"Hey, hey, we're the Monkees!" Just watched the special on them (Yes! I was watching tv! That's how you know I'm really unwell) and found myself alternately wincing and grinning at the screen. I looooooooved the Monkees when I was 9. They were so funny, and weird, and cute to me then. I wish I could say I liked Mike the best, because Mike is definitely the coolest now that I see them again, but I was, in fact, fondest of Peter. Now I think they all look totally naff and embarrassing. Of course, that's how I feel about the 60's in general. I don't think of hippies, or politics, or important social movements. I think of the Monkees, and crappy hairstyles, and really scary makeup. Thank god I wasn't a baby boomer.
Actually, I think I am technically a baby boomer, having been born in 1957, but I don't have anything in common with people five years older than me. Or five years younger, either. Class of 1975: the lost generation! I graduated from high school hating all popular culture. I still cannot believe the 70's are being affectionately revived. Barfaroo. Polyester, stadium rock, and, um, really scary makeup. Thank god the 70's are over.
I did like part of the 70's. I loved ABBA. Okay? Let's just get that out front. I still like ABBA. In fact, I still like the Monkees. I really enjoy a danceable 3-minute pop song of any era. Disco was a bit baffling as a phenomenon, but I want you to know that I did go disco dancing. None of the guys ever wanted to dance with me. I probably radiated "bad dancer" vibes, but that was okay. I'd sit around and drink vodka sours and play backgammon with the other bad dancers while the lights strobed and the dresses glittered.
The very best part of the 70's was the end of them. Literally. I liked the onset of punk and new wave a lot. My kind of music. Life improved steadily after 1979, and I don't think it's stopped rolling yet. So I'm glad to get the chance to look back at my pop culture past and verify that it was, indeed, as hideous and embarrassing as I remembered. Sweet, though. It was such a goofy little part of the world, but it was most of what I knew. If only life were living in a house on Malibu and trying to make it in a band, eh? A charming fantasy. Shame about the makeup.