ME & MUSIC FROM HALFWAY 1991 TILL AUGUST 1993:

*** Befóre this era

In the early part of my life (0-8 years old; I'm born in the spring of 1981) there was no interest in music at all. From early 1990 till halfway 1991 I was browsing through my parent's cds and vinyl records, and listening to the Dutch children act 'Kinderen Voor Kinderen'. Their 11th album, released late 1990, was my very first cd.

*** Starting out (current music)

Halfway 1991 I started listening to current chart and dance music. I got an old clock radio and started playing with the tuning knob. This was the start of +three decades of listening to the radio, till today.

*** Older music?

Soon I didn't play that much old music anymore, except for danceable tunes released since +/- 1987, discovered by listening to the radio or borrowing dance compilations.

Other oldies were tolerated when played at the radio, but not much more than that.

Same goes for guitar based music in general, old or new.

*** Dance music/fandom

Anyway - I was soon addicted to dance music, and became a 2 Unlimited fan. There were only two singles needed for that. Their albums 'Get ready' and 'No limits' were played to death, and the first one (released in the spring of 1992) was my first cd nót containing children music.

I've also bought some cd maxi singles of them; No limit was one of them.

*** Sources of information

My sources of information about music were teen magazines like 'Hitkrant' and 'Popfoto'. There wasn't internet yet, those days. And every week I went to the record store to get the newest Top 40/Mega Top 50 chart paper (they were free).

*** Home taping / radio

Besides that, I taped huge amounts of radio shows. A lot of stuff from the 'Veronica' broadcasting organisation and dance/house shows like For Those Who Like To Groove (YT file), TROS Dance Trax (YT file), Rave Radio (YT file), etcetera.

Borrowing cds at the local library and taping them also happened a lot. Some names: House Party, Turn Up The Bass, Move The House, Now Dance and also the first editions of the famous Mega Dance series.

*** More radio (mid 1991 - September 1992)

I listened to Radio 3, because there was almost no other 'young' radio back then. Radio 538 and Power FM both existed in a part of this era, but weren't available where I lived.

Till September 1992 Radio 3 sounded quite difficult. Back in the days I couldn't really appreciate that atypical radio schedule, with all those different broadcasting companies each having their own day on the national pop station Radio 3 (nowadays 3FM) - or even two organisations on one day. A 'vertical' patchwork schedule, every day was different.

At Wednesdays in the mornings you could hear the Christian broadcasting company 'EO' and in the afternoon the alternative broadcasting company 'VPRO' (I didn't get both), at Thursdays the mainstream family organisation 'TROS', etcetera.

But I really liked the young and relatively wild sounding Veronica Fridays.

In retrospect I realize that strange schedule + the experimental view of the 'VPRO' organisation brought much richness to radio. I was possibly a bit too young to get it.

If yóu don't get it, when reading this: This is a longread, published January 1992. Source: the Dutch music magazine 'Oor'. People not speaking Dutch can type parts of the text in Google Translate.

*** More radio (October 1992 - August 1993)

From October 1992 on Radio 3 had a horizontal schedule. The source of the article: the Dutch teen magazine 'Hitkrant'. These were the djs spring 1993. Source: the Dutch girl magazine 'Tina'.

But the gospel music, every workday from 7 till 8 pm, isn't mentioned here ('Spoor 7' by the 'EO' - I hated it).

I liked the 'Magic Friends', though; the NCRV dj couple Sjors Fröhlich & Peter Plaisir with their after school show. They played mainstream music and a lot of dance, and the two of 2 Unlimited frequently were guests there. Here's a YT file with some fragments/jingles, recorded in 1992 and early 1993.

ME & MUSIC FROM SEPTEMBER 1993 TILL +/- SEPTEMBER 2000:

*** General

It was a long and steady era, filled with happy-go-lucky music and largely overlapping with high school (I went to high school from late summer 1993 till halfway 1998).

*** Radio

Important radio sources were Radio 538 (a Dutch radio station, having a much used/recorded new releases item 'make it or break it'), Radio Atlantis/Channel X (a local Dutch radio station, specific in the last part of 1997 + 1998), and Dutch pirate stations playing eurodance/happy hardcore/etcetera.

