Part Two of “The Memory Mixes” -“Some Growth”

Bully For Me (Fall 1994 – Spring 1995)

So, in my last post, I included a playlist preserving songs that I was listening to in the 3rd Grade, but…now I’m skipping ahead to more interesting times. You’re welcome!

From kindergarten to 6th grade, my brother and I attended a private Christian school. But for the 7th grade onward, our parents had us attend the local public school.

Little did they know, my local middle school was…quite terrible.

Most middle schools are terrible, in truth.

It’s perhaps the peak years of hormonal spiking, and when emerging teens gather in large numbers, nastiness abounds.

But this middle school, which brought together the blue collar toughs from the neighborhood with poor kids bused in from North Philly…this school was a nightmare.

I saw fights pretty much every day.

Tufts of ripped hair blowing around the schoolyard was a common sight. And it wasn’t even strange to see blood spatters in the cafeteria following a fight. Fighting was absolutely everywhere.

Teachers played the role of babysitters to loud and rowdy kids, and usually very meek babysitters. Kids would shout and argue and vie for dominance every opportunity they got.

The good news is that my brother and I only had to be in this school for one year. Because our education had been so far ahead of the school’s curriculum, we got skipped a grade. So after maybe three weeks of school, we were suddenly 8th graders.

The bad news is that bullies took to us pretty-boy nerds like flies to spoiled meat. It was only one year, but it was a really tough year to get through.

Some more good news is that we made a few friends there. They were considered freaks by everyone else, and they listened to weird underground bands that I had never heard of.

Not only did they help us cope with the madness of that year, they steered us to some life-changing music.

A transformation had begun.

So here’s the mix for this year:

Plenty of radio tunes at this point, but I was starting to dabble into other territories.

Ah, This Mix Is Really…Fresh: (Fall 1994 – Spring 1995)

Fall of 1995 was when I first entered high school.

Unlike my middle school, which was just a few blocks from my house, this was a magnet school that accepted the top students from all around the city. It was thus my first leap from a small pond into much bigger cultural waters.

When we attended the welcome night, we were greeted with lovely music from the school’s orchestra. I almost cried with joy and relief at this most welcome contrast to the horrors of my year in middle school.

I had no trouble finding friends in this new environment, though they tended to be of the more countercultural variety.

At this point, radio and movie soundtracks still held some sway over my tastes, but not much. I was too busy digging into bands recommended by friends, and even going to a few live shows.

Despite some edgy attitude, most of my favorite music was still fairly accessible. Radio-adjacent if not actually played on the radio. That makes it a lot of fun to listen to!

Here’s a link for your listening pleasure:

Enjoy!

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