#108 - Bounce

Artist: Bon Jovi
Album: Bounce (interestingly enough)
Other Versions: None
Era: Early 00s "hard pop"

Lyrics

You know what would be great? If, when they performed this live, Richie just hollered "FUCK!" when Jon was stuttering. And Jon would just shoot him this look, and Richie would be all "who, meeee?"

That would be so, so awesome.

I really didn't like this at all at first. I have this huge aversion to computer effects in rock songs - Jon and Richie have both said they like to write their songs so they can do it with two acoustic guitars or a guitar and a piano, simple like that. They do NOT need effects on Jon's voice and drum machines and weird industrial-ish noises. I can tolerate synth keyboards - not in any song recorded after 1990, though. That's a big part of why I don't like Destination Anywhere (the album), there's so much not real there. "Bounce" to me at first was a kind of eh anthem-ish song that made Jon sound like a 12-year old (the pussyfooting around "fuck"...seriously, who out of middle school thinks it's cool to imply profanity?).

And then I heard it live. Totally, totally blew me away. When they started it, I was kind of disappointed, because I really really didn't like it at that point. But it won me over. Part of it was the atmosphere - this song takes on a new life when you're in the middle of a crowd singing it, fists in the air, and goddammit do you feel that "nothing's gonna keep me down!". And part of it was it was less electronic, of course. Jon's voice was Jon's voice, the instruments were instruments, it was real and that made the lyrics take on a totally new life for me.

When I got home from Boston, I gave the album version another listen. Still didn't like it. This is one that, like "Raise Your Hands" that just needs to be live. Except it could have been done right, they could have done a bare-bones hardish rock song without all the computer-ness and it would have been fine on the album.

I love the "if you're breathing, you know how it feels" and "I'll take the hit but not the fall" (I like it better in "Two Story Town", but it's a line I respond to regardless). I get a giggle out of "this ain't no game, I play it hard" because would it have killed him to put a "but" in there so it made sense? IT'S NOT A GAME, I'M PLAYING IT. I'm sorry, what?

This gets extra points for being so awesome live. Minus several for being flubbed on the album, for recycling lines (as much as I like them) and how fucking juvenile the stuttering is. Seriously, Jon, you're 44 years old. It's okay to swear now.

My Rating: 5/10

Whee, one-word titles that end in y.

• Sympathy
• Billy

("Sympathy" gets my vote, even though mine doesn't count)

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