I was searching the entire FM band to find them - till the late 90s there was no internet radio yet, and after the moment the first internet radio stations came online it took me a while to discover that new phenomenon. There's more about that in the timeline in the black box below.

*** Music television

An important tv source was the Dutch music video station TMF, broadcast since May 1995 and also called 'the Dutch MTV'. This is an article from spring 1997, published in the Dutch music magazine 'Oor'.

*** Other sources: magazines

In the first part of this era I still read Dutch pop magazines like Hitkrant. → the interview with Anita Doth, Nance Coolen and Desiree Manders is from the tail end of 1994.

And besides that girls magazines like Fancy when they talked about music. → In the 1997 article are some old audio devices.

*** Other sources: early internet

In the first part of this era there still wasn't internet yet. Spring 1996 I was online for the very first time. It was the early, primitive dial-up version.

After +/- three quarters of the 90s internet was installed at home. Music sites visited back in the days were the sites of Radio Atlantis/Channel X, Radio 538 and TMF. There's no pic available of the regular homepage around Y2K (it was a flash page not correctly saved by the Web Archive), but this was 'TMFweb' in 1999.

*** Home taping

I was still home taping a lot; radio shows and borrowed cds were put on them. With ballpoint pens and watercolor pencils selfmade artwork was created.

Since late 1998 they were created with a pc; in the early days in a very primitive way though. This is a spring 2000 example. This is the sound compilation (containing the song transitions; jingles and dj talk included) belonging to the previous link.

*** Cds

I still borrowed compilation cds at the local library, filled with dance hits. Some were bought (and sometimes a cd maxi single).

Now the compilations had names like 'Mega Dance' (I had this one), 'Now Dance Hits', Yabba Dabba Dance', '538 Dance Smash Hits' (I had this one) and 'Club Trance' (I also had this one).

Sometimes I played a regular artist album. Besides the ultra happy eurodance/happy hardcore/clubtrance/etcetera I was, summer 1999, fond of the Basement Jaxx album 'Remedy'; also borrowed from the local library. In retrospect it felt like a bridge between the happy-go-lucky-era I was still in, and the more grown-up direction taken in the next era.

*** Fandom

I was still a 2 Unlimited fan, although the releases since 'Real things' less resonated with me than the older ones. I couldn't put the finger on it, but nowadays I hear their later releases sounded less spontaneous. At the day Real things was released, I immediately went to the record store as fast as I could, though.

*** Older music?

Older danceable tracks, released since +/- 1987, were played, but not that many other oldies. Other oldies were tolerated when played at the radio, but still not much more than that.

Same goes for guitar based music in general, old or new.

ME & MUSIC FROM +/- SEPTEMBER 2000 TILL LATE 2004:

*** General

This was an era of suddenly growing up, music wise. The music I liked in this era was still mostly dance music, but in a more serious way. It was caused by the rise of (broadband) internet - discovering internet radio, discussion boards, etcetera. Clear 'growing pains' were visable.

*** Internet: radio

+/- September 2000 I discovered internet radio, which would become dominant until today. The first discovery was Dancenet (screenshot/pics), later renamed DanceRadioOne.

An important en influential trinity of tracks discovered there in the early days: Daft Punk - One more, Etienne de Crecy - Am I wrong and David Morales - Needin' you (vocal version). It was still dance music, but in a more serious, grown-up direction.

Another internet station much listened to in this era was the Dutch dance station Pro FM (screenshot), but that was in 2003/2004. It was a combination of quite commercial (but not too tacky) dance music, disco and Italo.

*** Internet: expensive phone bills

Because of dial-up internet I could only listen 1 hour a day. Listening longer than that became too expensive. I couldn't handle that, and in the same era I also discovered internet discussion boards and started creating my first personal home pages. The bills went through the roof, and somewhere around Februry 2001 already dial-up internet was replaced by broadband internet.

*** Internet: discussion boards

The new releases were (too) intensively discussed on Dutch discussion boards. General boards, dance boards. I'm not that pround at moments I - by accident - Google something written by myself, back in the days. Too clueless.

*** Internet: personal home pages

There also was an endless string of personal homepage experiments, made with Frontpage 2000 and in the first years uploaded at Lycos; for a big part about music. Self created Hed Kandi like girls were part of the design of some of those sites (Screenshot of 2003/2004, Screenshot of 2004).

