A few months ago, when I said I was happy about the news that the Spice Girls would reunite, I took some flack for it. I'm not surprised, really, and I'll admit that the Spice Girls are cheesy. Even so, every time I hear one of their songs, I can't help smiling.
My junior year of college, when the group was at the height of its popularity, a friend of mine decided to give her boyfriend (who was, like most guys our age, a fan of the scantily-clad ladies) a Spice Girls themed Valentine's Day gift. She dressed up as Ginger Spice and called upon four of her friends to play the parts of the other Girls and dance to "Spice Up Your Life" for him.
My roommate Miranda was chosen to play Scary Spice, and I was tapped to play Sporty Spice, which was funny because I was not at all sporty and she was not at all black. She did, however, have dark, curly hair, tons of leopard print clothing and access to plenty of theatre makeup to make herself look black. Luckily, we were "performing" at the guy's apartment, in the building right next to ours, so no one who might have been offended saw her -- not that anyone would have noticed anyway. She made a great looking black girl; even the guy whose gift this whole thing was didn't realize she was white for like a year after that.
Miranda, who recorded nearly every movie or special she watched on TV, had a video of a Spice Girls concert, and the two of us had nothing to do the day of the big performance, so we actually took the time to learn the "Spice Up Your Life" dance...alright, and maybe a few others too. At the time, we were making fun of it, but it was one of those things that's funnier if you do a good job. So we did.
The girl's boyfriend loved the dance -- or at least, loved the fact that five girls had dressed up to dance for him on Valentine's Day. The relationship didn't last, but the laughs we all had that night are something we aren't likely to forget.
About a year ago, during the run of "Grease," I was in the dressing room putting on my makeup, when someone popped in a CD with "Stop" on it. I hadn't heard the song in years but immediately started singing along, and somehow, I still knew the entire dance. Today, I was listening to a college-era mix tape (an actual tape, mind you) and heard "Stop" once again. And once again, I couldn't help singing and dancing along.
There's just something about the Spice Girls. Was their music groundbreaking? No. Did they inspire people to lead better lives and look inside themselves to find a deeper meaning? Um, probably not. But there was always a good beat and fun lyrics, and they didn't really take themselves too seriously (anyone who has seen Spice World -- and I have, thanks to Miranda -- can tell you that).
I doubt the Girls will go on to record umpteen more smash hit albums and achieve the fame and fortune they did in the 90s. I think their 15 minutes are pretty much over. But I'm glad they've returned for another fling.
Welcome back, Spice Girls.
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