Elton/Downey Jr.

I guess when it comes to Elton John today on The Weight...when it rains it pours. Or maybe I'm thinking of Radiohead. Anyway, with all of the heat generated by Iron Man, and the press whoring being done by Robert Downey, Jr. who I'm a huge fan of, I can't help but remember one of my favorite music videos. It was probably being shown on a VH1 video countdown show back in the day, pre-BEST WEEK, EVER! and other crap like that, back when VH1 was MTV lite.

I'm thinking of Elton John's 'I Want Love' video off of his album 'Songs From the West Coast'. I later learned that this whole album was essentially inspired by Ryan Adam's album Heartbreaker which is way up in my list of favorite albums. What was so mesmerizing about this video is that it is one single tracking shot of Robert Downey, Jr. lipsynching the song in one take. Right when this came out in late 2001, RDJ was reeling from drug arrests, failed rehab stays, and an inability to get insured on film sets. And this song of needing unconditional love seemed to really fit the struggling actor. An incredible quote which I never forgot was uttered by Downey, Jr. regarding his addiction in front of a judge: "It's like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger's on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal."

Here's to being happy that Robert is back on his feet and making a bunch of loot off of Iron Man. Maybe this means he will greenlight my idea for "Back to School 2". If you remember, he played Jason Melon's roommate. I'm smelling Oscar!!


Elton John
featuring Robert Downey, Jr.
I Want Love
Song From the West Coast album
October 2001