The 90's Music Fan Test

I was born during the 90's and I grew up listening to the songs that revolved around that era. In fact, I still enjoy listening to them up to now (I do have a playlist of music coming from the 90's)! For those who grew up during this decade or even those who have were able to hear the songs back then, go ahead and take this test! 

Below are songs coming from the years 1990-1999 and had a spot on the Top 10 Billboard Charts for their respective years. List down and tally how many of those you recall and know of! By "recall", I mean that you must be able to at least sing a verse or chorus from the song!

1.) "Pump Up The Jam" by Technotronic/Felly (1990)

2.) "More Than Words" by Extreme  (1991)

3.) "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot  (1992)

4.) "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred (1992)

5.) "I'm Gonna Be (I Would Walk 500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers  (1993)

6.) "All That She Wants" by Ace Of Base  (1993)

7.) "Bump N' Grind" by R. Kelly (1994)

8.) "Rhythm Of The Night" by Corona  (1995)

9.) "I'll Be There for You (Theme From TV's Friends)" by The Rembrandts  (1995)

10.) "Back For Good" by Take That  (1995)

11.) "Macarena" by Los Del Rio  (1996)

12.) "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion  (1996)

13.) "Always Be My Baby" by Mariah Carey  (1996)

14.) "The Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony  (1996)

15.) "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis  (1996)

16.) "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton  (1997)

17.) "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly  (1997)

18.) "How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes  (1997)

19.) "Wannabe" by Spice Girls (1997)

20.) "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica (1998)

21.) "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain  (1998)

22.) "Believe" by Cher  (1999)

23.) "No Scrubs" by TLC  (1999)

24.) "Hit Me Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears  (1999)

25.) "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin (1999)

26.) "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera  (1999)

27.) "Every Morning" by Sugar Ray  (1999)

28.) "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer  (1999)

29.) "Heartbreak Hotel" by Whitney Houston  (1999)

30.) "Angel of Mind" by Monica (1999)

If you scored a perfect 30, then that must mean you are an ultimate 90's music fan!

If you got 25-29, "You remember the days!"

If you got 20-24, "Try to listen to more tracks! Just brush up on a few more songs"

If you got 15-19, "Don't miss out on the 90's!"

If you got below 15, "HOW YOUNG ARE YOU??" :))

Enjoy the list of songs, dawgs! :) It's always awesome to reminisce your childhood and teenage years by listening to such tracks!

Keeping it on the low down,

Bien-Bien Tan

\Sources for the list of songs:

Scott, R. (2006, April 19). Top 10 songs of the 1990's. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/21126/top_10_songs_of_the_1990s_pg7.html?cat=7

Framework of a Boy Band

The Backstreet Boys, N’sync, 98 Degrees, Five, Take That and Westlife – ever heard of them? I’m sure you did! (If not, I’d like to ask which cave you stayed in for the past decades!)

Take That

Indeed, boy bands were a thriving trend during the 90’s. It was such a hit that it supported a huge database of fans (most of them girls, obviously!) Millions of album copies sold over a span of months -- even weeks! Advertisements, commercials, sold out concerts and numerous sponsorships were given to these boys. What made them such a hit? As compared to “boy bands” in the 70’s such as The Beatles who actually held instruments, we could say that the 90’s boy bands, on the other hand, were able to hit it off with their looks, charm and cheesier-than-ever song lyrics. What made boy bands back in the 90’s a hit, even though they, technically, went against the mere idea of a band having to play instruments? (Seriously, do you remember any one of them holding a guitar or drumsticks?)

Backstreet Boys        

So now, we scrutinize the framework of a boy bandas to understand how they swept so many girls’ feet and how they made a revolution in the music scene. A regular boy band usually compromises of 5 members each. They usually have:

1.) the boy-next-door, 2.) the rough-looking guy or the bad boy, 3.) the one who is not of the same race as the others in the band, 4.) the one who can really sing (usually the lead vocalist) and 5.) the eccentric one who starts the unusual fashion trends and outrageous hairstyles.

I guess we can conclude that these boys made it big because they offered diversity and multiple choices of cute guys with different and distinct personalities to choose from! With this factor involved, it intensely contributed into the widening their range of fans! So never mind the instruments they were not able to play; at least we got to listen to more of those heart-warming and immensely butterfly-in-the stomach-generating songs that marked their spot in the 90’s up to present.

That's it! Time to bounce!

Bien-Bien Tan

Sources for the images:

* - - (1997). Backstreet Boys [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://new.music.yahoo.com/backstreet-boys/albums/backstreet-boys--149977

* Taylor, D. (2011). Take That [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.daveytaylor.com/?p=245

The Marching of the Bulls

When people would talk about sports in the 1990s, the first thing that comes to mind would be basketball and the NBA. During the 1970s, the NBA was dying and was in need of good entertainment to try and sell itself as a brand again. That’s when the 1980s came in, specifically Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

"Magic vs. Bird"

These two redefined the game of basketball. Magic was the flashy showman of the Lakers while Bird was the hard-nosed, blue-collar worker of the Celtics. These two started a rivalry so strong that it was able to bring attention back to the NBA and every time the Lakers and the Celtics were playing, people would be looking at Magic and Bird.

