Musical Nostalgia

I got range!

Elementary school:

- I remember when my dad gave me his old dusty sony fm radio boom box and I put it on top of my dresser looking for radio stations. that's how discovered the love of my early life: Wild 94.9! man, I totally remember feelin so hood in Milpitas listening to "that's just the way it is" thinking about all the girls i had crushes on. I had so many feelings when I was a little kid! Whenever a good song was on, I remember running around trying to find a cassette to record songs and make mixtapes for cuties after which I'd lock the door and rock out til I was a sweaty mess. haha 90's one-hit power dance music that I cant remember the artists to: Another Night, Pump up the jam, 2 times, Rhythm of the Night...dag. NOSTALGIA.

- Sometimes when my dad and I were driving around in the old blue '87 nissan truck, the Let's Talk About Sex song would come on and I'd cover my mouth while my dad awkwardly changed the radio station. funny random memory.

- HAH! that super weird She Blinded Me With Science/Come on Eileen music mix infomercial! remember that? My first wtf moment...

- Lauryn Hill & Erykah Badu! got soul at an early age.

- BOYZ II MEN. MOTOWN. PERIOD.

- Backstreet boys: Around 4th grade, these guys hit the scene HARD. Back then, it wasn't weird for guys to give respect to the backstreet boys. Spiked hair, frosty tips, and middle-school dances have much thanks to give to these guys. then N'sync hit. I pretended to like them, but on the inside, I was (and still am) BSB til the day I die. real talk.

- Around 3rd grade, No Doubt released Tragic Kingdom - still one of my top favorite albums ever! Sunday Morning, Spiderwebs, Dont Speak, Tragic Kingdom...I remember sneaking the anti-shock CD player outside the house and walking the streets in my neighborhood listening to songs for hours.

- I think Ska/alternative reggae made its big inception around the mid 90's. Sugar Ray, Shaggie, Sublime, the feel good music I'd listen to in the car with my friend Chris Ha while our moms shopped at Nordstrom Rack.

Junior High:

- Backstreet Boys and N'Sync continued their reign of terror.

- Middle school dances were these rare events that might constitute some of the funnest times of my life! I remember when dance wasn't a big deal and people just had fun spazzing out without trying to look cool. I think I got in a circle and moved my feet as fast as I could and I'd get really sweaty and my friends were super impressed. YMCA and All My Life was huuuuge. The first dance I ever went to was in middle school and I asked a girl to dance for the first time to the tune of Never Had a Dream Come True by S club 7. One of those funny things that a guy remembers...

- I had this huge crush on this Japanese girl and I remember trying to find Japanese music so I could talk to her during lunch. I tried to memorize the lyrics to first love so we could sing it together. chilvalry, y'all. Turns out Japanese music aint half bad! M-Flo, Ayumi Hamasaki, Chemistry, and of course - Utada Hikaru.

- Got saved and truly started enjoying the pleasure of worshipping God! It was more than just singing songs and getting emotional; it was powerful in a way words cant really describe. Thank you Steven Curtis Chapman, Vineyard music, and others.

HIGH SCHOOL:

- Emo music was, and still is, a big influence on my life. Too many nights parked in the lot of my high school pondering lofty thoughts to the tune of Jimmy Eat World (probably my All-time favorite alternative band), Bright Eyes, Senses fail, Relient K, the Mars Volta, Taking Back Sunday, Saves the Day, New Starting Over, Rooney, Something Corporate, Avril Lavigne's early stuff, others. Driving to music became special to me: Many good times flooring it down rainbow avenue on my way to practice with the band in my grey dickies and small band tees.

- Got really into drums and joined wind ensemble, marching band pit & drum corps - one of the best choices I have made in my life. My band teachers like Doc and Tom Gierke taught me to appreciate technique and finesse. I remember walking into the band room and seeing the announcements on the white board, profanities on the music stands, and the stinky stale air in the percussion room. I really loved the sound of strings, brass and winds though - there is no other feeling quite like having hundreds of horns and woodwinds filling the air. I'm getting tingly just thinking about it! The sound and smell of the parking lot is still super fresh in my mind. After hours and hours of non-stop rudiments and warm-ups under the sun, I still have martian mambo on my ipod!

- The Postal Service came out and I remember thinking their music was really cool. sounds Nintendo-y!

- Joined jazz band and fell absolutely in love with it - the sound, the skill, the feeling! improvisation is hardcore. Jazz is probably still my favorite sound to date.

College:

- I started to stream music online pretty hardcore looking up random artists here and there on imeem. I found Damien Rice and started thinking of green fields, pretty scenery, ykno. coffee shop stuff. (Tangent: Seems like Indie music is no longer "Indie" - it's totally mainstream now! Nothing wrong with that though.) Rachael Yamagata, Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, many many others

- I got introduced to Bethel and IHOP music which I quickly learned to love. I remember seeing Chris Quilala's name for the first time and thinking "what the freak. quail-allah?" Still my favorite prayer music. something about it just opens up my heart and mind.

and the list goes on...here's to many more, 2010!