Musical Memory

I'm pretty darn handy at remembering things. I mean I'm the one who almost ALWAYS remembers when and where my friends/family and I did every little thing and not only what I was wearing but also what they were wearing also. My memory is also pretty good with music. I mean, it should be right?! When I hear a song from my past I am reminded of the story of the first time I heard it or where I bought that record or what length my hair was when I was obsessed with that band. The story is embedded into that song. It may not be a good story or even worthy of having the word story attached to it, but still it's there - always. It's like those people who smell colors.
So, I played trivia the other night with some friends and we had to figure out the name of a song after only 15 seconds of the song. I knew the song and no one else did, but I couldn't think of the name. We had some time to think and so I gave up looking like a normal person in the restaurant and glued my fingers to my ears to try to drown out the different song that was blaring on the radio which can only be described as a christmas version of 'Can't Buy Me Love' (nothing like trying to sing a song to yourself whilst a song is playing loudly that reminds you of a different song). Long story short - I figured it out and the excitement I felt when we got the answer right is beyond embarrassing. My story attached to this particular song was that it was the

first song I heard by Lady Gaga that I didn't mind and how disturbing I thought the music video was. But now, I think the trivia story outshines it.
I'm saying this in hopes that you will fully understand my frustration with the following dilemma...

I remember loving the song but feeling like I shouldn't love it. It sounded risqué which totally freaked me out. Just to clarify, I don't believe I actually knew then what freaked me out about the song I just knew that I felt like I shouldn't like it - but let's remember that I went to Christian School and was very naive. I think I was around 12 or 13 and was just starting to get into current indie music. Growing up my favorite music had always been the 'oldies' and then Amy Grant and Mariah Carey, the list stopped there. But when 'mmmBop' came out and all my friends started boping right along I had flashbacks to being the only girl to knew all 4 of the names of The Beatles instead of ANY of the names of New Kids on The Block. I was the only one without a lunchbox with their picture on it.
My oldies station kept playing the same amazing music but I wanted new music and I wasn't going to get sucked into the mmmBop fan club. So, the alternative rock station was my last hope and boy did I fall in love with it hard. Especially because they were playing a lot of music by girls that didn't dress like they were from Clueless (although that was my fave movie but I also knew it was a satire, and come on - Paul Rudd in flannel? What's better than that!?).
So, back to the song. I would listen to the song when it came on the radio but I was always afraid that it would be bad to buy the record. My naive-christian-school-girl brain thought it was risqué and bad so even though I loved the song I never bought the darn album or even hit record while it was playing the radio. I can't remember the song now...it's been almost 20 and I have the story and NO song. Do you understand my frustration now?
The last time I remember hearing the song was my junior year of high school and I was on tour with The New Vibe's in Texas. A few of us girls were staying at a house with a bunch of guys and their Dad while their Mom was out of town (okay, here's a little PSA for all the Churches out there asking your congregations to open their homes for high schoolers...when a family in your church who have three children who are all boys REQUESTS to have girls stay with them...maybe you should turn them down, or at least make sure their mother will be there and that the father doesn't leave them all alone! Oh the things that could have happened if I hadn't been a goody-two-shoes).
One of the girls decided to leave with the house with one of the brothers - I was determined to not let her and when she wouldn't listen I figure it was safer for me to go with her and so I did. After a joyride around TX where I was pretty sure I was going to be arrested and kicked out of choir and go to hell, the brother brought us home. The other brother rescued me from his horrible younger brother and took me to his room to listen to music (oh I was so naive) and he played that song and again it felt risqué so I promptly left his room and went to the guest room, locked the door and didn't sleep the rest of the night. But here's what I wish would have happened...on my way out the door - ask the older brother "Hey! Who sings this?" Then maybe I wouldn't be the crazy girl who is writing a WAAAAY to long blog post about a song from 20 years ago. Geez, if you are still reading this you may be crazy as well...sorry.
So, back to the now... I have a list of songs that remind me of that song and each time I hear one I start my search again. The search for a song that would make a 13 year old, very naive, Christian-School girl nervous because of it's risqué sounding vocals and beat. A song released sometime between 92 and 96. I know it's not later than that because I remember the song reminding me of three of my favorite songs at that time -

Cannonball,

Six Underground and

I'm Not An Addict. It was a female fronted band with a 'girly sounding voice'. But I don't believe it was any of these bands...The Breeders, The Sneaker Pimps, K's Choice, The Cardigans, Letters to Cleo, Sixpence None The Richer, Veruca Salt, Garbage, Lush, Luscious Jackson, or Mazzy Star. I listened to all of these bands back then I believe I would have known it was them.
I think I finally figured out what the song might be but if it is this song then my memory has majorly let me down because I've heard this song hundreds of times, I own the album it's from. Granted, I bought it probably 10 years after I first heard it but that leaves me with about 10 years of listening to it and it never once gave me the peace of mind that I had finally found the song. Ugh. I'm giving up my search at least for now. I think this is the song but my stories that belong with that risqué song from 20 years ago do not attach to the song now and I don't believe they ever will, except for right here in this post.
90's girl band drumroll please...

The moral of the story...Shazam is the best invention of all time!