*** Internet: downloading

I was intensively downloading music from Audiogalaxy, Soulseek and Kazaa Lite. To be honest: way too much.

*** Internet: still limitations / FM radio

This was still the era before wi-fi and smartphones. There was only one pc at home to make use of when listening to music, nothing more.

Because of this I also listened to the regular FM stations Id&T Radio (a dance station a bit similar to Dancenet; screenshot of spring 2003) and 3FM.

About 3FM you can read an article here, published October 2003. Source: the Dutch music magazine 'Oor'. And this was their promotion campaign in the same era.

*** Burning cds

My downloaded mp3s were, since early 2002, burned on lots of self compiled cds; late 2001 I recorded my final cassette tape.

When it comes to recent music it was a string of numbered cds ('Greatest Hits 20xx volume xx') with selfmade artwork, created on the pc. New ones were created when there were enough songs. This is an example of summer 2002, this is a 2003 one and this is a 2004 one.

This was a lounge special, made in 2003. And these were cds collecting older dance tracks, made in 2003 or 2004.

*** Other cds

From time to time I also bought a cd in the shops; still mostly compilations. Hed Kandi or something related (musicwise). I both liked the music and the drawings.

*** Older music

Basically the same as in the previous era: older danceable tracks released since +/- 1987; this cd already was linked under 'burning cds'. The older danceable tracks I played in this era also sounded a bit more serious, similar to the recent part.

But I still didn't play that many other ones, although I tolerated older and other kinds of music when it was played on the radio.

*** Tired of music

I went (especially musicwise) slightly overboard with that new phenomenon broadband internet; it was like giving a 5 year old kid a huge bag of sweets - he/she will eat the entire bag and become sick.

Buying my first mp3 player (this one) even made it worse, partly because of too much skipping of songs. In the last months of 2004 I became slightly tired of music in the broadest sense of the word.

*** Radio FG/Underground FG

But at the tail end of 2004 I also discovered Radio FG/Underground FG, which would become important in the next years. Their schedule consisted of alternating regular playlist hours and mixed hours (by various djs, mostly French).

This YT file was one of the very first recordings, 55 minutes long and immediately starting with a jingle; I don't know if it's from December 2004 or January 2005. It gives an impression of the station.

ME & MUSIC FROM EARLY 2005 TILL LATE 2007:

*** General

2005-2007 turned out to be a messy era, and the bridge between my 'core' dance years and the next era. To be honest I didn't really have a clue those years. I was figuring out what I liked.

But in general my musical preferences became softer and more subtle.

*** Early 2005: in need for some rest

The first part of 2005 I wasn't very active, musicwise. I didn't need much of it for a while, played frequently ambient streams to avoid complete silence.

After a while I even started to appreciate some of the tracks played at stations like Cryosleep (screenshot), and downloaded them.

And at the moments I needed other kinds of music I often listened to the French internet station Underground FG, discovered at the tail end of 2004, which played dance music but in a relatively subtle way. Tech house, minimal, deep house, relatively soft kinds of techno - that kind of atmosphere.

A repeat of the last part of the 2000-2004 chapter: Their schedule consisted of alternating regular playlist hours and mixed hours (by various djs, mostly French).

This YT file was one of the very first recordings, 55 minutes long and immediately starting with a jingle; I don't know if it's from December 2004 or January 2005. It gives an impression of the station.

Anyway, both Cryosleep and Underground FG became influential.

*** Mid 2005: the FM transmitter / wireless speaker

Halfway 2005 I bought a FM transmitter and a wireless speaker to make it easier to transfer music from the PC to other rooms (as a kind of a very primitive alternative to wi-fi).

After buying that FM transmitter started listening to more music again. But I was careful not to go too far.

*** The rest of 2005: other musical needs

After the relatively silent first part of 2005, my musical needs seemed changed. I cleaned the slate. There was a new interest in less danceable music, relatively subtle music and also in music being quite old already (often combined), while I was at the same time less busy following the newest releases.

I also got interested in tracks released in my teenage years/early twenties neglected before (often guitar based).

An important (back in the days) recent album: Pete Philly & Perquisite - Mindstate, with its relaxed combination of hip hop and jazz influences.

