Listening to the "Oldies"

It's funny how the term "the oldies" changes as we reach each generation.  I think I was most struck by this when listening to the radio with my kid sis (who is 16) and started to quiz her on various artists playing on the radio. I was appalled when she could not identify Aerosmith and Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I know! Right?? (For those of you that know her...be nice).  Of course, I told this to Garrett who shared that, as a teacher, he would often catch kids wearing Bob Marley t-shirts without really knowing who he actually was.  I mean c'mon that is just pure absurd. What is happening out there?? 

Having a daughter I am realizing how attached I am to the things of my past.  Born in 1982 I grew up with some of the most fantastic cartoons, movies, tv shows, toys, music, and just good ol' neighborhood fun.  Right now I am on a Walt Disney kick.  For those of you with me on age...we grew up with the top Disney movies of all time. My favs....The Little Mermaid (1989)....Aladdin (1992)....The Lion King (1994). 

I have been abusing YouTube, playing some of my favorite songs over and over again for Lyla.  It is funny how I still remember <practically> all the words.  I attribute my stellar memory to the fact that I distinctively remember hitting "rewind" on our VHS after each song, and replaying it until I memorized the whole song.  Yeh...you know you did that too.  I can also think back and remember singing these songs a hundred times over as a kid.  I know that I practically had my own rendition of "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid, since I am pretty sure that I belted out this song over 100 times on it's own.  One memory I have is performing this song with my cousin Mich Mich at her house in Buffalo, NY in front of our families (because everything is better with an audience when you are a kid). Ohhh to be a kid.  I must purchase these three movies at some point so that Lyla can cherish them as much as I do.

I am convinced that growing up in the era we did was simply- the best.  We had The Smurfs, The Snorks, Transformers, My Little Ponies, Rainbow Brite, Jem, Fraggle Rock, The Muppets (and The Muppet Babies), G.I. Joe, Heman, Shira, and the classic Sesame Street (to name a few).  I know I have had this conversation with plenty of people before, and each time we always end up with the same idea. We want  all of the classic shows from our childhood on DVD so that our kids can grow up watching them instead of the ones on television today (or at least in addition to).  I have taken a peak at some of the kid shows/cartoons on today and all I can ever think to myself is "it's just not the same." Maybe it's because I am not a kid anymore...but mostly I think it is because things are just over done now.  I know that as time goes by we evolve (and so does technology), but it just doesn't seem right to see a cartoon done in Pixar Animation or to watch animated kids using cell phones.  I guess you can call me "old fashion".... weird.