Songs Of 2000

I spent the summer of 2000 studying abroad at Lancaster University in Lancaster, England as part of my graduate school program in higher education and student affairs. I wrote some about my European trip in several Summer of Sean posts. Anyway, while many of my classmates had challenging assignments, my task was to help Lancaster University's Management School determine how international students discovered the school through internet searches. I also compared the school's website to other business schools in the UK. With the exception of interviewing a few international graduate students about how they learned about Lancaster University, I really spent most of my time unsupervised doing web searches at the campus computer lab. (This is 2000, so no one I knew had laptops. I didn't even have a cell phone until late 2001 or 2002.) This may sound a little inappropriate, but I think that university miscounted the number of internship spots and just threw me someplace at the last minute.

With my friends busy at actual offices, I often slept in and listened to the radio while getting ready to start the day. I also discovered Top of the Pops, a weekly music television countdown show. (Looking back, I'm not sure how I discovered this. I don't think I had a TV in my room. Maybe the deserted residence hall had a lounge where I watched TV?) I discovered rather quickly that I really enjoyed the pop music scene in England. You got all of the British hits along with the top songs from America and elsewhere. Plus, I thought I was so cool when I heard songs debut in the US months after listening to them in England.

So today, I'm excited to share some of my favorite songs from my time in England 20 years ago. Some of these might be well known to many of you. This may be the first time some of you have heard others. Enjoy!

Destiny's Child - Jumpin', Jumpin'



Before I left Columbus for the summer, I won a contest where I could select tickets to one of about 15 concerts. Most of the concerts occurred when I was away, so I chose Christina Aguilera's concert at the Ohio State Fair. The opening act for this concert was supposed to be Destiny's Child. As soon as I heard Jumpin' Jumpin' played in England, I knew that they weren't going to be an opening act much longer, and sure enough, they were off the tour by the time I saw Christina in August 2000.

Darude - Sandstorm


Of all the songs in this blog post, I didn't expect this song to be the one still played the most. "Sandstorm" remains in rotation at many live sporting events.

Eminem - Stan

  

I swear that I first heard this song in England, but according to Wikipedia, this wasn't released until November 2000. Maybe some BBC station played it months before the actual single release?

Craig David - 7 Days 



I really thought Craig David was going to be an international superstar. Didn't quite happen at least in the US. 

Coldplay - Yellow



I wonder what ever happened to this group.

Kylie Minouge - Spinning Around



I remember seeing an interview with Kylie Minouge where she was asked about her backside getting filmed in the video. Her response was something of amazement and that she didn't realize that the director had that shot. Although Kylie never made it huge in the US, she was as big as Madonna in many parts of the world. She knew her behind would be featured in the video.

Madison Avenue - Don't Call Me Baby



Sonique - It Feels So Good



David Grey - Babylon



Love this song!

Five + Queen - We Will Rock You



Yes this song really happened. By the way, who knew that nearly 20 years later, there would be a movie about Five that won four Oscars?

Mary Mary - Shackles (Praise You)



I only learned that Mary Mary was a gospel group years later.

Samantha Mumba - Gotta Tell You



I have a confession to make. I love belting out the chorus and especially the bridge of this song even though I get nowhere close to hitting the notes! 

Billie Piper - Day and Night



Several years after this song, Billie Piper starred in some Cinemax or Showtime show, and I remember thinking, hey, she's a singer!

Louise - 2 Faced



York - On The Beach



Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler



I'm ending with this song since I don't think I ever heard this song or of Bomfunk MC's since I returned to the US. However, this video has almost 197 million views, so lots of people know it.

Happy Hanukkah 2018

Happy Hanukkah for those of you who are celebrating! 2018 marks a milestone year in the Hanukkah tradition. It’s now been 20 years that pickles have been part of Hanukkah festivities. While you likely know that latkes (potato pancakes) and donuts are regularly eaten during Hanukkah, you may not be familiar with the new-ish tradition of eating pickles too. I explained this several years ago, but eating pickles at Hanukkah started in San Diego, California in 1998. So if/when you light the candles over the next few nights, please also include pickles with your meal. Unlike fetch, this tradition of eating pickles is going to happen!

With the Queen movie coming out recently, Bohemian Rhapsody, a cappella group Six13 released a new song for Hanukkah, Bohemian Chanukah.



Not to be outdone, The Maccabeats released their own Hanukkah song, I Have a Little Dreidel.



It seems like advantage goes to Six13 this year. I’ve shared several videos from both these groups over the years, and I really wonder if they’re rivals. I just imagine them meeting on a random street one day, joined by other a cappella groups just like what happened in Anchorman.

My friend Sarah wrote a romance novella, Lighting the Flames, a few years ago. I enjoyed it! Meanwhile Pop Culture Happy Hour is one of my favorite podcasts, so it made my day seeing host Linda Holmes praising Sarah’s work. (Worlds colliding!)

This is your reminder that there are a zillion Christmas romances, but you shouldn't forget this lovely Hanukkah romance from @SmartBitches that I liked very much. https://t.co/msMd2Hnexq

— Linda Holmes (@lindaholmes) November 29, 2018

Finally, this is just a normal day on the New York City subway. I keep waiting for him to drop, but it never happens!