Pop Culture Confessions: Music of the '90s

So, the last few weekend editions of Pop Culture Confessions have been about lame stuff that I did. With this episode, I'm going to segue into lame stuff that I have. And I have a great transition for this that will encompass both.

Music of the 90s... where do I begin? The 90s sucked. I don't care what Rob Sheffield says, even though I adore him. Like, friggin' Michael Bolton was getting #1 hits. Musically, the 90s are most famous for the introduction or increased popularity of grunge, hip-hop, and rap, that minor swing revival, that minor disco revival (oy - remember the Grease Mega-Mix?), and bubblegum pop.¹

I wanna talk about bubblegum pop. That is where I lived. There is one specific act that was more than music to me. It was an obsession. Yes, I am talking about Backstreet Boys.

The reason I'm even bringing this up is because, as I'm sure nobody already knows, Backstreet Boys have reunited (minus one) and it feels so good that they're touring again. I saw them in concert 11 ½ years ago. And I will see them again... this weekend!

¹ This is all just my opinion, btw. I'm an enthusiast, not an expert. (Well, I am kind of an expert, but not one you'd cite or anything.)

So, there's the lame shit that I did/am gonna do again. For Part II, you might be asking yourself, "What kind of lame shit could someone possibly own relating to Backstreet Boys?" My answer: "Everything." I have it ALL:

VHS Tapes (Spot the one I home-made to win!):

CDs (and CD singles):

My concert T-shirt, which I'm debating wearing this weekend. Except I have really close seats and I don't want Howie D to see me looking like the 23 year old loser that I unfortunately am:

Newspaper Articles (and it doesn't get much worse than that):

My homemade scrapbook with every teen mag article about BSB clipped and glued to looseleaf:

Official Sticker Albums. And, yes, these are both entirely filled. I accomplished that by having my dad buy me a half box of sticker packets (like 75 packs, or something like that) for each album, which easily gave me all the ones I needed, plus a ton of doubles which I could then sell at school, 25¢ each, or 5 for $1. I made $16 one recess!

These sticker albums are the most embarrassing because a) they cost the most, and b) the stickers are positively hurtin'. There are shiny ones that say lame shit like "Backstreet Boys Are Cool!" and "Backstreet Boys: A Light In The Dark" with a burning candle. I was gonna include pics of those, but... uh, there was a glare.

And finally, among other stuff, a German-language cardboard stand up thing of Nick Carter:

I have articles and posters in French, Spanish, and German that I collected from foreign penpals who I befriended for the specific purpose of obtaining foreign Backstreet Boys stuff. I had a Swiss penpal who enjoyed Formula 1 car racing, so I sent her a Jacques Villeneuve cereal box. I had a Philippines penpal who loved the Moffatts and 98° (which are the most incomprehensible favourites. I did not find 98° pin-ups hard to part with.), so I would send her crap about them in exchange for anything Backstreet Boys.

I could go on (and on... and on... let's be honest: I suck, don't I?), but I'll limit myself to one anecdote (except I call them anec-don'ts). The backstory is that pretty much everyone in my house had BSB fever to a certain extent just from being around me. Not to mention, as you can tell by the newspaper articles, BSB were a huge deal in Nova Scotia for about a 2-3 year span and everyone in the province was at least knowledgeable about Backstreet Boys whether they wanted to be or not.

Circa 1999, a new guy started at my mom's work and she was introducing him around. His name was Rick Carter.

Mom: "Everyone, meet Nick Carter."
Rick: "Uh, it's Rick."
Mom: "Oh my God, quit playin' games with my name!!!"
The group of fieldhands (including old men, young men, scientologists, and alcoholics) deteriorate in laughter... because they all get it.

I also wanna add that the reason I know this is lame (because, obviously, I thought it was pretty cool) is because I invited every girly co-worker and cousin aged 20-30 that I have (yeah, no friends. I don't have those.) and they ALL made fun of me and wouldn't even accept a free Backstreet Boys reunion concert ticket.

Anyone else have any former psychotic obsessions like this? Maybe not to this extent. Milder, obviously, but similar??


So, that's that. We have a fake holiday here called Natal Day and I have Monday off work, so I'm taking off for the long weekend (after BSB, that is!!). Plus, my birthday is on Wednesday, so I think the Thursday book recap is gonna be late. I'll let you know. Have a good weekend, everybody (rock your body right cuz Backstreet's back all right!).