Twenty years ago, I would drag myself out of bed to catch their latest appearance on the Today show. Groggy and dreary-eyed, I'd impatiently wait out the drab discussions of politics, financial futures and Jane Pauley's kitchy comments on fashion. Finally....there they were! New Kids on the Block! They looked SO good! Gorgeous as ever!
That was twenty years ago. Since then, I've gotten married, had kids, gone through a divorce, dealt with the death of my parents...and a college education...and a career...or six. Yet in the back of my closet, like that hideous bridesmaid dress than won't die, there sits The Box.
Black Sharpie marker has been scrawled across the top of The Box in a script I barely recognize. "NKOTB." Inside The Box are tour photo books, a complete set of every picture I ever took at their concerts (despite that pesky little sign at every venue that read "Recording devices of any kind are prohibited"), pins...pins, pins, pins and more pins, posters - thousands of them according to my last "tally sheet," tshirts, trading cards and even shoestrings. I was a complete fanatic. I was. I'm still a fan. I admit it. It's tough, though. Damn, it's tough.
Why?
Simply put? Because I care too damn much what people think.
Because my relationship with the New Kids on the Block was a love/hate relationship back then. I gave them devotion, loyalty and unconditional love. In return, they got me teased and ridiculed every day of my teenage life. I don't know of a single fan that didn't get teased immercifully. We heard all the fag jokes. We rolled our eyes at all the rumors. We defended our boys at every turn. We defended ourselves, too.
Boys hated NKOTB and girls competed for them. And we were a seriously competitive group. Wow. The race riots of LA had nothing on crazed fans. But I stuck in there. I listened to their music, bought their video tapes, wore their t-shirts, collected their trading cards. I spent $40 a month on magazines to ensure I hadn't missed a single poster. I was loyal, damnit! We all were!
Then things started to change. Music stopped getting played on the radio. Videos weren't making the MTV countdowns. Their faces were being replaced with different ones on the covers of Bop and Teen Beat. And slowly....the blaze turned to a small flicker...and then it blew out altogether.
They broke up.
Some of them stayed in the "Biz" - doing Broadway or movies, producing music for other artists; there were even a couple of solo album attempts. One of left show business altogether and ended up in real estate development.
I can't answer for anyone else, but I felt betrayed. We gave them everything we had....and they left us. That was hard for me to swallow, even if I was old enough to know better.
A few months ago, I got an email from a friend of mine. "OH my God, you're not going to BELIEVE this! Go check this out!! www.nkotb.com" Was she kidding? I went to the website. It was a single page site with nothing but a countdown-type clock and a groovy little tune playing in the background. Was this some asshole's idea of a joke? They broke up. They've got their own lives now. What is this all about?
My curiosity partnered up with that old-time devotion and I signed up for the newsletter. A few weeks later, I, along with the rest of the nation, heard the rumors....a comeback...a new album...a reunion tour.
I went from 33 to 14 all over again.
I went to the website again yesterday and read some of the new information that got posted. I ran across this quote:
That was twenty years ago. Since then, I've gotten married, had kids, gone through a divorce, dealt with the death of my parents...and a college education...and a career...or six. Yet in the back of my closet, like that hideous bridesmaid dress than won't die, there sits The Box.
Black Sharpie marker has been scrawled across the top of The Box in a script I barely recognize. "NKOTB." Inside The Box are tour photo books, a complete set of every picture I ever took at their concerts (despite that pesky little sign at every venue that read "Recording devices of any kind are prohibited"), pins...pins, pins, pins and more pins, posters - thousands of them according to my last "tally sheet," tshirts, trading cards and even shoestrings. I was a complete fanatic. I was. I'm still a fan. I admit it. It's tough, though. Damn, it's tough.
Why?
Simply put? Because I care too damn much what people think.
Because my relationship with the New Kids on the Block was a love/hate relationship back then. I gave them devotion, loyalty and unconditional love. In return, they got me teased and ridiculed every day of my teenage life. I don't know of a single fan that didn't get teased immercifully. We heard all the fag jokes. We rolled our eyes at all the rumors. We defended our boys at every turn. We defended ourselves, too.
Boys hated NKOTB and girls competed for them. And we were a seriously competitive group. Wow. The race riots of LA had nothing on crazed fans. But I stuck in there. I listened to their music, bought their video tapes, wore their t-shirts, collected their trading cards. I spent $40 a month on magazines to ensure I hadn't missed a single poster. I was loyal, damnit! We all were!
Then things started to change. Music stopped getting played on the radio. Videos weren't making the MTV countdowns. Their faces were being replaced with different ones on the covers of Bop and Teen Beat. And slowly....the blaze turned to a small flicker...and then it blew out altogether.
They broke up.
Some of them stayed in the "Biz" - doing Broadway or movies, producing music for other artists; there were even a couple of solo album attempts. One of left show business altogether and ended up in real estate development.
I can't answer for anyone else, but I felt betrayed. We gave them everything we had....and they left us. That was hard for me to swallow, even if I was old enough to know better.
A few months ago, I got an email from a friend of mine. "OH my God, you're not going to BELIEVE this! Go check this out!! www.nkotb.com" Was she kidding? I went to the website. It was a single page site with nothing but a countdown-type clock and a groovy little tune playing in the background. Was this some asshole's idea of a joke? They broke up. They've got their own lives now. What is this all about?
My curiosity partnered up with that old-time devotion and I signed up for the newsletter. A few weeks later, I, along with the rest of the nation, heard the rumors....a comeback...a new album...a reunion tour.
I went from 33 to 14 all over again.
I went to the website again yesterday and read some of the new information that got posted. I ran across this quote:
"Now that the five Kids are standing together and planning to hit the road with a new show, simply reviving the old hits isn’t enough. “No, I want this to be redemption — but not for us,” Wahlberg explains. “I want it to be redemption for the fans. I want them to feel entertained, to feel treated to something special. And I want them to be so satisfied by what they get that they’ll realize they weren’t crazy all those years ago — that they put their heart into the right place back then and that it was worth the wait to come back again.”
Redemption.
They were paying attention.
They did notice us.
They did care.
Huh.
This morning, my alarm went off shortly before 7am and I rolled over and clicked on the remote. Groggy and dreary-eyed, I impatiently waited out the drab discussions of politics, commentary about the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr's death and Meredith Viera's kitchy comments on finances. Finally....there they were! New Kids on the Block! They STILL looked good! Gorgeous as ever! The years have been kind to them.
Guess what they say is true: Everything old is new again...
One thing they forgot to mention: I'm too old for this shit. *yawn*
They were paying attention.
They did notice us.
They did care.
Huh.
This morning, my alarm went off shortly before 7am and I rolled over and clicked on the remote. Groggy and dreary-eyed, I impatiently waited out the drab discussions of politics, commentary about the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr's death and Meredith Viera's kitchy comments on finances. Finally....there they were! New Kids on the Block! They STILL looked good! Gorgeous as ever! The years have been kind to them.
Guess what they say is true: Everything old is new again...
One thing they forgot to mention: I'm too old for this shit. *yawn*
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