Aging Rockers + 'Miami Vice' at 40

Hello WNVM-ers,

We’ve officially hit the last days of summer when all of Europe is on holiday, and everyone else has just checked out. *Cue Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer.”*

So we’re also taking it easy for the rest of the month, bringing you some shorter stories and essays, and expanding a bit more on news items, like we did last week. We’ll return after Labor Day with bigger reported stories, dipping into our expertise in the beauty industry and vintage fashion, plus some unexpected topics.

This week, an item about Aerosmith that was destined for our news roundup triggered some feelings in Cheryl, who wrote an essay about Jon Bon Jovi, death, Madonna, and Chappell Roan. Don’t ask.

Jon Bon Jovi at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA in 2013 (Photo: David Bergman/www.BonJovi.com/Courtesy of Hulu)

One reason Fawnia needs to chill for the rest of the summer is because she spent all of Q1 and part of Q2 mainlining the first few seasons of “Miami Vice” ahead of the show’s 40th anniversary (!!!). She also played detective to track down sources for what may be her proudest achievement yet: an oral history of the TV show’s fashion for The Hollywood Reporter. She Zoomed with Executive Producer Michael Mann — for almost an hour— about his love of ‘80s-era Italian design and the origin of the pastel suits, and managed to not faint. (He was absolutely lovely.) Plus, three of the series costume designers discussed how Don Johnson became an accidental fashion fiend (see what I did there?), why Philip Michael Thomas’ Tubbs was the actual style guy, and who rolled up Sonny Crockett’s sleeves. (It’s an important part of the legacy that’s still all over the Hollywood red carpet.)

Don’t forget to scroll to the end for extended Gen X-pertinent news links, featuring a goodbye to Fred Segal, hello to a new Ben Affleck, and More Keanu™.

Sing With Me, Sing For The Year

‘Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear/sing with me just for today, maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away.’ JFC, Aerosmith! 

By Cheryl

Last week, Aerosmith announced they were canceling their tour and officially retiring. A “vocal injury” that singer Steven Tyler, 76, sustained last year was deemed “unrecoverable.” This news put me in a funk for a good hour or so. 

I should say I’m not really an Aerosmith fan. I mean, I like “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way” (the RUN-DMC version) more than a lot of songs, I guess. Tyler’s sexuality and virility were almost a caricature, and certainly a bit creepy to me, a Catholic schoolgirl, who was more comfortable crushing on Jon Bon Jovi and Simon Le Bon in the mid-’80s as a young teen. But Tyler’s screech and tight pants were always in the background of my childhood and teen years, first on the radio and then all over MTV. 

iamstevent

A post shared by @iamstevent

Tyler is just the latest in a group of larger-than-life musicians from the heyday of the music video era who have been diminished lately, and it’s really freaking me out. 

A few months ago, I watched “Thank You, Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story,” on Hulu. I was hoping for a rollicking wallop of nostalgia, and the docuseries did not disappoint. My god, was Jon Bon Jovi hot. But Bon Jovi, 62, has also been dealing with a vocal cord injury, and the series follows the singer as he decides to go for surgery to correct it. The footage of him trying to find his voice again is devastating. The overarching emotion in the series is one of aching melancholy — for Jon and his voice, but ultimately for our collective youths. At least, that’s how I internalized it.

This doc came just a month or so after I’d seen Madonna’s “Celebration Tour.” While I loved every second of that show, there was a nagging sadness in the back of my brain. Seeing her with an obvious knee brace on one leg and her uncanny valley facial features was disconcerting. (The latter issue requires a longer essay that I’m having a really hard time writing but will get to eventually.) Madonna, 65, has always been known as a better dancer/performer than a singer, so — mere months after facing an illness that almost killed her — it was hard to watch her walk rather than bound, to sit rather than gyrate. 

It does not require a PhD in psychology to know what’s happening here: I’m being confronted with my own mortality, amid the upheaval of middle age, via the older superstars of my youth. These shiny, vibrant people are dulling a bit, and — oh shit — so am I. While my life is objectively very good, the last five years or so have had its challenges: emotional upheaval, empty nest syndrome, annoying physical problems, self-imploding my career partially because I could not bear the thought of having to be on TikTok. Is Madonna’s knee brace basically a symbolic harbinger of my own crumbling joints and dreams? 

Attending a lot of nostalgia concerts has been my self-medication, as I wrote a few weeks ago. It’s generally been a positive force in my life. But like the proverbial hair of the dog that bit you, that comes with the inherent problem of seeing evidence that my idols have aged, thus potentially propagating the cycle of sadness. Before I drag you all down here with me, I’m happy to report that I’ve also, at exactly the right time, found joy in new music again too.

I’ve always been earnestly drawn to original, strong, quirky lady singers and their infectious music and messages: Madonna, Sinéad O’Connor, Liz Phair, Rihanna, Lady Gaga. Thankfully, the universe has led me to another one. The new standard-bearer here is Chappell Roan. I love her so much, and it’s fine if you thought about the “I’m not a regular mom, I’m a cool mom” gif and laughed at me.

chappellroan

A post shared by @chappellroan

While I’d seen Roan’s name floating around online, I ignored it at first. She was not meant for me, I figured. But then, I saw some old footage of her singing The Cranberries’ 1993 hit “Dreams.” (Dolores O’Riordan’s death is another one that hit me really hard.) I was all-in for her after that. 

