Every once in a while, Shannon says something that shocks me. Like, a few days ago, we were walking down the street, and I said something (I don't remember what, but I think it was about stars who have come out as gay) about George Michael, and Shannon asked, "Who's George Michael?" Huh? You don't know who George Michael is? Have you been living under a rock for the last 30 years? You know ... George Michael ... stubble, hairspray, really white teeth and tan skin, dancing with a guitar while wearing torn-up jeans, getting arrested for "lewd behavior" in an L.A. men's room? So I sang a couple songs for him:

"Faith," which he didn't recognize (but I don't know that many lyrics, so I can't blame him)


I also sang a bit of "Careless Whisper," which I mentioned that my mom and I had always mocked because the cheatin' guy says his "guilty feet have got no rhythm." Quoth my mom: "It ain't his feet that are guilty!"


But Shannon eventually recognized my third attempt, with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"


My favorite Wham!/George Michael songs, though, have always been their really early stuff, like Young Guns (Go For It), Wham! Rap, and Bad Boys, back when they were rebellious young British brats and less polished. (And I dare anyone to watch the video for "Bad Boys" and say George Michael does not set off their gaydar.) I remember watching those videos on tv with my mom in the mid-80s -- I think we had a VHS tape of their early videos or something -- and I had *such* a huge crush on GM's band-mate, Andrew Ridgeley, probably because he looked a tiny bit like the next door neighbor I was half in love with.