Monday, November 9, 2009

The Dearly Departed Teen Girl Group Huckapoo Speaks to DJ B


Last night I finished a big CD reorganization project and massive cleanup in our attic. Ever since, DJ B has been fascinated by the spacious music loft and has been interested in pulling CDs from our collection. The first one that she noticed was a promotional CD that I'd picked up at a youth culture conference in 2004. Huckapoo is (or perhaps was) a Spice Girls-esque teen girl band and the CD was a magnet for DJ B with its bright pink anime-style cover.

As the music started, DJ B smiled, saying, "you have to dance with me." She added, "I like it. It's good ballet music," as she shook her hips and pranced around on her new dance floor. She twirled and delighted in sliding across the floor, telling me, "it's slippery, so I can skate." She closed her eyes as she swayed to the music, danced on her tip toes and told me, "you're the purple ballerina and I'm the pink ballerina." She then announced, "I have to spell my name Stagia, so I can be on the stage." She lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug and then dramatically grabbed some plastic keys from our donation pile and began to dance with them. She stomped her foot, scrutinized the inserts in the CD case, and resumed her dancing. When the CD ended she said, "I want to hear this one again."

So, with her embrace of Huckapoo my worst fears are being realized. Some day soon my little girl may be one of those pre-teen Radio Disney-loving popsters and I will be unable to stop her. Although I'm a bit horrified that she's enamored with the saccharine pop of Huckapoo, at least I know that she still has an interest in a wide range of sounds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this continues for a lifetime.

P.S. If this isn't creepy enough, take a look at this New York Times article from 2004 and this New York Magazine piece from 2005, which talk about the creation of the now defunct pre-fab band Huckapoo.

No comments: