jawnbc | Itchee & Scratchee

When I was in Grade 12 we had to vote for a prom/grad dance theme song. It was 1982, when Sheena Easton was a pop idol. My high school was one where disco records were burned, Led Zep ruled, and homos in training like me had to listen to ABBA covertly--in my case in bed with headphones, under the covers. Else my brothers would put a beatin’ on me.

So we were encouraged to write in whatever song we thought captured the occasion--moving on from high school, adulthood, transitions, etc. Of course the different cliques started lobbying for their choice--with a fervor that made prom night seem like an international incident--and two songs leapt in front:

+”Through the Years” - Kenny Rogers. Not bad, if a bit saccharine. Wistful, about change bla bla bla.
+”Wonderful Tonight” - Eric Clapton. Personally I love the song, but it was 5 years old and my sister’s class used it in 1978.

And however fooked up I was in high school (and I was an Afterschool Special in-training), I at least knew that originality should count for something. Or a lot. *Sheesh*

But for once the jocks, cheerleaders AND the deadheads were on the same page. Still, that was only about 1/3 of our class. Presuming at least 2/3 of us voted, the war was not lost.

Now I bounced between clicks in high school. Had I been an only child, I would’ve been merely a geek/nerd/fag. But being an Egan meant social capital, thanks to a charismatic sister and class clown brother, each of whom were only a couple of grades ahead of me. Their friends had siblings, who presumed I was kewl, and included me in the party lists. I also spent my first year in high school stoned (an A-minus in geometry made me limit my consumption to good ole harmless alcohol). So I vacillated between the brains, the partiers and the hard-core deadheads. And I’m pretty sure I wore the same concert t-shirt for a good 2 years. But I digress...

Towards the end of grade 11 and most of grade 12 I focussed my energies on corrupting our branch of The National Honor Society--I was, after all, the branch President. Between games of Dungeons and Dragons and nights drinking beer in parking lots, we went to concerts by The Boomtown Rats, The Gogos and Joan Jett. My work was progressing nicely...

So, given a choice between Kenny Rogers and Clapton, we felt a need to offer a third way. After much discussion, we decided what our choice would be. A song that encapsulated our years in high school, as we prepared to move on to uni and our presumed places in the world--that of leaders of science and industry (of our group, one’s a millionaire from software stuff, one’s a surgeon, another’s a vet, another’s a chemist working in private industry, another--me--’s a sociologist...so we kinda are):

“Too drunk to fuck” - The Dead Kennedys.

It got 17 votes. “Wonderful Tonight” it was. And our heads didn’t explode or anything, so I guess that’s ok....

As for today, I had lunch with a couple of mates, then went to a gayish public pool for sun and splash. Scott (one of the mates) is on his way over to update his iBook’s software (I’m on broadband, he’s not), and eat pizza. Prolly gonna be a quietish night for me.

Oh, and here’s a photo taken during a recent helicopter ride over Sydney: