Meme fever continues apace. The Blogger on the Cast Iron Balcony has tagged me for another:

For this one, you need to go here and type the year you graduated from high school into the search box. (Yeah, it shows everyone instantly how old you are. Depends how cagey you want to be about that one...)

Click on the link "Top 100 hits of... (your graduation year)" and cut and paste the results into your blog.

Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline your favourite. Do nothing to the ones you don't remember (or don't care about).

I graduated from high school in 1994. Dedicated readers will not be shocked to learn by age 17 I had long since stopped really caring about the Top 40, or rather, it had long since stopped caring about me.

After a brief attempt to really, truly like Bros when I was 13, I pretty much gave up on the peer acceptance angle, that's my story now anyway. Family members with different recollections of teen angst may keep it to themselves.

In 1994 I had a spectacular crush on Harry Connick, Jr and my beloved oldest sister bought me a ticket to see him at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, a few days after I moved to the big smoke and in early '95. The next time I was at the SEC it was 1998 for two Bob Dylan shows. Things had changed.

Anyway. The "top songs" of 1994. Let's have a look at the top five.

1. The Sign, Ace Of Base
2. I Swear, All-4-One
3. I'll Make Love To You, Boyz II Men
4. The Power Of Love, Celine Dion
5. Hero, Mariah Carey

Uh huh. Well.

There are clearly going to be alot of strikethroughs, alot of do-nothings and not so much bolding and underlining. It might be more productive just to pick out the ones I have something to say about. It's a short list.

38. I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), Meat Loaf

I recall liking this song.

52. Gin And Juice, Snoop Doggy Dogg

I like the Gourds' gangsta hillbilly cover of this one. Warning, lyrics not suitable for work or around impressionable poppets. Or people who object to misogyny or obscenity. Killer mando, tho'. And for the multitudes who get here via a Google search for "did Snoop Dogg sell his soul to the devil" : I just don't know.

Mp3: Gin and Juice -- The Gourds

54. Streets Of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen

Santa Vaca, a genuinely great song! Retrospectively. 1994 was the Before Bruce dark ages. I probably didn't hate it.

89. December 1963 (Oh, What A Night), Four Seasons

I had this on a cassingle, though was quite suspicious that it might have been about something rude. The word "cassingle" sounds positively Shakesperean on the tongue doesn't it, in 2005?

90. Indian Outlaw, Tim McGraw

Gag. Asked and answered.

94. Love Sneakin' Up On You, Bonnie Raitt

Go Bonnie, but I don't remember it from the time.

This is an American list, the Aussie one doesn't provide much more joy.


Of course by far the most important musical event of 1994 was the release of Johnny Cash's American Recordings, a landmark event in any year.

MP3: Like A Soldier -- Johnny Cash

In sweet retribution for tagging me previously, I am passing it on to Zoe and Kate. Also, my sisters FuschiaReads and Cozalcoatl. They were freaks too!