Pandora Radio Nostalgia

Here I am doing homework, and listening to Pandora Radio(link); I've found the perfect station to listen to if you want to send your mind back through time 8 or 10 years. I keep feeling like I'm riding on a bus with plump foam cushions with patchy corners.

I was a weird kid in Middle School(which here in Rexburg is grades 5-7), in that I A) loved school lunch and B) loved riding the bus. School lunch I loved because every day it was something different, someone else measured the portions for me, and I didn't have to do much thinking with details, like at Subway(too many choices!). In fact, I actually enjoyed the food itself and miss it today.

The bus was made a super fun experience for me and my small group of friends. When we got bored, we made decks of cards to play against each other(similar to Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering, only cooler), or simply stretched our imaginations out and larped. We didn't really listen to the radio much off of the bus, so it was a time to pick favorite songs back then in the late 90's and early 2000's.

For those not familiar with Pandora, you basically put it in any song or artist you want, and they program your own little personal "radio station" that only plays songs similar to the one you typed in. You can imagine my bombardment with flashbacks, then, when I made my own called "Two Princes Radio."

Anyone familiar with the music at the time I was in Middle School will remember such songs as "Two Princes," "Semi-Charmed Life," "Kryptonite," and "Pinch Me." When and why did music have to degrade to just sung segments followed by incessant rapping? What ever happened to the simple, upbeat drums and electric guitar that made you feel like you were a little kid enjoying summer vacation? Where did the times of simplicity and warmth, jumping on the tramp over the sprinkler go? Why did I have to grow up and move away, and have to worry about being popular, or making money, or driving a car?

I'm sure this era of music described this way is dedicated to me personally, and probably means little for all of you, if anything. But is a little longing for the simple times of childhood out of order? Yes, I must drive to work and to college now... but there will always be in my mind the simple times when all I needed was a bus.

It's the perfect time of day
To throw all your cares away
Put the sprinkler on the lawn
And run through with my gym shorts on
Take a drink right from the hose
And change into some drier clothes
Climb the stairs up to my room
Sleep away the afternoon
--Excerpt from "Pinch Me" by the Fullydressed Men