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.”