oh yvonne
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Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 23, 2023 16:53:30 GMT
That song was so catchy and fun back in '78..but it always weirded me out and I never knew why. And I hand to God I swear I remember Nick Felder <correction, Nick Gilder> performing <ed> this on tv award show like the Grammys and a very young looking girl strutted around the stage in hot pants.
I remember being so bothered by it, it just was so freaking inappropriate and disgusting! I've Googled for any reports of this performance but I've never found anything. It's like it never happened but I swear I know it did. Does anyone else recall that? I can't find a hint of controversy which just blows my mind. That was NOT okay!
What got me thinking about this is Brooke Shields is promoting her upcoming Hulu documentary about this very subject, how she was exploited so terribly by her mother and her agents.
I mean, can you imagine that shit passing nowadays? People are flipping out over harmless drag queen bingo and we are the generation that saw "Lipstick" and Pretty Baby on HBO. How about those Linda Blair movies, Born Innocent and what was that creepy one where she falls in love with her captor Martin Sheen.
What the hell man.
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compeateropeator
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Jun 26, 2014 23:10:56 GMT
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Post by compeateropeator on Mar 23, 2023 16:57:46 GMT
Hot child in the city. Running wild and looking pretty. That one? Yes I do. Again (from a previous thread) so many darn lyrics in my little brain. Hahaha
ETA - would have had no idea on the year but knew it was back when I was a kid…in the 70’s. 😆
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 23, 2023 16:59:14 GMT
Hot child in the city. Running wild and looking pretty. That one? Yes I do. Again (from a previous thread) so many darn lyrics in my little brain. Hahaha Yeah, that's it. He was inspired to write the song from the 14 y/o hookers on Hollywood Blvd strutting with their pimps.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Mar 23, 2023 16:59:43 GMT
I remember the song, but not the performance you mentioned. And back then there was no MTV or music videos to speak of, so being the dense person I can be, the lyrics never bothered me. Never watched any of the movies you mentioned either.
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compeateropeator
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Post by compeateropeator on Mar 23, 2023 17:08:07 GMT
I am with **GypsyGirl**, I don’t remember any performance of it just the song from the radio. It was probably discussed what the lyrics pertained to but it wasn’t something that I saw or thought about.
The movie that I remember that creeped me out and that I didn’t like was Blue Lagoon (?).
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Post by crazy4scraps on Mar 23, 2023 17:18:04 GMT
I remember the song too. And pretty much everything about Brooke Shields creeped me out back in the day. That poor girl was so sexualized from such a young age it was sickening.
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Post by eventhinker on Mar 23, 2023 17:50:16 GMT
Wanna be creeped out more? Watch Doogie Howser pilot episode, there’s a scene where he’s pranked, but it’s an older nurse coming on to him! Crrrriiinnngge
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The Great Carpezio
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Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Mar 23, 2023 18:04:26 GMT
I know the song but don't remember that performance, but I certainly don't doubt it happened.
There are so many songs from the 70s and 80s (before and beyond as well) that are so disgusting. I feel like some of them made me uncomfortable back then, but so many of them did not.
The movies, the rock stars with their child brides/girlfriends---and so many were just like, "cool, cool."
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Gem Girl
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Post by Gem Girl on Mar 23, 2023 18:14:28 GMT
@oh yvonne Might you have been thinking of the actual music video for the song? Musicians have been making music videos for a very long time (Nancy Sinatra, anyone?); they just didn't have much of an outlet until MTV's emergence. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERqwe_D7anIAnd, if the clip below is the movie, it was called "Sweet Hostage," based on the book "Prisoner of Xanadu." www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aA0FoUgKmw
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2023 18:19:57 GMT
Hm...born in 71 and I do not remember this at all. I googled the lyrics and saw a music video on youtube.
It does seem quite shocking and yet again, not. The 70's and 80's had plenty of inappropriate music and movies etc that yes, it seems many have forgotten about and think times were more innocent.
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smartypants71
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Post by smartypants71 on Mar 23, 2023 18:36:39 GMT
I remember the song and was always kind of grossed out by it. A group of us ended up hijacking the song and making it our own when a few years ago on a GNO, one of our friends wore some tight pants and split them right up the middle. Our version of the song was: "Hot pants in the city. Looking fine, looking splitty". We sing it every time we see her.
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 23, 2023 18:54:19 GMT
@oh yvonne Might you have been thinking of the actual music video for the song? Musicians have been making music videos for a very long time (Nancy Sinatra, anyone?); they just didn't have much of an outlet until MTV's emergence. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERqwe_D7anIAnd, if the clip below is the movie, it was called "Sweet Hostage," based on the book "Prisoner of Xanadu." www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aA0FoUgKmwwow, I had no idea that video existed..and holy cow is that baaad! I distinctly remember seeing it being performed, but who knows? No one else seems to remember it so maybe I'm thinking of this video? and yes! Sweet Hostage! Just..ewww Linda Blair was 15/16 when she filmed that.
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Post by disneypal on Mar 23, 2023 18:57:58 GMT
I remember that song and I swear I remember a performance like that too but was thinking it was on one of those Saturday night music shows like Don Kirshner's Rock Concert or The Midnight Special...but of course can't remember for sure.
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 23, 2023 19:01:18 GMT
I remember that song and I swear I remember a performance like that too but was thinking it was on one of those Saturday night music shows like Don Kirshner's Rock Concert or The Midnight Special...but of course can't remember for sure. omg maybe that was it then! That probably makes more sense, all I know is I recall seeing it performed live and that girl was dancing around and she looked to be about 12. I think you are right.
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Tearisci
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Post by Tearisci on Mar 23, 2023 20:46:36 GMT
... and now I have that song stuck in my head!
