90s kid forever

they're playing late-90s songs on the radio. bigla akong bumalik sa "wonder years" ko--late highschool and the entirety of college. sunud-sunod ang kanta, at kilala ko lahat ang mga artists, alam ko lahat ng mga lyrics. i don't wanna wait ni paula cole. don't throw it all away ni jennifer love. "it's another sad love song..." ni toni braxton. "how do i live" ni trisha yearwood. ang mga unforgettably forgettable songs ng boyzone. HAY. ika nga ni celine dion nung 1997, it's all coming back to me now. nostalgia mode.

there was a time na kasama ko sa sleeping rituals ko ang panonood ng MTV. na araw-araw kong pinapatugtog ang mga kanta ni sarah mclachlan sa CD/cassette player ng tatay ko. ang sarap magwala sa harap ng salamin habang nakikikanta with alanis morrissette ng "you oughtta know". ang sarap mag-"dancercise" to the tune of "wannabe", "who do you think you are" and "spice up your life" ng spice girls. and there was a time na nasikmura ko na rin ang "quit playing games" ng backstreet boys, if only for the pretty instrumental intro (and the cheesily pretty Wet Boys music video). naging part din ng life ko noon ang pagkain sa (then-new) Kenny Rogers along katipunan, na laging nagpapatugtog ng mga songs nina trisha yearwood at shania twain.

back to present. nagsalita ang DJ sa radio: welcome to our Retro Show! natigilan ako. natigalgal. napatiimbagang ---did i hear right? RETRO na ang 90s? wasn't it only yesterday? sya na ba ang bagong retro ngayon? ganon na sya katagal? no sh**t?!

and then it hit me. my gas, the 90s is the first decade that i've REALLY lived through, from start to end. pinanganak ako ng 1980 pero the early and mid-80s were just a blur to me. pero ang 90s, buong ningning kong naaalala. 10 years old na ko nung 1990. naaalala ko na ang "vogue" music video ni madonna, ang "it must have been love" ng roxette (na soundtrack ng "pretty woman" starring julia roberts), ang "toyang" ng e-heads (na paulit-ulit na pinapatugtog ng isang kong highschool classmate sa isang field trip noon), at ang "humanap ka ng panget" ni andrew e. in essence, milestone decade ko ang dekada '90. kasi sya ang unang dekada na nasaksihan ko vividly from start to finish. it was my growing-up decade. and for that, the 90s will always be special for me. aww.

now my second decade is about to end. 2000-2010. sige lang, bring it on. i want to live through many many decades more. pero ika nga ni sinead o' connor nung 1991 (?), Nothing Compares to You, '90s. ehe.

other songs from the Soundtrack of my 90s:

"Stay" by Lisa Loeb (dedicated to my ultimate highschool love J.L.---damn, what did i see in you?!)

"The Actor" by Mchael Learns to Rock (ang ganda ng instrumental. syet. tinransport ako sa isang fantasy time and place noon.)

"Magasin" by E-heads. (wala kong pakialam kahit pangit ang boses ko, basta kakantahin ko to anywhere, anytime i want)

"You Were There" by Rick Price (?). isang dapithapong naalimpungatan ako, napatingin ako sa labas ng bintana. in my barely-awake eyes, ang ganda-ganda bigla ng papalubog na araw. tapos narinig ko ang kantang to sa radyo. parang nagka-scoring ang paglubog ng araw. it was surreal.

"Andrew Ford Medina" by Andrew E. nung 10 years old ako, aliw na aliw ako sa kantang to. pagalingan kami ng mga pinsan ko sa pagkabisa ng lyrics nito. hehe.

"Lambada". sinayaw namin to ng mga pinsan ko on my 11th birthday. ako pa ang nagchoreograph, haha.

"Cherish" by Madonna. my first favorite music video nung 1990. ewan ko kung bakit. bago pa lang kasi sa akin ang music videos noon. hindi ko pa alam ang MTV.

"Bizaare Love Triangle" by Frente. 14 ako non. i used to sit outside our house on rainy afternoons. ito ang kantang tumutugtog sa utak ko.

"Cot" from the "Speed" soundtrack. Keanu was a memorable fixture of my highschool years. bumili pa ko ng soundtrack ng launching movie nya, at ito ang kantang tumatak.

"I'm Gonna be a Supermodel" from the "Clueless" soundtrack. in my mad quest to be as thin as i could be (circa mid-90s), ito ang naging national anthem ko at some point.

"Adia" by Sarah McLachlan. heavenly.

"With or Without You" by U2. naaalala ko ang isang memorably serene moment with the sea and sky nung '98 pag naririnig ko ang kantang ito.

"Sunny Came Home" by Shawn Colvin. MTV brought me closer to this song. ang ganda ng video, ang ganda rin ng kanta.

"Runaway" by the Corrs. summer 1998. it was the benchmark song.

"I try to say goodbye and I choke..." ni Macy Gray. Naaalala ko yung crush kong teacher. Minsan hinulaan ako na mai-inlab daw sya sa akin. imposible, kasi bading sya. pero pag nung mga panahong torn ako between being realistic and being hopeful, ito ang kantang lagi kong pinapakinggan.

at marami pang iba. basta. gusto kong ulitin ang panahong yon. makikinig na ko ng radyo araw-araw from now on.