We're Not Gonna Take It

There's a new radio station in Little Rock that plays "oldies," which means music I liked in junior high and high school. Other than insulting me by calling the music of my youth "oldies," I like this station. They play stuff other '80s stations seem to have forgotten about. The '80s station in Houston, for example, thinks the only thing John Mellencamp ever recorded was "Hurts So Good." Drove me nuts.

So last night I was listening to this station in the car and heard Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It." Remember this song? It was the "Hey, let's all rebel against our oppressive parents" teen anthem of the '80s. Remember always cranking this song up when it came on back then? Remember how empowering and liberating it felt to belt it out at the top of our lungs? Because, yeah! We weren't gonna take it!

Looking back, does anyone know exactly what it was we weren't going to take anymore? Our parents paying the bills? Having pretty much no responsibilities other than school and maybe a part-time job? Exactly how was it that we were being oppressed? Was it enough to cause us to want to ditch our parents to follow the wisdom of the guy in that photo up there -- a guy who looks like a meth-addicted Ronald McDonald in drag?

Maybe some psychic should have told us that by the time we would hit our mid-30s, gas prices would soar to the stratosphere and we would be spending $160 to fill up our Suburbans. Now THAT'S something to rebel against.

I say we all move back in with our parents.