1. Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston - The Prince of Egypt (When You Believe)
2. BoyzIIMen - I Will Get There
3. Chicago - If You Leave Me Now
4. Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
5. Chantal Kreviazuk - Leaving on a Jet Plance
6. Sarah McLachlan - Angel
7. Shawn Mullins - Lullaby
8. Journey - Lights
9. TLC - No Scrubs
10. Goo Goo Dolls - Black Balloon
11. Sarah McLachlan - I Will Remember You
12. Shades - Time Will Reveal
13. Len - Steal My Sunshine
14. Fiona Apple - Across the Universe
15. Franka Potente - Believe
16. Sixpence None the Richer - There She Goes
17. Joanne Hogg - Small Two of Pieces

This was a pretty cool exercise. Music has always been a way that I've measured time, a way that I have remembered things. I decided to write justifications for the songs I picked out.

MCMLXLIX Disc 1

Angel Wings and Fog

1. The Prince of Egypt (When You Believe) by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston

2. I Will Get There by BoyzIIMen

OK, technically these are 1998 songs, but it's close enough, coming out in December and all. These were actually quite a source of inspiration in those dark days. :) Incidentally, when I watched this movie, it was the last time I saw Scarlet. I wonder what she's up to now?

3. If You Leave Me Now by Chicago

No, I didn't pick the song because of group's name. When I went to the Philippines with my extended family, my uncle actually rented a charter bus for our twelve hour trip from Manila to Dingras (in Ilocos Norte) On this bus was television and a VCR, so we sang karaoke most of the way (when we weren't watching Jackie Chan and Jet Li movies) For some reason, we kept singing this song over and over again. It also came up again when I took my little trip out to Lansing, Michigan

4. Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton

You will find that my sister had a profound influence in my picks for the year, which probably makes sense because I had to live with her through 1998-1999. In Ilocos Norte we stayed at a hotel called Fort Ilocandia, near Laoag. Across the street from the hotel was an outdoor stage and bar called Desperado, where local talent would do covers of old songs. This one stuck in my (and my sister's) head, and so it totally reminds us of our cousins in the Philippines. It also reflects their predilection to playing acoustic guitar.

5. Leaving on a Jet Plane by Chantal Kreviazuk

I don't know why, but this song totally stuck in my head when I was waiting for the plane at NAIA. By some weird twist of fate, I had to leave a day later than the rest of my family, so I was flying by myself again. I suppose you could say this song was a kind of inspiration for my poem "Lakbay" in maganda #12. This song made me sad because my cousins were really sure that they would never see us again. I hope I can prove them wrong soon. This song also reflects the fact that I did so much traveling in 1999. I visited two countries (The Philippines and Mexico, three if you count the stopover in Korea), eleven states (Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut), and spent some time in five major cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Manila, New York twice, and Chicago)

6. Angel by Sarah McLachlan

This is a really comforting song, and has always calmed me down no matter how upset I get. It is also a very L.A. song, reflecting my involuntary exile to the City of Angels :) Angel is also the name of the dog (a Lhasa Apso mixed with something-or-other) my sister got in 1998, when he was practically just out of the womb, and whom I ended up partially raising. (My mom bears the brunt of the burden, and looks at him as one of her kids) I suppose the lyrics really don't match with thinking about a dog ("Angel of Mine" by Monica is probably more appropriate, but that is definitely a 1998 song), but I blame my sister for naming him thus. Anyway, I like Sarah McLachlan.

7. Lullaby by Shawn Mullins

Another L.A. song. It helps when I get homesick, particularly because of the uplifting refrain..."Everything is gonna be all right."

8. Lights by Journey

OK this is an old song, but I'm pretty sure this was the first time I heard it consciously. They played it a lot on KBIG 104 in L.A., which we listened to where I worked. Anyway, it's a San Francisco song to counterbalance all the L.A. stuff. "I want to get back to my city by the Bay."

9. No Scrubs by TLC

This was my theme song in early 1999. "If you live at home with yo momma, oh yes son, I'm talking to you."

10. Black Balloon by Goo Goo Dolls

I remember Eugene playing this song for us on our way down to Ensenada. I didn't really get into it until afterwards though, but memories can be retroactive, right? For some reason, this song makes me think of Aimee and of Eugene, although it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the lyrics. I haven't really thought about it much. I'm also psyched about this song 'cause I learned the chords to it pretty quick.

11. I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan

This was my sister's graduation song, although the lyrics can apply to anything when I'm feeling nostalgic. I have a lot of memories from Flintridge-Sacred Heart Academy.

12. Time Will Reveal by Shades

A remake of a song by Chico DeBarge (Serious old school!) Shades isn't a particularly creative group--they also did a remake of "How Deep Is Your Love" and sampled from Spandau Ballet's "True" but my sister got their album and listened to it a lot. The original version of this song for some reason reminds me of my very first crush at school when I was in second grade. She was in fourth grade at the time. It's funny, I still remember her name! (Michelle Vergara) :)

13. Steal My Sunshine by Len

"I was lying on the grass on Sunday morning of last week, indulging in my self-defeat." Another of my theme songs. It tripped me out that they considered themselves a hip-hop band. A white Canadian hip-hop band. Heh. This song got pretty annoying after they played it a million times on the radio. It's also on the soundtrack of the movie "Go," which is a hilarious movie that everyone should see.

14. Across the Universe by Fiona Apple

Besides the fact that I like the Beatles, this song reminds me of the last time I passed through Gilroy on the way back to L.A. in June 1999, something that I'll probably never do again now that my aunt doesn't live in Milpitas. "Nothing's gonna change my world, nothing's gonna change my world."

15. Believe by Franka Potente

The theme song of the movie "Run, Lola, Run," a independent German film I watched with Rima. It was really interesting--I swear it makes you try to think in five dimensions--you have to see it to understand. It probably didn't help that I'd been reading about strange loops at the time. When I went to New York, my friend Bram had just gotten the soundtrack, so he was playing it quite a bit.

16. There She Goes by Sixpence None The Richer

I don't know why I'm picking remakes and not the original songs themselves. I felt kind of ripped off that I bought Sixpence's album before they decided to put this track on the CD. This is dedicated to all the women I've had crushes on/I've fallen in love with but with whom I never had a chance. :) The La La's original version also reminds me of KROQ flashback lunches, and going home at 12:30 on Fridays in high school. Those were the days. :) I also like this song because I learned the guitar riff.

17. Small Two of Pieces by Joanne Hogg

This is from a Playstation game called Xenogears, made by the same company that makes the Final Fantasy series. The lyrics don't necessarily make sense, but the music sounds really nice, and it makes me remember the sleepless nights me, my brother, my sister, and my cousin spent beating this game. We would take shifts. I think we beat three games straight in one week: Silent Hill, Parasite Eve, and Xenogears--this was the last game I played before I had to go to Chicago. It hearkens back to some of my fondest childhood summer memories, where me and my siblings would immerse ourselves in the fantasy world of a video game. This also therefore reminds me of the time we played The Legend of Zelda III, and my sister pitched a tent inside the house (don't ask!) while we virtually wandered the realm of Hyrule with barely any sleep.

1. 702 - You'll Just Never Know
2. 702 - Don't Go Breaking My Heart
3. 702 - Finally
4. Ben Folds Five - Don't Change Your Plans
5. Ben Folds Five - Magic
6. Ben Folds Five - Army
7. Blink 182 - What's My Age Again
8. Jazzyfatnastees - The Wound
9. LFO - Girl on TV
10. Savage Garden - I Knew I Loved You
11. Joey McIntyre - I Love You Came Too Late
12. Voice V - Here I Go (Fallin' In Love Again)
13. Voice V - Always on My Mind
14. Voice V - All Day, All Night (Kamikaze Mix)
15. Faye Wong - All Eyes on Me
16. TLC - I Miss You So Much
17. Beyonce and Marc Nelson - After All Is Said And Done

MCMLXLIX Disc 2

On the Breath of the Wind

1. You'll Just Never Know by 702

2. Don't Go Breaking My Heart by 702

3. Finally by 702

This was the only recent CD I brought with me on the trip to Chicago (recommended by my sister, of course), so I ended up listening to it a lot. I fit my mood well at the time, for some reason.

4. Don't Change Your Plans by Ben Folds Five

5. Magic by Ben Folds Five

6. Army by Ben Folds Five

The CD this came from--"The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner" (the story behind the title is really silly)--was recommended to me by Rima, and these tracks managed to catch a lot of the things I was thinking at the time (and sometimes still think now)

7. What's My Age Again by Blink 182

This is in honor of turning 23, which, in retrospect, is spectacularly anti-climactic. "Nobody likes you when your 23, and you still act like you're in freshman year. What the hell is wrong with me? My friends say I should act my age. What's my age again? What's my age again?"

8. The Wound by Jazzyfatnastees

This song is from a duo me and Joce saw in New York. Apparently there's this weekly gathering of hip-hop and r&b artists. This song stuck in my head, and can be pretty applicable to my life sometimes. :)

9. Girl on TV by LFO

OK this is a pretty stupid song, I hate LFO, but the piano hook is pretty catchy and sticks in your head. It's also another L.A. song, and, although it has nothing to do with the lyrics, it makes me wonder about the life that I left behind in L.A., and how it might have turned out if I didn't go to Chicago. I can't help but think of what-ifs. That's why I think I should be a writer. :)

10. I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden

This is the first song from Savage Garden that I actually liked (until they played it about a trillion times on the radio) I woke up to it one morning and I called my sister up and asked her if she knew a song about loving someone before you met them, and she just called me a freak and said I was hallucinating. My brother laughs at this song, saying it's got to be the cheesiest line in the world.

11. I Love You Came Too Late by Joey McIntyre

I didn't even know who this guy was when I picked it. I just found it in my sister's mp3 collection. I think it captures my lack of timing, in matters of the heart, and in a lot of other things, too. :)

12. Here I Go (Fallin' In Love Again) by One Voice (Voice V)

13. Always on My Mind by One Voice (Voice V)

14. All Day, All Night (Kamikaze Mix) by One Voice (Voice V)

Maybe it's just my Cal bias and my crab mentality, but I can't help but think of them as a rip-off of Pinay. But then again, Voice V did get a pretty big record deal. (Apparently the record company made them change their name) Anyway, their songs stick in my head pretty well. My sister says that their look attempts to duplicate Destiny's Child. The radio stations out here in Chicago actually play one of their songs (I don't like it--it's called "When You Think About Me") Is it just me, or did they sample a song by Air Supply for "Always on My Mind"?

15. All Eyes on Me by Faye Wong

Another song from a Playstation game, this time from Final Fantasy VIII. I actually didn't start playing this game in earnest until just recently--it's four discs long, and I finished the first two in about a week, although I did sacrifice a lot of studying time. I had to quit cold-turkey and wait until after midterm season. My brother played this a lot during Christmas break--it was one of his mp3s on his playlist. We actually first played this game intermittently last summer. First we played the demo in between playing Parasite Eve and Xenogears. Then my sister got a copy of the Japanese version. If I didn't have to go to Chicago, I would've played with my brother. He can read the katakana and some of the kanji, and besides they have a lot of translations on the Internet. I bet you I could've learned to read basic Japanese. :)

16. I Miss You So Much by TLC

This song applies better to romantic relationships (and it was a playlist pick by my sister in the wake of a messy breakup), but it also makes me think of all the people I don't get to see very often, and all the memories we share. All in all, a good end of the year pick.

17. After All Is Said and Done by Beyonce and Marc Nelson

The title makes it a perfect final song. This is from the "Best Man" Soundtrack. All in all, 1999 was a mixed bag of ups and downs. The world didn't end after all. It was a perfect time to seize the day and live to the fullest. I re-learned a lot of things about myself that I should've known all along. Well, better late than never, right?