Music I Grew Up On // #90s

The first CD I ever remember buying belongs to Wheatus. Does anyone recall their huge hit Teenage Dirtbag? I was mid-way through primary school and had only just started to show an interest in music. I'm proud to say I've been a rock fan since way back... yeah!

It actually caused some controversy and embarrassment when my family realised their sweet little girl wasn't into bubblegum popstars but a quite aggresive pop-rock band. I think I still have this CD lying around somewhere...

Hanson //  Aw, sweet little Hanson! The first music artist I ever remember really being a fan of. I still have a warm place in my heart for these boys and their MmmBop tunes. They were definitely a One Direction for my generation with irresistible hooks and even more irresistible hairstyles. At the time, pretty much everyone my age seemed to either be a Spice Girls or Hanson fan and I was always the latter but somehow a Spice Girls tribute band were the first act I ever saw live on stage. With all boy-bands, it's a must to have a favourite member and Taylor was the obvious fan favourite but I went slightly left of center with an instant attraction to the youngest of the three, Zac who is actually married with kids now which totally messes with my head... 

Backstreet Boys // Again, I had a favourite member in Nick but this time he was the most loved of the "band". I remember being jealous of the grade six class at my school for getting to perform their hit Backstreet's Back at the end of year school concert. Again, at the time, their was a competing act in Nsync which I never seemed to take too seriously but who could forget Justin Timberlake with curly hair!!!

Avril Lavigne // I guess now that I look at it, Avril was the first step into the pop-punk/emo genre that I loved in my teenage years. I was just starting high school at the time and realising that my classmates were all into Rap and R&B when that was totally not my thing at all. I was just starting to take my interest in music seriously and being more confident with my choices. I actually managed to see Avril live at an instore performance through a local shopping centre. Sadly, she wasn't too peachy after meeting and greeting 400+ fans and that was when the sheen started to wear off for me.

Good Charlotte // Can you see the progression yet? I was learning, right :) While, I can now see Good Charlotte were the stereotypical mainstream punk rock choice, I have a lot to thank them for. At the time, they were often compared to Simple Plan which lead me to a whole world of discovery in music and beyond.

Simple Plan // Oh, SP ♥. I loved this band for such a long time and with the most passion which was helped along by a very strong Aussie following and many fan forums. I actually met some pretty cool people at the time and still call them friends today. This band even managed to tempt me along to my first real concert experience to which I owe many years of attending concerts and local shows. I owe quite a lot to this band for being fun and accessible and never taking themselves too seriously. Without this band, I would never have been lead on to the entire network of emo bands who pretty much shaped my teenage years. Je t'aime Simple Plan :)

From here onwards, I discovered brands like Dashboard Confessional, Brand New, Elliott Smith, Say Anything, Taking Back Sunday, Yellowcard, The Ataris, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, Tegan & Sara, Blink-182, Jack's Mannequin, Green Day, Saosin, Saves the Day, Motion City Soundtrack and so many more...

I really have no idea how I would've survived my teenager years without this collection of music. Those years were almost like being in a music appreciation class night and day. I've now come out the other end of those years with a strong music knowledge and what I'd like to think is a good taste in music yet I'm not afraid to admit I often find myself reminiscing my days of being a boy-band fan whenever What Makes You Beautiful pops up on the radio.

Q: Did you like any of these groups when you were growing up? What music did you first discover as a teenager?