Everything Old is New Again

I don't know what magazines you have in your bathroom, but -due to Rob's work- we usually have the latest issues of Tiger Direct's catalog, Broadcast Supply Worldwide, and R&R. Because they report their charts to R&R, they also have an incredibly expensive subscription to the magazine. R&R is Radio and Records. The Christian reporting (in total) take up about 2 pages of the whole magazine and a small section of one of those pages is devoted to the sort of music they play on The Call.

So sometimes I read R&R and it has a lot of industry insider sorts of things. It can be kind of interesting. And in the most recent issue, there was a blurb about New Kids on the Block...who are coming back. Which I thought was kind of silly, because in my mind, they were a teeny-bopper band targeting a niche market...which I was a part of when I was in seventh grade! Personally I think their band name is kind of a hindrance for them. The youngest "Kid" is now 35 - the oldest is 40. But at this point, they can't really change it because it's an asset to them - their fame is linked to it. So they are kind of a like an actor who gets typecast. Nevertheless they are coming out with a new single called Summertime, which I listened to online and it sounds a lot like their old stuff. The words basically say (I'm paraphrasing), "Hey girl, I remember that summer we had together...back when we were so young...and now we aren't young anymore, but I like to reminisce about you...oh girl."

Oh girl...so that got me thinking about being in junior high. The New Kids were a big fad in my school and being 13, my school was the extent of my universe, so I had no idea if they were actually as "Big as the Beatles" or not. The trick to being involved in a fad is to be the first one in and the first one out, I only know that in retrospect, so I was a tag-a-long and didn't realize they were fading out until they weren't that popular anymore. I don't even remember if I really liked their music, but I did listen to it and buy their tapes (TAPES!!!!). It was the popular thing to do to have a favorite New Kid, so I picked a favorite, who wasn't really my favorite, but I picked one that was the favorite of most of my friends. (I was really original.)

Ah memories...well I figure I can't be the only mom who, while trying to dress her preschooler, says, "Put your hands in the air..." and can't help but add, "...and wave 'em like you just don't care!"