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Friday Flashback

Some very fine ladies started a discussion this week about starting a new feature on fridays, entitled Friday Flashback, with the the first topic being “How [insert band here] Changed My Life”. There was no need to twist my arm, as I was in like Flynn. (Of course, when Catherine and Tracey come a-callin’, you don’t ask questions.)

(Except, um, I did ask many questions of Catherine. MANY QUESTIONS. How? What? When? Why are we all here, Catherine? What in the hell is going on with Penny and Desmond?! TELL ME NOW.)

On first thought, I was sure this would be a breeze! So, I started thinking….

How The Cure Changed My Life.

I was a sullen mess who only wore black with ripped-up jeans. I liked boys with long hair on one side and short hair on the other. The End.

Hmm, not much more on that one.

Okay, okay. How Red Red Wine by UB40 Changed My Life.

Spring Break Padre Island 1989. I kissed a hottie Senior when I was a Freshman. My plane was also struck by lightning on the way back – I figured it was my punishment. The end.

Wait, but that doesn’t encompass me as a whole! How about Hold Me Now by the Thompson Twins? When I didn’t get picked to dance at my youth assemblies? The REJECTION.

Good Lord. At this rate, we could be here all day. (It’s so hard! SO HARD.)

So, without further ado, I give you my altered Friday Flashback topic of the week (because, obviously, I ask too many questions AND can’t follow the rules) :

Songs From My Childhood/Young Adulthood That Have Made Deep Imprints On My Tiny Brain. (With bonus YouTube videos!)

When I was a weee little one

Lido Shuffle – Boz Skaggs
Taking It To The Streets – The Doobie Brothers
Hey Nineteen-Steely Dan

Grade school rocks

Maneater – Daryl Hall & John Oates
Gloria – Laura Branigan
We Got The Beat – Go-Go’s
I Love Rock-n-Roll – Joan Jett
Love Is A Battlefield – Pat Benatar
Time – Culture Club

Middle school through high school

Glory of Love – Peter Cetera (HELL YEAH MR. MIYAGI)
Never Tear Us Apart – INXS
I Touch Roses – Book OF Love
Careless Whisper – Wham
Blue Monday – New Order
La La Love You – Pixies
Fascination Street – The Cure
Angel – Morrissey
Step On – Happy Mondays
Bring On The Dancing Horses – Echo & The Bunnymen
Come Back Down – Toad The Wet Sprocket
The Only One I Know – Charlatans UK

College Years

Things – Paul Westerberg
The Mango Song – Phish
Goodbye – The Sundays
Diner – Widepsread Panic
Crash – Dave Matthews Band

This has GOT to be the world record for linked YouTube videos.

Looking for more musical flashbacks? Check out these other kick ass participants:

Sweetney
Her Bad Mother
Oh The Joys
Mamalogues
Mrs. Flinger
IzzyMom
Girl’s Gone Child
Mom-101

What about you? What songs/artists have branded your brain for life?

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36 comments
  1. Mom101

    February 29, 2008 at 12:42 pm

    I have to thank you for all of these links. I think I now have my Friday night spoken for.

  2. Lauren

    February 29, 2008 at 12:58 pm

    Ah, how I love Careless Whisper. There’s nothing like it to take me back to waiting, hoping for a boy to asks me to dance in the eighth grade.

  3. christa

    February 29, 2008 at 1:07 pm

    “far gone and out” by the jesus and mary chain changed my life. i heard it on mtv’s alternative nation, scribbled the words onto a phone book, but forgot to see who sang it or what it was called. from then on, i had to stay up late every sunday night waiting to hear it again. during that time i came to love the smiths, the cure, depeche mode, lemonheads, juliana hatfield … it yanked me straight out of top 40 radio.

  4. sizzle

    February 29, 2008 at 1:33 pm

    I wish I’d known about this because I would have given the anniversary post the boot. This is a good one!

    What no Stone Roses or Madonna?

  5. Jamie

    February 29, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Ohhh, I had a major thing for Toad the Wet Sprocket. Good call, there.

    As for me, my biggest flashback (or at least the one that springs immediately into my mind) is the Pet Shop Boys. It reminds me of the latter years of junior high, of jumping on the big trampoline in our backyard, trying to spy over the hedges into the hot neighbor dude’s house.

    Except not quite that creepy-like. It was totally innocent. Ahem.

  6. Heather

    February 29, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    Oh, “Things.” That song breaks my heart every time, and so few people know about it, it seems like!

    One of the songs that always takes me back to college is “Hey Jealousy,” which my best friend and I would drive around singing along to whenever we were broken-hearted. Which was about every five minutes. But the funny thing is, years later, the guy I most often directed my singing of the song to did email me when he found out I was getting divorced to tell me he was still in love with me. WTF! Also, too late, pal.

