Guilty Pleasures – Kansas
I recently read Yoonanimous’ fantastic post about how she really hopes her kids are nerds –
I have friends who don’t want their kids to be nerds, or to hang out with nerds. But these friends are going about it all wrong. In my experience, it’s hard to turn out interesting as an adult unless you were a nerd while young, or at least, had friendly, sustained contact with nerds. Don’t believe me? Think of the most outwardly-attractive-yet-inwardly-boring adult you know. I guarantee that person has never been a nerd.
And I totally agree. You also don’t want your kids to to peak too early as there’s a whole lifetime ahead of them to be cool. The last thing I want for my kids is to grow up to be those pathetic has-been losers that always talk about their high school years.
So I’ve definitely encouraged their geeky ways, or at least I haven’t discouraged them. Living, eating, and breathing Minecraft? OK. Watching the last five years of Dr Who? Sure. Memorizing every line of all the My Little Pony episodes? Absolutely, but there’s no way I’m letting them near Bronies – adult male fans of the show:
fusion.net
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I knew I’d have to eventually set some limits, and recently I was afraid I finally found one. One of them has started to get into the show “Supernatural” and I caught her singing the Kansas song “Carry on my Wayward Son” –
Carry on my Wayward Son
Apparently, there’s some ongoing connection between that song and the show. It’s not the official theme song, but has been used in many episodes. But all that doesn’t matter because… well, it’s Kansas. NO KID SHOULD EVER BE INTO KANSAS. (Or adult, for that matter.)
Then last week I was driving her to theater rehearsal and we were flipping through radio stations. We got to the NPR station and in that brief three seconds she heard “space particles.” She immediately told me to put that back on which had me doubly hopeful on the nerd front – a 12 yr old girl wanting to hear a science story… ON NPR!! We stopped and listened to what turned out to be a very fascinating piece where a guy was talking about how there are thousands of tons of space particles settling on earth every year. And, in fact, atomic particles here are all billions of years old from outer space either making its way here because of gravity or as a matter of colliding with the constantly-in-motion earth.
Or as Kansas put it –
Kansas
All we are is dust in the wind.
I have two burning questions about this video. First, why the hell were they wearing tuxedos with ruffled shirts? Second, was that Bob Ross playing guitar?
bobross.com
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I told her about this song and we had a hilarious back-and-forth cracking jokes about universes and sub-atomic particles. I even busted out the idea that our universe is just an electron in the fingernail of an even larger being. (Thank you, Animal House).
I happened to have “Dust in the Wind” on my iPhone so I played it for her. Her reaction?
“Ummmm, no. I don’t think so.”
Maybe there’s hope for them yet.
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18 comments on “Guilty Pleasures – Kansas”
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wine century
Doppel Member, Baby!
Agreed. I think geeky/nerdy kids will tend to hang around geeky/nerdy kids and (at least in my day), we didn’t do much in terms of drugs/sex and such. Maybe we didn’t have as much fun as the ho-bag burnout kids but I also went on to get multiple degrees, a solid job and my crotch isn’t dragging on the ground. So yeah, YAY GEEKY NERDY TYPES!
Tho to be fair, I knew some really nerdy ho bags. Here’s how nerdy I was – I didn’t benefit from their Hobaggedness.
That is awesome. I think I could have an entire blog post in the guilty pleasure I take in naming all of the people who peaked in high school that are now working at the fish and chip hut on South Ave.
Lol. I went to an all boys HS, so I always say those guys are working at jiffy lube.
She really needs to see Old School sometime to have a true appreciation for Dust in the Wind! Well, maybe in a few years. 😉
When we were moving to A2, bunch of friends were predicting I’d be Frank the Tank. Instead I started a blog. Which is worse?
I’m really happy I met you, but I would maybe even be like 3% happier if I met you and were Frank the Tank.
“Think of the most outwardly-attractive-yet-inwardly-boring adult you know. I guarantee that person has never been a nerd.”
–and–
“The last thing I want for my kids is to grow up to be those pathetic has-been losers that always talk about their high school years.”
Choice words.
You should see the rest of Yoona’s post, it’s fantastic. Her blog is always hilarious.
Styx, people should say they hate, then – when pressed – admit they like.
Journey, people should hate, but like some of their songs in private.
Boston, people should like, but only ironically.
Foreigner, people should try to hate, but just not be able to.
But Kansas? You’re right. They’re the Shemp of Arena Rock bands.
Dying here. Shemp!!!
So if I continue down the same path would REO Speedwagon be Curly Joe?
Every year I go to a local food festival in the summer and see many people from high school that I never talk to. I find a secret joy in knowing that I still don’t talk to them, that there are many more interesting people (former/present nerds), and I hope my 1 1/2 year old son becomes a nerd. Life long nerd here… rock on!
That dust in the wind song rules. Also, summer breeze. Makes me feel fine. Something about jasmine on my mind. Fuck yes. Love the post.
That comment was not meant to be anonymous. It was me
Haha got it! But u know it was Seals & croft that did summer breeze, right?
Seals and Croft, Kansas. How much of a difference is there really?
If out S&C in the same crowd as Dan Fogelberg, Bread, and England Dan & John Ford Coley. Egads, I just scared myself.
I just hope my kids nerdiness doesn’t peak so early that they lose it. When my older daughter was 4, she amazed a guest at our house with her knowledge of cows, explaining the differences between 6 or 7 different breeds of them. The guest had only lived in a city and said he didn’t realize there were that many different types of cows.