With physical media becoming more of a memory, an artifact of the past – I often wonder how kids will remember music. Other than Taylor Swift, who is taking the time to release actual albums, let alone countless variations of them like some sort of Swiftieverse? Not many, so with that, souvenirs of the entertainment that mean the world to kids today are nonexistent. This makes me happy to have been born a few years before the ‘80s wrapped up. If not, I wouldn’t have distinct memories of those initial cassette tapes that made me love music in the first place, including Daydream by none other than Mariah Carey.
I was in fourth grade, Mr. Fuller’s class to be exact, and by my side was a boy named Roger. He likely has no recollection of this moment because the memories he likely has of me are more Britney Spears-based. Back to Mariah though. We were in class at Mrs. Lyons’ table (RIP to the best teacher’s assistant, ever!) and I pulled that tape out of somewhere, somehow attempting to fulfill my own cool kid Fantasy. Roger wasn’t really impressed. I can’t remember why as it was Long Ago, but I think it was because he’d already had that tape. He had much older sisters, of course, that tape was already in his home. However, I can’t remember how it wound up in mine. No matter how I just know I flipped that tape from side A to B more times than I could count in One Sweet Day of my tween existence.
It was my introduction to Mariah Carey, and for a few years, it was just that she made incredible pop music that was harder than The Lion King video game to emulate when I was home alone. Anyone who sang Mariah Carey in the presence of other people, especially in the ‘90s, had to have major confidence. If my mom ever caught me singing along to a song with all that I had (which isn’t much), I’d likely Melt Away from embarrassment. Do remember this was before the internet and all I really knew about her was from what I could catch on MTV and Vh1, which at the time no one was doing that much to deliver details of celebrities’ lives to the tween audience. TRL had yet to enter the picture, but not too long after it did…came my favorite Mariah album, Rainbow.
Rainbow had a lot of press behind it. Mariah was not only all over MTV with the two-timing Jerry O’Connell in “Heartbreaker” but she also had this interesting TV special/concert that delivered me a piece of her story that I’d yet to fully embrace; she was mixed. Listen, it was the ‘90s and mixed kids – we existed but celebrities existing on that level who were mixed? I latched on and from that point was like, this is my girl. Because we all have at least one pop diva we attach ourselves to, and mine is and will forever be the ultimate diva. That is actually one of the other reasons I adore her, she represents the luxury in life I’ll never know, and don’t aspire to have but definitely admire in her existence. She is so unapologetically extra, and on some level, I wish I could be but again, I don’t aspire to have people interested in me on that level.
Mariah Carey’s Daydream cassette found its way to me in elementary school, and by the time Rainbow was out – my mom made sure to have the CD waiting for me when I got home from school that Tuesday afternoon. That CD, sadly, was left behind with so many on a school trip in a bathroom at a waterpark. 23 years later, I’m still upset about it. Probably because music you can hold just hits differently as it’s not just about the music those tapes, CDs, and records hold – but the memories of having them as well. Mariah Carey, she’ll Always Be My Baby, and the first artist who made me appreciate being able to hold music in my hands.
Vagina Sing-Alongs 
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