Rock ‘n’ Roll High School 29: Making Out to Pachelbel

What goes better with high school and hormones than German composer Johann Pachelbel?  Not much, I assure you.  Today’s RNRHS entry from Author and Musician Nic Brown has afforded me the perfect opportunity to discuss a timeless topic: make-out music.  If RNRHS is a snapshot of high school in America in the 70s, 80s, and 90s (and I say it is), I have concluded that the rock-music-laden make-out session is largely a myth.  First off, it turns out that a lot of people weren’t making out at all in high school.  (Side note: everyone who had the guts to admit to their lack of action in high school also quickly pointed out that they made up for lost time in college.) And almost nobody was rocking to Zeppelin or Bon Jovi or Duran Duran.  In fact, there was some seriously weird-ass shit being played in basements and station wagons across America.  My blog is merely here to bring the truth to light…Pachelbel today, everything from “Peter Cetera bulljive” to the theme from Little House on the Prairie before that.

Nic Brown

Greensboro Day School, Greensboro, NC, Class of ’95, Currently: Author

Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: My friend Bryce and I listened to quite a bit of They Might Be Giants.  Hm. We also listed to John Denver. But I formed my own band, Athenaeum, for my eighth grade dance and we stayed together all through high school. It was definitive. Left no real room for any other band in my file of high school rock memories.

Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: I cannot think of a single piece of music memorabilia that I owned in high school, or ever, really, save this: in middle school I wore a Corrosion of Conformity t-shirt until it appropriately corroded to the point that it could no longer be worn. That said, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song by Corrosion of Conformity.

Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: Pearl Jam. This band embarrasses me still. The combination of Eddie Vedder’s voice and those oversized basketball jerseys and floppy hats worn by some of the members made it impossible for me to listen to this ridiculous group.

Best show or concert you saw in high school: This is easy: Sex Police with What Peggy Wants at Kilroy’s on Elm Street in Greensboro in 1993. I still haven’t recovered. It was the pinnacle of cool, and it’s all been downhill since.

Optional bonus question:  Best high school make-out song: My girlfriend in high school made me a mix tape with Pachelbel’s Canon as the first song on side two. Took making out to a heretofore unknown level of erudite splendor.

Nic Brown is the author of Doubles. You can learn more about him at nicbrown.net.