Three Imaginary Girls

Seattle's Indie-Pop Press – Music Reviews, Film Reviews, and Big Fun

For music enthusiasts, I think there can be thousands of defining music moments and too many firsts to count (first LP, cassette, CD purchased; first concert; first mosh pit and so on)

The moment I was thinking of today was perhaps not the defining music moment in my life, but it was the moment when I felt like I and my peers started really *owning* our musical evolution.

 I was in 7th grade which in Idaho was the first year of junior high school. It was a 'generation dance' which meant that the kids had to bring their parents. The music was pop-heavy and Top 40. The dance had been fine but nothing memorable.

Then one of the kids begged the DJ to put on a record. There was hesitation. There was discussion. A song ended and there was silence on the dance floor. We all stood there, waiting.

When the first strains of The Dead Kennedys "Holiday in Cambodia" blasted from the speakers, it felt like a bomb went off. The few parents out dancing on the floor removed themselves to their chairs. Kids flooded the floor, not quite sure what we were listening to but knowing this was different.

It's the first time I slam-danced (because it was not yet moshing). Everyone was laughing hysterically and pogo-ing and cliques melted away. And we danced, and it was ours

Do you have a defining moment to share?