So, it was brought to my attention today that while I possess a rather sophisticated level of cultural literacy, my pop cultural literacy is deplorable. I basically might as well not have been born in the ’80s, because all I remember from my early youth is leggings and Mad About You. Haven’t seen it? That’s because you didn’t spend all of your time with adults who were totally comfortable letting their 7-year old watch a show about snarky intellectuals in a bizarre relationship. If there is a movie, book, band, or TV show I’m expected to know about, I probably don’t. Some exceptions: Goosebumps (the books) and the Spice Girls.
I did, however, know all the lyrics to “Streets of Laredo” when I was 5. My dad taught me.
Things I grew up on:
–ALL foreign films (Note: I did not know this was odd)
–Star Trek (Voyager and Deep Space Nine, mostly)
–Leon Russell, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Bobby Darin…
Yeah. I’m pretty cool. So, next time you make a Rugrats reference, or a joke about the Babysitter’s Club, please respect my total confusion. Thx.
This is why we are friend soulmates. Confession: I never actually read Goosebumps, but was a huge fan of the Edward Gorey-illustrated series of gothic mystery novels that John Bellairs wrote. The Letter, The Witch, and the Ring was excellent. Also was a little bit into show tunes. And saw Monty Python’s Meaning of Life at the age of seven. I did watch Rugrats but remember thinking it was stupid even at the time.
We’re just too damn hip for our own good, aren’t we?