ziggazigAHHH
This whole Spice Girls thing has me stressed like no other. I have a birthday bash to plan, midterms to study for, and a paper re-write to deal with and all I can think about is the effing Spice Girls.
The deal as of right now is that none of the New Yorkers have received the code for the New York show. No New York confirmation e-mail has been sent out, nor an e-mail with details. The New York show is no longer listed on the official Spice page as a stop on the tour, is no longer found on the Madison Square Garden website, and is no where to be found on Ticketmaster. Being the huge dork that I am, I joined an LJ Spice community to try to get to the bottom of this. No one knows what the hell is going on. It seems highly unlikely that they would just up and cancel New York without rescheduling... they can't play four west coast shows and no east coast show. Especially because the last time they played at the Garden it sold out in 12 minutes. Chances are, they are rescheduling and possibly adding another New York show, but the question is when. With my luck, they will reschedule the show to date when I'll be on winter break back home in CA, which means that I will have lost my chance to see them.
For the last two days, I've told myself the same thing over and over: It's not the end of the world. It's just a concert. I'm sure it will be broadcasted somewhere, either on TV or online or on demand. Besides, who wants to see five washed-up women try to kick ass like they did in the 90's? They haven't performed together in roughly 10 years.
But the more I think about it... the more I REALLY want to go. SO BAD. I HAVE TO GO SEE THEM. Why is this urge so big, might you ask?
Glad you asked.
When I was 9 years old, I was chubby, awkward, athletic, had boobs and had already gotten my period (probably TMI but oh well haha), and was super uncomfortable in my own skin. I hated looking pretty or wearing makeup, preferring big jeans and sweatshirts and chuck-t's to dresses and cutsie shirts. I crushed on boys like the other girls, but I was totally one of those girls that would beat boys up to let them know that I liked them. The boys never liked me back and I was convinced it was because I was ugly and fat. I became the anti-girly girl and did everything I could to play up my tomboy status.
One day, my babysitter Jessica was over and we were watching music videos on MTV. Sigh. Those were the days when MTV pretty much only played music shows. I miss that. Anyways, the Spice Girl's video for Wannabe came on, and I was transfixed. Here were these five girls going into a fancy restaurant and wreaking havoc on everything and everyone. They weren't being lady like, they were loud and rude and obnoxious and having a good time without giving a shit about what anyone thought. They were all beautiful but had their own unique style and look about them... and one girl stood out to me more than the rest: Melanie C - Sporty Spice.
Spice mania took over in the states not too long after I had seen Wannabe for the first time. My friends and I had the Spice CD memorized within weeks and Spiceworld memorized even faster. We each had our favorite girl (I was Sporty, Coll was Posh, Alisha was Ginger, Char was Baby, Sandra was Scary) that we dressed like and tried to emulate in every thing that we did (for instance, I had a fake nose ring from Claire's that I would wear because Sporty had her nose pierced, and a million pairs of pants with stripes down the side, because thats what Mel C liked. My mom thought this was hilarious). Every day was spent walking around the playground during recess, singing their songs at the top of our lungs, each of us singing the part of our favorite girl. My mom took us to see Spiceworld the movie on the day it came out, and my dad bought a cable box just so that I could throw a Spice Girls party in celebration of the HBO special. I had Spice tee-shirts, posters, a key chain, the Barbie dolls, stickers, lollipops, countless magazines with them on the cover, school supplies etc etc etc etc!! They were the first band that I would consider myself a fan of.
The Spice Girls had a few characteristics that gained them such popularity amongst young girls world wide. One reason was their awesome slogan: GIRL POWER. Equalization that isn't gender specific. This was not another girls rule, boys drool idea - this was modern feminism. They gave girls the message that they can become just as successful as men through hard work, without giving up their feminine qualities. The bond of female friendship is strong, making the women who hold them powerful. Another reason was the individuality of the girls themselves: Scary, Baby, Sporty, Ginger, and Posh. Every young girl had their favorite Spice Girl - one of whose qualities they found in themselves. These five women were extremely relatable (or so they were marketed lol. but it worked!). Most importantly, they were positive roll models for young girls. OK, they weren't perfect by all means, but they were aware of who their fan base was made up of. They were sexy without being skanky, confident without being pretentious, classy yet still down to earth. They never swore in their music (except for they say "ass" in The Lady is a Vamp, but we'll let it slide) and never promoted promiscuity or anything of that nature (ok, so Ginger was on the cover of Playboy. Whatever! It wasn't a big deal in Europe, Americans are just prude when it comes to sexuality in the media). Young girls lack that kind of influential pop figure today... I mean Hannah Montana? The High School Musical kids? What kind of positive message do they have to offer, except for SELL YOUR SOUL TO DISNEY AND YOU CAN MAKE IT BIG!!
