Songs that Bring Back the Old Times (Part One)

For the second part of this blog series, please click here.
For the third and last part of this blog series, please click here.

Introduction. This post was supposed to be published to mark my 24^th birthday, but due to luckless circumstances, I chose not to. I never expected bad spirits came over on the very day when I should be celebrating. I never assumed spoilers can’t pick their dates and persons of interest. Hence, the worst birthday I’ve ever had.

Now that I am back somehow to my senses, I brought myself back to the day when I was planning this post. Initially, I planned to share what happened to me last year, but I felt it was nah another “annual look back.” So, this time, I chose to do it differently. I intended to use songs to make a look back on my life.

I enjoy music since I was a little one. I cannot call myself a “music lover” if I don’t. The songs that I am about to share are the songs that make me think of what the music and I have been before and what I have become. These songs make me happy whenever I listen to them. I become ecstatic when radio stations play them out of the blue. As a 90s kid, I long for songs that became hits that time, I think my fellow 90ers are missing these songs too. Now, I gladly share my picks among hundreds of songs that will make us reminisce the era of bubble gum pop and boy bands.

1995. “Feel Like Dance” by Globe

I picked this song it’s because I remembered the times when it is repeatedly played in radio stations, in jeepneys and stereos. It was a very successful Jpop music (alongside “Sweet Soul Revue”) that hit the Philippines even before Marimar made nationwide craze. Its success was never replaced by any other Japanese song.

1996. “Get Down (You’re The One For Me)” by Backstreet Boys

1996 has welcomed new boy and girl groups, and they introduced big hits that were really remarkable, earning them gold and platinum records and big wins from music awarding bodies. One notable group is the Spice Girls; they undoubtedly were embraced by Filipino fans. Another one is the Backstreet Boys, whose songs “Get Down” and “Quit Playing Games” caught my brother’s attention. We bought a BSB cassette tape and please don’t ask how many times he played them, it’s like a gazillion!

1997. “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” by 4 Ties

I was four years old in 1997 and I really enjoyed this song very much. I first heard this on GMA 7 show “1 For 3” featuring Vic Sotto and Charlene Gonzales. This song was almost never heard of again years later. When internet was beginning to be widely available, I struggled to look for this song (I was longing for this song for quite some time) because Mr. Google and Mr. YouTube always give me the wrong version, I mean, the original version made in the 70s. It was only in 2009 when I finally found the 4 Ties version. I wonder if this is still played in radio especially during Sunday throwback time.

1998. “Sha-La-La-La-La” by Dreamhouse

If you are a 90s kid, or anyone who was already here one Earth by the 90s, you cannot deny that this was a real big hit at that time! It practically dumped bubble gum pop songs like “Doctor Jones” and “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. For me, this is the most remarkable song of the late 90s.

1999. “Best Friend” by Toy-Box

It was in 1999 that I started to rely on music for happiness, entertainment and all that good feelings. Bubble gum pop such as songs from Aqua, Daze, Steps, Toy-Box and many others satisfied this need. I was delighted to know that Mr. Ernie Baron (one of my idols) also likes to listen to bubble gum pop music and played them in his radio show “Knowledge Power” in DZMM every weekday evenings. He frequently played this song, so I had a hunch that this is one of his favorites.

2000. “I'll Never Stop” by *NSync

The Second Millennium wrapped up with the birth of more boy groups. We had BSB, Boyzone, *NSync; then came A1 and Westlife. But the song that gave me lasting impression is this song by *NSync. I first heard of this song inside a Catholic church (yes, you read it right) and a group of children dancing to its beat. I longed for that song since then.



2001. "Uptown Girl" by Westlife
Westlife fans went crazy when Westlife visited the country for their "Where Dreams Come True" Tour on May 2001. "Uptown Girl" is one of the freshest songs they offered at the tour, and this song became very popular among all classes, and all ages living at that time.



Stay tuned for Parts Two and Three.....