X and Y

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I've always envied my brother in almost all aspcts of his generation. He was born in 1980, so that means he grew up during the 80's and spent his teenage life in the 90's. So unfair. He couldn't have picked a more kick-ass year of birth (well, he didn't really get to "pick" it, but).

He was part of what is called Generation X, or those who were born after World War II, technically from 1960 towards the early 1980's. In my opinion, these people have the most colorful lives, growing up to the influences of rock and roll and the Beatles, the hippies, flower power, psychedelia, punk rock, decades of now-classic movies, disco, and new wave. Even grunge. Yes, I think those who were born during the late 80's were too young when grunge became active.

And these are exactly the things that my brother is made of. I grew up unintentionally listening to the songs he listened to, and it was years later when I discovered those artists by myself. He always bragged about his generation's music, saying that their songs would never diminish, would never get old, would always be more soulful and profound compared to my music. By "my music", he meant pop.

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I was born in 1987 and am part of Generation Y. I was still in Kindergarten when the Eraserheads released "Ligaya" and was in entering first grade when Oasis had "Wonderwall". By the time I was old enough to appreciate music, the world was conquered by the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys. All I saw on MTV were colorful baggy clothes and repetitious dance steps, mostly by UMD. And when my mother would switch the channels, there was no way to hide from the presence of Judy Ann Santos everywhere.

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He was a toddler when Michael Jackson broke out with "Thriller" and was old enough to enjoy dancing to "Billy Jean". During his elementary years he must have listened to Madonna, Tears for Fears and U2, maybe a bit of Rick Astley and R.E.M.

It was his first year in hight school when the Eheads released "Ultraelectromagneticpop!". Dammit.

In college he sort of regressed to older roots - he became fascinated with Earth, Wind and Fire, The Jets, Lionel Richie, El Debarge and Reo Speedwagon. But he still listened to contemporaries, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, Nirvana and Radiohead.



I'm not ashamed that I grew up bombarded by boy bands and girl pop groups, but I just can't stand the reality that I could never be in that exact moment when all these timeless music were first shared to the world. All I can do now is look back and appreciate their legacy, and of course, drown myself into the dreamlike beauty of the music.