Tragically Hip to be Square
Our family has always been melodic. Growing up with a mom who is a concert pianist, plays violin in an orchestra and is a piano teacher — meant our house was always filled with classical and mainstream musical refrains. In addition to learning piano — my siblings and I each played a wind instrument as well. I played the saxophone, my brother the trumpet and my sister the clarinet. I’m sure we could have branded ourselves as a modern Canadian Partridge Family but unfortunately we didn’t have good PR back then.
I was raised to appreciate all genres of music. From a young age, Anne Murray, Raffi, Mini Pops, Kylie Minogue, Tiffany, The Bangles and Whitney Houston wore out my tiny pastel pink ghetto blaster that sat on my desk. My dad liked to listen to James Taylor, Carly Simon and the Beatles in the car, and mom liked Laura Branigan when she washed the floors, Paul Anka or the Beach Boys when she felt like belting out a tune and of course all things classical. And without even knowing it, bubblegum music was sneaking into their repertoire with some Sugar, Sugar, Hey Hey we’re the The Monkees, and some ABC!
But what on earth is “bubblegum” music? It’s a genre of pop music that originated in the ’60s with an upbeat sound that was considered disposable, even one-hit wonderish and marketed to young people of the era.
And I absolutely looooooved bubblegum.
For me, nothing motivated me more than a solid dancey transey europop bubblegum song from the Vengaboys, Spice Girls, Whigfield, Aqua, Real McCoy, Eiffel 65, Hanson, Ace of Base, Haddaway, and a Canadian favourite Prozzäk just to name a few.
I had bubblegum mix tapes for just about everything.
Here’s an example of what may have been, and what may still be playing in my car…
My Track and Field — Get Pumped Mix (which also doubled as my clubbing “get ready” mix when I started going out at 10 passed my bedtime, and now is my “retro vintage mix” for my Duke girls weekends.)
- Another Night by Real McCoy
- Astroplane by BKS
- Everybody Everybody by Blackbox
- Doin; the Do by Betty Boo
- Gonna Make you Sweat by C + C Music Factory
- Rhythm is a Dancer by Snap!
- Move This by Technotronic
- Saturday Night by Whigfield
- 100% Pure Love by Crystal Waters
Then there was my “1995 Night School” driving mix — which Natalie and I would crank from my dad’s Jeep YJ when we had to drive to the east end of the city just to read King Lear. #Sloan #RomeoAndJulietSoundtrack #VerucaSalt #Garbage
And we can’t forget our “1993 Backyard Tanning Mix” which was really just more one-hit wonders
that we would play while applying baby oil to ourselves — flipping over at the end of each song for that even eastern Ontario bronzed glow. #RedHotChiliPeppers #TragicallyHip #CountingCrows #LennyKravitz
And every house or cottage party we went to had to have its own mix. It was a privilege to enjoy the playlist provided because of the blood, sweat and tears that went into making that mix tape — which always had to have at least one song by the Tragically Hip on it. We had huge respect for the friend who could get the entire song off the radio before the personalities started talking. #madskills
Music is really the best thing for your soul — it opens doors, brings closure, can be the soundtrack for a break up and make up all in one playlist, sparks memories, triggers emotions, tells stories, can even be a historical timeline describing your life involving the good, the bad, and the everything in between. #NittyGrittyDirtBand #Now2 #BigShinyTunes #CottonEyeJoe #GangstersParadise #GhettoSuperstar #goodtimes
Rick Astley said it best. And this is how I see not just ’90s music, but allllll music…
Music is never gonna give you up, let you down, run around or desert you. So crank it up, kids! Loud and proud. As long as it’s not Nickelback. Even us Canadians don’t like Nickelback.
Oh and a HUGE shout out to Jamiroquai, Propellerheads, Pet Shop Boys, Fatboy Slim and Daft Punk. You got me through college, and then some. For that, I shall always Praise You.
And one last “OMG” moment to share when it came to ’90s music… My dad picked me up from school one day and the Fugees “Killing me softly” came on the radio. I loved that song so I started singing like it was karaoke night at the Oak Royale. My dad looked at me, smiled, and quietly joined in. I slowly turned towards my dad and said “You know the Fugees”? and dad replied with, “Well no, but Roberta Flack made this song popular in the ‘70s.” That was my first eye-opening lesson in understanding that original music wasn’t always original. Props to all those DJs out there who can remix or remaster a good ol’ ’90s ballad into a bass dropping house jam. Those mixes are dope. Thanks for keeping our musical era alive.
I miss Columbia House.
Love,
Patricia
