Back in the mid-'80s, when I began listening to retro radio on a devotional basis, the local golden-oldies station, WWSW (3WS), used 1970 at its unofficial cutoff point: Shocking Blue's "Venus" and the Beatles' "Let It Be" were the most "recent" songs in its playlist. So I developed a working definition of an "oldie" as being a song that was at least 15 years old.This definition served me well until the end of the '90s, when I discovered that songs I loved at the time of release by bands like Culture Club and ABC and Men at Work had become "oldies," rendering me a saddened and decrepit old man before I'd even hit middle age.
I bring this up because today is the 15th anniversary of my college graduation: a triumphant moment for me in my cap and gown (or, to be precise, top hat and gown), but now a worryingly distant memory. Yours truly is now an oldie even in the sense of achievement of adulthood, I guess. In commemoration, here are 10 other things that felt kind of new in 1995.
1. Smashing Pumpkins, "1979"
2. Sophie B. Hawkins, "As I Lay Me Down"
3. Martin Page, "In the House of Stone and Light"
4. TLC, "Waterfalls"
5. Nicki French, "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
6. U2, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
7. Seal, "Kiss From a Rose"
8. Rappin' 4-Tay f/ the Spinners, "I'll Be Around"
9. Boyz II Men, "Water Runs Dry"
10. Oasis, "Champagne Supernova"
2 comments:
Oh, crap. Things have been so stressful lately that I zoomed right past our graduation anniversary. Thanks for the reminder!
'1979', for me, will always be the song that came on the radio as I was driving back through Harvard Square to the hospital the day after Liddy was born. It seemed soothing and optimistic at the time.
-D*
We're all old, my friend. Looking at my "best of '95" mixtape I see 4 of your 10: TLC, BoyzIIMen, Oasis and that FAB Nikki French reimagining of Bonnie Tyler -- the '90s equivalent of Donnna Summer disco-izing "MacArthur Park".
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