    Anything They Might Be Giants, the Cure or Depeche Mode takes me right back to high school.

  7. winomom

    February 29, 2008 at 3:04 pm

    Oh Most Revered Whoorl…I’m going to be thinking on this one. But, in the meantime, I thought I’d send Dire Warnings your way, lest these *ladies* also visit your posts. Buckle up, get a drink, or go ahead and pee, because I’m going to send you a CHUNK of post/comment content from DECEMBER 2005. Why, you ask, would anyone care to send you a CHUNK of this crap from 2005? Excellent question, indeed.

    Alright. I used to be a full-on blog addict. And before I quit, got my 28 day chip, spent the last couple of years in recovery and am JUST now coming back to considering it…I thought of a fun little meme idea, with just this title…Friday Flashback. NOW BEFORE YOU THINK I’M GOING KOOKOO ON YOU…I don’t for a second think there’s anything proprietary about that silly title! But you won’t believe what I received (or maybe you would!)…and THAT is what I’m about to post in here…maybe my evening cocktail’s already gone to my head and this is retarded, but I swear, I thought it was so funny, that when I saw your post today, I had to share. If I’m wrong, and it’s not at all funny, and I scare you, please forgive. I’ll never drink and comment again. Here goes, from the old, now defunct, blog, Dec.’05, starting with my words…

    “And I thought this was for fun. Apparently, I may be very wrong. As tonight, this is an email/comment I received on this Flashback Friday idea. When I was informed, as can be seen in my comments section, that I may be stepping on some toes, as below:

    Karin at HeartSongs (http://three-part-harmony.com/heartsongs/) started the original Flashback Friday quite some time ago. I’m sure she’d have no problem with you participating, but if I were her, I wouldn’t be real pleased to see someone else claiming my idea as their own. Just saying…

    I responded honestly that this just came to me, that I’m new to this, and have never seen this person or her site. And that I would contact the potential “originator” of said idea. And then received this:

    Well [Winomom], to some it is a game, and to others it is a hobby. Please, do visit her and inform her that you intend to take her idea and pass it off as something you just happened to think of months after she did. Should you decide to do your own version of Thursday 13 as well, I’m sure the blogger who created the idea will be equally as pleased. It is not a competition, but you will find, since you are new to this hobby, that bloggers tend to take something called a copyright very seriously when it applies to their creative writing ideas.

    Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.

    Is it just me, or does this blow others of your readers’ minds, too?!? Merry effin Cmas, indeed. Give me a break. I responded (stupidly) about having the sudden urge to slam my locker and tell my BFFs not to talk to HER anymore, geesh. And shortly after all that, I got so fed up with that sort of crap I quit.

    Lordy. The wine HAS gone to my head. Forgive this rant. I just couldn’t resist when I saw your title. Have a great weekend, still love your hair,
    winomom

  8. LVGurl

    February 29, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    Thanks. Now I have “Maneater” stuck in my head.

    Speaking of… at the time, I thought Hall & Oates wrote that song about Ms. Pacman. You know, because Mr. Pacman already had a song written about him.

    And now I have “Pacman Fever” stuck in my head as well.

  9. Jora

    February 29, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    Ohmygosh I just LOVE this. I love being taken back to that time (not that I would want to relive it or anything!). And I just love Paul Westerberg and anything Replacements. If I would add something to your list, it would definitely be something from REM…early days….maybe Talk About the Passion. Anything from Murmur, really.

  10. Izzy

    February 29, 2008 at 5:30 pm

    I can tell by your list of songs that we must be somewhat close in age. It was like a flashback of my entire life!

    And Hold Me Now? *sigh* I STILL love that song. And Careless Whisper. And I Touch Roses. And ANYTHING by The Pixies.

  11. Izzy

    February 29, 2008 at 5:31 pm

    Oh man…look at all your Google ads. They’re all for The Cure! I think those are the only decent Google ads I’ve ever seen.

  12. Maya

    February 29, 2008 at 5:34 pm

    My husband would like to propose to you on the basis of the Echo & the Bunnymen song alone. Also the drummer from Toad (they’re from here) was my neighbor for years, which is my only brush with musical fame, aside from the time that Daniel Ash and I sat and chatted at a bar and I didn’t know who he was. Heh.

  13. am'ti b

    February 29, 2008 at 5:36 pm

    loving the panic ref, i will be sure and pass it on to leelee!

  14. Oh, The Joys

    February 29, 2008 at 6:38 pm

    I forgot what I was going to say because I got all wrapped up with wino mom’s comment. I had to laugh. I admit, I’m not sure there’s much original thought left in the universe. Great minds and all that…

  15. Mrs. Flinger

    February 29, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    ohhh! Links! Settling down with red wine and listening to a little UB40? Life is good.