It was a time of skinny ties, flamboyant outfits, teased hair, flashy MTV videos and in-your-face attitude. Ah, a fond reflection of that priceless stamp in time called the New Wave era of popular music.It was a time well over a decade and a half-ago when boy bands were kept to a strict minimum, 'grunge' music hadn't been dreamed of and hardcore rap was still in its infancy and peppered with harmless naivety.Don't tell me you don't recall scrawling Duran Duran or Devo on your Junior High textbooks or that you didn't secretly hum "People Are People" on the school bus everyday. C'mon, admit it, you were a sucker for that stuff.And while all the other kids were rocking out to the latest hair band-of-the-week crooning another sappy love ballad or imitating Michael Jackson's moonwalk (in the privacy of their bedroom, of course) you were at the local record store picking up the new Dead or Alive and Pet Shop Boys 12" vinyl singles and papering your walls with glossy new posters of The Smiths and Billy Idol.For those of you who are too young to remember those glorious, carefree days, take no pity on our deviant sins and pensive melancholy. Just empathize with us. Because we have no remorse. We've been immersed in a new era now, where our choices for real 'alternative' music is, for the most part, limited to the next temporary fad concocted by faceless head honchos from the major label market to fatten their wallets.

It's our time to shine again, people!!!