I am over 60 and a huge fan of BTS. There are lots of us; calling ourselves Dope Old People, a name leader RM coined for us. You are never to old for what you love, for what makes your heart sing.
NKOTB forever. And Jon Knight totally reads books. I suspect young Jon probably read a lot of those craptastic "spiritual" books that were big in the early 90's like The Celestine Prophecy. I think now he just reads whatever he wants and probably has stacks of books all over his house. He's a Sagittarius so he probably has a new worm hole every week: the War of 1812 followed by the history of dams in the desert SW followed by a Clint Eastwood biography and Tiffany probably teases him about it. (they're still together right? Forever in my heart, anyway)
Jul 3, 2023·edited Jul 3, 2023Liked by Emma Straub
Love this column, Emma! Before going any further, I have to recommend Maria Sherman's amazing book on boybands, Larger Than Life: https://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/book/9780762468911. She's a great music reporter!
I'm not sure which members of 1D might read books in physical form. Maybe I could convince them to try Libro.fm when they're on the tour bus? I have thought about which books I might handsell to each member of the band. ; ) Here are my current ideas:
Louis Tomlinson - Cold Service, a great Robert B. Parker mystery
Harry Styles - Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Niall Horan - A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein
Liam Payne - Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall
As a GenX'er I'll never forget Menudo! Their brief 15 min of fame in the US had all the drama highlights: who's-the-cutest debates, frequent member change-ups, accusations of grift and abuse.
I love the Gravity Falls shoutout. My nine year old twins were recently obsessed with the show, and it’s worth obsessing over. My own addition to that genre, kids TV show boy band, is Soundcheck from the show Odd Squad, which my kids were obsessed with a couple of years ago. They still have “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching” on their shared playlist.
I was once on a plane with Kevin Jonas! He and his wife were returning from their honeymoon at Disney (I think) and it was the kind of small commercial plane where you have to walk through first class to get to economy. I noticed him as I walked by, and he noticed me notice him, and he looked so petrified and exposed, I’ve felt genuine concern for his well-being ever since. And that was like 2009.
Jul 3, 2023·edited Jul 3, 2023Liked by Emma Straub
I love this so much! I am old enough to have been a teen fan of the Bay City Rollers, and I took my daughter to see NKOTB when she was a teen. These days, I am loving Harry and Niall and 1D. Boybands forever! Hopefully my debut novel will add another fake boyband to your list, but that's a future thing. Also 4*Town rule!
Ahhh the new kids! Forever the best boyband. I have vivid memories of going to the roller rink and skating around listening to Cover Girl and Step by Step. I also had their posters on my bedroom walls (of course) and I would put on my moms lipstick and kiss the faces of my two favorites (Danny Wood and Jonathan Knight). I definitely think Danny reads some Tom Clancy and James Patterson but I suspect Jonathan has a more refined palate and may read some gasp! Ann Patchett or Barbara Kingsolver. A girl can dream anyways !
For me it was all about Jodeci and New Edition. My very first concert at 13 years old was The New Edition Reunion Tour and Keith Sweat opened up for them. It was SPECTACULAR! And YES-Ralph Tresvant FOREVER!!!!
4Town is hilarious and I love them. Turning Red is superb.
Ralph Tresvant reads books. Why? 🎶 You need a man with sen-si-ti-vi-ty, a man like me. 🎶 That line right there says it all.
I'm off topic because I just had to write: I finished This Time Tomorrow this morning, after savoring it for weeks. I grew up across from the Dive Bar, have a friend from Pomander, went to P.S.75, our family's FAVORITE restaurant was V&T!! . . . so many neighborhood touchstones in one book. I moved away for college, so many places are frozen in my mind in the 90s anyway. Thank you for capturing my teen years so eloquently! Congratulations on the movie!
I don’t have an opinion regarding any of the boys’ reading choices. But that letter Olivia wrote about your joining the NKOTB!! Happy Independence Day, Emma.
I am over 60 and a huge fan of BTS. There are lots of us; calling ourselves Dope Old People, a name leader RM coined for us. You are never to old for what you love, for what makes your heart sing.
