Producer Oreck’s story a hilarious & entertaining read

book-cover-video-slutThe joy of being one’s own editor is that I can review books that were released waaaaay back last May. Such is the case with Sharon Oreck‘s Video Slut: How I Shoved Madonna Off an Olympic High Dive, Got Prince into a Pair of Tiny Purple Woolen Underpants, Ran Away from Michael Jackson’s Dad, and Got a Waterfall to Flow Backward So I Could Bring Rock Videos to the Masses. I came across this autobiography of the O Pictures maven at the Lawrence Public Library later last week, and blew through it over the course of this past weekend.

Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the read. Oreck’s autobiography recounts her life as a producer of some of the most enduring videos of the ’80s: Prince’s “When Doves Cry,” Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” to name but a few. The book alternates these tales of dealing with some very difficult musical icons with her story of getting knocked up and giving birth at the age of 16, and its attendant story of young single-motherdom.

In Video Slut Oreck manages to convey the tense, angular nature of the music industry (chain-smoking cartons of cigarettes, constant exhaustion, kissing the ass of people far too big for their bridges), while simultaneously making a breezy, easy, read, ripe with humor and confidence:

“I realize that I’m feeling antsy, edgy, and ill at ease.

I’m pretty sure it isn’t from the the indigestible animal fats, the buckets of Italian plain roast, or the rapidly inhaled bronchial carcinogens that we’re still allowed to pollute the unventilated room with because huge public litigation suits have not been invented yet.

No, I believe I’m feeling edgy, antsy, and ill at ease because the Partner appears to hate me.”

Really, this is a weekend read. It offers more at Oreck’s expense than at anyone else involved. None of the musical icons portrayed are skewered or dished upon in any great details. No-one reading Video Slut is going to learn any long-hidden secrets about Michael Jackson or anything like that. You will find yourself amused, impressed at Oreck’s spirit, and entertained.

I came away from Video Slut wanting to sit down with Oreck and just chat for hours. It’s like reading the stories of the coolest Jewish grandmother ever, with plenty of self-deprecation, yet never lacking in wit or verve.