Lockdown! at the Disco #2: The Teen Movie Teachings Episode
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TRACK 1: “Oh Yeah” by Yello
Hi!
Bringing us into this warm lockdown nook here was “Oh Yeah” by Yello, which you hopefully recognise first and foremost from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off but maybe also from The Simpsons and a little from Deadpool.
Ferris Bueller’s old adage that Life moves pretty fast doesn’t exactly hold much weight in the current lockdown era where time makes absolutely no sense and where it seemingly has the most abstract of speed and motion.
But! His point still stands that if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. With that in mind, give yourself space – give yourself time – give yourself slowness and calm and care and kindness and just soak up whatever enjoyment you can take from this moment.
Burrow into movies! Gorge on snacks! Crawl under blankets and read all of the books! And my lawd - don’t pay back any of the debt you owe to Tom Nook! Nook the crook as he’s known in my household. I say my household like it isn’t just me laughing into a basket of dirty socks every day at the moment…
ANYHOO this is Comics Youth Radio presents Lockdown! at the Disco with me, your host – Amy Roberts, broadcasting live from the sunny streets of Fairfield and Kensington – and for the next 90 or so mins you are locked into an episode all about Teachings from Teen Movies. And to properly kick us off, please daydream about Heath Ledger tucking some hair behind your ear and gifting you a Fender Strat and swoon for all eternity to this track by Letters to Cleo…
TRACK 2: “I Want You to Want Me” by Letters to Cleo
That was Letters to Cleo covering the almighty Cheap Trick with “I Want You to Want Me” which you hopefully all know very well and fondly as the closing credits tune for 10 Things I Hate About You. The band plays it on top of the school building and IT IS ICONIC.
Which brings us to Teen Movie teachings lesson 1: Smash the system, honey.
Now, that film is obviously a great time for anyone who will forever stan for Heath Ledger – and hello, hi, president and head cheerleader of that particular troupe right here – but it’s also supreme for presenting one of the greatest teen movie heroines of our time in Kat Stratford played by Julia Stiles.
Kat blasts Joan Jett from her car, she’s outspoken and opinionated, she only seems to listen to punk rock made by gnarly women, and her only friend seems to be a Shakespeare obsessed weirdo who thinks she’s romantically involved with The Bard (honestly, give me two more months in lockdown and I’ll probably at that same level myself).
Kat Stratford is just pure power, people! And via the respective journeys that her and rebel dreamboat Patrick Verona go through in the movie, we learn from 10 Things I Hate About You how to stand up against a world that we think is unfair. It teaches us to be kind while also kneeing the Joey Donners of the world down to a notch they belong at. It teaches us to be loud, to be heard, and to steal the school PA so we can broadcast our true feelings to the world – romantic or otherwise, folks.
10 Things I Hate About You says Don’t break hearts, break the system, honey – and that’s a huge mood.
TRACK 3: “One Girl Revolution” by Superchick (Legally Blonde)
TRACK 4: “Kids in America” by The Muffs (Clueless)
Yass!!! Are you feeling hyped after that? Cos I’m feeling hyped. That was “One Girl Revolution” by Superchick from the Legally Blonde soundtrack followed by The Muffs covering Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” from Clueless.
Which rolls us into teen movie teachings lesson 2: Don’t judge by aesthetics!
Something that needs to be said and deserves to be celebrated is how both Legally Blonde and Clueless really challenge the idea that expressing femininity or proudly owning how femme you are somehow reflects weakness.
Both Cher and Elle Woods from those two films have their intelligence and depth and skill sets discredited based upon how they present themselves. Now, it goes without saying that however you identify and whatever your sexuality may be that you have the right to express that however the heck you want to without being judged or hassled for it!
This is something we talk about a lot in our Safe Spaces sessions – just how mainstream society sets a really ridiculous and often stereotypical set of parameters on people based on how they look. And it’s just nonsense, isn’t it? It’s all fiction. You know who you are, and you don’t need to prove that anyone.
That’s the basis of My Body is Not Your Business – which is the current campaign being run by our safe spaces group and we have a number of really incredible blog posts written by a few of our very talented young people up on our Youth Takeover blog at the moment on this very subject. So head to Comicsyouth.co.uk to check that out.
Which segues nicely into a British teen movie which deals really well with dealing with the topic of body image and of challenging body expectations. This is “Ultraviolet” by Stiff Dylans from Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and we’re playing it for my amazing Comics Youth marketing co-conspirator Emily.
