Proudly Resents recently dedicated a podcast to one of the best slumber party movies ever: Purple Rain (1984). Host* Adam Spiegelman and his guests Michelle Buteau and Ryan Sickler and just spent the whole time talking about how awesome the movie is in every way, and how Prince is the exception that proves so many rules (such as that tiny, greased-up, meatball-chest-haired men who dress like grannies can’t be sexy). One topic not addressed was the biggest plot hole in the whole movie, the source of the urgency of The Kid’s last stand: the club promoter having to choose whether to fire The Time or The Revolution to make room for Apollonia 6.
It was odd enough that anyone, no matter how desperate to see hot chicks in their underwear, would subject human ears to “Sex Shooter” in lieu of Morris Day’s magnificent “The Bird” or even Prince’s “Computer Blue.” But the real head-scratcher is that there’s another bandleader nearly begging to be cut: Dez Dickerson.**
You might not even remember this from the movie. You might have blocked it from your memory, lest it tarnish an otherwise perfect movie. But once you notice that the guy singing here is clearly the second guitarist from The Revolution, keeping the stage warm while Morris Day and Prince are off acting, you can’t unsee it. Why the club owner didn’t catch that, though, is a mystery to me.
The lesson: Sometimes people don’t see the obvious, and if you change your headband, you might just benefit from their blind spot.
* And my brother-in-law.
** One of the best things about the above video is the retro technology used to capture the scene. Holding a camera up to a TV reminds me of my sister and I holding a tape recorder up to the TV to tape REO Speedwagon off MTV.
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