The ULTIMATE 90's COLLECTION - DAY 9

The ULTIMATE 90's COLLECTION

There’s a myriad of compilation albums in my collection because let’s face it..they’re good value! In a track listing of 15 on a various artists album you’re sure to get at least 5-8 tracks you love.  If though, the compilation is from the 90’s or 80’s you get a higher ratio of good stuff - according to me that is.

We start off with C&C Music Factory - SWEAT. This is probably one of the greatest songs ever and you know what? Most learned people agree. Look at how many times SWEAT is used in movies or TV, most recently on 30 Rock, when Liz Lemon distracts a ruthless audience and defends Jack Donaghy’s professional reputation by disrobing to her own acapella version of the song at a business conference. Perhaps the best use was in the Simpsons when Homer goes to the steel works where all the hot gay men work. CC Music Factory screams...HOT GAY MEN with a hetero/mainstream crossover that means we can all have fun together!

You only have to hear the first 20 seconds and instant familiarity!  There I am back again at school. 

‘Sweat’ reminds me of being 12. It came out when I was in my first year of high school and on a particularly warm summer afternoon a promotional team for a local nightclub called ‘The Attic’ rocked up in a baby pink cadillac convertible to hand out passes at the school bus stop. It was like a scene out of whatever movie could be born out of Zoolander and Grease mating and producing a love-child. The girls wore all white outfits of bra top and sparkly flared pants. The guys had white denim jeans and white singlets on. If you are familiar with the Australian band Euphoria and the TV show associated with it E-Street then conjure up those collective images. If you’re thinking it sounds rather ambitious for a rural town then you’re right. Its precisely the first and last time I ever saw anything like this in G-Town. Three grandma’s probably complained to the local council the next day and the progressive, high energy and highly sexualised marketing campaign of The Attic was promptly nipped in the proverbial bud. 

Here I was a chubby uniformed kid thinking - hey, I want to buy in to whatever this crazy fun house of all white wearing fun is. The promo staff of the Attic were so ahead of their time, they had white parties before P Diddy was doing that shiz in The Hamptons. You couldn’t help but get swept away by the hot girls with spiral curls jumping out of the back seat to give you flyers. They didn’t even need to use the car door - how cool is that? Even though I was overlooked for the 17 yo standing next to me I was still pretty happy with that afternoon’s events. ‘This is what high school is all about’ I thought to myself. ‘There’s plenty more crazy times where that came from’. Sadly, there wasn’t. 

BEST TRACKS 

Hot Chilli Woman - Noiseworks

Reminds me of a school talent quest, hundreds of sweaty in kids sitting on the wooden floor of the scout hall in full catholic school uniform - so that means skirts and ties and smelly woolen jumpers - watching a random display of ‘school talent’. I giggled internally everytime I saw the dude who sang in the playground. 

Barbie Girl - Aqua

What I find weird is this is listed as sung by ‘Savannah’. Barbie Girl was super annoying at the time, but its now tolerable in small doses for the purpose of comical reminiscence.