Pop Goes the Culture

In yet another triumph of trivia over substance, today's major discussion had to do with the relative ubiquitousness of pop music and the power of nostalgia. Or, in the teenage vernacular, "Like, who did you think was hot when you were a kid?"

After I got done with the hysterical laughter produced by these wet-behind-the-ears, 14-17 year olds referring to their pasts as 'when we were kids', I listened to the discussion. The names being thrown around were a blast from my past, as well. Hanson, Spice Girls, Alanis Morissette, Electric Slide, the Macarena....with a few exceptions, the list was mostly a paean to mediocrity. Soon, N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys was thrown into the mix, along with a few references to SNL sketches like the old David Spade-Adam Sandler chestnut, the Gap girls, and the Tri Delta sorority sister played by Melanie Hutsell.

The discussion took a heated turn when they began to debate whose pop culture touchstone was the coolest. Susan announced a class poll, and on the board wrote "Hanson" and "Spice Girls". "Okay, " she announced. "I need a show of hands...which of these do you think is the coolest?"

Which, to me, is tantamount to asking which level of Dante's hell one would like to occupy for all eternity.

So I put the question to you, my peers and betters. "Like, who did you think was hot when you were a kid?" From the sublime to the ridiculous, I want to know. Email me.