So, here it is, a Sunday morning and I've been up since just before 5am because that's when Phoenix got up for work. I had told her, "Oh yeah, I'll go back to sleep this morning" after taking her to work, but who're we kidding? That totally didn't happen! Instead, I watched old reruns of Roseanne. Who doesn't love Roseanne? And to that one person who said, "I don't!" to you, I say, "Shove it!" The show was great! This morning, I got to watch the episode where they mimicked Gilligan's Island and then the one where the REAL Becky returned and Roseanne was like, "Where the hell have you been!?" *grins* Classic!!
After that, I watched a Biography on David Bowie...Who doesn't love David Bowie? Again, to you, the one person saying, "I don't!" I'm telling you, "SHOVE IT!" and get off my blog! *grins* Just kidding! Smooches! Seriously though, David Bowie is an amazing artist. Even if you're not all into Ziggy Stardust or whatever, he rocks. Even as an actor, he's great. If you don't believe me, go watch Labyrinth. That movie is AWESOME! (And yes, I sang "Awesome" right there like a gay man!) David Bowie was great as the Goblin King. But I digress...
So, there I am, watching this Biography and here comes this guy talking about Bowie in the 80s and how great he was when he came up with Let's Dance...Who's the guy, you ask? None other than Kurt Loder. Say what? Oh yeah, Kurt Loder of MTV fame. Dude, he's the face of MTV News. He looks seriously old though...I'm not sure when the episode of Biography was filmed, but he's old. Kurt Loder in my head though still looks like he did back in like 1990 when I was probably far too young to really understand MTV, but watched nonetheless. I suddenly feel old...That was 20 years ago. *runs off to cry*
Speaking of MTV though, what the fuck were people thinking with that channel? Never mind that they're going to drop the "Music Television" part of their programming because they NEVER play music anymore...Seriously though, what the eff!? It was brilliant to have music television. I mean, where else would little kids like me in the eighties get to dance to Boy George and Cyndi Lauper videos in my living room? *Wonders, "Did I really just admit that?"* Where else would I discover my love of Depeche Mode and The Cure? Where else would I get to watch Video Deejays like Julie Brown and Downtown Julie Brown? Why the hell was the black Julie Brown known as "Downtown"? I suspect a bit of racism...I'm just saying...And where else would we meet a nerdy veejay with dark rimmed glasses who called herself, Kennedy? Her real name, by the way, is Lisa...I'd probably go by Kennedy too. I've often considered going by my middle name too. I'm just not sure that people would really go for calling me, Tawanda. *shifty eyes* Just kidding! That's not my middle name. And it doesn't matter what it really is because no way in hell would I choose to go by an old lady's name, which is exactly what my middle name is! Moving on...
As I watched this episode of Biography, I was struck by how much things have changed over the last couple of decades...I mean, MTV used to be the coolest channel ever. I think the only two channels I knew on my television set as a teenager were MTV and VH1 and I only ever watched VH1 for Stand-Up Spotlight (Yes, hosted by Rosie Oh-D. Yeah, Rosie and I go way to my living room when I was like 13 and far too young to watch stand up comics, but already dreamed of being one!) and Pop-Up Video (Which was AWESOME!). MTV showed the best music videos from all my favorite bands like Nirvana, Green Day, Pearl Jam (Jeremy was such a disturbing video), The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, and oh my God, I could go on for days here. I remember watching a Marilyn Manson video for Sweet Dreams and wished I had never seen it. What a creepy dude! Now, I don't mind his stuff at all and will listen from time to time, but he's still creepy. OH! How about Henry Rollins' video, Liar. OMG! WTF!? The devil was on my television set. And I think the first time I ever saw this video was at like 5am when I was in my living room, blow drying my hair before going to school. And yes, I had to blow dry my hair in the living room so as not to wake the devil that slept in the room next to the bathroom. And no, for once, I am not talking about my younger sister, but about my father. I think I actually changed the channel until the video ended because I couldn't stand looking at Henry Rollins. Weird guy. How about a little Soundgarden? What the hell was up with the little girl wasting the ice cream by regurgitating it? Or barbecuing Barbie? So weird...
Then MTV came out with the Real World and we were all glued to the television set. Dude, a bunch of strangers in a house, being taped...What happens when people stop being nice and start being real? Oh yeah, we know EXACTLY what happens--DRAMA! I've got one word for you all--PUCK. That guy was the biggest dick ever, but we all knew who he was! And still, the Real World draws me in and makes me want to watch these idiots. If I were on the show, I'd be the one who would go crazy and butcher all those cheating, lying bastards while they sleep. *grins* Just kidding! Still, you know those people are freaking crazy. The Real World changed TV though because they realized, "Hey...People like watching other people..." And then one day, MTV stopped playing music. Perhaps this is what Don McLean was talking about in the line from that famous song, American Pie--The day the music died...Probably not, but whatever...It's true, nonetheless...
I was at Barnes and Noble the other night, writing away--And yes, I know, I said I was going to boycott them. I need to find a new place, but I'm a creature of habit! Anyway, I was waiting for Phoenix to pick out a new phone from Verizon, which is apparently a two-hour process and my laptop began to die. (It's my fault, I had like 900 things going at once on my laptop...Normally, it lasts a long time when not plugged in.) I waited until I was down to like 15 minutes before shutting it down. I had written quite a lot before I stopped though, which was nice. Anyway, I decided to wander the store...I went to check on the gay section to make sure it wasn't now non-existent. It was still there, but I swear there are even less books now...What are us gays supposed to read? And if you go look at the books they do have, well, let's just say they're not--ahem--something you could read in front of Granny. I'm just saying...So, I left the section because I don't want to get caught looking at those books and I stumbled into the "music" section of the store. *laughs wildly* That was a joke. No, seriously. I remember purchasing CDs from Barnes and Noble before and they used to have a huge section...Now they have one short aisle with all the CDs from A-Z on one side. I was completely taken aback. Remember back in the day when we could go to The Wherehouse or Music Plus and spend forever looking at CDs? Was that just me? No, it couldn't have been...I know, music has gone digital, but it's not the same. I swear that it wasn't all that long ago that my mom had a record player and I'd beg to listen to her Berlin, Pleasure Victim, album. (Yes, I know...My mom never should've let me listen to that stuff!) I remember the pops and hisses the record made and it was awesome. Then CDs came and you could listen to music without the shitty sound of albums and tapes...It was all so clear and amazing until someone played Frisbee with the disc, that is. Now, we all download our music and there are nearly no CDs left to buy...What happens if our computers die? How will we listen to the music?
It's hard to believe things have changed so much in the last thirty years, but there you have it...I even had an 8-track when I was a kid. It was The Smurfs and I couldn't tell you much about it, but I remember it. I also had a few albums that I listened to like Micheal Jackson's Thriller. Then I had more tapes than I knew what to do with...And I remember when my walkman took a crap and ate some of my favorite tapes. Then I got CDs...The first one I ever bought was The Cure, Show. Next came Green Day. Weird, huh? Those don't even go together. And then I discovered downloading music and I downloaded like a champ...Music and everything has changed so much. What happened to Martha Quinn? Or Adam Curry? This was back when music was ruler of all the universe...Fuck, I feel old...I should go put on my denture cream and take the curlers out of my hair...One last thing...Here's a video to make you all remember when music was cool and music videos rocked.
Just one more...
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