Let’s face it and be honest: everyone loves music.

 

And what is not to love? Classical, pop, rap, rock ‘n’ roll, metal, new age, country, you name it. Looking at the broadest scope, the statement is cliché AF, but couldn’t be more true: there really is something for everyone, and more. It’s just a matter of finding your own groove… your own range of genre and style, of nuance and sound, of beat and melody, of sensation and impact. Here in the 21st century, speaking for myself, my taste is pretty wide and eclectic, but wasn’t always quite so.

 

What has always been constant is my pride in my collection of sounds and artists, tunes and bands, new and old. I started collecting CDs in the year ’97, as a young teenager, and spent the next 15 years purchasing every notable compact disc that caught my eye (along with a few tapes and LPs that never made it to CD format). As I bought more and more in droves, listening time to devote to each diminished, but I enjoyed the challenge nonetheless. For that first year, I wasn’t sure where my tastes lay or were heading. For whatever reason, the current music of the time was interesting, and I could appreciate the sounds… but it failed to blow my mind, somehow. Then I realized precisely why.

 

My “era,” if you will, was exactly that in which I was born: the ’80s. Most kids born when I was were heavy into the tunage and general pop culture of the ’90s, and for obvious reason. But for my own part, discovery of “my” music is owed to… are you ready for this?... an Adam Sandler film (The Wedding Singer). Now, do please keep in mind, this was the late ’90s. It was a (slightly) simpler time. The U.S. economy was in good shape. Internet techies used America Online. A phrase like “what’s up” was condensed into “’sup.” Music Television had metamorphosed into Reality and Animation Television (whatever music videos they did still play adhered to the realms of hip-hop and R&B). Audio cassette tapes were on their way out but still appreciated for their nostalgically inferior sound—ditto vinyl, which wouldn’t make its comeback for another decade and a half. And comedic cinema was ruled by a young, clever Jim Carrey, and an equally youthful, louder and more obscene SNL alum Adam Sandler.

 

My musical journey was destined to play out this way, as I was an impressionable teen. In early ’98, Sandler’s and director Frank Coraci’s retro-reaching movie The Wedding Singer dropped. At the time, being a Sandler fan who also bought his albums (Adam put out 5 solo albums of bizarre skits and songs from 1993 to 2004), I bought the (first) Wedding Singer soundtrack—which too had a Sandler song on it. I got the soundtrack in fact before I saw the film, because these were also the days in which a movie’s soundtrack was released on the Tuesday before it hit theaters. It was full of a bunch of artists and songs I was, at the time (I am now abashed to say), completely unfamiliar with. It included tracks by Culture Club, the Thompson Twins, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, New Order, etc. Very new wave-ish, with some rock and pop thrown in here and there. And something very unexpected happened when I began listening.

 

My mind was blown. Suddenly, I realized what was happening. ’90s music was… okay, to my mind—well, some of it—but this… this was something else. Sure, growing up when I did, I heard plenty of mainstream Top 40 ’80s hits on the radio, being driven in the car there and here. And yet… Wedding Singer was set in 1985. The songs featured in it ranged from ’79 up to that enigmatic year. And not only did a lot of these songs miss out on the Top 40 by virtue of their quirky niche of new wave-y-ness… they too were before my “time.” And this kind of sound was new and exciting to me. The synth-pop and whimsical touch spoke to me, in a way nothing else really had at the time. ’90s pop culture was—especially in comparison to earlier eras—discernably biting and edgy. The newest trend by decade’s end was the emergence of goths, and their ilk. While I explored the decade’s music with an air of intrigue… rock’s edge was a bit much, preachy R&B failed to light the fire in my tummy, and angry profane rap didn’t impress me. I still enjoyed the ’90s’ flavor of pop music to a degree, however.

 

(Once I saw Wedding Singer—yes, I’m harping on this film, but with reason—my appreciation was taken up another level. At this young age, I was able to be wowed by the movie’s attempt to capture the vintage feel. For those of you who’ve not seen it, it opens with Adam’s poppy, jazzed wedding version of Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record).” I was… amazed. Something about the sound of this song and that interpretation of it absolutely mesmerized me, and… the same thing happened when I later heard the original Dead Or Alive song. This staple was not included on the original February WS soundtrack. Oh, but it came out later on its second soundtrack, in July of that year. And it took not long after for that specific morsel of fused disco and new wave pop to become my #1 favorite song of all time… for a while.)

 

The 20-00s got underway. Thankfully, the world did not end (that’s a Y2K joke). The virtual cyber-world naturally evolved. I started listening to more stations on the radio as I got my driver’s license and took more solo rides. My first cars were equipped only with cassette players, and iPods still had a bit yet to find their way into the market. My grasp on current music weakened as I began to focus more and more on classic rock, R&B, soul, pop and other. My CD collection grew, and grew, and exponentially grew. Soon, I had as many budget compilation collections as produced studio albums, scooping up hundreds of hits and classics like jacks. I liked compilations. As a matter of fact, starting in ’99, with our old primitive (standalone/immobile) PC and its disc drive, I began making my own CD compilations, of many different varieties. I made albums full of my own favorite songs, as well as those of a friend or two. As I loved the idea of having as many CDs as possible, and as I also began collecting audio-books and radio show recordings on compact disc, I counted them toward my grand total, which by the 2010s had reached something close to 2,500.