*** Mp3s

I still used Soulseek to download mp3s, and burned them on cds.

*** Burning cds (recent music)

Music was - like the years before - burned on selfmade compilation cds with artwork created on the pc. Many belonged to a cd series containing recent favorites; new ones were created when there were enough songs. This 2005 cd is one of them, and yes - I know the playlist is hard to read.

Here's a 2006 one, somewhat clearer. This one has been directly taken from an old drawing program file. And here's a 2007 one (similar).

In this era many of the tracks weren't hits. There wasn't much chart music interesting for me anymore, many recent popular dance tracks sounded very 'brickwalled' (yes - the opposite of my own musical direction). That 'Call on me' track and similar ones. This also pushed me in the direction of discovering/playing older stuff.

*** Burning cds (oldies)

This is one of the burned cds filled with older stuff, made in 2006 or 2007; again with text hard to read. This one, containing 80s music, in this case relatively much Italo, is easier to read → directly taken from an old drawing program file.

And in 2005 I stumbled upon this oldies collections from the previous year: 'Ace An Urban Eclectic Experience', which was also officially released as a double cd, and a similar mix broadcast at 3FM. I got the files from somebody else who thought I would like it. Although the 'so hip' vibe surrounding this (mixing songs this way was a trend) wasn't my cup of tea anymore, the collection of songs turned out to be quite influential. Musicwise I still think it's very o.k..

*** Other cds

I bought loads of second hand compilation cds I couldn't afford when I was young. They had become extremely cheap now, including the famous Turn Up The Bass series.

When it comes to cds released since +/- 2001, I bought the (till then) entire compilation series 'Studio Brussel - De Maxx', and searched for cds reflecting the music played on the internet station Underground FG. 'Radio FG', 'Barfly' (this is a second hand one I bought) and other titles.

When it comes to recent ones I also owned this Switch one from 2005, and liked the free cds you got when buying the German 'Groove' magazine. This is an example of 2007 (with own artwork, though).

In 2007 I also bought this 4cd box with similar music, but these songs mostly were older.

And in 2005 I bought the Pete Philly & Perquisite album mentioned before.

*** Internet radio

Important stations in this era besides Cryosleep and Underground FG - already mentioned a couple of times before: Pro FM, KIF (screenshot of 2006), Studio Brussel (screenshot of 2007), KX Radio, PBB, Radio 0511 (60s and 70s, quite similar to the current station Extra Gold) and various Soma FM stations (screenshot of 2006).

This was the Underground FG website late 2005.

*** FM radio

Only when it was too hard to listen to internetradio, or even impossible. When I choose to listen to FM radio it was mostly 3FM. There was not much else.

Like said before, a FM transmitter and wireless speaker were available now, but there still was one pc at home and nothing more. No smartphones or tablets. Turning that pc on and plugging in the FM transmitter or wireless speaker was the only way to listen to internet radio in another room. When the batteries were empty it was over for a while.

*** Identifying music

In a certain way discovering music wasn't that easy in this era, btw. In the years between listening to regular radio stations and the rise of Shazam, lots and lots of tracks remained unidentified. Especially when it was (nearly) instrumental dance music, lacking Googleable lyrics. Internet radio stations often didn't publish playlists.

When it was possible, I tried to record the tracks when I heard something interesting, and put parts of them on 'track ID' messages boards. Because the source often was Underground FG, the useful 'Track ID' boards often were French, and I didn't speak French. Everything had to be put in Google Translate.

*** Personal music sites

When it comes to uploading personal music sites, it was quite low-key those years. This is a screenshot of late 2006.

ME & MUSIC FROM EARLY 2008 TILL LATE 2014:

*** General

Basically I entered calm musical waters, also soundwise. Although seemingly much happened, looking at the text below, my musical taste stabilized.

Partly due to health issues (halfway 2008 already, and lasting for a while), some previous musical activities were put on hold, and the way I handled music was at its most nonchalant now.

I let music a bit come over me; in 2008/2009 it was at its strongest. My first internet radio would become a helpful tool in that situation. That device made it easy to discover unknown music while laying on the couch.

In some ways 2008/2009 was a bit detached from the years after that. But when it comes to my musical taste it was one era.

