HOME POPSTROLOGY 101 WHAT'S YOUR SIGN? THE ORIGINS OF POPSTROLOGY ABOUT THE AUTHOR CONTACT US Start        Birth Years        Birthstars        Constellations How fitting, in a way, that in its final, partial year, the popstrological firmament should be ruled sweetly and benevolently by a fresh-faced young woman who applied herself to the task of achieving pop stardom with the work-ethic and unselfconscious enthusiasm of the head cheerleader she used to be. Give the kids something they can dance to and something nice to look at -- that was her credo, and God bless her for it. Any number of stars in the popstrological firmament probably saw themselves as artists or poets, but how many of them really pulled it off? How many pop stars struggling to make their music "relevant" simply ended up producing something didactic and gloppy like The Living Years, by Mike and the Mechanics, 1989's Opposing Star? That preachy song about the importance of patching things up with your aging parents before they kick the bucket certainly found an audience among baby-boomers just beginning to ponder their own mortality, but luckily for the children of 1989, their essence is more strongly defined by Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul's sweet and irresistible statement of eternal fidelity. "I know I was forever my ex-boyfriend's girl, too," you could imagine Paula saying, "but this time's different, baby." Some would say that those born in the Year of Paula Abdul are bound to be more naive than worldly wise, and are probably prone to privileging style over substance. One could just as easily say, however, that the children of 1989 simply embrace the value of keeping things simple and of focusing more of their energy on spreading joy than on spreading any super-serious gospel. And if there is a better and truer way in which a micro-generation could reflect the fundamental power of pop music, it's hard to know what it would be. Birthdates Birthstar Birthsong Jan 1-Jan 7 Poison Every Rose Has Its Thorn Jan 8-Jan 14 Bobby Brown My Prerogative Jan 15-Jan 28 Phil Collins Two Hearts Jan 29-Feb 4 Sheriff When I'm With You Feb 5-Feb 25 Paula Abdul Straight Up Feb 26-Mar 18 Debbie Gibson Lost In Your Eyes Mar 19-Mar 25 Mike and the Mechanics The Living Years Mar 26-Apr 1 The Bangles Eternal Flame Apr 2-Apr 8 Roxette The Look Apr 9-Apr 15 Fine Young Cannibals She Drives Me Crazy Apr 16-May 6 Madonna Like A Prayer May 7-May 13 Bon Jovi I'll Be There For You May 14-May 27 Paula Abdul Forever Your Girl May 28-Jun 3 Michael Damian Rock On Jun 4-Jun 10 Bette Midler Wind Beneath My Wings Jun 11-Jun 17 New Kids On The Block I'll Be Loving You Forever Jun 18-Jun 24 Richard Marx Satisfied Jun 25-Jul 1 Milli Vanilli Baby Don't Forget My Number Jul 2-Jul 8 Fine Young Cannibals Good Thing Jul 9-Jul 15 Simply Red If You Don't Know Me By Now Jul 16-Jul 29 Martika Toy Soldiers Jul 30-Aug 5 Prince Batdance Aug 6-Aug 26 Richard Marx Right Here Waiting I was born in... 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 None of these years ©2004 All rights reserved. "Popstrology" is a trademark of Ian Van Tuyl. Buy the Book at...