Me and Deborah? Only in my dreams
Our groundbreaking -- nay, just flirty -- interview with Deborah Gibson is over, and though pop music critic Sean Daly and I feel forlorn and deflated after watching her drive away, I'm left with one beautiful consolation:
Sean got the goodbye handshake. I got the goodbye hug.
My co-host is delirious with rage and envy. And I may never wash this shirt again -- which really wouldn't be a first, since I'm not sure it was washed when I put it on today.
We shot video of the interview, so expect to see that soon. The full podcast interview won't be available until Saturday, I'm guessing. In the meantime, here are some highlights:
ON DEBBIE VS. DEBORAH: "Everybody in my real life for the first 16 years of my life called me Deb or Deborah. The record company came along ... and they made up names. They wanted to go with 'Debbie G' ... go with just 'Deborah.' So by the time they came back around to 'Debbie Gibson,' I was like, 'Fine!' "
ON HER SQUEAKY CLEAN IMAGE: "I've never touched a drug. I've actually never been drunk in my life. I've never had a whole drink -- I don't like alcohol."
ON TODAY'S YOUNG CELEBRITIES: "It definitely is a different world. But it also is a little ridiculous. Too many kids are getting the message that if you buy the right $3,000 handbag and dance on the right table in the right club you'll have a career. The media is rewarding that behavior and handing people what appears -- from the outside -- a career."
ON HER 2005 PLAYBOY APPEARANCE: "It's funny for me to watch other people squirm when I was so comfortable with it. ... I came up with 8,000 creative ways of creating g-strings. Boobs and booty -- a day on South Beach."
Oh, I know you want the scoop on her frequent visits inside the Playboy Mansion, her latest flame and how she keeps her tanned skin so soft to the touch. You'll have to wait for the podcast for those details -- 'cause Daly sure can't talk with expertise about that last detail!
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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" -- I don't like alcohol."
Well, that's it for her then...
Posted by: Clark | April 17, 2008 at 04:14 PM
Lovely photo.
For some reason, I thought DG was taller. Or is she just squatting down to get underneath all those sweaty arms.
By the way, it looks like you've got your hand on her shoulder, but Sean's hand is on...
...you!
First he loses interest in American Idol bimbos, now he prefers your shoulder to Deborah Gibson's.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Posted by: Jeff in Cuba | April 17, 2008 at 04:27 PM
Can't wait for the podcast. It sounds like it will be a real winner... ahm.. I mean wiener.
Posted by: Ray | April 17, 2008 at 05:05 PM
So you're both wandering around the office muttering the chorus to "Shake Your Love" under your breath, aren't you.
Posted by: Walter Cox | April 17, 2008 at 05:08 PM
Walter -- so freakin' true. Actually listening to her on my iPod now.
Posted by: Spears | April 17, 2008 at 05:10 PM
Dude, I know it! I've been humming it all day! Curse you all!
Posted by: Walter Cox | April 17, 2008 at 06:19 PM
Yeah Walter... You're not the only one!! And now, thanks to you.. it's in my head again!! lol
Posted by: Carla | April 17, 2008 at 08:12 PM
If you'd sat with DG for an hour, you'd buy every album and put her posters back up on the wall.
She was fantastic!
Posted by: Spears | April 17, 2008 at 08:36 PM
Boy, I'm so jealous. Oh, to be the the delicate meat in a Spears & Daly sammich must be divine. Ms. Gibson must surely feel that she's truly lived now.
Posted by: Marissa | April 17, 2008 at 10:26 PM
She looks great. You guys are glowing.
Posted by: Spell Girl | April 18, 2008 at 04:41 AM
Can't wait to hear the interview. I was 12 when Shake your Love and Electric Youth hit the charts in Australia and I though they were some of the best songs I had ever heard...my tastes have matured somewhat since then. She' definitely got a level head, which is cool to see. Maybe she could mentor Britney?
Posted by: Emily | April 18, 2008 at 04:43 AM
Was Daly wearing those Magnum PI shorts below the cropline of the photo, we wondered? Clearly, that's why Spears got the hug and Daly the "sorry, I gotta go'' handshake.
Posted by: Eric62 | April 18, 2008 at 10:11 AM
I believe this was the first time Daly wore pants at all in the studio.
In a soundproof studio, nobody can hear you scream.
Posted by: Spears | April 18, 2008 at 11:27 AM