Singing a new tune

There was a time where I was up to date with all the latest music, novels and movies. I was a bit of a pop culture junkie too, so I knew about all the hit TV shows and celebrity news.

Those days are long gone.

About three years ago, the outside world stopped for me. In my mind it's still the early noughties. I'm like Miss Havisham - the clock stopped in 2006, I'm still wearing the same fashion and think that Justin Timberlake is fresh. The pop culture world has moved on yet here I'm am.

When I worked on a weekly celebrity gossip magazine, it was essential for me to know Jennifer Aniston's dog's name, what Posh Spice was eating so she could conceive a girl and where Lindsay Lohan had been partying on the weekend. Recently I picked up a magazine and I was reading about some girl called Megan Fox and Brad Pitt suddenly had six kids! When did this all happen?

Some how while I've been consumed with Hot Potato, Yo Gabba Gabba, Dora and the rest, movies have been made, music has been played and I haven't got a clue. Last week the family and I had dinner with some close friends who also have two young children. The telling factor that our lives had changed (besides the fact we started at 4pm and were on our way home at 7.30pm) was the conversation - we were talking about a recent episode of Bear in the Big Blue House, when we would normally have been discussing movies we'd seen or even having a bit of political banter.

The funniest part of the Big Blue House conversation was when our friend, a GP, was telling us he couldn't get the goodbye song out of his head and was singing it as he gave a patient a local anaesthetic. I can imagine how that patient felt as his doctor was singing "Goodbye, goodbye, my friend goodbye. Now it's time to goooo." 

That's the worst part about being completely absorbed with kids music, it's so damn catchy that you send yourself insane with tunes like "Toot, toot chugga chugga big red car", "I was just Johnny when I walked out the door, but I'm not just Johnny any more" and "My friends Tigger and Pooh". Yes, it's true, my kids watch too much TV.

I remember I had a strange sense of de ja vu as I jumped online to get tickets for The Wiggles in the presale, I had to hit the refresh button constantly so I could get good tickets. Wasn't I just doing the same thing to get tickets for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers? And as I was forced to cue up outside the Enmore Theatre being jostled around by toddlers and crazed mums to get through the door, I thought wasn't it just last week when I did the same thing to see Gomez?  I have to admit I think I got a bigger thrill seeing Jeff in person than Gomez. Man, that purple skivvy is cool.

Life has changed, yet in some strange way it still seems the same. 

So, please don't ask me if I've seen Russel Crowe's latest movie - I haven't! But I can tell you all about the Wiggles latest DVD and how I think Sam has put on a few kilos, but Anthony is looking surprisingly fit. And please don't ask me if I've read Tim Winton's latest novel - I haven't! But I can tell you all about the Hungry Caterpillar and Wiggly Pig's latest adventure.