Troy State's Freshman Spring

Time for some new music on The Clouds, and this time around, I've decided to pull out the Troy State Freshman Spring playlist... these are all songs that were released, out and popular between December and June of 1994... my winter & spring quarters as a frosh at Troy State University...

"Cantaloop" by Us3... Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, we have something special down here at Bird Land this evening, a recording from Blue Note Records. I dare you not to get into this beat.

"Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty... I don't think, even as an 18 year old, I recognized this song being about mary-ju-wanna at the time. This brings back memories of Erin Magonigal sitting with myself, Lisa Murphy, Allison Wiggins, Stephanie Massey, Wookiee, The Wench and Kate Gates, singing along during dinner at SAGA. The video, featuring a then-young-and-hot Kim Basinger? Awesome.

"Because the Night" by 10,000 Maniacs... There's a bridge at the end of the song that I, to this day, still have no clue what exactly she's saying. I actually made up an entire verse that had something to do with "I have no... idea... what to sing so I will go... and make... it up". I sang this to Lisa Murphy while driving to Subway around 1am one night. She loved it. Lisa Murphy rocked.

"...And Our Feelings" by Babyface... Ever had those songs that are like, forever old, and to this day, when they come on, you're still all about it? Babyface was awesome back in the day... this is one that I happily sing along to, loudly, while in the car... "AAAAnd our feeeelings! Just aren't feelings anymore... they're just words without emotions from people we don't know... No! No! No No No nonononono!!!!"

It also helps that the song title has at its beginning an ellipsis. You know my love of ellipses... much better than the use of ( ) in song titles (more on that below).

"You Mean the World to Me" by Toni Braxton... This song is part of the Toni Trifecta, also featuring "Another Sad Love Song" and "Breathe Again". Its rare for any artist to have three straight incredibly incredible songs, but she did it. I love me some Toni... she's who my car is name after.

"Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows... My main problem with Adam Duritz is how in the world he could be some homely looking and still get with all these hot celebrities? In his prime, he dated not only a in-her-prime Jennifer Aniston, but also a in-her-prime Courtney Cox, a still in-her-prime Monica Potter and even a relatively-cute-then Winona Ryder. This would be like dopey me dating The Official Clouds in My Coffee Official High School Crush Julie Wise and Sandy Wright, but then going on to date The Official Clouds in My Coffee Troy State Crush Tiffany Abbott, followed by Laura DeGarmo before finally ending up with The Lovely Steph Leann. Wait... come to think of it, I had a pretty good run myself. Scratch all that.

"Come to My Window" by Melissa Ethridge... For The Lovely Steph Leann's money, she'd take "I'm The Only One" over this song anytime. Not me. I love the slow kick off, followed by the great vocals and guitar. I mean, yeah, she's singing in the choir of the Lesbetarian Church, but still... just cause Elton John is Brokeback doesn't mean that "Your Song" is any less diminished. So be it with Melissa.

"All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow... I feel sad that Sheryl Crow has slowly become a laughing stock liberal. She used to be so awesome! As a matter of fact, I'm actively working on a list of "d$'s Favorite Artists, Ever", and Sheryl has to be Top Five. "The Globe Sessions"? One of my favorite CDs, ever.


As lamented in a previous post, I miss this Sheryl Crow. Sassy, hot, talented, and not a left wing moron.

"Stay" by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories... There are those songs that you know by heart, and can sing anytime, anywhere. Then there are those songs that you know by heart, but you can't start in the middle... you have to start at the beginning. If someone said to you, "Hey, what's that part in the song about living forever? How does it go, I would have to start at the beginning, singing really softly and quickly to myself, "yousayidonlyhearwhatiwantto... (mumble through the verse)... soiturntheradiooniturntheradioupandthiswomanwassingingmysong... (mumble some more)... someofushoverwhilewerewaitingfortheotherwhowasdying... (a big more mumbling)... and I thought I'd live forever, and now I'm not so sure!! That's it!"

"Shine" by Collective Soul... I think Collective Soul could have been bigger, had they not come on the heels of Pearl Jam and Nirvana. They were rock without being metal, and were still pretty cool. As it is, they were awesome for the next, I dunno, like 7 years or something... "Gel", "December", "The World I Know" and one of my favorite running/driving songs, "Heavy". This song started it all though. There was a rumor that dcTalk's "So Long My Friend", a song about someone who gave up their walk with Christ to be famous, was about Collective Soul.

"Loser" by Beck... Let's face it, I don't know what this song is about. No, you don't either. Don't try.

"Regulate" by Warren G feat. Nate Dogg. Had to listen to this song throughly to make sure the only questionable material in the song was just mentions of tricks and ho's. We're good.

Maybe this was the first, maybe it wasn't, but this song was at the beginning of the "Featuring" trend. Remember how Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson sang "Say Say Say"? It was "Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney AND Michael Jackson. The "And" represented the fact that both parties did equal amounts of work. But here? Its not Warren G and Nate Dogg... oh nay nay. Its Warren G "FEATURING" Nate Dogg... and its not even "featuring", its "feat.". Can you imagine "Islands in the Stream" by Dolly Parton feat. Kenny Rogers? Or "Endless Love" by Diana Ross feat. Lionel Richie? I'm more bitter about this than I am with the use of ( ) in songs.

I hate when a song uses parantheses in the title. Bryan Adams, are you listening? Either name your song "Everything I Do", or "I Do It For You", or even "Everything I Do I Do It For You", but don't throw ( ) in there. "Everything I Do (I do it for you)". Why? "Over My Head (cable car)" is stupid. Either call it "Over My Head", or "The Cable Car", or even throw a / in there... "Over My Head/Cable Car" would work, though still silly, just not as silly. There are no reasons to have subtitles in your songs. Unless your Meat Loaf, and in that instance, your songs are 24 minutes long, so you probably deserve a subtitle. Just my thoughts.

Anyway, everyone now... "REEEGGUUULLLAAATTOOOORRSSS!!!!!! Mount up."

"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by Prince... One of The Purpled One's lesser known tunes, I like it. I own the cassette single. It's fun. It's silky. It's Prince before he lost all of his talent.

"The Sign" by Ace of Base... Personally, I preferred "Don't Turn Around", but this one is the most popular.

"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by The Crash Test Dummies... In the archives of ridiculous songs, this has to be right up there. I daresay that when this song comes on the playlist, this will be the first time some of you have either ever heard this song, or have heard it in about, maybe 14 or 15 years.

There's my new playlist, courtesy of "In My Coffee (the clouds)", starring d$ feat. The Lovely Steph Leann.

Troy State: The Freshman Fall

I'm a mix tape guy. Always have been. Always will be. I used to make mix tapes for friends of mine, and think that for the most part, they were pretty good. They aren't easy to make, though... you can't just slap some songs onto a cassette (the only true mixtape form) and call it "A Mix Tape". You have to get the songs to flow. You have to make sure that there is some cohesiveness. You have to make sure they songs match.

On this note, for October's music on Clouds, I'm pulling out one of my favorite mixes... I call it "The Troy State Experience". The first volume is a two-cd set featuring music from my freshman year, mostly in the order in which they were released to radio. The cover has Erin Magonigal, while the back of the case features Adrianne Benton, Greg Gibson, Ginny Kochan and Mandy Stewart.

Mind you, this is before iTunes, before the explosion of the internet, before Napster, back when you had to either buy a CD or find your favorite song on the radio (or get a mixtape from me).

So, this month, since we are now at 15 years since I first stepped foot upon the beautiful Troy State campus, I wanted to give you the contents of Disc One, featuring Miranda Bryant and Michael Dunn on the cover.

"Because the Night" by 10,000 Maniacs. I still have no idea what Natalie Merchant is singing during the bridge. Something about the cycle turnings and burning.

"Another Sad Love Song" by Toni Braxton. One of my favorite 90s divas, still looking great after 40, singing one of my favorite driving songs.

"Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum. Who remembers this video? All those lost and runaway kids on the video. FYI, can you name Soul Asylum's follow up hit? That's right. "Misery Incorporated."

