Long live Aqua Net and junk drawer arenas! And here’s hoping the booger eating kids have made peace their unforced errors.
P.S. Worth noting that the house kitty corner to us had a pool, and I was never once invited over. Nothing says “fomo” like hearing the sounds of a neighborhood pool party from the street.
Kevin--I feel your middle-middle class pool pain! That is some serious harsh barely right there. I am sorry that my mom didn't make you go over there with your suit and towel and orange slices and invite yourself for a swim. :) And if Debbie Gibson can shake the arena, there is hope for all!!! :)
Can't say I was listening to Debbie Gibson, (we were traveling in China Tibet and Nepal at the time) but I do actually remember who she was. I believe David Baerwald (David and David)" Boomtown" and Hiatt's Bring the Family were more on my turntable....
Tom: I want to say that if you had been a 12-year-old girl and theatre dork you would have been soooo into Debbie Gibson. But we both know that's not true. Joni on your turntable even then. :)
I'm so glad Jessica had that extra ticket. And that your parents let you go! Probably that exact same summer, some of the older kids from the Bye Bye Birdie cast had an extra ticket and invited me to see...Richard Marx! But my mom wouldn't let me go. I was so devastated even Debbie Gibson couldn't help me. That night, I needn't something darker. Something like Tiffany.
Your line about Jessica having one hairstyle at any one time is LOL.
Awww! Thanks Jeff! You are really kind. I'm sorry you missed the Marx (Uggh! Really? I apologize for nothing!!!!). Sounds like Tiffany pulled you through..and if you had happened to see HER live you could have also gone for an Orange Julius later on. The 80s--what a time to be alive! :)
Found you through Kevin's substack and the Billy Joel mention, so stopping by to say hi. I have no Debbie Gibson opinions, but I've been a Billy Joel devotee forever and ever, and I'm so very glad that the snootier elements of the rock/pop world have finally caught up to how brilliant he is. He deserves every bit of ihs late -in-life resurgence!
I was fortunate enough to see him live several times, and outside of Paul McCartney, Billy's far and away the best concert I've ever been to.
Hi Faith! Awesome to hear from you. Kevin is one of my favorite music writers here (and super fab human!). I love B. Joe-el, too. He’s solid live and his lyricism is often underrated I think. He comes out of a writing tradition like Springsteen and Mellencamp that are narrative-driven. I’m sure some think that’s outdated or trite, but I think it’s part of what gives them staying power. Sounds like you’ve seen some amazing shows! 💥
A delightful reverie,Sheila. Though my youth was about thirty years earlier, the hairstyles different, the brand name otherwise, I still remember well the adolescent social scene. Those were difficult years, trying to keep up with the rich kids, trying to figure out one's place of comfort. Great post!
A fun read with crossover appeal to me personally. My musical theater loving wife has seen Billy Joel more times in concert than any other artist and can still belt Donny Osmond and The Partridge Family songs at random times, so I can totally see her joining you at a Debbie Gibson mall show. That's not a diss by any means, although our music tastes more frequently diverge than converge.
I grew up with a 1950s music loving father on a steady diet of Elvis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Singing Elvis songs badly won you zero cool points in a 1970s middle school on the Texas Gulf Coast, and my adolescent bubbles were popped frequently. Fortunately I found "Boomtown," "Bring the Family," X and The Replacements, among many others, and have continued on a steady diet of music (and photography) exploration. Glad you have, too.
Glenn, my friend..it sounds like you have done JUST FINE! Aren't music tastes and musical formations so strange and wonderful and weird? It's whatever speaks to us, right..and also when. The 80s music that defined my adolescent (more hair rock and mainstream pop like Gibson, but also Janet Jackson and solo Peter Gabriel etc..) years doesn't necessarily have the same hold over me as things I'm listening to now. That's why you need LOTS of music storage space! Spin on my friend....
That was great! Such a slice of life from the craptacularness of the late 80s. Makes me wanna dig out my old 8th grade yearbook :)
I can't say I was a fan of Ms Gibsons work; Motley Crue and Guns N Roses were more my jam back then. But she was undeniably very talented and also cute as hell which didn't hurt.
HA! The 80s were a glorious time for the pop-rock spectrum. I was also into the hair metal bands--Motley Crue, Poison, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith...basically whatever was making the rounds between Mtv and Top 40 radio. The whole decade was a unique and underrated (I think) time of so much pop culture weirdness! Though I do not miss the curling iron and hair spray. No. Thanks so much for reading!
Thanks Elizabeth! That means a lot to me--truly. I will clink to those bubbles absolutely--and even more so for those tender girl hearts...we do not have it easy. Cough drop perfume helps..maybe :) X!
Given my life long HUGE U2 fandom (since the early, early MTV days, I've seen them 17 or 18 times), some of my friends find it HIGHLY amusing that my first concert was Barry Manilow.
Long live Aqua Net and junk drawer arenas! And here’s hoping the booger eating kids have made peace their unforced errors.
P.S. Worth noting that the house kitty corner to us had a pool, and I was never once invited over. Nothing says “fomo” like hearing the sounds of a neighborhood pool party from the street.
