on SNL about this- where Jon Bon Jovi plays himself and keeps suggesting his name for the band.
Another fun note: Jon’s full name is John Francis Bongiovi.

Also on Jon Bon Jovi and Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi Istanbul Concert Review – July, 08, 2011

No Looking Back starring Edward Burns, Lauren Holly & Jon Bon Jovi

Sex and The City starring Sarah Jessica Parker feat. guest stars Jon Bon Jovi & Chris Noth

10 Deliciously Dirty Rock (‘N Roll) Songs feat. Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Bryan Adams & More

Actor Musicians and Musician Actors: Keanu Reeves, Jon Bon Jovi, Kevin Bacon

Most of us can’t manage to pull things off as we would like to, can we? I mean I don’t know about you but I have so much to do, 24 hours hardly ever seem enough. Oh there are plenty of blog posts out there telling you to write about how should be useful to others by giving something of value and they are always writing cool stuff with catchy titles. But those article writers usually seem to be concentrated on one stuff. Writing and/or exercising and throw in some time for your family and you are set. Come on! Since when is it that simple? I am doing my best to manage time, yet 24 hours seem barely enough. Let’s lay it all out:

*Dreams:

– What do you dream of? I don’t mean what you see when you are asleep. What do you want to do – What do you want to become more than anything else in your life? If you want to do something that seems rather hard to achieve and do that something on your own- be it trying to make it as an artist/musician/actor/film-maker/writer…, it is a full-time job trying to map out a career plan and figuring out how the hell you are going to finance yourself along the way. I want to e a full-time writer and a film-maker and actually act out my favorite parts. And once I get there (the attitude has to be when, not if), I know I’ll make money out of my dreams but how to get there in the first place seems to be the issue; especially if you have a strong sense of what you want to do. And if you want to make movies in a country other than your own, you have work& residence permit issues which is totally a drag on your own. Oh, and you are not going to be granted one easily, especially if you are not a student. And if you want to be a student, it costs even more money. Have you checked out the costs lately? Which brings us to our second issue: Money.

* Money vs time vs freedom

– How do you make the money to support the dream and yourself? Full-time jobs- especially ones that aren’t related to the area of your desires are total buzz killers. Trust me I tried. It doesn’t mean so much that you are earning some money if you don’t have the time to enjoy it, or don’t have the freedom to deal with the pre-work required to work for your dreams (like application,queries,interviews,writing…). Add traffic if you are commuting and well, you are screwed. Trust me, I know- I’ve been there.

* Health and Looks

Do you like to look good? I do. I feel amazing when I look my best. But looking good takes time, even for all the gorgeous male and female celebrities we see. The guys didn’t get those abs sitting on their asses and women well…most of them aren’t even naturally pretty. It takes exercise and healthy eating and time to pamper your self. So yeah, in between working on your art and trying to make money, you need time to look after your appearance. You need the time to cook or find good food – and I mean good for body and soul, not just for the soul- and find an exercise that doesn’t feel like an exercise; something that your body will feel like a natural necessity rather than an obligation. I found mine. But unfortunately going out dancing can be a challenge if all your friends are pub-loving people. Swimming is also great but for me the commute to the pool and the drying process takes so much time and I also feel so blissfully sleepy afterwards. Oh, and don’t forget the colds we seem to catch in the winter.

* Sleep:

– How many hours please you? Let’s say we are not one of those genius folks who figured out how to happily get the energy they need with only 4-5 hours. We need 7-8. Or even 8.5. That already takes 1/3 of the day!

* Traffic & Commute

– Do you live in a big city? Well, mine is one of the biggest in population and it is not small either so the traffic gives me nightmares. It even takes so much more time than it should. Even if all you have planned out is a cup of coffee with a pal, you still have to get on the road.

* Friends, Nightlife and Romance

Social life. I love going out, whether at night or in daylight. I love spending hours with my friends,just chatting away or drinking. I also love going out at night and who can deny the adrenaline you get from flirting with a hot stranger. Or you could be in a serious relationship,which means you need to devote quite sometime to the person you have welcomed to your life. Are you adding up all the hours we need? And we haven’t finished yet…

*Depression

– If you tend to have an overworking imagination, you probably have the tendency to get depressed. Not just the type of blues depicted in pop songs, but more like the nightmarish type that gave inspiration to some rocks songs and definitely grunge. Remember how happy Kurt Cobain was? No, I am not a fan. My favorite band is actually Bon Jovi. But depression happens to the both of us. If Jim Carrey went through it, it is only natural to expect to hit rock bottom once in a while. The upside is, we experience most feelings more strongly than the others and that helps us create. The downside is,the extremity of the blues can be suffocating. So in between the blocks we get into with our creations, the energy we lose to our not so perfect biology, we also have to maintain our sanity. Which can be tricky when life doesn’t go your way. And how often does life seem to go out its way to please you anyway?

* The people who love to try and change our minds

– Just today my dad was hinting I should get a regular job. And he means well. He also knows I am happy right where I’m- trying to make my dreams come true and living my life the way I want to. We all have people around us who seem to think that they know what’s best for us. People who think this is just a crazy phase. Or people who just get a kick of depressing others because they are miserable in their own lives… Whatever. People talk. As determined as we can be, it is still downright annoying that most people don’t respect the path you have chosen. You can learn to avoid them, or block out what they tell you but even that takes time and energy.

Have I left something out? Yeah.If you are married and/or with child(ren), your situation is a lot harder. Then there’s the housework…Or maybe you have to take care of an elderly relative too? Things are difficult enough when you can afford to be selfish. So seriously, how do we do it? How do we stay healthy, focused, good-looking, stress free, successful and driven? How do we multi-task and manage time to perfection? Of course we also need activities that are just for fun,just for the minute…So what do I suggest? I am a little hyper so maximizing action and living in the fast lane works for me. I talk fast,move fast,get stuff done fast. I read on the public transport, I write whenever I’m alone. Of course I am forced to slow down at times, like when I get sick or the stuff I need to do involves other people. But I try to make the best of the mere 24 hours I’ve. Coffee helps. Dancing myself to the oblivion gives me thrills and burns me calories. Am I always successful? Hell,no. Look at the title. But I’ll be damned if I let anyone or anything steer my course…

Growing Up With (Jon) Bon Jovi

Dreaming of 240-Hour Days