TRACK 5: “Ultraviolet” by Stiff Dylans
TRACK 6: “Heroes” by David Bowie (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
TRACK 7: “ Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds (The Breakfast Club)
I have so many emotions today, folks. SO MANY.
So that was obviously Simple Minds with Don’t You Forget About Me from The Breakfast Club. Choose your fighter: Today, are you the brain? The Athlete? The basket case? The Princess? Or the criminal?
I am most definitely in Ally Sheedy territory today – then I again I did do a Judd Nelson fist-pump into the air during that song so maybe there’s a little John Bender in me today as well.
Before that was Saint David Bowie with “Heroes” from The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Now, I need to talk about this. Firstly, this is a great time to plug the fact that we do a Netflix watch party every Saturday at 4pm. You vote for the film and we all get to watch it together and chat about it together and – if yesterday’s watch-party is anything to go by, sob heavily together.
If you’re aged 13+ then you can get involved in that by clicking onto our Safe Spaces Discord button on the Comics Youth homepage and filling out the form that’s on there to get access.
So yeah – we watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower in yesterday’s watch party, and I won’t lie: I’m not okay. I think I sobbed uncontrollably from minute 1 all the hecking way until – and after – the credits rolled. I’m just very sensitive right now everyone.
But it was really lovely. We all had a good cry together. And jeez, that line about how You accept the love you think you deserve? Yeah, we all lost it.
But it’s nice to watch a film like that with people that you love and that you know have your back and love you too. It’s also nice to cry at a film like that with people over the privacy of the internet so that nobody had to see me cramming several blocks of Oreo Dairy Milk into my mouth while ugly sobbing into my duvet.
I wanted to give a huge, loving shoutout to Rosa and her girl Tasha. Rosa is a huge fan of The Perks of Being a Wallflower fan – possibly the world’s number one fan - and they watched the film with us yesterday. Rosa specifically requested that we play that Bowie joint for her and she also had this to say about why the film is so important. She says:
“Basically the perks of being a wallflower is AMAZING. BEAUTIFUL. EXQUISITE. I would go as far as to say a cinematic masterpiece really. I’ve seen it over 100 times because I’m obsessed with it. Why? Because it validates so much of what everybody feels.
Got a friend who’s fella isn’t good enough? Charlie does too!
Happy and sad at the same time? So is Charlie
Is your best friend struggling with their sexuality and secretly dating a popular jock named Brad Heyes who doesn’t appreciate his love enough? That’s very specific but as Charlie says ‘same hat’!”
And yeah – that film crept into my heart and very much brought home the fact that I think we’re all at least one, if not many, of the characters from that film at various moments in our lives.
And both that film and The Breakfast Club both hit home the idea that every person has their own struggle and has a little bit of weird in them – heck, there are those amongst with a LOT of weird in us – it’s just that some of us are just better at hiding it than others.
Which brings us to teen movie teaching lesson #3: To make sense of this life we all just need to find our people – them folks who struggle as we struggle and those fellow weirdos who understand and accept us and love us wholeheartedly. Who cheer us on from the sidelines and who let us know that we deserve to demand better for ourselves.
And that’s just a whole lotta Comics Youth, isn’t it?
Now, I’ve gone all sappy. Before I start crying again – which, I won’t lie – is a real possibility - I’m gonna redirect this show to a couple of films about some burn books, fatal gobstoppers, and some mean, mean girls. This is Peaches with “Operate” on Lockdown! at the Disco:
TRACK 8: “Operate” by Peaches (Mean Girls)
TRACK 9: “Rock ‘n’ Roll Machine” by The Donnas (Jawbreaker)
That was “Operate” by Peaches from the Mean Girls soundtrack followed by “Rock ‘n’ Machine” by The Donnas from Jawbreaker – who were a band that I think were featured on every teen movie soundtrack of the late 90’s and early 2000’s. And with good reason too cos they’re slammin’
Both Jawbreaker and Mean Girls are two very dark comedies that explore the numerous ways that it doesn’t pay to be mean. Teen movie teachings lesson #4: Don’t keep a burn book about people and also, pranks are nasty: Most definitely never shove your mate into the boot of a car and ram a gobstopper in her mouth as a fun lark. As Jawbreaker proved, that scenario does not end well.
This concludes the mean girl segment of this show – because, you know what? Those are awesome films, but I refuse to waste energy talking about toxic people. Here’s one final song though from a mean girl movie – this time with added magic.
I bind you Nancy…
TRACK 10: “How Soon is Now?” by Love Spit Love (The Craft)
TRACK 11: “Chick Habit” by April March (But, I’m a Cheerleader!)
