The 90s, all over again

Readers of bananaducky should know by now that I am really, really particular about the music that I listen to. I admit to not liking some movies but forgiving them for having a great soundtrack. Worse, I, on several occasions, have bought OSTs to movies I've never seen (or will never get to see, or not even bother to see).

At a Sunday lunch with my cousins, No Doubt was playing on the player. Now I've been always curious about their music because of their obvious references to ska, which lessened over time but did not go away in terms of its spiritual influence.

So yesterday, I decided to get a copy of their 1992-2003 Best of...release. I am wary of Best of..releases because it means two things: they're washed-out artists and are hoping for one more round of ka-ching ka-ching record sales (if the attention-deprived listening audience still remembers them).

How apropos that track one is "Just a Girl". The song that started it all for them. Now there are a lot of those breakthrough songs that have lost steam through ear-numbing, 24/7 tendencies to really play them on FM to death (case in point: R.E.M.'s "Losing my Religion"). Surprisingly, I still rocked to "Just a Girl". This CD has 14-15 tracks and are good selections that define the trajectory of their music.

Of course, if there's No Doubt, there has to be "Don't Speak". This one broke out in my senior year in college (okay, that was 1996) and I remember me and G. whispering "Hush, hush, darling" at the end of the song, as if practicing if ever we get to use those lines in an actual break-up situation. I started to loathe the song when it was overplayed on the radio. I think I've given it enough grace period to mend and become new to me again.

Breaktime: You are really old when you see Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" on Classic MTV. Yes, yes, I should give it up already.

So after Tatay dropped off Nanay at the bus stop this morning, I popped in the CD in the player, hoping it won't be snooty this time as I am inserting an original copy. Shifted the mode to "Dance", activated the "Bass" option and turned the volume up. Ah, morning with No Doubt and frosted cereals.

Next prospective CD purchase: Sarah McLachlan's "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy".

Music in my mind:
1) "Underneath It All" by No Doubt
2) "Volcano" by Damien Rice
3) "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet
4) "Stupid" by Sarah McLachlan
5) "Love Song" by 311

Note: I'm thinking of creating a separate blog for my vacation notes, just as not to mix them with my current concerns. Funny, but I think I could still recall specific days in Vermont from California, for example.