All during the weekend I heard a song that immediately reminds me of eighth grade: "Fight For Your Right To Party" by the Beastie Boys. Of course this was because Adam Yauch died at the age of forty-eight, way too young. As mentioned, it reminded me of eighth grade. And how there are times I am so out of it when it comes to current music.

In 1986-1987, if you stepped in a multi-purpose room where middle school dances were held, there was one song that had to be played. It was a song that everyone knew; it was playing constantly on MTV. Of course at the time I didn't have MTV (I didn't get it until high school) but I knew the lyrics as well, and the fact that everyone in the room would chant the lyrics: "Your mom busted in and said, "What's that noise?"/ Aw, mom you're just jealous it's the..." pause, "Beastie Boys!"

The Beastie Boys lyric would echo through the room, shaking the turned up tables and stage. Meranda's little brother at the time could, at age three, recite the lyrics from his carseat. You do not know funny until you hear a three year old boy reciting "You pops caught you smoking and he said, "No way!"/That hypocrite smokes two packs a day/Man, living at home is such a drag/Now your mom threw away your best porno mag." Their mom Janet tried to get him to sing "Old MacDonald" but it didn't work.  The Beastie Boys were the ones who sat at the back of the classroom, doodling, looking at the teacher once in a while. There are times they'll say something a bit insightful that blows everyone away, then they would go back to doodling. They were like us; stuck in the suburbs and parents were such a drag, and we wanted to grow up as soon as possible. But we also wanted to stay young.

But here's the deal: I only know that one song by them. Okay, I can idenitfy "Sabatoge" by its opening, but mostly that has to do with the fact that they were on Saturday Night Live's 25th Anniversary and started the song, then Elvis Costello stepped in and they started playing an amazing version of  "Radio Radio" (this was a nod to when Costello stopped singing his planned song and sang "Radio Radio" instead)  And I kind of remember "No Sleep For Brooklyn" but that's about it.

But this should no be surprise to anyone who knows me. When people were listening to Duran Duran in sixth grade, I was listening to The Beatles. When I was thirteen and got  a gift of twenty dollars from my grandfather, I walked to Rainbow Records and bought Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. I had them put it in two bags so in case I ran into someone I knew they wouldn't know I bought it, because who listened to the Beatles in 1985?

I was not as bad as say, my father. I was spending a weekend with him and had the radio on. "A View To A Kill" was playing as I did dishes. Dad looked up from the paper. "Is that the Beatles? Do they have a new song out?" he asked. "Daddy," I said, looking at him with a combination of saddness and disgust, "that's Duran Duran. The Beatles broke up years ago." "Oh! Oh yeah, I knew that," he said, returning to the newspaper. Most of the music just didn't appeal to me. "Rock Me Amadeus?" Um, no. I've written that while I liked Whitney Houston's voice, sometimes it was too high pitched for me. I just liked going home, putting on the oldies station KYA, and reading. When I finally did get MTV, I wasn't so out of it. I could watch Madonna's latest video, who the latest hair bands were. But to be honest, I watched more of VH-1. That's when I saw a dancing dark haired girl in a red dress singing The color of the sky as far as I can see is called gray. Her name was Natalie Merchant, and she was with 10,000 Maniacs. I told Meranda about her, and we both bought In My Tribe. If I had to name two albums by a "popular" band I listened to over and over in high school, it was In My Tribe and Blind Man's Zoo. Also Edie Brickell and REM. Otherwise, I stuck to my oldies and folk music: Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell.

Whenever I looked at the top ten list I'd think wow, I don't know any of these songs. And I was twenty. I should've known all of them. But I just didn't.  I bought CD's but they were the type I heard on KPFA or KCSM: jazz, folk, classical.

In college I learned that Duran Duran, Culture Club were considered "old school." Sometimes I tell people I remember hearing the songs when they first came out. They looked at me like I was Grandma Moses and I told them I remembered meeting Abe Lincoln. But I didn't mind. They introduced me to music I didn't know: Fantasia, the orignal Broadway album of Dreamgirls, Norah Jones.

I am still hopefully out of it when it comes to music. The current singer I like is Adele, but I had no idea when someone quoted Rhianna to me and I didn't know who she was. I don't mind. Good music comes to me no matter what the year. Here's to you Adam Yauch. Hope you're creating echoes in Heaven, and you're shaking the clouds with that noise.