Nostalgia

Not sure what happened to me today, but I was diffused with a longing to listen to music from the 1990s. That's not quite "my" decade - although I was still a university student in the 1990s (I graduated in 1992 and yes, I know, I'm a dinosaur) - most of my greatest memories in musical terms come from the 1980s (or older, but that would be nostalgia, even for me).

But still. Today, was a 1990s kind of day. I started off with the old stand-bys of Pulp, Blur and Oasis. And then I moved on to less well-known (outside of France, obviously, but possibly even within France nowadays) French-speaking artists: Stephan Eicher (an outstandingly sexy Swiss guy; I have two of his CDs and he sings songs in French, Swiss German and (I think) even English) and Kent, one of the few musicians in the world I've actually seen play live. But only because he's from Lyon (or thereabouts) and when I lived there he did a free concert for the Fête de la Musique and I just happened to be there. No regrets, though, because he was good!

It was strange, listening to all these songs again. I've got albums by all of them (except Kent), yet I haven't listened to any of them in ages. But it was great stuff, really! And there were more memories than I would have imagined...

Let's start with Pulp: my love affair with all things Jarvis Cocker started with a student I had at the Lyon IUT Génie civile, where I taught English for a few years. I don't remember the guy's name now, but I can see his face quite clearly in my mind. So many good memories from those days - such fun teaching! And I was young enough to get invited to parties by them, so it really was fun (and, of course, civil engineering students were very predominantly male, which helped!). And then there was David... that was (or would have been, to be honest, as not much happened) a mistake. But I was young, naive, easily swayed... It all came flooding back when I heard Jarvis' distinctive voice... Proust had madeleines, me it's Jarvis Cocker apparently!

Then Blur - more memories of my days in Lyon... I had a strange life back then, very mixed emotions... I think, though, what appealed about Blur was the idea of how much my parents would hate them! I was never a particularly rebellious teenager (who'm I kidding? I was the least rebellious teenager in the history of the world...), but broke free of that home counties death trap when I graduated. I still didn't rebel exactly, but I stepped away from the "career" path I was probably expected to take. I moved to France, with no money, no home, no job, no contacts; I became a cleaner; I started listening to stuff like Blur (ooooh, what a rebel, I know)... Anyway, Damon Albarn was really cute (and still is, actually: check out Gorillaz), and that was probably my main guiding principle to be honest...

Next, Oasis. I never was one to join the black and white dichotomy of Beatles-Stones, Oasis-Blur... I always liked some stuff by both... I have albums by both Blur and Oasis, I like both, but not in the same way. Oasis is more rock and roll, more "rough" - better to dancing to. And that's what I remember about Oasis - dancing about my flat, on my own, curtains drawn or shutters shut, lost in the moment. I'm no great dancer, but when I'm alone, I'm a star, twirling uninhibited, in my own little spotlight...

Next up, Stephan Eicher. Oh, this guy. Total crush back then (and now, if I'm honest). I loved his voice, the words to his songs, his whole presence. He was pretty popular here in France back then, but seems to have totally disappeared, which is a shame. I felt very exotic listening to songs in three different languages - and Eicher was probably the first (and one of the only) French-language artists I've ever liked...

And finally, Kent. The only one I don't really know - I never bought an album, it was more (as I said above) a chance encounter, even though he too was quite popular for a while. Not as much as Eicher, but still. And the concert reminds me of a whole different life - back when we (D and I) hung out with his "friends" (most of whom I couldn't bear), often in Villeurbanne (hence the concert). But I do like this song, the words are good and he seems such a fun guy!

The 1990s were a strange decade for me. I was very unhappy as a university student, yet many of my very best memories come from that time (and certainly my very, very best friends); my early days in France were very, very hard, fraught with poverty, loneliness, isolation and romantic disappointments (sounds frighteningly familiar, now that I think of it). The decade got progressively better, and ended (in August 99) with D and I moving here, to Montpellier. I think I was pretty happy back then, now that I think of it. It's just that I'm maybe not very good at recognising when I'm happy until it's in the past...

I don't know what triggered this run down Memory Lane, but these artists in particular have been in my head all day, along with images - people, places, events - from that time. A lifetime ago. I still find it hard to believe that I'm talking about up to 20 years ago. Way to make me feel seriously old...

Old, perhaps, but the music was good!