…was represented by a pop song, what would they be?
The first decade of my life would set the tone for my interests in pop culture, back in the 80’s when such a thing was just beginning to take hold of the world. I absorbed everything I could, even things I was considered too young to watch like Aliens and Terminator. Ninja Turtles, Transformers, He-Man, RoboCop, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Muppets, and everything else in between. I read about their stories and learned about their impact on the media world while collecting the toys and talking about them with friends. It was a journey that began with the Ghostbusters, making it only fitting that the Ray Parker Jr. song represent that time of my life.
As I went into the 90’s and entered that strange awkward stage of puberty as well as beginning life in a new school, I soon became the target of bullies. Several unfortunate decisions left me a ridiculed pariah within the school system. To be friends with me was considered social suicide and I often found myself alone. However, there were those who would treat me with quiet dignity and respect, some even standing up for me from time to time. Talking with me was a guilty pleasure a few of my classmates developed, though most wouldn’t admit it openly. That’s why the Los del Rio one-hit wonder Macarena best fits that period of my time, though I hope I wasn’t quite as annoying.
Officially considered an adult in the 2000’s, it was a time of realization that I was going about life all wrong. Some chance encounters with several people who would come to be amazing catalysts of change, I finally reached out and accepted the help that I never knew that I needed. I was still very much a mess of a person, but at least it was a start. My life was beginning to repair itself and become something that I could at least live with. The song Bent by Matchbox Twenty sums it up pretty nicely on how I was those years.
The 2010 saw a huge shift for me in every sense. Life changed drastically, almost too quickly for me to adapt, and I had to hang on by the skin of my nails. I went back to school (briefly for some upgrading), I left the city of my birth for the first time ever, and I found myself quite suddenly in a relationship with a woman that I have loved for longer than I care admit. She is the best part of the decade for me so far and has made my life more interesting than I could ever have imagined. I know I don’t say it enough, but I do think it. I love her and that’s why Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars is the song I’ve picked for the 2010’s, dedicated to her.
Behind the Random: To make this a little bit more interesting, I decided to only use songs that were from that decade as well. This actually seemed a bit unnecessary since I don’t really have a large taste in music. I scoured Top 100 hit lists from each decade and only a handful of songs actually sparked any recognition, even less I could recall hearing. Still, I managed to blunder my way through it and it was kind of fun justifying each song.
642 Things 