The Spice Girls helped me find my femininity, and I thank them for that. They made me proud to be a girl at a time when I was uncomfortable being one. The girls - especially Sporty - and their message of girl power helped me figure out how to keep true to my inner-tomboy while letting loose the girl that was desperately trying to get out.
I loved the Spice Girls religiously until the departure of Geri on May 30, 1998. I have this date memorized, because it was my 11th birthday. I had thrown one of my exclusive pool/slumber parties that only the coolest Montevideo girls were invited to (haha). We all came downstairs for breakfast and I flipped on MTV (we were all obsessed with MTV) so we could get our groove on early in the morning with donuts in tow. Instead of music videos, we found MTV news with the gut-wrenching story: Geri has quit the Spice Girls. Ten 11-year-old girls burst into tears. We thought it was the end - the end of the Spice Girls, the end of the world. Crushed.
I never had the chance to see them live.
My Spice history is silly and ridiculous, but when you're a 4th/5th grader its easy to get swept up in something as huge and awesome as they are. Dammit, the younger pudgy Leah really deserves to go to this concert.
For once in my life I'm going to do something stupid, impulsive and expensive.
I'm flying to Los Angeles in December to go to the Spice Girls concert with Colleen, my best friend, on her 21st birthday. There is no one else that I would rather go with. We were Spice fans from the beginning, and I think we're make our 10-year-old selves really happy that we're doing this together. I think I'm more excited about being able to peer pressure her into drinking herself into a coma on her 21st, but thats besides the point =)
To end this on a super cheesy note, I quote The Spice Girls:
"Make it last forever, friendship never ends."
The deal as of right now is that none of the New Yorkers have received the code for the New York show. No New York confirmation e-mail has been sent out, nor an e-mail with details. The New York show is no longer listed on the official Spice page as a stop on the tour, is no longer found on the Madison Square Garden website, and is no where to be found on Ticketmaster. Being the huge dork that I am, I joined an LJ Spice community to try to get to the bottom of this. No one knows what the hell is going on. It seems highly unlikely that they would just up and cancel New York without rescheduling... they can't play four west coast shows and no east coast show. Especially because the last time they played at the Garden it sold out in 12 minutes. Chances are, they are rescheduling and possibly adding another New York show, but the question is when. With my luck, they will reschedule the show to date when I'll be on winter break back home in CA, which means that I will have lost my chance to see them.
For the last two days, I've told myself the same thing over and over: It's not the end of the world. It's just a concert. I'm sure it will be broadcasted somewhere, either on TV or online or on demand. Besides, who wants to see five washed-up women try to kick ass like they did in the 90's? They haven't performed together in roughly 10 years.
But the more I think about it... the more I REALLY want to go. SO BAD. I HAVE TO GO SEE THEM. Why is this urge so big, might you ask?
Glad you asked.
When I was 9 years old, I was chubby, awkward, athletic, had boobs and had already gotten my period (probably TMI but oh well haha), and was super uncomfortable in my own skin. I hated looking pretty or wearing makeup, preferring big jeans and sweatshirts and chuck-t's to dresses and cutsie shirts. I crushed on boys like the other girls, but I was totally one of those girls that would beat boys up to let them know that I liked them. The boys never liked me back and I was convinced it was because I was ugly and fat. I became the anti-girly girl and did everything I could to play up my tomboy status.