Roan, 26, sings about universal truths that I still relate to: messed up relationships, both with yourself and others; fucking and its complications; living life while being a woman. She is doing it with a modern lens and a hefty dose of ‘80s-inflected synth, while wearing absolutely batshit outfits. It gives me so much hope for the future. She is of my kids’ generation, and I just have endless affection for that whole group. Most importantly, she is just plain fun. And that’s the ultimate antidote for dread.

Still, I’m so grateful to the musicians who have fueled my hopes and dreams for decades, and no new music will ever have the same emotional heft. I’ll continue to look to them (and attend shows as long as they’re touring!) as we navigate aging and watch new generations define the culture, together.

Dream on, Aerosmith. And thank you.

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YOU OUGHTA KNOW

• It’s the Bill and Ted reunion that’s actually straight out of a Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure literature class project. In Fall 2025, Keanu Reeves and Alec Winter will star in the Broadway production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. The former plays the whiny and perpetually uncomfortable Estragon and the latter embodies the philosophical and contemplative Vladimir — which sounds more Ted “Theodore” Logan than Bill S. Preston, Esq, but we’re happy either way. We imagine a fairly cutthroat scramble to snag tix, so sign up for alerts now. Fawnia barely survived a heated mêlée of frenzied fans during a Dogstar concert last year. [Deadline]

• Hulu’s killing it with nostalgia documentaries. Next up: “In Vogue: The ‘90s” delves into the defining and unprecedented phenomenons of the decade, from the rise of red carpet style to the confluence of hip hop and fashion — all from the perspective of Vogue editors, including Edward Enninful and Anna Wintour. The six episode series also features witness testimonials from the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Naomi Campbell, Victoria Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow, Missy Elliott, Jenny Shimizu, Tom Ford, and Tyson Beckford. The first three episodes drop on September 13 to conclude on September 20. [Vogue]

• The Britney Spears big screen biopic, based on her bestselling memoir, The Woman in Me, is official and looking very promising, with Wicked and In the Heights director Jon M. Chu and La La Land producer Marc Platt on board. Spears gives her stamp of approval, writing on Twitter/X: “Excited to share with my fans that I've been working on a secret project with #MarcPlatt. He’s always made my favorite movies … stay tuned.” We’re waiting with bated breath on casting news, and based on his pitch perfect performance as Natalie Portman’s petulant kid in “Lady in the Lake,” Noah Jupe would make a great Justin. [Variety]

• Alert! Crooked Media political comedy podcast “Lovett or Leave It” acknowledged Generation X for perhaps the first time ever. Thank you to comedian and actor Wayne Brady for proudly proclaiming his Gen X status, as geriatric Millennial and anti-Boomer host Jon Lovett calls us “America’s middle child.” The Gen X discourse includes the greatest hits, like playing outside unsupervised, Janeane Garafolo, and Slayer. We like to think Lovett gave us a shout out, telling Brady, “You did a Gen X thing. You said, ‘Why is that? I don’t know, whatever.’” Also, we claim VP Kamala Harris as Gen X — she wears Chucks! [Lovett or Leave It]

• Speaking of: Big news this week as presidential candidate Harris picked her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who signed a bill last year to establish the “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway.” This appointment has led to some Gen X musical memes, some more niche than others. For the alt-rock fans out there who understand the Minneapolis scene (not us), there is the pic of Harris holding up The Replacements album “Tim.” (Retorts about rival MN band Hüsker Dü abound in the comments.) Or for you grunge fans, a Soundgarden reference, which, yes, we had to look up:

Then there are the Prince memes, which thankfully are self-explanatory:

• Sad: Fred Segal, founded in 1961 in West Hollywood and expanding to international outposts in Switzerland and Taipei in its heyday, closed its last two remaining locations last week. The flagship gained worldwide attention due to its paparazzi-baiting ‘90s celebrity clientele, including Jennifer Aniston, Paris Hilton and, again, Gwynnie, plus mentions in shows like, “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Dawson’s Creek.” Pour one out for the iconic boutique, which at least is immortalized in Clueless, thanks to Alicia Silverstone’s “cute, responsible shirt” and her legendary line, “where is my white collared shirt from Fred Segal?!” [Los Angeles Times]

• Ben Affleck seems to be finding comfort in nostalgia: armoring up in Top Gun-esque aviators and a RoboCop racing moto, revisiting 1991 in a “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”-era Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirt, and debuting a divisive ‘do that’s very 2014-core Williamsburg. Do you think his t-shirt is authentic vintage? (Because that’s the main question on your mind.) [Vulture]

• On her first-ever headlining tour, “OUT OF THIS WORLD — The Missy Elliott Experience,” the four-time Grammy winner received multiple congressional, state, and local honors in her hometown of Hampton, VA last Friday. Congrats! Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott presented her with a Congressional Certificate Of Community Service, saying, “It would be a crime — a ‘Misdemeanor’! — not to recognize you, and to thank you for all you’ve done, not only with the fame and fortune, but giving back to the community.” Fawnia’s very excited to see Elliott’s four-act show, promising to be “immersive and interactive” on Monday at Barclays Center. [WNVM Inbox]