Pop Tarts

The first concert I ever went to was The Fifth Dimension, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. My dad, Sean Connery, sprang for tickets for my 13th birthday (or maybe it was 14). The whole family went plus my best friend, Sharon. That was 7 tickets. I would love to know how much they were. $3 or $5 a piece maybe? I don't really know but it had to be something like that because I do remember when I was in college a bunch of us went to see The Police and we were so angry that a ticket cost the outrageous sum of $8. (Who did they think they were?)

I was totally into Top 40 in my early days and I just loved the Fifth Dimension. (Oddly, none of their songs were on my Top 100 list, although Laura Nyro's "One Less Bell to Answer" did make it into final consideration). Sean Connery and Dame Judi were more into the Henry Mancini/Burt Bacharach/Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass vein, plus crooners like Perry Como and Andy Williams, of course. I can't imagine that the fondest dream of their lives was to take 5 kids to see some "rock" band. (Yes, you may giggle...the 5th Dimension were hardly rock). But they did it and I still remember my excitement both leading up to and during the event.

I journied away from that sort of music within a few years. I wandered over to the folk/soft rock side of things. There was an embarrassing and brief disco phase. (I blame my college roommate). Eventually, guided by assorted boyfriends and the punk movement, I discovered the music I still love today. (See the list). And while I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to stand to listen to an entire 5th Dimension record at this point, whenever I hear one of their songs I think about Sean and Dame Judi in the Coliseum, doing their bit to give a little bit of delight to their first born.

Which is why, when The Child begged, I felt compelled to say 'yes' to taking her to see the
Cheetah Girls and Hannah Montana at Key Arena tomorrow night. Oh, my friends, this is Disney spawn of the highest order. Franchise music performed by much too perky girls. And yet, and yet...

I love that The Child has a purely pop sensibility at this point in her life. She knows Bob Dylan and The Beatles. But she's a tweener and tweeners listen to pop music. She doesn't like rap. (Sorry, Iwanski, but I'm totally ok with that at this phase of her tender life). She likes simple 3 minute songs that she can sing along with and basic, danceable beats. And I think that is just adorable and age appropriate and all the rest of it. There is plenty of time for her to move from bubblegum to more substantive fare.

And frankly, I also rather like that her generation of singers is pretty girl heavy. She really only likes one boy singer (Jesse McCartney, no relation to Paul). That's cool, because you're never too young to learn that girls rock. (Especially Avril Lavigne).