One day, my babysitter Jessica was over and we were watching music videos on MTV. Sigh. Those were the days when MTV pretty much only played music shows. I miss that. Anyways, the Spice Girl's video for Wannabe came on, and I was transfixed. Here were these five girls going into a fancy restaurant and wreaking havoc on everything and everyone. They weren't being lady like, they were loud and rude and obnoxious and having a good time without giving a shit about what anyone thought. They were all beautiful but had their own unique style and look about them... and one girl stood out to me more than the rest: Melanie C - Sporty Spice.
Spice mania took over in the states not too long after I had seen Wannabe for the first time. My friends and I had the Spice CD memorized within weeks and Spiceworld memorized even faster. We each had our favorite girl (I was Sporty, Coll was Posh, Alisha was Ginger, Char was Baby, Sandra was Scary) that we dressed like and tried to emulate in every thing that we did (for instance, I had a fake nose ring from Claire's that I would wear because Sporty had her nose pierced, and a million pairs of pants with stripes down the side, because thats what Mel C liked. My mom thought this was hilarious). Every day was spent walking around the playground during recess, singing their songs at the top of our lungs, each of us singing the part of our favorite girl. My mom took us to see Spiceworld the movie on the day it came out, and my dad bought a cable box just so that I could throw a Spice Girls party in celebration of the HBO special. I had Spice tee-shirts, posters, a key chain, the Barbie dolls, stickers, lollipops, countless magazines with them on the cover, school supplies etc etc etc etc!! They were the first band that I would consider myself a fan of.
The Spice Girls had a few characteristics that gained them such popularity amongst young girls world wide. One reason was their awesome slogan: GIRL POWER. Equalization that isn't gender specific. This was not another girls rule, boys drool idea - this was modern feminism. They gave girls the message that they can become just as successful as men through hard work, without giving up their feminine qualities. The bond of female friendship is strong, making the women who hold them powerful. Another reason was the individuality of the girls themselves: Scary, Baby, Sporty, Ginger, and Posh. Every young girl had their favorite Spice Girl - one of whose qualities they found in themselves. These five women were extremely relatable (or so they were marketed lol. but it worked!). Most importantly, they were positive roll models for young girls. OK, they weren't perfect by all means, but they were aware of who their fan base was made up of. They were sexy without being skanky, confident without being pretentious, classy yet still down to earth. They never swore in their music (except for they say "ass" in The Lady is a Vamp, but we'll let it slide) and never promoted promiscuity or anything of that nature (ok, so Ginger was on the cover of Playboy. Whatever! It wasn't a big deal in Europe, Americans are just prude when it comes to sexuality in the media). Young girls lack that kind of influential pop figure today... I mean Hannah Montana? The High School Musical kids? What kind of positive message do they have to offer, except for SELL YOUR SOUL TO DISNEY AND YOU CAN MAKE IT BIG!!
The Spice Girls helped me find my femininity, and I thank them for that. They made me proud to be a girl at a time when I was uncomfortable being one. The girls - especially Sporty - and their message of girl power helped me figure out how to keep true to my inner-tomboy while letting loose the girl that was desperately trying to get out.
I loved the Spice Girls religiously until the departure of Geri on May 30, 1998. I have this date memorized, because it was my 11th birthday. I had thrown one of my exclusive pool/slumber parties that only the coolest Montevideo girls were invited to (haha). We all came downstairs for breakfast and I flipped on MTV (we were all obsessed with MTV) so we could get our groove on early in the morning with donuts in tow. Instead of music videos, we found MTV news with the gut-wrenching story: Geri has quit the Spice Girls. Ten 11-year-old girls burst into tears. We thought it was the end - the end of the Spice Girls, the end of the world. Crushed.
I never had the chance to see them live.
My Spice history is silly and ridiculous, but when you're a 4th/5th grader its easy to get swept up in something as huge and awesome as they are. Dammit, the younger pudgy Leah really deserves to go to this concert.
For once in my life I'm going to do something stupid, impulsive and expensive.
I'm flying to Los Angeles in December to go to the Spice Girls concert with Colleen, my best friend, on her 21st birthday. There is no one else that I would rather go with. We were Spice fans from the beginning, and I think we're make our 10-year-old selves really happy that we're doing this together. I think I'm more excited about being able to peer pressure her into drinking herself into a coma on her 21st, but thats besides the point =)
To end this on a super cheesy note, I quote The Spice Girls:
"Make it last forever, friendship never ends."