The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

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We’ve got the right stuff: Cash to spend

New Kids on the Block confirmed their proposed reunion tour Friday on The Today Show and confirmed all my childhood dreams of being able to attend a NKOTB concert.

I am as giddy as the six-year-old sitting in front of the television in 1989 watching the “Hangin’ Tough Live” concert on pay-per-view.

I am part of the mid 20 to 30-year-old age group that companies are marketing at with the revival of ’80s products. They are remaking “classics,” iconic toys we played with as kids, and cartoons we watched on Saturday mornings.

It started with the fashion industry bringing back mustard yellow and royal purple. Then came the leggings. A side ponytail and leg warmers can be spotted here and there. Bangles and chunky plastic bracelets can be found on wrists of many of today’s fashion icons, and the return of the straight-legged jeans on boys and girls alike.

Then the movie studios jumped on board and presented us with “The Transformers,” which lead to twenty-something-year-old boys squirming in their chairs as they watched Optimus Prime transform from a GM big rig truck to the robot from another dimension.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” followed, though failed, along with “Rambo.” While the unveiling of the “G.I. Joe” movie still teases us from week to week.

The car industry hopped on the ’80s remake train too with the two-hour advertisement for General Motors in “Transformers.”

Thought GM was old and out of style against the new Ford Mustang or Toyota Scion’s funky models? They tried to prove us wrong with their Pontiac sports car, Cadillac SUVs and of course the new Camaro-which actually does have me squirming in my chair for the arrival of 2009.

The music industry is now catching on and sending the now 40-year-old version of NKOTB to a town near you. The boys, now men, have said they will sing, dance and “do it all,” which might be more entertaining than hearing “Step-by-Step” again.

Guns N’ Roses started touring again in 2001 after a few years away from the scene. Brett Michaels and Poison went back to touring during the summer of 2006 and have continued for the past two years.

I’m not sure if the entertainment industry has run out of acts or if they just know that 25 to 30-year-olds have an extra $300 a month to spend as they please.

That translates to $20 for the NKOTB Reunion CD, $20 for the “Transformers” DVD, $10 for a “G.I. Joe” movie ticket, $70 for a concert ticket and $200 for the relaunched Members Only jacket.

So why do we buy into the recycled products we once begged our parents to buy for us?

Some Freudian followers may say that we are welcoming the resurrection with arms wide open, recoiling back to our childhood when times, and the economy, were good, compared to the uncertainty of our future consisting of weapons of mass destruction, war and the polar ice caps melting.

I am not too sure what it is, or why we are so quick to embrace the peltora of ’80s remakes, but excuse me while I listen to “You’ve Got It (The Right Stuff)” and practice my dance steps.

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