NKOTB forever. And Jon Knight totally reads books. I suspect young Jon probably read a lot of those craptastic "spiritual" books that were big in the early 90's like The Celestine Prophecy. I think now he just reads whatever he wants and probably has stacks of books all over his house. He's a Sagittarius so he probably has a new worm hole every week: the War of 1812 followed by the history of dams in the desert SW followed by a Clint Eastwood biography and Tiffany probably teases him about it. (they're still together right? Forever in my heart, anyway)
"The Hardest Part of Breaking Up (is Getting Back Your Stuff)" by 2gether is a legit bop and one of my favorite fake songs that are actually good.
Also, NKTOB is the right and correct choice for #1.
Love this column, Emma! Before going any further, I have to recommend Maria Sherman's amazing book on boybands, Larger Than Life: https://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/book/9780762468911. She's a great music reporter!
I'm not sure which members of 1D might read books in physical form. Maybe I could convince them to try Libro.fm when they're on the tour bus? I have thought about which books I might handsell to each member of the band. ; ) Here are my current ideas:
Louis Tomlinson - Cold Service, a great Robert B. Parker mystery
Harry Styles - Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Niall Horan - A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein
Liam Payne - Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall
Zayn Malik - Book of Night by Holly Black
Does Wham count as a Boyband? What about Tears for Fears or INXS? This is the music of my childhood, before NKOTB took over the airwaves!
As a GenX'er I'll never forget Menudo! Their brief 15 min of fame in the US had all the drama highlights: who's-the-cutest debates, frequent member change-ups, accusations of grift and abuse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menudo_(group)
I love the Gravity Falls shoutout. My nine year old twins were recently obsessed with the show, and it’s worth obsessing over. My own addition to that genre, kids TV show boy band, is Soundcheck from the show Odd Squad, which my kids were obsessed with a couple of years ago. They still have “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching” on their shared playlist.
I was once on a plane with Kevin Jonas! He and his wife were returning from their honeymoon at Disney (I think) and it was the kind of small commercial plane where you have to walk through first class to get to economy. I noticed him as I walked by, and he noticed me notice him, and he looked so petrified and exposed, I’ve felt genuine concern for his well-being ever since. And that was like 2009.
I love this so much! I am old enough to have been a teen fan of the Bay City Rollers, and I took my daughter to see NKOTB when she was a teen. These days, I am loving Harry and Niall and 1D. Boybands forever! Hopefully my debut novel will add another fake boyband to your list, but that's a future thing. Also 4*Town rule!
Ahhh the new kids! Forever the best boyband. I have vivid memories of going to the roller rink and skating around listening to Cover Girl and Step by Step. I also had their posters on my bedroom walls (of course) and I would put on my moms lipstick and kiss the faces of my two favorites (Danny Wood and Jonathan Knight). I definitely think Danny reads some Tom Clancy and James Patterson but I suspect Jonathan has a more refined palate and may read some gasp! Ann Patchett or Barbara Kingsolver. A girl can dream anyways !
For me it was all about Jodeci and New Edition. My very first concert at 13 years old was The New Edition Reunion Tour and Keith Sweat opened up for them. It was SPECTACULAR! And YES-Ralph Tresvant FOREVER!!!!
4Town is hilarious and I love them. Turning Red is superb.
Ralph Tresvant reads books. Why? 🎶 You need a man with sen-si-ti-vi-ty, a man like me. 🎶 That line right there says it all.
RM from BTS references TONS of books in BTS songs!
I'm off topic because I just had to write: I finished This Time Tomorrow this morning, after savoring it for weeks. I grew up across from the Dive Bar, have a friend from Pomander, went to P.S.75, our family's FAVORITE restaurant was V&T!! . . . so many neighborhood touchstones in one book. I moved away for college, so many places are frozen in my mind in the 90s anyway. Thank you for capturing my teen years so eloquently! Congratulations on the movie!
So glad Sev’ral Times made the cut.
I don’t have an opinion regarding any of the boys’ reading choices. But that letter Olivia wrote about your joining the NKOTB!! Happy Independence Day, Emma.
You must’ve seen “& Juliet” at this point with this level of fandom, but if not...you must go for the boy band plot line and music.