twenty-four. [THEME: abandoned at mom's]

[cabaretlights.livejournal.com]

Useless
Artist: Depeche Mode
Album: Ultra
Year: 1997
♥: First of all -- I definitely agree that we need to revisit this theme, because there are just so many gems I didn't even have the chance to consider (and so many mix CDs I didn't even look at!). So many options, many of which were so deliciously embarrassing I really want the excuse to post them at a later date (...I never realized how much pop-punk I collected as a teenager).

Depeche Mode. Ugh.
My Depeche Mode discography was Abandoned at Mom's for a very specific reason: the band reminded me of a period in my life to which I really don't care to return. It's too bad, though, because I really love them -- their brand of synthpop/rock is exactly my style. Catchy hooks, some really smart lyrics, layers of melodies and electronics, just enough goth cred to be 'cool.' While digging through my CDs last week, I instantly flipped over these with a shudder...then paused, my mouth screwing into a strange expression somewhere in the middle of my left cheek. Could I, finally, after three years, be ready to listen to them again?

I popped Songs of Faith and Devotion, the real test, into my CD player...and to my shock and delight, 'Judas' and 'In Your Room' had nothing close to the effect they once had. Instead of being horrible throwbacks to a person I wasn't, or even nostalgic wonderings at a person I begrudgingly was, they were just good songs. GASP! Time, what an effect you can have! So, excitedly, I dug through the stack as if it were brand new. Playing the Angel! I blared 'Precious' until V came in wondering what my problem was.

It took forever to pick the song, but the album was a no-brainer. Ultra was always my favourite DM album -- the tracks are long and electric, and the hooks dig deep. But one song to encompass all of Depeche Mode? Impossible. The best I can do is 'Useless.' It's got everything I love about this band -- lilting hooks, guitar riffs coupled with beepy synths (and even some piano keys), lyrics that hit pretty hard ("you should see how it feels / with your feet on the ground"), and something inexplicably honest. Like 'Teargas,' I played this when I was angry -- usually with myself. There is something written into this song that always made me feel alive.


So, Depeche Mode, back in my aural consciousness -- who would've thought! The CDs themselves will stay abandoned at mom's...but oh my god, how ecstatic am I that I can listen to them again.

twenty-four (theme: abandoned at mom's)

[amethysting.livejournal.com]

El Chico del Apratamento 512
Selena
Amor Prohibido
1994

At this point in our friendship, you know a few things about my personality.

I am a little depressive slash self-involved.
I am a bit of a procrastinator.
(*ahem* just trying to explain away the lateness of my post there).

And, perhaps most importantly, when I am obsessed with something, I devote myself to it completely.

The movie Selena starring the then-unknown Jennifer Lopez came out in 1997.  I saw it with friends at the Greenfield Park "Cinema" which had a whopping THREE screens and a pretty extensive snack counter.  Unfortunately, it no longer exists and the space it used to occupy is now a branch of the parking lot of the huge Cinemas Guzzo multiplex.

I loved that movie.
I was shattered that the world had lost Selena (two years earlier, but hey, I had just found out).

So...first, there was the movie soundtrack.

You know, following the purchase of the soundtrack with Selena's English-language album Dreaming of You probably would have made the most sense.  But oh no, my friend, my obsession and research made me arrive at the conclusion that Amor Prohibido was probably my best bet.  I can't remember where I even found it...I'm leaning towards Club Biz which was a Bureau En Gros + Future Shop + Chapters kind of store (it was pretty awesome...pens, and books, and CDs...OH MY!).

Now, there are some stand-out tracks on this album and I therefore had a difficult time settling on which song I would share.  But THEN: those fun horns and super plinky sounding keyboards that open El Chico Del Apratemento 512 (The Boy From Apartment 512)...and suddenly I was singing along to the chorus even though I haven't heard this song in, well, probably over ten years.

After giving the disc a spin, I of course begged my mom to get a Spanish-English dictionary for me the next time she had a shift at the library.

I remember a sheet of looseleaf:

corazon = heart
esperanza = hope
sonrisa = smile

and presenting my findings to my Pathfinders troop.

This song is light, unassuming, innocent (Selena's giggle midway through!).  The story is straightforward: girl likes boy in apartment 512.  She finally gets up the nerve to knock on his door.  He answers, but has no idea who she is and says, "You must be looking for my brother".  Her heart is crushed).  I guess I associate it with my own still-innocence and childishness (I was fourteen-going-on-fifteen in 1997).

This song is holding open the liner notes, standing in front of the mirror in my bedroom, trying my best to make my mouth and tongue form these new words...I never really made it past "el chico del apratemento 512", but the passion was there, and that's probably what mattered most.