03 February 2013
Oldies
For this song recently played on the radio, and without paying much attention I started to sing along. Until I suddenly froze - where the heck did I know this horrid song from anyways? What followed was a shocking, and somewhat painful, trip down memory lane.
This particular Europop masterpiece, "Saturday Night" by Danish starlet Whigfield, entered my record collection as part of a compilation called Bravo Hits Best of '94, which was released on November 8th of said year. Other artists featured on this Double CD (remember?) include DJ Bobo, Rednex, Take That, and a future movie star then going by the name of Marky Mark. It was clearly a worthwhile investment of my pocket money.
In my defense, it must be said that Best of '94 was the only edition of this still going series that ever made it into my stereo set. The reason presumably is that the tracks included brought back exceptionally emotional memories of the 6th grade wingdings we celebrated in basements, garages and air raid shelters (all the way 'till mum came in at midnight to turn the lights on).
Yet to this date, a large part of my music collection (in mp3 format, these days) still gravitates toward the eighties and nineties, as per the neat sorting functionality on my new smartphone. And most of the represented artists, from Bon Jovi to Madonna and from Bruce Springsteen to Texas, have retained much of their respectability. Two of them, Bryan Adams and Roxette, even performed on stage in Montréal just last year.
I realize now that they all, and my taste in music along with them, rapidly approach that section titled "Oldies". Even my colleagues pick up on it: On a recent night out, I was completely unaware of the hits by Nickelback, Arcade Fire or Katy Perry (I linked them for your reference), but had no problems singing along once the DJ started playing INXS and the Pet Shop Boys. "Toi, là, t'es vraiment full les quatre-vingts, toé!" my co-worker jeered.
It's true. I hear current chart toppers all the time, but I don't really listen to them the way I did in those teenage years. I have been musically inoculated two decades ago, and if that means listening to "all-time hits" web radio, then so be it. I am what I am.
# posted by Oli : 18:22
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