nkotb
New Kids on the Block: Greatest Hits
Girls - keep your panties on. The New Kids on the Block are back, and not in another sad attempt as NKOTB. Legacy has decided to release a greatest kits album, and just in time as far as I'm concerned.
Almost a decade after 'I'll be Loving You Forever' and 'Hangin Tough' hit the charts at No. 1, the album is being released, according to a Legacy press release, "in celebration of the original five bad boys from Boston" (bad boys? I ask) and "in recognition of the boy band phenomenon thriving today."
Or, as the promotional web site states: "Before there were Backstreet Boys... before the other guys got N'Sync... Danny, Jordan, Johnny, Donnie and Joey changed the rules."
I was never much of a New Kids fan. Neither was my sister - at first. In fact, we were very bitter when we went to see Tiffany at the Warwich Musical Theater and all these annoying girls were screaming for the opening band. We didn't even think they were that cute, especially Joey McIntyre; but I guess they grow on you, like the Cabbage Patch Kids (now they were ugly).
My sister later developed an outright obsession. She ate, slept and breathed Joey McIntyre. So did my friend Julie, I found out. She said she thought she got over her New Kids phase, but once she saw Joey "pumping his hips on stage," she fell in love all over again.
But not me. No, I asserted my musical independence early, rejecting the mainstream obsession and embracing Milli Vanilli and INXS instead. In fact, I still have my Milli Vanilli tape and video - I refused to give in to the large-scale recall - and I almost shed a tear when I found out Fab (or was it Rob?) died.
The lesson here is everyone succumbs to cheesiness at some point in her life. Don't be embarassed to admit you once collected New Kids trading cards or checked out the Danny Wood web site while bored last week. And don't be embarassed to buy this album.
And why not? The album has several redeeming qualities. As I listened to 'Step by Step' I realized I have never actually heard New Kids on the Block music on CD. The music was so clear and undistorted that I heard "Ooooo"s I didn't know existed. If you are, or were ever, a New Kids fan, the album is worth buying for sound quality alone.
Not to mention that the album is a collection of hits spanning four years and six albums (who knew they had so many?) and the liner notes are full of fun facts. Can you believe the album Hangin Tough spent 132 weeks (that's two and a half years for all you arts majors) on the Billboard charts? Or that 1-900-909-KIDS was getting approximately 100,000 calls per week in 1990? Neither did I. Amazing! By the way, the numver is no longer operational... I checked.
I'll admit it, I loved the song 'Tonight'. And I, too, donned torn acid-washed jean shorts and a black felt hat on my way to Foxboro Stadium for a New Kids concert in hopes of meeting them backstage (my mom knew some guy working stage crew who promised to sneak us in, but surprise, surprise, it never happened).
I'll also admit that in some small way I actually respect the New Kids - they actually spent time choreographing dance routines to put on a good show. Every once in awhile I miss the spectacle of stadium concerts. Probably because I spend my evenings at concerts performed in tiny venues where you're lucky if the lead singer looks up from the floor or stops staring at the back wall long enough to engage the audience.
This album made me think. Well, not too much, but a little. Julie and I were belting out 'Didn't I Blow Your Mind' all the way to Rhode Island this weekend (the toll booth collector raised his eyebrows when he heard 'Please Don't Go Girl'). We spent the majority of the drive reminiscing about the good old days. Frankly, I felt old. And a little sad.
Then scary things started happening. I started singing 'Please Don't Go Girl' in the shower, and have not been able to get the tune out of my head since. The other night, I actually had a New Kids on the Block dream. Eek!
I also stayed up really late, neglecting homework and other priorities, to do a little Internet "research." I found myself at www.nkotb.com, my roommate sitting anxiously next to me. We had already explored five other sites, most of which consisted of either tales of hopeless obsession or bickering banter. ("New Kids suck! All fans should be dropped in acid and burned to death then cast in molten iron!") But this one was a winner, And it had 30 links to other New Kids sites - one-stop New Kids shopping, if you will.
There was a catch, however. Only true fans were admitted, and there was a New Kids trivia question to distinguish true fans from imposters. Do you know the name of Jon Knight's dog? I did. My roommate was shocked. I was scared. (The dog's name is Nikko by the way.)
I also visited www.jordanknight.com and www.joemcintyre.com. Both have new albums coming out soon, and Joey has already started touring. I could kick myself for missing his Jan. 23 appearance at Big Daddy's in Providence. (Big Daddy's, you wonder? Me too. Hmm...)
Both sites had wonderful photos, and Joey's had a wonderful Page Me feature where fans ask the tough questions. Laura from Boston University wanted to know whether he preferred the name Joe or Joey, to which he replied: "I usually tell them you can call me whatever you want, just play my record." Nice.
And to clear up the ongoing debate about who is more popular, Jordan's site had a whopping 678,839 hits, whereas Joey's only had 210,922.
All in all, this CD afforded me a mystical journey down memory lane. In my travels, I discovered a great many scary things about myself (like perhaps I am a closet fan after all) but it was worth it. I wholeheartedly recommend buying this album. It's already in high demand among my friends here. Crazy. Rating: A
