28 February 2008

Let's get it on, jam all night long



Backstreet Boys. Oh, the memories and gushy pubescent feelings just that name evokes. Yes, I was a BSB fangirl. And no, I am NOT ashamed to admit it. From the ages eleven to fourteen I had eyes for no other boy band. NSYNC? Boo! Hiss! Yes, I listened to other things. I had three older siblings whose musical tastes differentiated greatly, and being the youngest and wanting their attention, I listened to everything they did. From Michael Jackson to Pantera to Garth Brooks to the Wu-Tang--I absorbed it all with audio delight. However, I need blame my sister for my penchant towards boy bands if only for her preoccupation with a certain '80s phenomenon: New Kids on the Block. I think I've digressed too much.

Anyways, as I was saying (or rather, about to say) was that those five "boys" (the Backstreet Boys) saw me through some of the most difficult times in my young life. Paternal infidelity, death, divorce, breaking of friendships, breaking of hearts--they were the comfort I sought after. I've always been one to drown my sorrows with a pen or a set of headphones, and those times were no exception. The Backstreet Boys were so saccharine, so safe, and so fucking cute and non-threatening, that looking back, it only seemed natural to choose them as my comforters. My musical knights in sugar-soaked armour, because hey, they promised to never break my heart. And how irresistible is that to a thirteen year old girl licking her wounds from her first heartbreak?

Backstreet Boys -- I'll Never Break Your Heart

Backstreet Boys -- As Long As You Love Me

Backstreet Boys -- Hey Mr. DJ (Keep Playin' This Song)

Backstreet Boys -- Darlin'

Backstreet Boys --Set Adrift on Memory's Bliss

Backstreet Boys -- That's What She Said

Backstreet Boys -- The One

Backstreet Boys --Don't Wanna Lose You Now

Backstreet Boys -- It's Gotta Be You

Backstreet Boys -- Back To Your Heart

Backstreet Boys -- Shape of My Heart

Backstreet Boys -- Get Another Boyfriend

Backstreet Boys -- Not For Me

Backstreet Boys -- How Did I Fall in Love With You

Backstreet Boys -- Weird World

Backstreet Boys -- Siberia

Bacvkstreet Boys -- I Still...

Backstreet Boys -- Poster Girl

Millennium is pop perfection. Fight me on that, and you will fail. Miserably. I had to re-purchase that album three times because I wore out my cassettes that fucking much. (Yeah, I said cassettes, I didn't get a cd player of any kind until I was a sophmore in high school. So, eat it). More poppy and less RnB then their debut, it's just perfection and so succinct to that period of musical history with its sound. It's hard not to listen to that album and think of the late '90s early '00s. Maybe that's just me. Either way, Millennium is a flawless pop record--even with the nonsensical hottness that is "I Want It That Way."

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