*** New influences

In the early part of the era I discovered sources like FIP (screenshot of 2013; I can't find an older one), Nova.fr (screenshot of 2010) and Laid Back Radio (screenshot of 2010, and these are two short soundfiles), and the shows of the Belgian dj Lefto. All would become very influential.

At the tail end of 2007 I already discovered jazzy stuff at one of those internet stations I frequently listened to, which was an important moment. I kept playing it.

In fact this development was not that strange, looking at the more relaxed musical direction of 2005-2007.

*** Older music

Besides recent music I also discovered lots of old(er) tracks, like in the previous era - containing more guitars than the recent part.

When it comes to old versus recent music this was the most unclear era. When I discovered something recent it seemed mostly by chance, even more compared to the previous era, without searching for it. Somewhere above I already used the word 'nonchalant'.

*** Internet radio device

I bought my first 'standalone' internet radio (also in the early part of this era), and installed wi-fi because of that, which would replace the FM transmitter of the previous era. The 'Grundig RRCD 3760'; a very big one. There wasn't much to choose yet at that moment. It was Vtuner based, in association with Grundig.

*** Internet radio stations

More important radio stations, besides FIP, Nova.fr and Laid Back Radio, which were already mentioned before: Studio Brussel, KX Radio, Paris1 Reverse (screenshot of 2011), some Soma FM stations (although less prominent compared to the previous era), some 'Addicted To Radio' stations (screenshot of 2012), and semi 90s station Only1 Revival - sadly it didn't last long. In this YT file you can hear 42 minutes of this station.

And besides these names there also was a long string of homemade stations (screenshot of one of those mysterious hobbyists) hosted at Radionomy (screenshot of the home page, February 2012). The makers often came from France or Wallonia and the stations basically were made for free, although buying music and voice overs also counted.

Names: AlternativeRadio, Bolz, Double XX (another nice station playing oldschool dance; here are two screenshots of 2012) and many others. The three stations mentioned in the previous line still exist, outside of Radionomy.

*** Own internet radio activities

In 2011-2015 I also created Radionomy stations by myself (link to extra page), including selfmade jingles, created with voice overs ordered somewhere else and sounds found literally everywhere. In Audacity everything was put together.

*** Personal music sites

Early/mid 2008 there still was a small music site (screenshot) online in a low-key way, the final one made with Frontpage 2000. Due to health issues the music sites were put on hold for a while.

From spring 2010 on more versions of personal music were put sites online, with especially in the early 10s frequently changing designs - now slightly bigger, made with Wordpress and also filled with lists containing my favorite tracks. They were also home of my radio station(s).

Some screenshots: Four of 2010 and 2011, another one of 2011, the final one of 2011, 2012 and 2014.

This was right before the breakthrough of Spotify. At my sites you could read long lists of titles, but you couldn't directly click them.

*** The '22 Tracks' site

There was also a famous site called '22 Tracks' I often made use of (screenshot), quite big around 2012. The site contained playlists compiled by so-called musical taste makers, sorted by country. It was mostly recent music. Sadly, the rise of Spotify has made an end to that site.

*** Mp3s

I downloaded mp3s from Soulseek, and besides that I recorded tracks from streams - or that 22 Tracks site - with software like Total Recorder. They were saved as mp3s.

*** Burning cds

Cds were still burnt, but after mid 2008 less and also less strict. Still with selfmade artwork, though. Here's a summer series one, made in 2008 or 2009. There were more series focussing on a specific vibe, like this hard to read one containing vintage music/exotica (dating from spring 2008).

Till mid 2008 a part of the burned cds belonged to a series containing recent favorites; new ones were created when there were enough songs. This was a very late one, May 2008.

*** Other cds

Cds were also still bought, but again: the heydays were over.

I bought a bunch of cds filled with golden oldies, often second hand (50s-very early 90s). But most ultra cheap second hand cds containing youth favorites were already collected in the previous era, and the amount of recent music released on cds decreased (at least the stuff I liked). Or they were very expensive.

Also discouraging: Many record stores closed in the late 00s and early 10s.

I still visited flee markets, and if I was already there, I also browsed the cd trays. But more and more seeing the same 80s, 90s and early 00s stuff without the addition of fresh (+/- 2003-2013) blood/relatively recent second hand stuff became boring.

