Last night I watched the episode of VH-1�s Bands Reunited where they try to get The New Kids on the Block back together. I squirmed in my chair as they showed clips from the band�s heyday, as these clips brought back all kinds of memories. You see, I was a New Kids fan. There, I said it. And if I�m going down, I�m taking someone with me, so I�ll also add this: so was Lucy. In fact, our mutual adoration for those �5 Bad Brothers From the Beantown Land� is one of the things that strengthened and cemented our friendship. Our shared embarrassment from those years still provides gallons of laughter to this day. When we were 15, we�d write each other notes during school and hand them off between classes. I wish I still had some of those notes to read and laugh at, but I think it�s probably best that they were destroyed. I know they were pretty much full of ridiculous talk about the boys. Also, Lucy and I had our own nicknames. She was a Jordan fan, so she was �Lucdan Right.� I had started out as a Jonathan fan, but moved on to Joey before nicknames were given, so I became �Pamseph.� I don�t remember what my last name was. I�ll have to ask Lucy. Anyway, we�d get together and make these ridiculous videos that we were going to send to the guys (thank GOD we never did). The videos would be an hour long and would consist of us singing and dancing and blabbing on and on and on. We�d even throw in stupid fake commercials. The height of the whole video would be when we would �perform� New Kids songs. Oh, we�d sing along and do the dance moves. It was frightening. Oh God, and the outfits � oh, the outfits. I remember having on these pre-ripped jeans in one so I could look all badass and Lucy had on shorts and white opaque pantyhose. Scary. The worst part? The video camera we used to make the videos used mini-tapes, and not long after we made the videos that camera died. It was replaced with one that used full-size VHS tapes, so we never got around to taping over those monstrosities. I still have the damn things. If I ever got into some freak accident and people were going through my personal effects, I would forever be known and remembered for dancing around like a jackass to My Favorite Girl. [�Oh whoa oh oh you�re my favorite girl. (Don�t you know)� AAAGHHH!]

Oh, and it gets worse. I was a freak about my New Kids pictures. My room was covered, and when I ran out of room, I moved things down to the basement. I took over one whole section of the basement with my picture �art.� And oh yes, it was an art form. I was so meticulous about the appearance of my pictures. Everything was so balanced and matched up � I even used a ruler. A RULER, people. And I never repeated any pictures. They were all different. I had something like 1500 pictures hanging up. Oh man, Bop, The Big Bopper, and Teen Beat got a LOT of my money in those days. And remember when I said that it gets worse? Oh yes. My parents are friends with some people who work at a local news station. When the station was going to do a story about a local jewelry company that was going to be manufacturing New Kids jewelry, they thought of interviewing a fan. And guess who my parents� friends thought of? That�s right, I was on the news with my pictures. Under my name on the local news was the title, �New Kids Fan.� Gah. The funniest part about the whole interview is that I�m hardly in it � thankfully. My poor mom got wrangled into answering a couple of questions and ends up making up the bulk of the story. Her title? �Fan�s Mom.� My mom provides what has become a legendary moment of television in my household. The story starts off with me pointing around to some pictures, mumbling about something and then there is a quick cut to my mom, who announces, �I think she�s nuts.� It is CLASSIC. Now, THAT can be shown in the case of a freak accident. None of the footage before it, though. Just my mom telling the state that she thinks I�m a nutjob. Awesome.

Alas, but the shame does not end there. Come on, now. I am talking about Shame here, with a capital �S.� A few months later, the New Kids were going to be performing a live Pay-Per-View Concert. At that time, it was the most ordered pay-per-view event ever. Millions tuned in to see the boys, and most likely scream along at home in their living rooms. (And let me just state for the record here, as I have before: Lucy and I have never been screamers. I just don�t understand the point. You give a �Woo!� if you�re excited. That�s it. There is no need to practice for your desired career in the horror movie industry at a concert.) Anyhoo, so the concert? Well, the boys wanted to do it close to home, so they held it in Providence, a mere fifteen minutes from where I lived. Lucky for us, another family friend ran another local concert venue and was able to score me and Lucy some prime tickets. So now, not only was I embarrassed on local television, but now I had the privilege of being on national television, standing in the fifth row of a New Kids on the Block concert. And the image of me that will forever be immortalized on video? In one of the cuts to the audience, you see me standing there, bopping around with my finger inexplicably in the air, dressed in a white t-shirt with big, bold letters that says �In Yo Face.�

[shudder]

Thankfully, not too long after that concert, Lucy and I pretty much outgrew the New Kids. I think once we turned 16 and were able to DRIVE ourselves to one of the concerts, it was time to move on. And happily, we bailed long before the transition to �NKOTB.� But the shame still lives on in photos and videos. Forget running for public office for either one of us � inevitably someone would unearth my proud �In Yo Face� moment and splash it all over the papers. I don�t even think the �But I was young and impressionable� excuse would get me out of that one.

But there is a bright side to all of this, and it came courtesy of VH-1�s Bands Reunited the other night: Thank GOD I got out when I did, or else I could have been one of those people at the end of the show who are still mega-fans in 2004, holding homemade signs about the New Kids and begging for them to reunite. I�d give them a break if it was for the camp value, but no. These people were diehards. And when one of the members of the band won�t even appear on camera because he doesn�t want to relive his past? That�s not a good thing. But these girls were undeterred - �It would just mean so much to me if they would do this for the fans. I don�t think they know how much it would mean to me!!!�

Now that right there? SHAME. I think I got off pretty easy.

Comments? Sign the book!

before & after





2007-09-26 - Follow Me!
2006-09-30 - Site Move & Favorite Entries
2006-09-25 - Evil Easter Bunnies & Rock Climbing!
2006-09-22 - Shameful-Purchase Hiding & A New Dentist Plan
2006-09-19 - Birthday Picture/Video Diary & The Wheelmobile





Copyright 2003-2006 by Sockgirlie. Stealing is wrong.