I miss my MTV

I miss my MTV. The original one where Vee Jays Nina Blackwood and Martha Quinn introduced the latest Police video and where British synth pop and west coast hair bands competed for air time. The one that played music. Good music. Unusual music. Interesting music. Fun music. Am I the only one who longs for the days when MTV stood for “MUSIC” television and not the “watered down, twenty-four hour, second-rate, reality TV” station?

Being in touch with the hits of the day will often define whether you are "in" or "out." A few weeks ago I cruised Main Street blaring the Pop 80s station on my satellite radio. It was a cheerful autumn afternoon and the sun warmed my cheeks through the windshield. So, naturally, I rolled down the windows and cranked the volume to 11. In my best shower voice, I crooned along with Def Leopard. “Pour Some Su-gar On Meeeeeeeey.” (I tried not to think much about what the lyrics actually meant.) There I was jamming along, bopping my head and tapping the steering wheel when I noticed a group of college kids on the corner laughing at the crazy old broad making a fool of herself in a minivan. Oh! My! God! That crazy old broad was me! I blushed, rolled up my window and turned the radio to the AM news channel.

I’m the first to admit that even when “cool” was the cool word to use, I was tepid at best. I could never pull off the Madonna "Material Girl" look and my powdered blue Member's Only Jacket was not nearly as exclusive as the name implied. But even so, I find myself a bit nostalgic for the days when I could read People Magazine’s “What’s Hot and What’s Not" quiz and not find me in every “Not” photo. - Honestly, I had no idea that pantyhose were passe! And in my defense, I only wore them because I forgot to shave my legs.

Even more than being cool, I miss the times when I could tune to the local FM station and recite the words to more than half the play list. Last time I listened to a pop channel the only thing that made any sense to me was a commercial for Lube Pro (Note to self, make appointment to have oil changed.) This point hit home recently when speaking with a newer attorney in our office. Megan is a recent graduate - attractive, intelligent and confident. I suspect she'll be my boss someday. During a raucous lunch attended by a boisterous group of lady lawyers, I mentioned the song "My Baby Takes the Morning Train." She gave me a blank stare. "Sheena Easton?" I said hopefully. Stare. "For Your Eyes Only? We got Tonight?" I queried with increasing desperation. Stare with stifled yawn. "Am I really THAT old?", I pleaded. She deftly changed the subject before I could corner her into opening up a can of reality on me. I'll be sure to thank her when she administers my performance review ten years from now.

Of course, its hard for me to be hip when the last concert I attended was either "Dora The Explorer on Ice" or “The Doodlebops! Live!” Although the poofy cotton candy hair and pink fluorescent tights that Dee Dee Doodle sported reminded me a tiny bit of the time I saw Poison at the Spectrum and Brett Michaels pranced about in a pink and black leopard print leotard. Unfortunately, the sad reality is, we don't listen to Twisted Sister in our house. We focus more on The Disney Princesses' Greatest Hits. Occasionally, I may get to listen to Hanna Montana or the Jonus Brothers. To be honest, I don’t mind so much hopping and dancing the Hokie Pokie with Beth (age 2) and singing “Ten Little Monkeys” with Emily (age 4) instead of blaring Aerosmith so loud that the house shakes. But I still yearn for the day that I find a familiar tune on MTV to help me feel an itsy bitsy bit hip again.

Maybe hipness is in the eye of the beholder. A few weeks ago as I drove Eric (age 7) home from ice skating, I heard him humming and singing softly to himself in the back of the car. “We got the beat, we got the beat, we got the beat…..”, he chanted. “Hey bud,” I asked, “What’s that song you're singing?” “Oh, just something that’s on my Kidz Bop CD that we got from McDonald’s.”, he replied, “It’s pretty cool.” I smiled and hummed along. It felt good to be cool again.

P.S. Megan - The song Eric was singing....it's by the Go Go's....in case you were wondering.