When the 1990s were looming, people were thinking who would be able to carry the torch once Magic and Bird would retire. This is where the Chicago Bulls would come in and when everyone says Chicago Bulls, the person that comes to mind would immediately be Michael Jordan.

Jordan as a rookie

At the start of his career when the Bulls drafted him in 1983, Jordan never disappointed the fans wherever he went. He was one of the most prolific scorers the NBA had at the time and you could say he was a “Slammin’” dude. Eventually in his career, being a flashy scorer was not enough for Jordan and he was now hungry for a championship. Through the course of 1987-1990, the Bulls would fall to the Detroit Pistons every time and the Pistons would go on to the NBA Finals each of those times. The veteran Pistons tested the young and hungry Bulls each time and the Bulls never seem to be able to get through this obstacle.

Magic vs. Jordan

During 1991 however, everything would change. The Bulls finally defeat their biggest rivals in the Pistons and they went on to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. It would be a different kind of Finals scene wherein we see a veteran Magic on one side and a young and hungry Jordan on the other. This Finals series would be nothing more than the passing of the torch on who would become the top dog in the NBA.

Chicago Bulls's 6 Championship Rings

The Bulls would finally capture their first NBA Championship and Michael Jordan claimed his rightful spot as the best player in the NBA. Over the course of 8 years, the Bulls went on to win 5 more championships, gaining six(1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998) in total, and all of those championship teams included Michael Jordan and you could say everything was “Aiight” in the NBA.

Let’s get one thing straight, Michael Jordan did not do it on his own. Jordan may be a hall-of-famer but ask any hall-of-famer and not one of them would say that they did it alone. In fact, no one can do it alone. Every superstar in basketball needs an amazing supporting cast in order to win a championship and Jordan had that. Two of his biggest supporters in the Bulls Dynasty would be Phil Jackson andScottie Pippen. These three men were the constants in every championship win the Bulls had. Without these three guys, the Bulls may not have been able to pull it off.

Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls for all those championship years. He was the man behind the Triangle offense, which was an offense that devastated defenses all over the league. He was the man that kept Michael in check and all those years, he never let Michael down. After the Chicago Bulls, Phil Jackson went on to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and he led them to five championships giving him 11 championship wins as a coach.

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen

Scottie Pippen was Jordan’s right hand man in the team. Whenever Jordan could not deliver, he could always count on Pippen to pick up some slack for him. What some people don’t realize though is that Pippen didn’t pattern his game after Jordan so that he could be able to compensate for Jordan’s scoring when he couldn’t get going, but he did more than that. Pippen went through all of those years being beaten down by the Pistons just as Jordan did and it led him to try and improve his game. He already knew he could be effective offensively so he trained himself hard mentally and defensively and it was his defense and mental strength that helped the Bulls overcome the Pistons and go on to win six championships. Scottie Pippen is now a hall-of-famer along with Jordan and he is considered to be one of the best (if not the best) role players in NBA history.

There are also many other players that has been part of the Bulls supporting cast like Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, John Paxson, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, Will Perdue, BJ Armstrong and many others. Whatever they contributed, whether it was shooting, defense, rebounding, all of them played their part in winning championships for the Bulls. In the decade of the 1990s, the Chicago Bulls proved that they are the most successful team in the NBA, if not the whole world then, by winning 6 championships. Through their hard work and determination, they showed just why they were “The Bomb!”

1998 Chicago Bulls

 This has been your homey Mark Javellana, keeping it fresh.

Sources:

• Cunningham, S. (Photographer). (1983). Michael Jordan [Photograph] Retrieved June 23, 2011, from: http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/jordanhof_rookie_090825.html
• [Untitled picture of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson]. Retrieved June 23, 2011, from: http://www.allposters.es/-sp/Michael-Jordan-Magic-Johnson-1990-Action-Posters_i7599124_.htm
• Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals [Photograph]. (2010). Retrieved June 23, 2011, from: http://www.hbo.com/sports/magic-and-bird-a-courtship-of-rivals/index.html
• [Untitled picture of the Chicago Bulls' six championship rings]. Retrieved June 23, 2011, from: http://sportsfixchicago.com/2010/09/08/mayor-daleys-legacy/
• Simoneau, S. (Photographer). (1996). Phil Jackson [Photograph]. Retrieved June 23, 2011, from: http://www.pe.com/multimedia/slideshow/2009/20090604_phil/pages/07philjackson02a_aparchive.html
• Bernstein, A. (Photographer). (1998). Jordan & Pippen [Photograph]. June 23, 2011, from: http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/jordanhof_pippen_090910.html
• [Untitled photograph of the 1998 Chicago Bulls team]. Retrieved June 23, 2011, from: http://www.cchs165.jacksn.k12.il.us/sep/SEP2010/webpractice/student1/page5.htm
• Grosvener, C. (2008). Terms of the 90s, Slang of the Nineties. Retrieved June23, 2011, from: http://www.inthe90s.com/generated/terms.shtml