 

I’ve since semi-recently given away a decent chunk of the discs I decided I no longer wanted or needed, whittling the total as of 2020 down to 1,752. I officially stopped collecting them a couple years into the 2010s, as most collectors did, as sadly, they began to be digitally replaced. (Even sadder…ly, the format has become ever more obsolete, as in the 2020s traditional albums are no longer even a thing.) The art of compact disc acquisition will, however, always stay with me as a treasured piece of childhood and young adulthood. There was nothing quite like the feeling of opening that jewel case, plucking the disc from its retention hub, slipping the insert booklet loose to peruse the goodies inside, admiring the back cover, memorizing the track listing… you get the idea. Imaginably—mirroring the way most feel about theirs—my own flavors of music have taken me to different and hidden worlds, and pulled me through some quite tough times. Music holds that sort of strength and power for us. Virtually no matter who you are or what you like, if you’ve got a handle on your beloved genres and styles, you can find your own healthy waves of mix tapes to weave the soundtrack of your life.

 

Liverpool’s aforementioned Dead Or Alive (hardly the most memorable act to come out of that little borough, but hey) remained my favorite band until circa 2006… but remains to date my favorite British band. Even though its lead singer, Pete Burns, succumbed to a heart attack in ’16, rendering them pretty much Dead Or Dead. As my tastes softened a bit as I matured and settled into my 20s, I dug further into the bands I knew only from their few major radio hits. One of those bands turned out to be a little Swedish duo called Roxette (which, too, is sadly now dead, due to the 2019 demise of its female half). But as they will now always be my favorite band no matter what, I felt they too deserve special mention here in this intro. Should you venture through my List on this site, you’ll see plenty of inclusion from them, amid a shower of diverse ever-growing selections from all (okay, most) walks of life. Which brings us to the purpose of this site.

 

Around the year 2012, I started playing around and experimenting with songs in an audio editing program. I found something bizarrely intriguing in the prospect of adding effects to songs, to try and enhance their sound in a unique way. On and off, amidst other hobbies between which I’ve bounced around over the years, I spent the time since honing and fine-tuning this practice. In ’13, I started posting a semi-primitive form of them on my YT channel—which is still there, as of this writing, though as a disclaimer, you never know with YT. I gave them a funny portmanteau-like name, which I thought was neat, cute and clever at the time, but have chosen not to use for this site. I feel that for its purposes, ‘Classic Songs Revisited’ serves and suffices here.

 

For a couple of reasons, I have opted to provide 60-second samples of the songs, with the effect treatment I’ve given them. Important to note, among my other disclaimers: this site is not for profit in any way. I own none of the rights to any of these songs, and have no right to distribute them for monetary gain. CSR is intended merely to share my love (and audial affectation) of popular music from decades past up till now. From a few quick peeks at... The List, many visitors may be quick to think, this should be called “’80s Songs Revisited.” That’s completely fair. You’ll find far more material here from the ’80s than any other period, which as mentioned before is my preferred epoch. There are certainly numerous selections provided from all other decades. I haven’t many areas of personal expertise, but particularly ’80s music does rank up there. You’ll be able to read more in-depth details about the individual songs in their own notes sections, which shall be linked from… The List. Though it’s also worth noting! Not every inclusion will have its own little blurb of notes written by myself. There will be many songs which shall either prove self-explanatory, or for which I’ll merely have little to nothing more to say. And so in these examples you’ll see the song ID, cover art and sample only. However, if you’d care to add your own notes, submit them my way!

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This too means that the individual pages devoted to the songs, containing the info and samples and everything, will take considerably longer to construct themselves than only adding them to the list, self-explanatory though that may seem. But as a form of request, if you’d like to see a particular song’s info page made, let me know which, and I’ll prioritize it and build it next.

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Now, it too is of import to note, not all classic or hit songs in existence will (likely) be included in this capacity—for differing reasons, some are less than ideal for this project. Examples of songs not included would be those which do not hold a steady beat, or songs I simply very much don’t care for. (Do forgive me for stating the obvious, but, this is my List, compiled by yours truly.) Not that this is a highly significant percentage; there are not many songs that really rub me the wrong way, but there are some. I do, however, enjoy fulfilling requests, and so even if someone were to request a song I don’t like, I would feel obliged to oblige.

 

As you’ll also notice, I’m far more “up” on tunage of the 20th century than that of the 21st, but I try to cover as much musical territory as I can, and I’m giving this special treatment to more and more songs every day. So that being said, I gladly invite you to send requests of songs you may like to see in The List and given the audio treatment. The List is being steadily built all the time, so I may have already gotten to your favorite—but just not to that point in said List—so I shall let you know. It contains literally thousands of entries, and yet so many more still eagerly await their turn. I too am aware just how many millions there lie in existence that have yet to be brought to my equally eager attention. And of course, my other invitation to you is to reach out and contact me should you like to hear the entire versions I’ve made of them. I thank you for dropping by and spending a little time with me on this journey, and have fun!