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Revisit The New Kids On The Block In 1990s NY (And Also My Years As A "Blockhead")
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 10, 2013
Modified Jan 10, 2013
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 10, 2013
Modified Jan 10, 2013
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Throughout my life I've loved all types of music, but for a stretch of time it was Donnie, Joey, Jordan, Jonathan, and Danny (in that order) who dominated my heart, soul, and ears. The obsession probably began in 1987 or 1988 when the band had their first hit single, "Please Don't Go Girl" (did you know they performed that song at Amateur Night at the Apollo?) and it grew rapidly from there.
Quickly my walls filled up with torn out pages of Teen Beat, Superteen, Tutti Frutti, and BOP—I framed t-shirts, posters, anything that was NKOTB related. Each one had a wall dedicated to them. You may ask how that is even possible when there are only four walls in a room, and there are five New Kids, but naturally I utilized every inch of the ceiling as well. The ceiling also included group photos of the band, and I would often lay down on my peach carpeted floor and stare up at the colorful homage to my favorite band, who I was going to love 4-ever.
I taped every single television appearance and video of theirs that aired on MTV. I had scrapbooks dedicated to them. And my mom would drive me to any concert that was near our house, even if the weather forecast was showing a 99% chance of you're going to die if you drive in this. I remember one night vividly, we pulled out of our driveway during an Ang Lee-level ice storm to head to the New Haven Coliseum for a concert, and my mom, with great trepidation, inched down a curving hill that featured a deep ditch on one side. I remember thinking, "We've got at least 90 minutes of this ahead of us, and we might not make it... but if we do, it'll be worth it." But we did. And it was.
Years later, as I was entering high school, a family member said if I tore down my bedroom shrine to NKOTB he'd give me $50, which in 13-year-old currency is roughly $1,000. Maybe I was growing up, or outgrowing the teeny-bopper decor, maybe I just wanted the money, or maybe a new crush I had on this kid Colby who always wore black and listened to Metallica had something to do with it... but my decision came quickly, and I tore every single photo, ticket stub, and t-shirt down in a frenzy. I replaced them with a more scaled back set of posters that I obtained at the poster store in the mall with my 50 bucks—they included Guns n' Roses and Metallica and puppies.
Not long after, those posters were replaced by blank walls—with Phish, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and of course Hole playing on the stereo. But if you've made it this far, you probably want to focus on the pre-grunge era of choreographed dance moves and the time of Svengali-controlled pop stars:
On MTV:
From their Live in New York video, 1990:
You can watch the entire 1990 concert in New York starting here:
Tagged
blockhead
new kids on the block
nkotb
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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