Kevin--I feel your middle-middle class pool pain! That is some serious harsh barely right there. I am sorry that my mom didn't make you go over there with your suit and towel and orange slices and invite yourself for a swim. :) And if Debbie Gibson can shake the arena, there is hope for all!!! :)
Can't say I was listening to Debbie Gibson, (we were traveling in China Tibet and Nepal at the time) but I do actually remember who she was. I believe David Baerwald (David and David)" Boomtown" and Hiatt's Bring the Family were more on my turntable....
Tom: I want to say that if you had been a 12-year-old girl and theatre dork you would have been soooo into Debbie Gibson. But we both know that's not true. Joni on your turntable even then. :)
I'm so glad Jessica had that extra ticket. And that your parents let you go! Probably that exact same summer, some of the older kids from the Bye Bye Birdie cast had an extra ticket and invited me to see...Richard Marx! But my mom wouldn't let me go. I was so devastated even Debbie Gibson couldn't help me. That night, I needn't something darker. Something like Tiffany.
Your line about Jessica having one hairstyle at any one time is LOL.
Awww! Thanks Jeff! You are really kind. I'm sorry you missed the Marx (Uggh! Really? I apologize for nothing!!!!). Sounds like Tiffany pulled you through..and if you had happened to see HER live you could have also gone for an Orange Julius later on. The 80s--what a time to be alive! :)
Sheila, I totally forgive you for what happened between me and my mom. 100% on the Orange Julius. Side of Reese’s Pieces, please!
HA!! Absolutely!!!
Found you through Kevin's substack and the Billy Joel mention, so stopping by to say hi. I have no Debbie Gibson opinions, but I've been a Billy Joel devotee forever and ever, and I'm so very glad that the snootier elements of the rock/pop world have finally caught up to how brilliant he is. He deserves every bit of ihs late -in-life resurgence!
I was fortunate enough to see him live several times, and outside of Paul McCartney, Billy's far and away the best concert I've ever been to.
Hi Faith! Awesome to hear from you. Kevin is one of my favorite music writers here (and super fab human!). I love B. Joe-el, too. He’s solid live and his lyricism is often underrated I think. He comes out of a writing tradition like Springsteen and Mellencamp that are narrative-driven. I’m sure some think that’s outdated or trite, but I think it’s part of what gives them staying power. Sounds like you’ve seen some amazing shows! 💥
I'm not sure masterful storytelling is ever outdated or trite. In fact, I'm sure it's not!
I agree!! Some people I run across think Billy Joel is kind of pedestrian, those people are bots. Clearly! 😉
well, also a lot of people don't know his album cuts, as is sadly true for most artists of substance. They just judge by Uptown Girl.
Completely true!
A delightful reverie,Sheila. Though my youth was about thirty years earlier, the hairstyles different, the brand name otherwise, I still remember well the adolescent social scene. Those were difficult years, trying to keep up with the rich kids, trying to figure out one's place of comfort. Great post!
Thanks Sharron! The more things change…as the saying goes. Here’s to all that hair-no matter the decade! ♥️
A fun read with crossover appeal to me personally. My musical theater loving wife has seen Billy Joel more times in concert than any other artist and can still belt Donny Osmond and The Partridge Family songs at random times, so I can totally see her joining you at a Debbie Gibson mall show. That's not a diss by any means, although our music tastes more frequently diverge than converge.
I grew up with a 1950s music loving father on a steady diet of Elvis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Singing Elvis songs badly won you zero cool points in a 1970s middle school on the Texas Gulf Coast, and my adolescent bubbles were popped frequently. Fortunately I found "Boomtown," "Bring the Family," X and The Replacements, among many others, and have continued on a steady diet of music (and photography) exploration. Glad you have, too.
Glenn, my friend..it sounds like you have done JUST FINE! Aren't music tastes and musical formations so strange and wonderful and weird? It's whatever speaks to us, right..and also when. The 80s music that defined my adolescent (more hair rock and mainstream pop like Gibson, but also Janet Jackson and solo Peter Gabriel etc..) years doesn't necessarily have the same hold over me as things I'm listening to now. That's why you need LOTS of music storage space! Spin on my friend....
That was great! Such a slice of life from the craptacularness of the late 80s. Makes me wanna dig out my old 8th grade yearbook :)
I can't say I was a fan of Ms Gibsons work; Motley Crue and Guns N Roses were more my jam back then. But she was undeniably very talented and also cute as hell which didn't hurt.
HA! The 80s were a glorious time for the pop-rock spectrum. I was also into the hair metal bands--Motley Crue, Poison, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith...basically whatever was making the rounds between Mtv and Top 40 radio. The whole decade was a unique and underrated (I think) time of so much pop culture weirdness! Though I do not miss the curling iron and hair spray. No. Thanks so much for reading!
"Lost In Your Eyes" for me!
I may or may not have used my curling iron as a mic for that one.....a lot. :) And she did go on to do a ton of musical theatre so.......:)
I loved this so much. Especially the last line. Here's to bubbles. Especially the ones that protect adolescents for as along as possible.
Thanks Elizabeth! That means a lot to me--truly. I will clink to those bubbles absolutely--and even more so for those tender girl hearts...we do not have it easy. Cough drop perfume helps..maybe :) X!
Given my life long HUGE U2 fandom (since the early, early MTV days, I've seen them 17 or 18 times), some of my friends find it HIGHLY amusing that my first concert was Barry Manilow.
HAAAAAAA!!! Wow!! That is....a paradox? I love it. Barry is legend and class A musician all the way. He and Bette 4EVA!