Ever look at your kids and wonder…where do they get THAT from? LOL, me too! But it’s even more interesting when you see what they took from you and adapted for themselves.
Lately I noticed both my Spartan and my Athenian have been jamming on Kill Count. If you’re not familiar, it’s a YouTube channel that takes a death count of various movies and runs a little fun commentary to go with. Not quite Elvira, but entertaining enough if you’re into that kind of thing.
Well, my Athenian asks me the other day “Mom, you ever heard of an 80s horror film called ‘Chopping Mall’?” “Of course I have! It was one of my video store picks as a kid…so cheesy! It’s up there was ‘Blood Diner’ and ‘Sleepaway Camp’, but they aren’t as good as ‘Blood Salvage’, which I still have on VHS by the way……”. As I droned on in nostalgia, I saw he was watching it on Kill Count.
My kids are well aware of my love for cheesy B-rated horror. They share my love (obsession) for the amazing Evil Dead series and the equally amazing Bruce Campbell. They were as into the “Ash vs. Evil Dead” series as I was and enjoy watching Mr. Campbell host the new “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not”, but they don’t share my long-standing crush on him. What can I say? 30+ years later, he’s still a handsome guy with an interesting personality! See for yourselves.
But I digress.
Every so often, the boys hit me with a throwback like that. My Spartan, for example, has developed a love for 80s music. He’s obsessed with such gems as “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, “Video Killed the Radio Star” (pop trivia – this was the very first song played on MTV in Nov. 1981!), “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night” and the kickass Twisted Sister hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. For that matter, my oldest had discovered 90s music and 40s-50s music on his own…he’s down with Green Day as much as Dean Martin. Like ol’ Mom, they don’t stick to just one genre and they tend toward songs with intelligent lyrics…happy to see that good taste in music runs in the family!
These are those parenting moments where you see the intersection between what your kids gravitate to as individuals and the influences they’re exposed to along the way (can I get a witness on some Dr. Demento up in here?!). Between nerding out on horror and indie-style/off-color entertainment in general, these guys are definitely chips off the ol’ block!
What are some of the intersections you see with your own kids (or, if you don’t have kids, those you’re related to/watched grow up)?
A Doe in the Foothills 