Monday, February 3, 2014

The Kennedy Chronicles: The Golden Era of MTV Through Rose Colored Glasses

Generally as a rule of thumb I do not ask for books for presents... usually it gets screwed up somehow and I don't like to be disappointed and I make another general rule to not be...so I don't set myself up for it by telling people to get me books...or music.. Even with a list people somehow get it wrong...  And the mister KNOWS this... He has the same rules.  Christmas can be a pain the ass, gift giving in general that is.  Mostly it's to do with wanting to get someone EXACTLY what they want, EXACTLY how they want it because you love them and want to make them happy.  Therefore, shopping with PICTURES of shit on my phone so as to get the right gift takes the piss out of gift giving, surprises, and the occasion in general. 

I am so happy to be with someone that feels the confidence in throwing that caution to the wind and get me books... It's pretty amazing looking at yourself through someone else's eyes.. I loved opening those books, realizing what they were, and realizing that based on the person he sees when he sees me, he thought that these were great choices...He was absolutely right!  So right in fact, I have to tell you bout how good the Kennedy book was...and no... Not JFK Kennedy... Lisa Kennedy Montgomery of MTV. 

One day, in 1997 I turned on MTV, saw Carson Daly's mugging poser face...and I turned the channel for once and for all.  I was done.  I felt it, I felt a disturbance in the force.  I wasn't one of these drooling, mindless, MTV-ites that only ever watched what was channel 34 on my parents JC Penney console special.  My older sister had it on, I preferred movie channels.  But that doesn't mean I didn't caught up in some of the hoopla.  I remember where I was when I first saw certain videos and what I was doing when m y sister and her best friends (who were irish-twins) were playing phone tag. 

"Oh my gawd, call me when you see the video come on!"

"Ok, but YOU call ME if YOU see the video come on!"

"Like totally!"

"Totally, ok!"

...this happened summer of '90 when Bryan Adams was burning up the airwaves with his hot and steamy Robin Hood song... And Christian Slater was in the movie, and he had one scene that made it into the video...and THAT was enough for the above conversation to take place.  Plus it was THE skating rink couples song of the summer.

Anyways, so that was my exposure and that was why I had it.  When I got to 8th grade, I had curly, kinky, frizzy, Irish Gypsy hair...and thanks to FUCKING ALICIA SILVERSTONE it was so not "in" that year... bitch.

I also had a realization that I would forever been entombed in 4 eyes mode so I started to have the fun with the glasses that big sis was having since our Ma worked at an eye dr's office and got KILLER deals on frames... like, Free.99 and shit.

Hence, the Kennedy look started and I didn't even realize I was doing it, and sis looked the same... so when I got the High School I was her mini-me...and the Kennedy moniker was passed down to include me. 

That all being said: I have always felt a weird connection to Kennedy.  I mentioned ONCE or TWICE that people called me and sis Kennedy in HS, and my hubby took that and ran with it to get me this book that rocked my world.  It was everything I wanted to know about what I also believe to be the Hay Day of MTV and just the way I wanted to know it!  People were reviewing this book and bitching about the grammar... dude, really?  This isn't an English Paper and it's written in the way that she speaks, I felt more like she was speaking to me than I was reading some paper.  Structure for sure has a time and place. I get it... but still, I am not sitting there and making notes, I'm sorry.  I was more interested in the non-penetrative steamy session she had with Dave Navarro... Jesus pleasus... it was a great book and what I really enjoyed the most was how I came around to it, through Choni... just made me love him more, like I couldn't anyways, you know?  What really makes it MORE awesome, is that he doesn't read... He reads articles, and he reads the internets... he's not a book reader.  I feel like that helps us fit better because I'm not as avid a magazine reader as he is...Fangoria and Spin used to be my bread and butter and then I got a Rolling Stone subscription and we were hooked on that for a spell..but between us the one that read the MOST and remembered it was him.  Good thing too, there were some good articles I all but forgot.  Now I'm about to start Empire of the Sun because there is something bout that movie that makes him think of me and my dad's family when he watches it...and I get it too... I really do...and I used to watch that movie when it was on Showtime ALL summer long with my sis...  Now it's found new life and new reason and I'm about to dive into the book!! 

I've read SO MANY books that were movies later, I know what to expect, I know not to disappoint myself, I know that JG Ballard was working on the film with Spielburg and that sometimes things aren't aesthetically pleasing and that's what filmmaking is all about, artistic liberties.  I'm ready, bring me to WWII Shanghai, Jim...

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