"Again" by Janet Jackson. The Lovely Steph Leann and I were sitting with DeLisa and DeNick the other day on the way to Walt Disney World, and this song came overhead. "Suddenly those memories came back to me in my... miiiiind...." DeNick gave me a funny look. Sad song.

"Hey Jealousy" by The Gin Blossoms. Another great driving song, another song that you cannot help but turn up when it comes on. You know you do.

"Everybody Hurts" by REM. I included this song because it was just so big in 1993, back when REM was relevant, and people cared about Michael Stipe. Ah, that was long ago.

"I Love the Way You Love Me" by John Michael Montgomery. So, Bobby Black is driving, Mandy Stewart is in the front seat, I'm sitting in the back with Bradley Grantham and Miranda Bryant, and Bradley is singing this song. First time I'd heard it. He's got a great voice. Miranda and Mandy were swooning. I was jealous.

"All That She Wants" by Ace of Base. YOU KNOW THESE WORDS. You are now singing them. Well, you're welcome.

"Cryin'" by Aerosmith. Ladies and gentlemen, Alicia Silverstone!

"Linger" by The Cranberries. This has a 51 second intro, which is great, because it gives you plenty of time to talk about the upcoming remote at Bondy's Ford & Jeep Eagle, or give you the quick weather forecast, or how you can win free stuff, all while I worked at WKMX, Max 106.7, overnights. Another good song was "American Pie" and "Lyin' Eyes", and if you put them back to back, you had almost 15 minutes to do whatever you needed to do--especially in the bathroom.

"One Last Cry" by Brian McKnight. This song is a masterpiece of a kick in the crotch of love. "I saw you holding hands, standing close to someone else..." Wow. I'm not sure Brian McK has ever been better.

"No Rain" by Blind Melon. The Bee Girl! See, this is back in the day when videos matter too. When was the last time you discussed a recent video with anyone? Seriously? "No Rain" was a topic of conversation many times while crusin' in the Olds Cierra.

"I Would Do Anything For Love (but I won't do that)" by Meat Loaf. Is it Meat Loaf? Or is it Meatloaf? Speaking of event videos, wow, this was nuts. It was like an epic movie. And remarkably, it was almost a mirror image of Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", which is weird that Loaf and Dion would mirror on anything. This is from the Loaf album "Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell".

"Sweat (a la la la la la)" by Inner Circle. This was the same group that did "Bad Boys", made famous by "Cops". When I was in high school, people didn't invite me to parties. Well, I went to Beverly Day's party one night, but I felt kinda like a loser. Mostly because I grew up in a smokers household, and only when I got to college did I realize how badly I must have smelled to those non-smoking chicks in high school... I mean, who knows what I could have accomplished, chick-wise, had I not smelled like a bar almost all the time? Maybe Nicki Vann would have gone out with me. Maybe Angie Jay would have been geniune in her acceptance of my homecoming offer. Maybe even... dare I say... JULIE WISE??? Coulda woulda shoulda.

By the way, I've known Angie Jay for almost 20 years now, and when I sent her an invite on facebook, she rejected it, saying, "I don't know you very well". Seriously? Angie Jay was my first slow dance! "Wanted" by Alan Jackson! I feel dumped all over again! So, I've decided if I ever write teen chick fiction, one of the mean girls will be named Angie. So there.

Where was I? Ah yes, when I was in high school, people didn't invite me to parties. So, on the weekends, I would listen to Open House Party with John Garabedian, and I would hear all the new stuff coming out, including Inner Circle's follow up to "Bad Boys", a little ditty called "Sweat". It came out in the fall, while at Troy, but I knew about it.

"The Sign" by Ace of Base. I first heard this song while riding in Cyndi Bledsoe's Teal Green Geo Metro. She had the cassette tape. I miss her and Lisa Turk.

"If" by Janet Jackson. I never realized how dirty this song was until I found the lyrics on the internet. I only included it here because you won't realize how bad it is because she sings so fast.

In January... you'll get the Freshman Spring Playlist, including Mariah Carey, Beck, Melissa Ethridge and more.