Home & Deranged

Why "Waity Katie" Middleton is an affront to all women: Stop assuming we're allmarriage crazy

As the royal wedding looms ever closer, I find myself filled with greater and greater anticipation — not because one of the world's great love stories will be coming to its ideal conclusion, but because it means I can finally stop reading/watching/hearing all the asinine press coverage of how Kate Middleton managed to land her balding prince.

It's nothing to do with the couple — who I, along with the near-entirety of England, it seems, think are lovely — it's to do with the insistence of the media on dubbing Kate "Waity Katie" and taking just one, excruciatingly narrow angle on the whole thing: How Middleton "landed" her prince. How she "played it" right. How the "poor girl," who must have been chomping at the bit to go charging down the aisle, has finally gotten her way.

I don't claim to know Kate, but then, neither do the media. And it occurs to me that, perhaps, just maybe, this very pretty, well-educated girl from an upper middle class family, a girl with all the options in the world and her whole life ahead of her, wasn't certain she wanted to give it all up for an utterly defining, confining, all-encompassing role — not only as a wife but as a figurehead.

Does it really seem crazy that it all might seem like a lot to take on? That she had to reflect a bit on whether marrying the Prince of England was what she really wanted? That a tiara and a shopping budget might not totally make up for giving up her privacy, her career and arguably her freedom?

It doesn't seem crazy to me. It doesn't even seem unlikely. In fact, it seems perfectly reasonable that William has known all along that he wanted to marry this girl, and that she took a while to come around to the idea. Where is that story written?

That it's the female in the relationship who's perpetually salivating over marriage is a weighted assumption that I regularly encounter myself. At 24 years old and living with a boy I've dated — like Wills and Kate, off and on — for several years, I'm constantly being backed up: If he doesn't marry you, he's crazy! Back-handedly complimented: Don't wait for him too long. You're a catch and these are your good years. And reassured: He'll come around, don't you worry.

Most of these transgressors are men, and nearly all of them are considerably older. (Think co-workers and old family friends — the types of people you have to bite your tongue with until you taste blood.) But it's not the rather archaic preoccupation with marrying young that irks me, it's the across-the-board, totally one-sided assumption that it's the boy who's dragging his feet, while I must be up at night wondering what I can do to pin him down.

The idea that we're content, responsible even, for not rushing into it doesn't seem to enter anyone's mind. Or the concept that, feeling that I'm not yet fully formed, I want to wait.

Well hear this: Some stereotypes are true. I have my dress picked out and tucked away in a misleadingly named file, and I daydream about what song to pick for the first dance at my wedding. But those thoughts take up about an eighth of the space as my weekend plans (Jazz Fest), my parents' health, or where in God's graces my career is headed.

And just once, I'd love to see someone pull my boyfriend aside, give him a knowing look and a hand on the shoulder, and tell him he's a good looking man — I'll come around.

unspecified

washed out

Houston DJs remember pioneering music store that's closing after 50 years

Photo by Craig D. Lindsey

Soundswaves announced its imminent closure on Saturday, April 25.

The parking lot of the Soundwaves on 3509 Montrose was well-populated on Saturday, April 25. Earlier in the day, the record/skate/surf shop announced on Instagram that the store would be closing soon and all the merchandise was 50 percent off. Of course, people showed up to grab as many items – LPs, T-shirts, skate shoes – as they could, waiting in line as longtime owner Jeff Spargo rang up customers one-by-one.

Soundwaves was once Houston’s mightiest independent record-store chain, with locations all over the city (its South Main location was frequented by hip-hop heads like the late DJ Screw and famed producer/ex-employee DJ Premier). It all started in 1970 when a then-19-year-old Jeff Spargo opened the Inland Surf Shop in Westbury. Seven years later, he would open up his first Soundwaves near Hobby Airport. He would later merge surfing and sounds when he launched the Montrose location in 1997. An official closing date has yet to be announced, and CultureMap was unable to reach Spargo for comment.

As the new millennium introduced streaming-music platforms that made physical media almost obsolete, record chains like Soundwaves were on the decline. The Montrose store – once a prime destination for local and visiting DJs, with its overwhelming, eclectic selection of vinyl and CDs – would eventually become the last one standing.

We asked a few of the city’s finest spinners if they have memories of stocking up at that location and/or other Soundwaves spots:

Emdee “DJ Kool Emdee” Anderson: “I used to frequent it very often. I remember when DJ Premier used to work at the original Main St. location. And when No More Mr. Nice Guy [from his hip-hop group Gang Starr] was released, he put copies of the album in the front of every record slot. I joke with him about that when I see him.

“That location was a hangout spot for DJs and producers. I got a number of gigs by helping others with music suggestions.”

Kris Stivers: “I have tons of memories (and spent tons of money on records). I was there all the time – practically every location. I introduced my sister to a buddy of mine who worked there and, now, he’s my brother-in-law. My sister then got a job at the Montrose location. She called me once from the store and put Questlove on the phone. I met Little Brother and other artists there. I miss those days.”

GrandfatherCLOC: “I met Blind Rob and Devin The Dude at the one on Gessner & 59. I still have a Soundbombing II T-shirt from when The ARE was working at South Main.

“The most memorable was meeting DJ Theory from [KTRU radio show] 12" Sub, a few years after it was off the air, at the one on Montrose. I heard one of the employees speaking and was like, that's Theory's voice!”

Jason “Flash Gordon Parks” Woods: “I went to all the locations. One of my fondest memories was finding Roy Ayers Ubiquity’s Starbooty and feeling like Steel in Juice.”

Jason “DJ Burb” Rodgers: “I only went to the one on Main. I used to go there every Tuesday after getting out of class at UH-D to listen to some new releases in the listening booths.”

Jason Graeber: “I remember all the great music lovers who worked there. Chris and Brandon always knew about the new EDM artists that were coming out. Bucky was great at introducing people to new rock and underground music. Before you had online influencers, the kids at the record stores drove what people listened to. I remember walking in and checking the end caps from my favorite employees to see what new music they were recommending. I feel that this is something that is missing and why it is harder for great bands to get traction.”

closings music soundwaves