This week’s 90s flashback

I’ve decided that we don’t pay enough attention to the 90s. And as long as the internet brings me good 90s music, I think that I will continue to share a few of the highlights of my week… I realize I should just let them go- but I’m nostalgic for the good old days (would I go back and relive the 90s again? Heck no. but it’s fun to reminisce). A little 90s side note- I apparently dated myself last night out with friends when I referenced bringing a boom box to an event. That’s right.

Meatloaf- I would do anything for love (but I won’t do that) - 1993

Oh my gosh, I loved this song. Why? I have no idea. It was just so darn dramatic. And that video! I loved it. It must have been around 1993 or 1994 is when I got into watching the VH1 top 10 countdown each week on Sunday mornings. We didn’t have cable at my house (a cruel trick my parents played on my when I was nearly 12) but every other weekend we’d spend Saturday nights at my dad’s house- camped out on the sofa bed with a sweet cable television in front of us. Sunday mornings while getting ready for church I’d have the VH1 countdown on. I have NO idea how long this song was on that- but it felt like an eternity. And I was not complaining. I LOVED it. It’s not a short song either- they probably edited it on VH1. I know they did on my station here the other day. I watched the clock- they cut it after 5 minutes but the song was obviously not over. I still might argue that nobody makes a ballad quite like Meatloaf (or plays a man with boobs either).

Savage Garden- I want you - 1997

If you’re not sure what this song is- you might remember it as the “chicky cherry cola song.” It was fast, hot, and ridiculous. And I couldn’t get enough. I had the cd. Hearing this song (and the whole album) immediately takes me back to my senior year of high school- friends, events of the year, my boyfriend (I felt certain that Truly, Madly, Deeply was about our love and may have been one of our first slow dances together. Yes. I remember that.). Oh Savage Garden, where have you been the last 13 years of my life? I had no idea I was missing you!

Elton John - Candle in the Wind – 1997

Not the original Elton John tribute to Marilyn Monroe, but the 1997 version that he remade for Princess Diana. (Goodbye English Rose) Confession: I heard this song the other day and it was LITERALLY the first time that I actually let it play the whole way through. In the height of the fall of 97 I was feeling overexposed to Diana stories, and didn’t like that the song was different, because I had always liked the original. So, whenever it came on the radio, I skipped it. Who really knows why. But now, actually listening to it- I couldn’t just hear it without remembering hearing about her death (we were @ my dad’s cabin in the mountains when we saw it on the news), remembering the funeral (I recorded it to watch later, I think I eventually threw away the tape), or thinking now that I have more of an interest in the royal family how tragic an event it really was. Elton moved me a little bit this week. I’m not going to lie…

What songs from the 90s take you back?

Mother's Day

I’m perpetually behind on things- watching shows on my dvr, movies that came out two years ago, books on my book piles, reading and writing blogs. So today I was catching up on blogs (hadn’t read any in a few weeks) and really enjoyed all the mother’s day ones. So I thought I’d write about mine (only 2 days later!)

 A lot of the bloggers I follow are young parents, and so they have a lot to reflect about on mother’s day. I, however, am not a parent. I currently have no plans to be a parent in the near future (as I’m quite single, I’ll wager that it’s not likely to happen by the next time mother’s day rolls around at least). So, I got to spend this mother’s day (as I’ve spent most others) celebrating the moms in my life.

My recently married sister hosted a gathering for our mom, our grandmother, our aunt and uncle (parents of 3, but the closest of their children is in Dallas, TX), her mother in law, and her mother in law’s parents. She, her husband, and I did all the cooking so the moms didn’t have to bring anything. It was fun. It was the first time that “the kids” took care of the day- not leaving the work to the moms. We had “brunch” (though I still argue that you cannot call it brunch at 2:30pm)

We didn’t do anything to fancy- egg casserole, ham, scones (which my sister made from scratch) and pie. And mimosas. Our new favorite cocktail. But it was nice to just celebrate the moms in our lives. I’m a little embarrassed that it took us until 27 & 29 to serve our moms like this- but we’re slow learners.

I used to think mother’s day was kind of silly. I’m not a fan of these “card company holidays” that make you feel guilty if you don’t participate. However, how many times do we REALLY take the time to celebrate moms? I’m not even a mom and I get how thankless a job it is. I see my friends parenting their young children tirelessly- and it never goes away. I still count on my mom to do much more than me than I really need her to- but it’s just what I’m used to (29 year habits die hard). So, why not take a day to say Thanks to our moms?

I hope that if you’re a mom you were celebrated in a special way on Sunday. And I hope if you’re not a mom you had someone in your life whom you could just love and serve.

I go back...

Lately at work I’ve been listening to an internet radio station that plays all 90s music. I’m loving it. I love that it tells me the artist & the year of each song- it’s a little game I like to play with myself- I try to guess the year based on the life events that the song reminds me of. And I go back to the time…. (we all do it, Kenny Chesney just made a song about it)

I think 90s music will have that kind of memory jog for me more than the music of any other decade. I still love the 80s music- but particular songs don’t necessarily draw up certain memories- mostly because I was too young in the 80s for those specific correlations.

And in the 2000s (and I guess now the 2010s), I don’t listen to music the same way I did in the 90s. Now I listen more to specific albums and artists, but in the 90s is when I started listening to top 40 radio regularly (rather than listening to oldies w/ my parents, who, like me now, couldn’t let go of the songs of their youth). It’s when I bought my first tapes and cds with my own money, when I started driving, and when I went through highschool and some of college. I think those might be the years that the most specific memories are formed. I mean- in HS and college you do things and hang out with friends in ways that just cannot get duplicated in your 20s. It’s just not the same. Those mixed tape days are gone.

Now I listen to music more for quality, creativity, longevity, and creative talent. Then? If I made me bop in my seat and stick in my head- I LOVED it!

So, as I’ve been listening to the 90s station, a few specific songs caught my attention more than others, and reminded me of certain things that cannot be duplicated. I’d like to share a few that have come across the airwaves.

Boyz II Men – Motownphilly (1991)

Now, pretty much any of the BIIM songs that come on catch my attention, but this one might be my favorite. Back in the day it reminds me of the BIIM concert that I went to w/ my youth group friend, Emily. I think it was the first concert I ever went to (@ the York Fair!). Probably 1992. Classic. (a more recent memory of this song though is from 2001 when I was studying in Philly and some friends and I did a dance to this song for talent night. It was outstanding.)

Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract (1990)

Immediate response: 4^th grade dance recital song. I can remember the outfit- pink spandex tank top w/ orange and purple spandex shorts (one color/leg) held up w/ lime green sequined suspenders and a purple beret. The only part of the dance I remember? When she says “you take 2 steps forward, I take two steps back” – we did that in the dance. Of course. We were 10 year olds.

TLC – Scrubs (1999)

Freshman year- spring semester. We watched TRL and the top 5 countdown on MTV EVERY AFTERNOON in our door room. This was on both nearly every day that entire spring. There was a lot of dorm room dancing that year. (also in the top 5 that spring- Miami by Will Smith- 2 of us went to Florida for spring break that year- couldn’t have been more perfect)

Man, I could go on all day about 90s music. But I won’t. Check back again for some more highlights of this decade of yore that I will reminisce about for the rest of my life as “the good old days.”