When asked to write a term paper in college on the Vietnam Invasion, James borrowed the title from Pat Benetar’s Love is a Battlefield. His theme was a line from the lyrics… “No promises, no demands” as it expresses the lack of clear objectives in the conflict. When asked to explain the relevance of an 80′s power pop song to a 60′s conflict for which a wealth of musical commentary already exists, James sang out his reply: “Believe me, believe me, I can’t tell you why.” When ordered to leave the class, he continued, “You’re making me go, then making me stay. Why do you hurt me so bad? It would help me to know, do I stand in your way, or am I the best thing you’ve had?” At that point security had to be called. James turned the tables by enlisting the guards as background singers with the simple persuasive words, “all together on the chorus!” and the class emptied of frantic students as they went on for several minutes with “love is a battlefield… love is a battlefield… love is a…”
Incidentally, Jamie once showed me the above Benetar photo, which he keeps in his wallet as inspiration for his own musical endeavours. When asked why it was so powerful for him, he merely responded, “Always lead with your nipple.”
Note: this is actually part of a game Asher invented called, rather uninventively, The Musical Insult Game.
