The pop culture moments you associate with your childhood are not only a great way to showcase how old you actually are to other people, but also one of the things that are most rife to be tainted later on in life. A prime example of this, for certain 90s children, is the song “Yuko and Hiro” by Blur, off their 1995 album, The Great Escape.
The melodic, dreamy intro of the song lulls you in with an ambient vibe and sound one imagines are tantamount to the brain waves in a comatose person’s head, setting the stage for how you feel as you mentally black out to get on the subway and into your “workplace zone.” By the time you’ve shoved yourself into a corner on the train, Damon Albarn is droning, “This is my workplace, these are the people I work with/We work for the company that looks to the future/We work hard to please them/They will protect us.”
The ominous tone of his voice paired with the disturbing connotations of the latter phrase didn’t seem so menacing to you as a child. In fact, you were soothed by it. Now, the song is a reminder of what your life has become with lyrics like, “I drink in the evening, it helps with relaxing/I can’t sleep without drinking.” Yes, “Yuko and Hiro” never sounds quite the same to a child of the 90s after he or she has experienced the mental subjugations of an office.