2
New Kids on the Block, Round 2.
Posted by Jacquie Bee
on
10:59 AM
I’m sure the name of pop’s most loved and equally hated boy band may invoke both shrieks and groans…ok it would if anyone was actually reading this blog. I had 3 followers but now I have 2. Hi Jenn. Hi Cupcake. Oh well, that’s what I get for my blatant neglect and lack of marketing.
Anyhoo…I want to say something about New Kids on the Block. I love them with a capital L. And I’m not ashamed to admit that. Since the new school reunion tour began I have been to 2 concerts and will be attending at least one more in June and I couldn’t be more delighted! I am thoroughly enjoying the new album and find myself chair dancing while driving home from work almost daily to ‘She’s da-da dirty dancing, dirty dancing….on me!’
I’m 33. I have a degree in Philosophy and Comparative Literature. I’m an Editor for a leading educational publishing company. I read the news. I pay my rent on time. I recycle, pay taxes, cook healthy meals and provide care and nurturing to two living creatures. And I get positively GIDDY over “Five bad brothers from the Bean Town land.”
I recently asked a well-connected acquaintance of mine if he could swing some floor seats for the Toronto concert in June. He agreed (though I haven’t seen any tix or visa charges yet so I’m getting a bit concerned). This friend is a die-hard metal head so I was expecting at least a snide remark if not a full on verbal assault about my musical tastes. But it never came. I asked him how he could show so much restraint and he said that it really wasn’t funny. He told me that every woman that he knows has an affinity for the boy band of their time. For some it’s The Beatles or Duran Duran. For others it’s NKOTB, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Jonas Brothers… the list goes on. It’s just how it is.
I never thought about it before, but he is SO right!
Way back in 88-89 I was 12-13. I was THE target market for New Kids. I was a naïve, pubescent girl with a body full of raging and directionless hormones who navigated their way towards the handsome pop stars of the time. And friendships were born and built on our common obsessions—friendships that are still going strong today! We squealed over music videos, traded pictures and posters of our favourite “Kid”, went to concerts together, shared daydreams and fantasies about meeting the band and decided that they would all fall head over heals for each of us when the day finally came. Or at least think that we were pretty cool.
Those conversations led to other, more meaningful exchanges about our more personal whims and concerns: Body issues, unrequited crushes, family and friend drama, schoolwork problems, personal goals, big decisions, etc.
The time quickly came to replace my NKOTB posters with ones of Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails. This was right around the time that the CD replaced the cassette. I never replaced my New Kids tapes with CDs. The Boston boys faded away from my consciousness as my life got exceedingly more complicated. By 1992 I was dabbling in fairly standard teenage sin: going to rock festivals, reading Sylvia Plath, fronting a rock band, smoking, and dating guys that actually existed in my real life. However, most of the friendships that flourished with the rise of New Kids remained in tact. And some are even going strong now, 20 years later.
And now that I’m officially an adult (with no posters whatsoever on my bedroom wall), who comes back around? My childhood crushes: Donnie, Danny, Jon, Jordan and Joe.
I get to relive that precious time of adolescence with the same amazing ladies that were there with me all those years ago! How awesome is that? So people can roll their eyes and tease me if they like, but I am SOOO ready for round 2 or New Kids mania. Now let’s see if I can still do the choreography for The Right Stuff without pulling something…
Anyhoo…I want to say something about New Kids on the Block. I love them with a capital L. And I’m not ashamed to admit that. Since the new school reunion tour began I have been to 2 concerts and will be attending at least one more in June and I couldn’t be more delighted! I am thoroughly enjoying the new album and find myself chair dancing while driving home from work almost daily to ‘She’s da-da dirty dancing, dirty dancing….on me!’
I’m 33. I have a degree in Philosophy and Comparative Literature. I’m an Editor for a leading educational publishing company. I read the news. I pay my rent on time. I recycle, pay taxes, cook healthy meals and provide care and nurturing to two living creatures. And I get positively GIDDY over “Five bad brothers from the Bean Town land.”
I recently asked a well-connected acquaintance of mine if he could swing some floor seats for the Toronto concert in June. He agreed (though I haven’t seen any tix or visa charges yet so I’m getting a bit concerned). This friend is a die-hard metal head so I was expecting at least a snide remark if not a full on verbal assault about my musical tastes. But it never came. I asked him how he could show so much restraint and he said that it really wasn’t funny. He told me that every woman that he knows has an affinity for the boy band of their time. For some it’s The Beatles or Duran Duran. For others it’s NKOTB, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Jonas Brothers… the list goes on. It’s just how it is.
I never thought about it before, but he is SO right!
Way back in 88-89 I was 12-13. I was THE target market for New Kids. I was a naïve, pubescent girl with a body full of raging and directionless hormones who navigated their way towards the handsome pop stars of the time. And friendships were born and built on our common obsessions—friendships that are still going strong today! We squealed over music videos, traded pictures and posters of our favourite “Kid”, went to concerts together, shared daydreams and fantasies about meeting the band and decided that they would all fall head over heals for each of us when the day finally came. Or at least think that we were pretty cool.
Those conversations led to other, more meaningful exchanges about our more personal whims and concerns: Body issues, unrequited crushes, family and friend drama, schoolwork problems, personal goals, big decisions, etc.
The time quickly came to replace my NKOTB posters with ones of Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails. This was right around the time that the CD replaced the cassette. I never replaced my New Kids tapes with CDs. The Boston boys faded away from my consciousness as my life got exceedingly more complicated. By 1992 I was dabbling in fairly standard teenage sin: going to rock festivals, reading Sylvia Plath, fronting a rock band, smoking, and dating guys that actually existed in my real life. However, most of the friendships that flourished with the rise of New Kids remained in tact. And some are even going strong now, 20 years later.
And now that I’m officially an adult (with no posters whatsoever on my bedroom wall), who comes back around? My childhood crushes: Donnie, Danny, Jon, Jordan and Joe.
I get to relive that precious time of adolescence with the same amazing ladies that were there with me all those years ago! How awesome is that? So people can roll their eyes and tease me if they like, but I am SOOO ready for round 2 or New Kids mania. Now let’s see if I can still do the choreography for The Right Stuff without pulling something…
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