Greetings,
So, like yesterday, I am clarifying where this band comes from. Even though, unlike The Misfits, I don't think that The Stingers have a real world counterpart. Actually, I think they kinda dressed a lot like that band, Stryper, what with the black and yellow theme, but whatevs. I just wanted to be consistent, so there you go.
Anyway, as fans know, this group showed up in the third and final season of Jem & the Holograms, with a bunch of songs written, yet again, by Barry Harman. Yeah, I have to keep giving this guy credit. And whilst I enjoy the songs of the previous cartoon bands I discussed, I must say, I think Mr. Harman saved his best stuff for last, because I kinda like these songs more than the others, over all. Sorry. Gotta be honest.
Also, with this new group, we get some new singing voices, of course. Providing the vocals for the ladies, Minx and Rapture, we had the late, great Vicki Sue Robinson, of "Turn the Beat Around" fame and beyond. And we had Gordon Grody, a very accomplished singer and vocal coach as the voice of the animated greatest love of my life, Riot. What? I loved Riot. He was my first bad boy crush. He was all handsome and arrogant, and he had a fabulous wardrobe, awesome hair, and some serious "Daddy Issues", which means he just needed a hug. He was basically a precursor to Tom Hiddleston's version of Loki. Wait, didn't I mention Loki yesterday? Weird, because I hate those movies. Apologies. Anywho, let's get this list started.
#10. "The Stingers' Theme" - To be fair, the only reason why this song made the list is because, if it wasn't, I'd only have nine songs. Yeah, The Stingers didn't have a massive body of work. I mean, this list is pretty much their debut album. And whilst I can get a kick out of this one, it's certainly not the best.
#9. "Are You Feelin' Alright?" - You gotta love a song where it's about asking if someone is alright...due to extreme niceness. For real, that's what the episode was about. One of the members was acting nice, and the other two were not having it. Well, they did, after all, have an image to uphold, so I'll let it slide.
#8. "Take It Or Leave It" - Did I mention Riot was a little arrogant? Yeah, so were his band mates. In other words, they're awesome, you're not. And if you don't like how they behave, you can just move yourself on. Personally, I liked it so I stayed...and took it.
#7. "All In The Style" - This song has the lyrics "Sparkle, shimmer, twinkle and buzz". I'm sorry. Do you need another reason why this one is amazing? Yeah, I didn't think so.
#6. "Perfect Match" - This song always made me question Riot's feelings for Jem. I mean, he says he loves her, but according to the lyrics, it seems he only wants to be with her because he thinks she's as perfect as he is. Fortunately, I am also perfect, so, Riot, if Jem doesn't want you, I'm right over here.
#5. "It's a Hard, Hard Life" - That's right. Not a hard KNOCK life. Just a hard, HARD life. I say The Stingers have beat Annie and Company on this one. Also, it gave us some great back story on the band, with the help of the visuals of the show, of course. It gives a good reminder about the days when people couldn't get famous by way of the YouTubes. Good times, indeed.
#4. "Destiny" - This is the one song where Ms. Vicki Sue Robinson really gets to shine as she gets to do some solo singing in the verses. This is a excellent tune, and it makes me wish they used her even more.
#3. "Mind Games" - Not better than John Lennon's. Darn close, though. And as far as beats go, I'd say this one has the best of all of them. Too bad it's about messin' with people's minds, and in the case of the episode from whence this came, they were messin' with an old lady. Stingers, come on now. I know The Misfits tried to kill people a few times, and you're trying to keep up, but that was just mean.
#2. "Under My Spell" - I absolutely love the melody in this song, especially the bridge. I think it's the bridge. I don't know. Look, you'll know what part I like best when you hear it. Also, this song was featured in the episode where Riot kinda kidnaps Jem and whisks her away to a deserted island so they can live there forever, just the two of them. That does it! I'm dying my hair pink, because, apparently, everything lovely happens to people with pink hair!
#1. "Let Me Be" - So, not only is this my favorite song from The Stingers, this is my favorite song from the entire series. True story. It is just perfect, especially for the episode in which it is played. Which also happens to be my favorite episode of the entire series. True story again. It's just so good and it makes my heart feel warm and all that, which is something I love from music. Therefore, many thanks for this one.
So, those are my favorite songs by The Stingers. And since I've come to the end of this little series, honoring the music from the wonderful cartoon series, Jem & the Holograms, let me finish with this. Whilst the songs that came from this show may not have shaken the world, they were one of the first things that made me fall in love with music. And as cheesy and overly nostalgic as some people may want to label them, I'm grateful to those behind this show that created them and brought them to me, to provide some of the few good memories I have from my childhood. Yes, I am extremely grateful indeed.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
