"Cathouse" - Faster Pussycat

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Suggested by Mischel.

Faster Pussycat is my favorite band.  They weren't always my absolute favorite, but they've been a favorite since the late 80's.

My first memory of this song comes from around that time.  I used to spend summers at my aunt's house and she would take me to rent movies from the local independent video store.  Well, this store had a copy of The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years...a documentary that shaped my youth.  Featured in this film was Faster Pussycat, and a performance of this song at (FP singer) Taime Downe's and Riki Rachtman's Cathouse nightclub was on the film, and one of the performances that truly stuck with me.  This film made me a fan.  For YEARS, I rented the video as often as possible, and the video store owner later showed me the records that showed I had rented it well over 100 times!  I ended up buying that very tape when that store went out of business in the late 90's.

In 2001, I was stoked to find out that Faster Pussycat had reformed, albeit with a new lineup, and were touring with my other favorite band of the 80's, L.A. Guns.  My best friends and my then-fiance drove up to Lincoln, NE to see one of the first shows on the tour.  I remember being SO excited that they were playing all of my classic favorites..."Bathroom Wall", "Slip of the Tongue" and of course "Cathouse", to name a few.  I also remember that that particular show was one of the LOUDEST concerts I had ever been to.  I ended up going to the bathroom at one point to stick wads of toilet paper in my ears.  Meeting the band was a total highlight of the night, and I still have my first ever photo taken with Taime.

Over the years, I went to show after show after show(we're talking dozens on dozens), to the point that I eventually became FP "family" (and L.A. Guns family as well), culminating in actually being a member of their road crew for a few short runs and one full tour in 2008.  The summer of 2008, being on the road with Faster Pussycat and L.A. Guns, is by far the best summer of my life...even if I did break my ankle and nearly lost my mind on tour!

In 2005, I got a Faster Pussycat tattoo on my right shoulderblade.  All of my tattoos are important to me, but that one is very important because it is almost like a "family crest" to me.  I love my FP family, even though I've had my good and bad moments with nearly every single member of the band...they're still all my "brothers".

"What About Me?" - Moving Pictures

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You know, I probably would only be lucky enough to hear this song once every few years if I didn't actually own it.

I was too young to remember it when it was at the peak of it's popularity, but I remember hearing it on top 40 radio (Q104 in Kansas City to be exact...man, I miss that station!) throughout the 80s.

If you've never heard the song, it's pretty powerful.  It's about wanting YOUR time to come after facing hardship after hardship.  I relate SO much to this song, and every time I hear it, I'm almost moved to tears.

A specific memory of this song for me comes after the end of my engagement, a five-year long, live-in relationship.  I was so depressed and defeated for the longest time afterward.  One night, I was driving around, listening to the 80's channel on XM and there was an "American Top 40" broadcast from the 80's being played, and this song was the long distance dedication.  It just hit me so hard at that time like a punch to the chest, and I just pulled over and cried until the song was over.

To this day, every time I hear the song, even though I love it, it hits me almost as hard.