Just the other day I was trying to remember the music I was listening to on purpose in the 80s - as opposed to what the radio gave me. It was a tough task.
Some stuff is easy to remember. I liked The Clash and U2 a lot. I also listened to a lot of punk and new wave back then. It was easy to do since KROQ was the radio station I dialed to. I found some lists of the top KROQ-played songs from then and it made me remember that there was a lot more new wave than punk hitting my eardrums.
Then I came across an old list I made back in the day (or more honestly - back in the decade). I think it was some ideas for a party tape. Crazy to think about the effort it used to take to make a mix. It's amazing that we ever did it at all. It took me a while, but I can remember most (but certainly not all) of my arcane scratchings and ratings. 
And once again it seems that my life was probably more pop than punk, but I'm okay with that. It's hard to tell if I was leaving out some of my favorites of the time in an attempt to keep it toned down, or if it was before I really got to like bands like Fear, Circle Jerks and Black Flag. But I'm pretty sure it was a list for a fraternity party tape...hence the 'D's', which I'm pretty sure refer to 'danceable'.
Mostly, it was a list of groups that I haven't heard in a long while. I could actually find most of them on iTunes though. Some hold up pretty well. Others...well...it was the 80s.
As much as I like the old tunes, I'm glad that my music growth didn't end there. And I hope it doesn't end here either.
Anyway, that was just part of the memory lane trip I got today when I opened a box of old stuff. Potent stuff, memories. 
I found a calendar that chronicled my last months in L.A. and my first months in Oregon - a time at the end of junior year and the start of senior year. My last kiss with Nancy was there. And my first kiss with Becky. Sneaking out to a cast party with my friend Eric was there in a note to make sure to pick him up...or else.
Freshman year social studies was there too - represented by note writing back and forth with Missy Conn. She couldn't decide which she liked better...in case you were wondering.
Well, there it was - one box, a hundred memories.
I'm glad for that past and miss it sometimes. But I'm also glad for now and the to be. I wonder what my boxes of the future will hold...
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Oh that's it, huh?
Posted by Shawn at 5:43 PM
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11 comments:
Awhhhh... You're sentimental.
I recognized only 4 bands on your tunes list. I'm a musical moron. Guess I'd better study up...
PS - ice cream... fursure.
Sentimental? Yeah...pathologically so.
Don't worry...the list is plumbing the depths of obscurity. Curse of having a Southern California high school career.
And I'm with you on the ice cream...like totally.
Cool... I don't think I have anything from that long ago. Maybe somewhere in my parent's attic. I like the list, it looks a lot like what's on my ipod... ;)
Some of the bands on my 80s listening list (and I still listen to most of them today.
The Clash
U2
The Alarm
Dead Kennedys
Black Flag
The Cure
Duran Duran
The Pogues
The Ramones
The Cult
X
David Bowie
R.E.M.
The Police
The Feelies
The Velvet Underground
Beastie Boys
P.I.L.
"I'm glad for that past and miss it sometimes. But I'm also glad for now and the to be. I wonder what my boxes of the future will hold..."
VERY deep, Shawn! I'm impressed. ;)
In my professional opinion (and miraculously - I'm actually qualified to have one of those), sentimentality is not pathological... It's wonderful.
Don't ever change. (well, change your oil and your undies from time to time... but that's it)
Those boxes are hard for me to go through. I wasn't even the same person I was back then. I cringe when I read those notes my girlfriends and I used to pass around--so lame.
I love that you posted them to your blog--embrace your inner dork.
The inner dork needs lovin' too.
I think there was a rash of nostalgia going around this past week. I found myself at my parents' house, going through my old photos, remembering friends and parties and hard times...And, just like you said, I miss it sometimes, too. It's strange to think that, in ten more years, I'll look back on today and think "Huh, remember when I did that...That seems like a lifetime ago."
And I love thinking about my 80s music: A lot of Whitney Houston, Paula Abdul. Tears for Fears, Spandau Ballet. Human League. Phil Collins. Good times, good times.
it's fun to look back and reminisce..
That's funny. I could see you listening to Fear.
New York's all right
all right
New York's all right...
If you like saxophones
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