*** Formats in general

Like already more or less said before: The way of playing music - besides internet streams - was partly from 'real' cds' (buying them was on its last legs), partly from burned cds (less and more messy than before), partly from usb sticks and hard disks (downloaded and ripped mp3s), and partly from that '22 Tracks' site (some of them were saved as mp3s with software like Total Recorder).

It was that vague pre Spotify era. It came to The Netherlands at some moment in this era, but wasn't that big yet.

*** Identifying tracks

Identifying tracks often still wasn't easy, pre-Shazam, although it already was a little bit better compared to the previous era. Internet radio stations published more playlists, and some stations showed the artist/title on the tiny screen of my radio. With a pencil I wrote down the titles on a piece of paper, to download them at SoulSeek.

Sometimes I uploaded unidentified bits to YouTube (when I managed to record at least a part of the track), because after uploading it was possible YouTube showed the title. And if not, I put the fragment on a track ID discussion board.

ME & MUSIC FROM EARLY 2015 TILL LATE 2019:

*** General

My musical taste became a bit darker compared to the previous era, but in general not much happened in this era. In fact there's not much changed anymore between 2015 and today.

I was/am slightly more busy with current music, compared to the two eras before; partly due to having more time for it after quitting my radio station. But without going overboard. I still remember the early 00s when it comes to that.

*** Shazam

I started using Shazam. Gone were the days of writing down titles, too often wondering what I listened too and finding far-fetched ways to find the title. Sometimes Shazam gave no answer, but it didn't happen that often.

*** Spotify / cds

I also started using Spotify. Now there was something replacing the cd. My final cd has been bought around 2020.

Burning them was also fading. But owning a cd player not accepting them didn't help.

To be honest I miss the physical ways to listen to music; both visiting music shops/browsing cd trays at flee markets and playing the things found there. But vinyl is not my cup of tea (an important reason: there's no room to store them) and the cd (basically a good format for me) is simply nearly dead.

In 2021 I started creating the lists this website is linked to. There was still the need to express myself, musicwise.

*** Internet radio

Despite Spotify I still used internet radio as an important source to discover music - and I still do that in 2025. Till today I make use of standalone devices; in the late 10s it was an Imperial i150.

In 2016 Radionomy disappeared, and because of this also many amateur stations I liked. And partly because of this also one of the most important radio stations of the previous era, Laid Back Radio. This station sounded relatively professional, but was also hosted there.

Radio stations replacing these sources in this era: BBC 6 Music, Couleur 3 (screenshot of 2017), Radio Béton (screenshot of 2018), Ice Radio (the unofficial successor of KX Radio, containing partly the same djs) and BRUZZ (especially after 7 pm CET). All these stations still are frequently listened, or at least subtop. And Pinguin Radio became more important, but I knew that one already. Poko Pokito was another favorite, but that one doesn't exist anymore.

About Byte FM and KEXP I'm not sure; I don't know if I discovered these stations already before 2020. But I deliberately searched for stations playing a bit more guitar music, partly recent.

And I still listened to FIP and Nova. In 2025 they still belong to my sources, btw.

*** Music podcasts / Mixcloud

For me this era was the introduction of the Mixcloud streams. But in general listening to music podcasts and listening back radio shows increased.

Examples: the shows of Ngoc Lan (Astrolab, broadcast at Couleur 3), Dj Leenknecht (Chunks of Funk, broadcast at BRUZZ) and Dj Lefto (back in the days broadcast at Studio Brussel). But the last one already played a role in my musical life since 2008 - and still does.

*** Mp3s

Despite Spotify I still collected mp3s, partly by recording streams with Total Recorder, partly by downloading them with Soulseek and partly by buying them (Bandcamp for example) - and it's still the case.

I don't want to become too dependent on Spotify. Not everything is available there, and if the service disappeares 'your' carefully collected music is also gone.

*** Personal music sites

Screenshots of my music sites in this era: 2015 (inspired by the design of old Dutch Top 40 papers), 2017 (the first responsive one, feeling like designing with handcuffs) and 2019.

After that sparse looking final site my domain has been empty for many years; at least for the general public. For myself it was (secretly) still used; to experiment with code and upload pictures. But for others, the site you're looking at now (created May 2025) is the first one since that 2019 site.