Can't go back

I am sitting here at work and I glance up at one of the many TV's in the office. We are tuned in to some morning show and I see some guys in their 30's sining and dancing for a crowd of crazed suburban mom types. I watch a bit more to see that these guys are "New Kids on the Block", the boy band from years ago attempting a comeback. I am disdainful yet intrigued. Why do these women regress and act like teen agers at the sight of these guys all grown up whose careers went other directions than the stars they were when they were teens? I wonder if there is anything that would make me feel that way. I am not sure there ever was anything that ever made me feel that way when I was a teenager.

I do remember when I was a preteen and my favorite radio station made a huge announcement that it was going off the air. I was heartbroken. I cried, I prayed to God to keep the station alive. I was passionate about this. Then I found out it was all a publicity stunt. Instead of being happy, I was very angry. How could they do this to me? They toyed with my emotions. I think this affected my ability to ever get so passionate about anything again. Well, except for real live boys that I knew. I never went crazy for a band, movie star or cause after the radio station fake out.

So back to the "New Kids on the Block" who now should be called the "Thirty Somethings in Lofts". I see this comeback thing happening more and more. Sure the Stones and the Who have been around for ages but they never stopped. Debbie Gibson went on to other things, will she try and make a comeback? What about Tiffany? I don't think their fans would be as rabid as these ladies I saw on TV today. Maybe being a journalist and actually having contact with celebs has jaded me too. I met Def Leppard about 15 years ago at the beginning of their decline (we didn't know that then). I was struck at how small they were, pale and pasty too. Nice for the most part except Joe Elliot who was in a bad mood. We went to the after show party which was extremely tame by rock and roll standards.

I guess I don't believe in nostalgic comebacks. I believe that we all put our pants on one legs at a time. I believe that while some folks have magnetic personalities and a larger than life presence, they are just like you and me.