That was the Love Spit Love cover of “How Soon is Now” from The Craft – and I think we can appreciate that cover even more now that it lets us enjoy that song without the horror of having to engage with Morrisey (yuck!).
And that was followed by “Chick Habit” by April March from – what I think is one of the most underrated movies ever made, teen or otherwise – But! I’m a Cheerleader starring Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall. Not only is it just loads of fun with an amazing soundtrack but it’s also that rarest of beasts: It’s a lesbian rom-com with a fairy tale ending.
That’s right, lovelies! The lesbians get a happy ending. CAN YOU BELIEVE?
Teen movie teachings lesson #5: Love whoever you want to love and be proud of it.
I know this isn’t an easy time for anyone currently living at home with parents that might not respect or support their gender identity or their sexuality so I just want to take this moment to remind you that we see you. We love you. You are valid. And we’re going to get through this together and as a community.
Remember, physical distance isn’t social distance, as the terminology incorrectly suggests. None of us are alone or without love.
And to everyone currently physically far away from the people they love most in this world, these two songs are for you. And they’re also for all the people I’m currently clutching tight inside my own heart right now who I haven’t seen or touched or danced with for so long. You’re still here. We’re still here.
TRACK 12: “Lovefool” by The Cardigans (Romeo + Juliet)
TRACK 13: “Sea of Love” by Cat Power (Juno)
That was The Cardigans with “Lovefool” from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack which was the biggest vibe when I was like 13 and it put me onto bands like Radiohead and The Butthole Surfers and The Wannadies. But also – food for thought – if Romeo + Juliet were social distancing then they probably would never have wound up in the disastrous very deathly predicament they found themselves in there. Just sayin.
This episode is quickly coming to a close. Which means we have a few final political pit-stops to make. And the first one we want to present is a sentiment which I want to express via a song from the movie Cruel Intentions.
The older I get – and I’m basically a fossil, in case you can’t tell. I saw this film in the cinema when it came out for crying out loud! – the older I get, the more bewildering this movie becomes! It’s nothing but truly horrific rich people being super toxic and disgusting and setting up thirst traps for no other reason than they’re rich and they’re bored and they can.
So we do what we always do, people: We set the table, we prepare for a banquet, and we say EAT THE RICH. This is Marcy Playground with Coming Up From Behind:
TRACK 14: “Coming Up From Behind” by Marcy Playground (Cruel Intentions)
TRACK 15: “Girl Like You” by Edwyn Collins (Empire Records)
That was “Girl Like You” by Edwyn Collins from the wonderful Empire Records – which is a great movie that serves up a powerful reminder to disavow the establishment and support independent and grassroots creatives and businesses. Which is something we’re very into here at Comics Youth.
With that in my mind, next week’s episode is all about Local Heroes. We want to know which people, artists, activists, and small businesses you think are heroes – give them a shoutout on the air because you know they deserve it.
We’ll also be pushing a playlist made up solely of local musicians from past and present so please send us your finest requests for songs by Scousers. We’ll hopefully also have some inspiring words from some local musicians to share with you all.
With that in my mind, we’re about to play a song from another anti-establishment movie which I urge you all to watch. Especially if you love power pop jams, the Archie Comics universe, and if you kinda want to start a band of your own one of these days. This is “3 Words” from Josie and the Pussycats and it goes out to our Anna – who you might know as our Dungeons & Dragons master. This is our jam!
TRACK 16: “3 Words” by Josie and the Pussycats (Josie and the Pussycats)
TRACK 17: “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper (Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion)
That was “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper and it most definitely made me do a massive ugly cry that I might not recover from during the end of this episode. I knew it was a mistake to play it, because it always gets me emotional but it’s such a beautiful and important song.
I hope you thought of the Romy to your Michele during it and that you all imagined the moment that you get to be reunited with them properly – and I’m talking the whole shebang - trashy co-ordinated outfits and impromptu elaborate dance routines in public included! If you’re anything like me then there are probably numerous Romy’s to your Michele and many Michele’s to your Romy.
That song goes out to all of them.
And this is it, folks! We’ve come to the end of our episode for another week and it’s been an absolute pleasure hanging out with all again.
Remember that we love you. We’re here for you – ALWAYS - and we miss all of you so very much.
Until next time gang gang: Stay safe and stay sassy and – as The Perks of Being a Wallflower perfectly suggested, start preparing your living room dance NOW. Oh, and do be sure to let the beat drop and go wild with your Patricks and your Sams and your Charlies…
TRACK 18: “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners