Let's try this . . .

I recognize the names of most popular music groups, but know next to nothing about most of them.

Ive seen every animated Disney movie through Mulan, and none since.

I hate the DH.

I'm a staunch supporter of 20th-century music and art.

Not all of my hair is the same color.

I first saw Return of the Jedi when I was 17.

I have never been married.

I like Neil Diamond and Billy Joel.

My first videocassette was The Sword in the Stone.

My first audio CDs were the Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music.

I gave my age in a thread a few days ago.

The first record I ever bought with my own money was by Louis Armstrong and the first movie I remember attending was Charlie Chaplin's Gold Rush. These two pieces of information would be extremely misleading if one tried to extrapolate my age from them.

This would lead me to guess that you're 90, but now you say the information is misleading.

So you're...160?

The only thing I know about Yoko Ono is that she banged one of the Beatles.

That just about sums it up.

Man

A TON of Billy Joel fans, he barely registers among my generation.
Weird what pop culture things get passed on from generation to generation and which don't make it.

For instance
I know very few people my age who are more than vaguely aware of the fact that there used to be a band called Fleetwood Mac

I know very few people my age who are more than vaguely aware of the fact that there used to be a band called Fleetwood Mac

They don't remember the Clinton inaugural ball?

The guy's a jerk for making the comments about Gordon's wife and I don't think you have to be well-versed in popular culture. But if you don't understand references to things like Yoko Ono, "I'll make you an offer you can't refuse" or "The force" by age 25, you should have your status as a human living in the 20th and 21st century revoked.

It's not like Yoko is just some old avant-garde artist/musician who married a famous musician. She married JOHN LENNON, arguably the famous pop musician of all-time and a principal member of almost inarguably the most popular band ever. She is THE go-to joke every time a band breaks up or a musician gets a girlfriend. She is referenced up and down The Simpsons and god knows how many other shows and movies. Someone way back there said that not knowing Yoko was akin to not knowing who Captain Beefheart is. In that poster's defense, he lives on the 12th planet.

You do know that John Lennon died 28 years ago, Grich Who Stole Christmas? And she "broke up the Beatles" 39 years ago.

Fine, she's more relevant than Captain Beefheart. How about Frank Zappa? Or Joni Mitchell? People who were among the most important rock musicians for a decade or more, but have effectively been retired since the 1980s or earlier? If you don't care about the details of old music, why would you know these people?

What about The Who? She's probably heard of The Who. But can she name their drummer? Why not, he's the most important drummer in all of British rock music, and led a very interesting and hilariously tragic life!

I bet Mrs. Gordon could name all the Spice Girls. I bet Paul McCartney couldn't.

Well, ]Ashley has a Facebook page. Can't find anything more about Jamie Gordon though. Sorry.

wow, go to lunch and come back and this thread has taken off. Seems like a few people in my generation on here. (first movie I remember is Star Wars---saw it opening week---and I'm talking the original---was only 7 at the time, for a time Star Wars was the only thing to even challenge baseball for my love)

surprised nobody mentioned getting caught up with Columbia house records as their first music buy. (I didn't until much later, but my brother at 12 started both Columbia house records and a model building club of the same type, got a real cool model of Apollo 11 lander.) but that meant our first music was 12 albums (Thriller, Meat Loaf, Bill Cosby, Alan Parsons Project, Queen, Eddie Murphy, Billy Joel--yes just like everyone else on this thread, Neil Diamond--would rather have them play America over that godawful America the Beautiful---...not sure who else)

First President election that I rooted for, Reagan vs Carter--I was rooting for Reagan.

First movie with nudity I saw, always a favorite--- Airplane (watch it jiggle, see it wiggle...)

I was one of the many caught up in Columbia House racket. Got some good stuff but was never able to send back the postcards in time, and so ended up with lots of ridiculous stuff I run across now and again and wonder "Where the hell did THAT come from?!" [Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Candlebox].

[

Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Candlebox

I find all of those to be good, Anthrax is one of my favorite groups, Iron Maiden is ok I saw them in concert when Anthrax (and WWIII) opened up for them, not a huge Candlebox fan but my brother swore by them.

first movie I remember is Star Wars

The first one I definitely remember is The Three Stooges Meet Hercules. There was probably a Disney or two before that one.

first movie I remember is Star Wars

The first one I definitely remember is The Three Stooges Meet Hercules. There was probably a Disney or two before that one.

I probably should've said first movie I remembered seeing in the theaters. As someone mentioned before I was told I had seen Bambi in the theaters but I don't remember it either. Not sure there were any other movies before then that I went to.

First movie with nudity, eh?

Probably "Pret-à-Porter", of all things. My parents were big Robertt Altman fans and they rented it. I was bewildered by the whole thing but they didn't tell me to leave the room even during the all-nude fashion show or whatever that was toward the end (I was 12).

First movie I saw in a theatre: one of the Disney "Herbie, the Love Bug" flicks....based on its release date, I would say it was "Herbie Goes Bananas".

My pop culture timeline got all messed up by the lack of cable TV in my childhood household. Thus, I watched a lot of Get Smart, Three's Company, The Beverly Hillbillies, etc. in addition to the MacGyvers, A-Teams and Cosby Shows of the day.

On a completely unrelated note: is the poster who used to go by "Hammerin' Hank Scorpio" still around?

I always loved that handle.

What about The Who? She's probably heard of The Who. But can she name their drummer? Why not, he's the most important drummer in all of British rock music, and led a very interesting and hilariously tragic life!

Zac Starkey's good, but I don't think he's that good. I would bet that he knows who Yoko Ono is, though.

Ive seen every animated Disney movie through Mulan, and none since.

If you've seen Song of the South, I'm surprised, though there are certainly people who have. (I won't bother asking about Disney animated shorts).

I've seen Song of the South. I downloaded it; it wasn't great quality, though, it was a rip of a VHS tape. I don't usually download movies, but if they aren't going to allow me to buy or rent it, I don't see the problem.

If you've seen Song of the South, I'm surprised, though there are certainly people who have.

Depends on how old the poster is - it was theatrically re-released as late as 1986.

(Not as frequently as the other Disney classics, particularly in the pre-Home Video era, when the Disneys were re-released every couple of years like clockwork to theaters)

Gray-market, there's a lot of copies of Song of the South taken from the Japanese laserdisc.

I've seen it, and that was when it was.

Guess my age:

- First album ever purchased: Abacab by Genesis (they were out of Invisible Touch so I went with that one because I also loved the song "No Reply At All." In retrospect it was a genius move.)
- Size of CD collection: 5,500+ CDs, all purchase (I spit on downloaders)
- % of CDs from after 1989: ~10%
- % of Yoko Ono references I catch: 100%
- % of Pavement references I catch: 100%
- % of Monkees references I catch: 95%
- % of Genesis references I catch: 115% (I imagine several that really aren't there)
- Formative movie as a child: Alien, the Ridley Scott original
- Formative schlock movie: Mannequin
- Formative kids' movie: The Goonies
- First thing I can remember about paying attention to baseball: Bill Buckner's ball through the legs.

After reading from top down, not 25 or 26.

I'd say 38 or so, because ABACAB came out in 82 or 83.

If you've seen Song of the South, I'm surprised, though there are certainly people who have.

Actually, the first movie(s) I remember seeing in a theater was a double feature of Song of the South and The AristoCats. I actually don't remember a thing about the movies, although I've heard the story and some songs from Song of the South since then.

My first movie in the theater was "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".

Guess my age:

- First album ever purchased: Abacab by Genesis

You are dead.

This thread is very long. Is it a good read? I'm trying to decide between this and Joyce's Ulysses.

This thread is very long. Is it a good read? I'm trying to decide between this and Joyce's Ulysses.
At one point in the thread, it was socially acceptable to call someone stupid for not knowing some useless bit of information. You decide. :)

Here's a test.

My first LPs (yes, those black things with little lines in them) purchased: The Beatles, Let It Be & The Who, Tommy.

Some films I saw on their first runs in the theater include: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Paper Moon, & The Sting.

My favorite player as a kid (outside of those playing for the White Sox) was Carl Yastrzemski.

Can you guess my age?

- First album ever purchased: Abacab by Genesis (they were out of Invisible Touch so I went with that one because I also loved the song "No Reply At All." In retrospect it was a genius move.)

Are you familiar with Steve Hackett's solo work?

Soo...

I know BBTF is Futurama and and Simpsons - but the South Park with Yoko Ono is on comedy central right now.

Depends on how old the poster is - it was theatrically re-released as late as 1986.

I guess me remembering ads for Song of the South in theaters says something about how old I am.

Banacek and a couple of similar older television shows used to pop up on CBS's late night lineup in the late seventies. Hmm, I'm old enough to remember when Ted Koppel first started doing Nightline.

I know BBTF is Futurama and and Simpsons - but the South Park with Yoko Ono is on comedy central right now.

who is Yoko Ono? is that the daughter of that guy that did the Annie Hall movie?

who is Yoko Ono? is that the daughter of that guy that did the Annie Hall movie?

Daddy Warbucks?

I guess the fact that I participated in the radio contest to name Roy Rogers horse dates me pretty easily.

Let me guess ... you voted for "Adam Dunn". :-)

How about Frank Zappa? ... People who were among the most important rock musicians for a decade or more, but have effectively been retired since the 1980s or earlier?

He's not dead, he just smells funny.

Anyway, I remain amused that people are shocked that someone doesn't know who Yoko Ono is. This was all 40 years ago folks. Sure the Beatles are still played all over but it's not like the radio stations are giving daily pop music history lessons (that's what college is for!). And given Ms. Gordon may have grown up on Shania Twain and other "country" stars or Christian rock or might well be too young to remember Debbie Gibson ... I mean, c'mon.

Sure, when I was late teens or so, I knew who (oh) Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, etc. were (as names ... and Bing's movies which always ran on WGN) -- of course it helped that those guys were actually still turning up on TV occasionally! And, for the first two, that my brother was a jazz fan. Still, couldn't have told you who Billy Strayhorn or Artie Shaw or, as mentioned earlier, Mildred Bailey were.

Does Ms. Gordon know who Helen Reddy was? If so ... why?

Has it ever occurred to you that the reason Yoko references pop up on the Simpsons, Family Guy, etc. is because ... some of the people who create those shows are "old" (by Ms. Gordon's standards) and, well, kinda geeky. 30 years from now, the hip cartoons will probably be dropping Paris Hilton and Amy Winehouse references.

As I've grown older, pop culture has become even more instantly disposable than it ever was ... kept alive only by TV Land and VH-1 and E's endless fascination with old celebs.

Anyhoo ...

first movie in a theater -- King Kong vs. Godzilla (a classic!)
first concert -- the Monkees ... possibly with Hendrix opening! ... my sister's birthday
first album -- (I think) Bill Cosby's To Russell my Brother, whom I Slept with (kinky!)
first celeb crush -- Elizabeth Montgomery (rawr!!)
first favorite player -- Don Kessinger

Old but still younger than HW! True, HW will probably outlive me.

Or ... do you really think Nixon's head pops up in Futurama because the 15-year-olds will think it's funny?

I know who Chevy Chase, Ted Danson, Tommy Lasorda and Bronson Pinchot are, but I had never heard of George Peppard before this thread and while I'd heard of Taylor Dayne, I didn't know who she was.

I've never watched more than 5 minutes of American Idol, but I can name 5-10 people who have performed on the show.

The first tape I ever bought was Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet" and the first CD I ever bought was Vanilla Ice's "To The Extreme".

The first Rated R movie I saw in the theater was "Robocop". My favorite movie was "Major League" for a while, and it's still up there. I've seen every Rocky but none of the Rambos.

My first concert was Van Halen (with Sammy Hagar). Favorite concert was probably the Roots.

I remember seeing this pilot for "Saved by the Bell", although I am apparently one of only 10 people on the planet who does.

JMN -

Are you familiar with Steve Hackett's solo work?

Of course. Voyage Of The Acolyte and Please Don't Touch would be my favorites.

For the record, I'm 27.

"It's just like those idiots who don't know Kim Deal was the bassist for the Pixies before the Breeders"

Please. Gilmore Girls was a good show (from the first 1 1/2 years, which is all I saw before I gave up cable & thus TV), but in that context the cool kids refer to her strictly as "Mrs John Murphy."

surprised nobody mentioned getting caught up with Columbia house records as their first music buy. (I didn't until much later, but my brother at 12 started both Columbia house records and a model building club of the same type, got a real cool model of Apollo 11 lander.) but that meant our first music was 12 albums (Thriller, Meat Loaf, Bill Cosby, Alan Parsons Project, Queen, Eddie Murphy, Billy Joel--yes just like everyone else on this thread, Neil Diamond--would rather have them play America over that godawful America the Beautiful---...not sure who else)

I think my inaugural Columbia House package included Frampton Comes Alive, sad to say. But also Sparks' Indiscreet & the Wailers' Burnin', which I like to think sort of redeems me.

A couple of years later I scored the likes of the debuts by the Saints, Richard Hell & the VoidOids, Talking Heads & Ramones from them, not to mention the Stranglers' 2nd LP. Which seems rather counteruititive, 30 or so years later.