Reelin’ in the Years – 2014

When I first heard this tune I think it was already out for a while but I'm not sure. I was driving and it came on the radio. I couldn't believe how it grabbed me. Suddenly I was 15 or 16 again, feeling excited and entranced by the tunes. I'm not sure if the producer...

Reelin’ in the Years – 2013

Well, it's 2013 and I'm 51 years old going on 15. Seems my interest in pop is back full force, especially EDM. This was the year Avicii (RIP) had a monster hit with "Wake Me Up." But there were several other really good EDM tunes this year. One could even argue that EDM peaked this...

Reelin’ in the Years – 2010

I've been redesigning Earthpages' look and feel over the past few weeks. Now that it's pretty well settled, time to reel in some more years. In 2010 I'm 48 and exploring all sorts of new stuff, not a lot being mainstream pop. Yes, I'm listening to the radio a bit as I drive around town...

Reelin’ in the Years – 2009

It's 2009 and I'm 47 years old. For those of you just joining my journey through the past, Reelin' in the Years is an autobiography of sorts thru pop music. When I was a kid music was paramount. Its importance has always been there but my focus has shifted over the years. It's not always...

Reelin’ in the Years – 2007

It's 2007 and I'm 45 years old. This year makes me smile because the Canadian TV comedy show The Kids in the Hall used to do a sketch where this groovy looking guy would fall into the camera and the headlines would read "He's hip, he's cool, he's 45..." https://youtu.be/KF2X1o0FGA0 I think the implication was...

Reelin’ in the Years – 2005

It's 2005 and I'm 43 years old. Pope John-Paul II and Johnny Carson die this year while North Korea announces it has nuclear weapons. I remember driving downtown and hearing if not this song another one by Mariah Carey and thinking how pop music, in Toronto anyhow, had become the era of the diva. This isn't a bad...

Reelin’ in the Years – 2004

It's 2004 and I'm 42 years old. Not much on the charts or album releases that I can relate to. I'm exploring the Toronto Public Library which has a great network of branches. You can order a book, magazine, CD or DVD online from any branch and a van delivers it to the branch of...

Reelin’ in the Years – 2000

It's 2000 and I'm 38 years old. I remember sitting in the basement playing around with some fonts on our Windows 98 PC, trying to make a catchy banner for Earthpages for the year 2000. Everything felt pretty new and 2001 was just around the corner---a special year for me because my favorite movie was...

Reelin’ in the Years – 1997

It's 1997 and I'm 35 years old. U2 releases Pop which for me was a waste of money. One could actually discern the beginning of U2's slide with Zooropa (1993), Achtung Baby (1991) being a tough act to follow. Meantime David Bowie releases a strong album, Earthling. I almost chose the song "Little Wonder" from...