From KCRW, this is Lost Notes.

Hey friends, I'm Solomon Giorgio, technically a 36-year-old man, spiritually three 13-year-old girls.

Oh man, I've been waiting a while to share this one with you.

As a little immigrant kid in the 80s, I immediately latched on to pop music.

There's something about American pop music

that transcends language.

I didn't understand what anyone was singing,

but I still spent all day dancing to it.

When you're talking about boy bands,

they're not all created equal.

Oh, baby, one badass, step, boss, dad, boys demand, ABC, B, B, my. They're not all created equal.

New Kids on the Block sold a lot of records.

These were white kids, granted, and charismatic visually, decent dancers.

But who hears their songs anymore?

If you turn on New Kids in the block song, I will turn it off.

So I was stoked to spend a little time talking new edition with Donnell Alexander, a great journalist.

He's written about hip-hop and sports and so many wonderful things.

Cool it now has this unique energy.

It's that perfect piece of pop.

And you'd call it disposable, except it does stay with you.

It does. It lingers.

Yeah.

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