Sunday, July 17, 2011

Vanfanusa

I decided to call this blog and it's first post Vanfanusa because that is my internet identity.  I used it when I first found out what the internet was back in '96 and I've been using it ever since.  So it sort of makes sense for me to call my blog by the same now.  What does it mean?  Well, for the answer let me tell a story.

It's about 1988 and I'm a smart but awkward little black boy growing up in South Philly. My family had just recently gotten cable and it open up a whole new world for my siblings and I (two older brothers and a twin sister, if you care about such things).  The biggest revelation for us was MTV, VH1, and BET. They allowed us to put faces to the sounds and voices we had been listening to on the radio.  Now, the four of us could not have had different musical interests growing up.  My oldest brother, Glenn, was about 17 or 18 and he was a bonafide rap and hip hop fan.  Gary, who was about 5 years younger than Glenn, was developing an interest in Rock and Heavy Metal.  My sister, Erica, was strictly R&B and me, well I was stuck somewhere in the middle. I liked R&B but not as much then as would later grew to love.  I was more into Pop music especially the likes of Whitney Houston and "80's Synth bands like Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys.  My love of black divas and '80's dance was a great foreshadowing of my sexuality if anyone was paying attention! So, back to the story.  BET totally introduced me to the woman whom I would want to marry if I swung that way.  Vanessa Williams!  When I first heard "The Right Stuff" on the radio, I was hooked.  But seeing her on BET, I was more than hooked.  Oh GAWD!  The black lace body suit with the pink polka dot shrug.  The awesome dancing. Oh, memories.  I was drawn to her beauty, her charm and attitude, and her voice.  I had never had an attraction to anyone as strong as that but I was only 10 years old!  Being a Vanessa Williams fan began to define my existence.  I owned all her cassettes (yes, cassettes!), I would sit impatiently waiting by the TV for her new videos to premiere and if I missed it, I was angry!  In fact, my she was my first concert.  I saw her and Luther Vandross (another love of mine) together in Philly, I think, in 1996.  So when it came time for me to sign up for Yahoo! and come up with my screen name, it was only fitting that I pay homage to my one and only and thus, vanfanusa was born.

Now, musical tastes have grown and expanded over the years as I've discovered more of who I am and what I like.  I absolutely love R&B and Soul music now, much of which I ignored as a child.  But my musical tastes are varied and still growing.  I still love '80's Synth music and I'm loving new acts that are bringing the sound back like Chromeo, Scissor Sisters, and La Roux.  My love for the likes of Whitney Houston and my girl Vanessa is very nostalgic.  I don't listen to their music nearly as much as I used to but they will always have a place in my heart and in my music collection!

Since my name is in homage to her and this blog is based on that name, it is only fitting that my first post includes some of Vanessa Williams greatest hits.  Enjoy!

1988



1991



1995



1997



2009


Still absolutely gorgeous after all this years!

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