Let me bring you back to the subject
You're packed in your stack,
Especially in the back,
Brother, wanna thank your mother
For a butt like that.
Can I get some fries with that shake-shake booty?
If looks could kill,
You would be an Uzi.
You're a shotgun: bang!
What's up with that thang?
I wanna know, how does it hang?
-Salt-N-Pepa, "Shoop," 1993
The above lyrics will not be on the Literature GRE. Too bad, since they are forever lodged in my memory. Ditto many, many mediocre pop songs circa 1995-1999, my high school years. Judge not, hipsters: I grew up in rural splendor, nestled in the Rocky Mountains. We didn't get the Internet at home until maybe 1997, and even then, my parents weren't about to let me bandy their credit card about the 'net, purchasing the cool music I had read about in Seventeen. That meant that I bought CDs at Wal-Mart and through BMG. Ah, BMG, how I loved your "Overlooked Masterpieces" section, with its recommendations of The Boy with the Arab Strap and Gram Parson's GP/Grievous Angel, possibly my first musical purchases that don't embarrass me today, aside from Beatles albums.
I listened to the Belle & Sebastian album over and over, yearning to be the sort of person who bought a Belle & Sebastian album, a person totally unlike everyone I knew in my wee corner of the world. I wonder what I thought I would be like at this age. I couldn't have conceived of it as a teenager, but I think my life now fulfills all those dreams I had of being savvy and well-read, engaged in interesting work, and surrounded by interesting people, places, food, art, music. A smart kid among smart kids. I know it's the story of a million urban transplants, but that doesn't make it any less satisfying. So, rock on, younger self, rock on.
Speaking of acceptable nerdery: I'm working on the late Victorians now, specifically, Thomas Hardy. I have to say, the 19th century has been pretty great, aside from the fact that many of these writers were so prolific that I can't fit all their important works onto an index card. Hello, Tennyson. It's been a relief to delve into a century whose culture/politics/social concerns are so familiar. Ruskin didn't like the effects of industrialization? Me neither! J.S. Mill arguing against the subjection of women? I'm right there with you, John!
Best of all, while the classical and Biblical references persist in the poetry of the 1800s, the days of Absalom and Achitophel are far behind us. That means you don't have to know the entire Bible and the intricacies of early-17th-century English politics in order to understand the poems. I applaud this truly shoop-worthy literary development.
Especially in the back,
Brother, wanna thank your mother
For a butt like that.
Can I get some fries with that shake-shake booty?
If looks could kill,
You would be an Uzi.
You're a shotgun: bang!
What's up with that thang?
I wanna know, how does it hang?
-Salt-N-Pepa, "Shoop," 1993
The above lyrics will not be on the Literature GRE. Too bad, since they are forever lodged in my memory. Ditto many, many mediocre pop songs circa 1995-1999, my high school years. Judge not, hipsters: I grew up in rural splendor, nestled in the Rocky Mountains. We didn't get the Internet at home until maybe 1997, and even then, my parents weren't about to let me bandy their credit card about the 'net, purchasing the cool music I had read about in Seventeen. That meant that I bought CDs at Wal-Mart and through BMG. Ah, BMG, how I loved your "Overlooked Masterpieces" section, with its recommendations of The Boy with the Arab Strap and Gram Parson's GP/Grievous Angel, possibly my first musical purchases that don't embarrass me today, aside from Beatles albums.
I listened to the Belle & Sebastian album over and over, yearning to be the sort of person who bought a Belle & Sebastian album, a person totally unlike everyone I knew in my wee corner of the world. I wonder what I thought I would be like at this age. I couldn't have conceived of it as a teenager, but I think my life now fulfills all those dreams I had of being savvy and well-read, engaged in interesting work, and surrounded by interesting people, places, food, art, music. A smart kid among smart kids. I know it's the story of a million urban transplants, but that doesn't make it any less satisfying. So, rock on, younger self, rock on.
Speaking of acceptable nerdery: I'm working on the late Victorians now, specifically, Thomas Hardy. I have to say, the 19th century has been pretty great, aside from the fact that many of these writers were so prolific that I can't fit all their important works onto an index card. Hello, Tennyson. It's been a relief to delve into a century whose culture/politics/social concerns are so familiar. Ruskin didn't like the effects of industrialization? Me neither! J.S. Mill arguing against the subjection of women? I'm right there with you, John!
Best of all, while the classical and Biblical references persist in the poetry of the 1800s, the days of Absalom and Achitophel are far behind us. That means you don't have to know the entire Bible and the intricacies of early-17th-century English politics in order to understand the poems. I applaud this truly shoop-worthy literary development.
posted by turalura at Friday, March 24, 2006
4 Comments:
I get this mental image of you droppin' it like it's hot - wearing my awesome IBM backpack.
*nerd laugh*
I think the appropriate song for said nerdpack would be "Like a Virgin." It's like IBM has created the perfect sex repellant in an easy to clean black rayon/cotton blend. Brilliant!
P.S. Get back to work.
But Geek is the new black, Lura! Come on! Nerds need love too :)
Wasn't "geek" originally a term meaning "circus freak." I swear that I am not making this up.
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