I’ve Missed Out on Some Pop Culture History
August 8th, 2007 by JJ
There are certain staples of American pop culture that I’ve somehow missed out on. Throughout the years, I’ve seen hundreds of movies, listened to thousands of songs, and read… well I’ve read a few books.
There are some that are considered essential in American culture - entertainment that it seems like everyone has experienced. And yet I’m not always in that group of “everyone”. Here are a few titles I’ve missed. I have had little to no exposure to the following:
Music
- The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
- The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Led Zeppelin - IV
Movies
- Citizen Cane
- Midnight Cowboy
- Dr. Strangelove
Books
- The Da Vinci Code
- Harry Potter (any of them)
- The Bible
Yes, I’m referring to the Bible as pop culture. It’s a story, people.
Okay - so what pop culture you missed out on?
RSS
I would tell you, but since I missed out on it, I’m not sure what it is. There is something called hello kitty that I don’t know much about.
The years between 1992 and 1999 when I seemed to be primarily focused on birthing children and keeping my ex-husband from plunging us into bankruptcy.
I’m constantly being chided for the “classics” I’ve yet to see, hear or read. What’s the rush?
Hey now! Well, it’s been soooooo long since I’ve been able to check out the Churning, what with my recent move and all.
Pop culture I missed out on was the RAP movement. I never got into it. Besides, as far as I can tell you can’t spell CRAP without RAP.
heh heh heh….
Good to be back online. My desktop computer finally died and I had to shell out bucks I really don’t have for a groovy new laptop…it even has a webcam—-what the hell am I gonna use a webcam for…..?
-joe the mason “TFKoP”
P3 can help you out with all the music listed. Midnight Cowboy is one of my favorite movies. The other two films are a little slow. I had to see both of them in college. As for the books, like you, I’ve never read the Harry Potter books (or seen the films), read very little of the Bible. As for the Da Vinci Code, I gave in a read it about a year ago. It’s a quick read if you want to borrow it. It’s freaky how it reads so much like a film.
What did I miss out on? Hmm, not much. I’m just too cool. Hah!
Pop culture I’ve missed out on
I got to reading JJ’s post on what he missed out on in pop culture, and I started thinking, “I’m a pretty hip dude, what could I have possibly missed out on?” Then I realized that was the meth talking, and I got depressed about…
Hell, the only items I can say I’ve had any experience with on your list are Citizen Kane, The Da Vinci Code, and parts of the Bible (from childhood Sunday School).
Who are The Beach Boys? Aruba? Jamaica? C’Mon I wanna take ya’…
Robguy:
Hello Kitty is a little cocktease. I don’t know why I think that’s funny. I just can’t stop laughing at the thought.
trouble:
Hmmm… 92 to 99… Some kickass shit happened in that timeframe. How about Nirvana? Did you own Nevermind? Did you see Pulp Fiction? How about Fargo?
randi:
No rush. You just gotta make a list and check things off when you have time.
joethemason:
Wow. You completely missed Public Enemy, KRS-One, Tribe Called Quest, Beatie Boys, NWA, Jay-Z, Run DMC, etc etc etc?
That’s a crime.
J.Mo:
I think that for some of these, there’s a reason I haven’t succumbed to the pop culture pressure. Da Vinci Code? No thanks. Harry Potter? Fuck no. But Midnight Cowboy… I always thought I’d dig that movie. Plus, it’s X rated!
Mojotek
I kind of feel the same way about the Beach Boys I know that one pice of shit song you’re referencing - the one with the dumbass from Full House. And maybe I’d recognize a couple of others, but I really don’t feel motivated to investigate further.
JJ asked: Some kickass shit happened in that timeframe. How about Nirvana? Did you own Nevermind? Did you see Pulp Fiction? How about Fargo?
Let’s see…I didn’t own Nevermind until 2002. I didn’t see Pulp Fiction until 2003. I saw Fargo in like 2000 I think.
Yeah. It was like that. Shit, I didn’t even start listening to Fugazi until like 1996.
I’ve missed out on seeing The Codes live, duh!
I gotta say. It still facinates me how synonymous “classic” is with “dead white guys”. And there are certainly more than a few bloated caucasian carcases on this list of yours. I don’t think that you’re missing out on much by not reading the Da Vinci Code, but you may want to scrub the dust off your library card if you’ve missed a bulk of the following. And now without further ado, Mikey the English Teacher’s list of requisite summer reading for those who want to be known as douchebag American culture mavens (now, with more dead white guys)
Common Sense - Thomas Paine
Self Reliance - Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Captivity and Redemption of Elizabeth Meader Hanson
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God - Jonathan Edwards
Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau
The Legend of Sleepy Hallow - Washington Irving
The Cask of Amantillado - Edgar Allan Poe
Adventures of Hucklberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Collected Writings of Abraham Lincoln
Paul’s Case - Willa Cather
The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salanger
Hills Like White Elephants - Earnest Hemingway
A Rose for Emily - William Faulkner
A Good Man is Hard to Find - Flannery O’Connor
The Call of the Wild - Jack London
William Carlos Williams, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes
Cathedral - Raymond Carver
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - James Thurber
Desert Solitare - Edward Abbey
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
In the Lake of the Woods - Tim O’brien
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
Helter Skelter - Vincent Buglosi
Death in the Woods - Sherwood Anderson
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Beloved - Toni Morrison
The Little Foxes - Lillian Hellmam
Ah, I see I’ve out nerded even myself here.
Y’know JJ, now that you mention it, I think I did hear KRS One before….he sings with REM on their “Radio Song”.
;-)
Okay, I admit to liking Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Blondie’s “Rapture”.
You know what’s really funny? I’ve read like 95% of Mikey’s list, and had done so by the time I was 25, but I missed out on Nirvana.
Yeah. I might be a nerd.
Dr. Strangelove is such a great movie, classic.
Not sure the Bible qualifies as ‘popular’ culture anymore though.
I’ve never seen ET. Or the Clockwork Orange.
Classic books I’ve pretty much all skipped. Modern ones, classical literature, I’ve devoured though.
Music is my eclectic soul though, I’ll listen to anything (well, actually I won’t, I can’t stand country).
Yea just rented a Dr. Strangelove yesterday.. Seen A Clockwork Orange, id say its pretty awesome.. for all those stanley Cubrick fans out there.. oh a must see movie for all those movie junkies is the devil’s advocate…. pretty good…i could go on with a list of movies that are great.. but ehh…