A childhood pleasure revisited

Ihave changed a lot over the years. I can admit that with ease now, though before the thought of change terrified me. Sometimes it still does, but at least now I can understand that change is part of life and it doesn’t always mean a change for the worse. But still, while I have changed throughout the years many things about me have remained the same. For example – I still love with all my heart, I am still a fiercely loyal friend, I still procrastinate (hopefully that’ll change this year), I still stay up late at night, I still enjoy soft-serve ice cream, I still love to laugh, and I still am a fan of many of the things I enjoyed when I was young. As a matter of fact, I think it’s still enjoying these things that has kept me a child at heart.

I already wrote a column about these childhood addictions before (Care Bears, My Little Pony, et. al...) but I recently came across another youthful addiction I still enjoy to this day: The New Kids on the Block. Yup, you read that right, I was a huge fan of what I still consider the original boy band and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Or rather, I’m no longer ashamed to admit it. There was a time in my life when I was quiet about the things I liked that I didn’t think people would understand, but the older I got and the more confident I became in myself (thanks to the amazing influence of those I love) I have become less apologetic for who I am and the things I like. I can admit openly that I like things others may make fun of without caring what they think and I love the freedom that brings.

I’ll say it proudly: I love Spongebob, I adore the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and yes, I’m still a fan of NKOTB.

If my mother reads this I’m sure she’ll crack up because she knows better than anyone else how I obsessed over this band when I was a little girl. I was in love! When they released one of their first popular singles Please Don’t Go Girl, I must have played it a thousand times in our house. My cousin Sam and I were huge fans. I had all the merchandise – the towels, bedsheets, T-shirts and oh my God even the NKOTB special-edition dolls. It’s embarrassing but I don’t care, I had a lot of fun! Back then I was a little Joey McIntyre fan while my cousin Sam adored Jordan Knight. Looking back, I liked Joey because at 14 he was the only one I could have conceivably ended up with at the time (I was 10). Yes, practical even then. Now though, after having watched one of their concert DVDs, I have to add myself to the long list of Jordan fans. He’s an amazing performer and still looks awesome to this day.

I don’t think anything in my life could match the fervor of that addiction. The closest would have to be my love affair with tennis and ultimately Pete Sampras whom I think I idolized more than anything else. But my NKOTB phase was just crazy! I remember the time my cousin Sam and I (thank goodness she shared my passion) waited outside the video store in sub-zero weather to buy tickets to their concert. Our moms thought we were crazy but they humored us just the same and brought us at an ungodly to camp out outside the store. We sat outside in our thermal underwear and three layers of clothing, our animal-print woolen blankets, earmuffs and gloves while our moms waited in the car with the heater cranked up. They supported us but they weren’t crazy enough to risk frostbite.

Sam and I enjoyed every second of the concert, the great lunch and trip to FAO Schwartz before the show. It was a childhood memory I’ll never forget and just thinking about it still makes me smile.

What brought on this sudden rekindled passion for the now defunct (well, defunct for quite some time actually) band? Well, while many of the New Kids have gone on to do their own thing – Joey or "Joe" still sings and Donnie acts (I have no idea where Danny or Jon are) – Jordan still performs as well but not only does he sing new stuff he still revives the songs that made NKOTB a cult classic including Step by Step, Hanging Tough, Cover Girl, and so many others. While he released a solo album prior to this one in 2004, he released Jordan Knight Performs New Kids on the Block the Remix album and pleased former New Kids fans with remixes of the songs they love. Last year, 2006, he released the album "Love Songs," which quickly gained popularity among his fans.

What brought about my sudden blast from the past was his 2004 album. My boyfriend burned me a copy and I’ve been listening to it non-stop. Apart from loving the songs, I am reminded of a really great time in my young life.

My boyfriend asked me: if you happened to catch a Jordan Knight show now would you still scream and go crazy?

Heck, yeah!