Music Meme

Superkimbo has tagged me with a Meme, and when I saw her the other night for dinner, I told her that I didn’t really do Memes, because I find them self-indulgent and a bit pointless. She said, “You just described your entire blog!” And of course she is right. I have tried to stay away from these things because I feel if I do one, I will do them all. But alas let’s get to the facts! Let’s talk about me me me…

The rules for this tag are that I am to find the top hits of the year I turned eighteen, which is 1992 for me (from this site), and write a little blurb about what each song meant to me at the time. Before I start, I need to state a few disclaimers:

1. I was involved in my first, of many, dysfunctional relationships my senior year in high school with a girl who was my exact opposite. We broke up and got back together for the next six years. I only mention this because my musical judgment was strongly affected by the emotional roller coast that was my relationship with Karen. I am not proud of the songs I listened to while pinning for her, but if I am to be honest, I must admit to not only listening to them, but also owning and liking them.

2.I have a soft spot for pop songs. I am very proud of my eclectic musical tastes. I feel I have good taste in music. If you don’t believe me take a look at my Last FM page, but I am not too proud or “indie” to like a good Pop song when it deserves it.

3. I will go through this list and write my little blurb about each song, but I want to talk about the actual songs that got me through 1992 as well. I think this list just goes to show how pointless and ridiculous top 100 lists are, because these are probably the worst songs released in what I feel is one of the best years in music.

Here is the list:

December 7, 1991- January 24, 1992: Black Or White - Michael Jackson

If I remember correctly, this was another one of Jacko’s comebacks. There was that horrible video with Mccully Culkin and Slash playing guitar. I think the song is awful and I hated it then as well, although, I have always been a Michael fan. The album Dangerous, that Black and White is on, is one of Jackson’s best to date.

January 25 - January 31: All 4 Love - Color Me Badd

I don’t remember this song. However, while I wish I could make a blanket statement like- I hate all boy bands, I did like that one BackStreet Boys song, I Want It That Way. (I already admitted that I have a soft spot for lame pop songs. I will refer to this phenomenon from now on as the PopClause)

February 1 - February 7: Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - George Michael/Elton John

I don’t remember this song, but even trying to remember what it could have sounded like just made me throw up a little in my mouth. I do love the songs Sacrifice, Tiny Dancer, Faith, and the one with all the supermodels in the video.

February 8 - February 28: I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred

Total trash. Hated it then. Hate it now. This is not pop. This is a record company executive aiming for the lowest common denominator and hitting it big.

February 29 - March 20: To Be With You - Mr. Big

I feel less of a man for admitting that I listened to this song because of Karen. Apparently during one of our “downtimes” some asshole named Anthony S. told Karen that the bad guy in the song was like me! While investigating, I was actually hooked by the simple riff and catchy melody. Damn that Pop music! I actually saw the main guy from this band at a guitar shop one time and he was like three feet tall. I guess Mr. Big refers to something else.

March 21 - April 24: Save the Best For Last - Vanessa Williams

I love this song then, and I still think it is a great song. Here is a perfect balance of melodrama and sugary pop goodness. I will use the PopClause with pride here.

April 25 - June 19: Jump - Kris Kross

WHAT THE FUCK! So bad on so many levels that I will move on!

June 20 -July 3: I'll Be There - Mariah Carey

Here I will combine the PopClause and the KarenClause. We loved this song. I mean come on; it is a Jackson Five classic and Mariah hammers it. This is before she became a total skank and could actually sing. Love this song!

July 4 - August 7: Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot

Whatever. I don’t even know what to say, accept that I had graduated high school by this point, and I was so happy I didn’t know my head from my ass.

August 8 - August 14: This Used To Be My Playground – Madonna

I have loved Madonna since I was ten. There is very little that she has done that I don’t think is amazing. I saw her in NYC in 2004 and it was one of the most entertaining shows I have ever seen. This is not one of her best songs, but I will always support her.

August 15 - November 13: End of the Road - Boyz II Men

I am going to pull out the Pop Clause yet again. I mean I hate to Boys To Men, but how perfect is this song for a group of people who have just graduated. We used to actually get drunk and try and sing this song at parties. We were half serious and half joking, but we were eighteen, drunk, and free.

November 14 - November 28: How Do You Talk To An Angel - The Heights

I have no idea what this song is.

November 29, 1992 - March 5, 1993: I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston

Pulling the Pop and Karen Clause. Great song no matter what people say, although I never saw The Bodyguard.

Okay! Now that I have embarrassed by admitting that I listened to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey as I pined for a girl, let me talk about the music that actually mattered.

You Could Be Mine off of Use Your Illusions II was the anthem for our senior year. It was the perfect remedy for Whitney Houston. I listened to Guns N’ Roses more than any other band in 1992. I am preparing a post just on G N’ R and will write it soon, so I won’t say much more here about how much I loved their music. But I will say that my senior quote in out yearbook was, “I don’t worry about nothing, because worrying is a waste of my time!”

So What Cha Want off of Check Your Head. The Beastie Boys were back and they were playing guitars. Need I say more? To this day this is one of the most complex and perfect records out there. It stands the test of time and is near perfect.

Blood Sex Sugar Magic. Emily was the other girl I loved in high school. The only problem was that we were really good friends. I had a crush on her, until we were both in college, at which point we had a weird relationship and then we went back to being friends; I still keep in touch with her. Anyway, I remember driving around town in her car as she smoked cigarettes blasting Sir Psycho Sexy, and feeling like I was the king of the world.

Simple Man by Lynryd Skynyrd. Nothing like introspective southern rock to make a boy feel like a man. We listened to a lot of Skynyrd senior year and I will still admit that they are a great band.

This was also the year Grunge took off and bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden changed my musical tastes forever. They would become the soundtrack of my life for the next ten years. I will write more on these bands in a future post. I think I have exhausted this meme. Thanks SuperKimbo. I guess that means I now have to tag five people.

Here they are:

Chronicles of Me
LeSophie
Shoe Diva
Vapid Lemur
ThirdFloor