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Post by katiescarlett on Mar 23, 2023 20:52:06 GMT
I remember it from the 70's. There was an episode of Sex and the City named Hot Child in the City and they played that song. I always liked the song, never saw the video or really knew what the lyrics meant! I've also had the song stuck in my head all day since seeing this thread!
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lindas
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Jun 26, 2014 5:46:37 GMT
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Post by lindas on Mar 23, 2023 20:52:16 GMT
I remember the song but don’t recall watching him preform it on TV. In keeping with his ‘inspiration’ I can see why you would remember a young girl I hot pants.
The dark inspiration for Nick Gilder's 'Hot Child in the City'
Nick Gilder's "Hot Child in the City" topped the Billboard pop chart 40 years ago Thursday.
While the song is innocuous enough for radio, Gilder says the inspiration came from seeing teenage prostitutes in Los Angeles.
"I've seen a lot of young girls, 15 and 16, walking down Hollywood Boulevard with their pimps," Gilder told Rolling Stone. "It hurts to see that so I tried writing from the perspective of a lecher — in the guise of an innocent pop song."
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Gem Girl
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Post by Gem Girl on Mar 23, 2023 21:01:14 GMT
And "Ew" to films or other stories that make it okay to just take a woman against her will (he also grabs her repeatedly throughout the movie), with the subtext implied that, "She'll get used to me, and then she'll fall in love with me." 'Cause, you know, men always know more about what's best for the woman they want than she does. Gag.
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Post by deekaye on Mar 23, 2023 21:38:53 GMT
'79 High school graduate here. I started singing the song as soon as I saw your post title! Several years later, I realized that a lot of our favorite sing-'em-out-loud songs were completely inappropriate. We thought Puff really WAS a sweet, gentle dragon!!! 
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Post by evnimom on Mar 23, 2023 21:57:52 GMT
I remember! I remember that the girl wore a wig and the wig fell off as she strutted towards the stage. I also was creeped out at the song but I did like it. I was even more creeped out after seeing what Nick looked like.
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peabay
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Post by peabay on Mar 23, 2023 22:22:01 GMT
Makes me think of the roller rink in the 70s. I don't remember any performance of it.
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Post by 950nancy on Mar 23, 2023 22:49:06 GMT
Oh, yes. I remember that one! Such a good beat though. When I was growing up I starting belting out the words to Badfinger's Come and Get It and my mom asked me what I thought those words meant. As a young teen, I really hadn't put much thought into it. She told me to think about it. It was great advice without really giving her direct opinion. What it did was make me hyper aware of the lyrics of 70's and 80's music. There was some really trashy stuff out there with a cute melody. It also made me kind of fall in love with some of the more ballad type songs (love me some Meatloaf). Sometimes I'll Google the song to see of there was any nefarious meaning behind the songs from the writer's perspective. My favorite memory of a 70's song was when my youngest son told me that Paradise by the Dashboard Light was not about a baseball game... you don't say.
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Post by 950nancy on Mar 23, 2023 22:56:38 GMT
Hot child in the city. Running wild and looking pretty. That one? Yes I do. Again (from a previous thread) so many darn lyrics in my little brain. Hahaha Yeah, that's it. He was inspired to write the song from the 14 y/o hookers on Hollywood Blvd strutting with their pimps. I just read that he said it was an ode to the runaways. When you look at the video, the young ladies aren't taking any crap from the guys. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERqwe_D7anI
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Post by auntiepeas on Mar 23, 2023 23:00:21 GMT
Makes me think of the roller rink in the 70s. I don't remember any performance of it. Ditto on the roller rink flashbacks but it was the early to mid 80s for me. 🛼🛼
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peaname
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Post by peaname on Mar 23, 2023 23:58:33 GMT
I’m pretty sure I saw it here but have you seen the creepy Love’s Baby Soft perfume ad with a young girl licking a lollipop and the voiceover is a creepy man. Ewwww!!
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Post by wezee on Mar 24, 2023 0:08:22 GMT
I remember it. Yes it was kinda creepy
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peabay
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Post by peabay on Mar 24, 2023 0:12:54 GMT
Makes me think of the roller rink in the 70s. I don't remember any performance of it. Ditto on the roller rink flashbacks but it was the early to mid 80s for me. 🛼🛼 yeah - I was thinking pretty late 70s. That song and "Back in the NY Groove" were the big roller rink songs.
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Post by Monica* on Mar 24, 2023 0:27:11 GMT
I do remember that song. I recall lots of songs and movies with sexualization of under age girls or the taking of a girl's virginity. Foxes, Little Darlings, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, to name a few movies. Songs like Tonight's the Night, and Only the Good Die Young come to mind. It all just seemed so normal back then to me. Not so much now. But as a teenage girl growing up in the 70s, it definitely colored my world and added pressure.
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peabay
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Post by peabay on Mar 24, 2023 0:29:28 GMT
I do remember that song. I recall lots of songs and movies with sexualization of under age girls or the taking of a girl's virginity. Foxes, Little Darlings, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, to name a few movies. Songs like Tonight's the Night, and Only the Good Die Young come to mind. It all just seemed so normal back then to me. Not so much now. But as a teenage girl growing up in the 70s, it definitely colored my world and added pressure. I agree. It's hard to view these things without the 2023 lenses on. But I still love Only the Good Die Young.
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Post by Scrapper100 on Mar 24, 2023 0:39:05 GMT
I remember the song but haven’t seen the movies mentioned in here. I feel for Brooke Shields it always seemed weird to put such a young girl in the situation of her movie Blue Lagoon I’m thinking she was only 12 or 13 at the time. So gross. Didn’t know what the song was about. Things sure have changed. Minors walking the streets 😱.
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