Today, I casually flipped through the music on QQ Music and wanted to change the collection in my space. Originally, I had no clear purpose because I rarely listen to songs normally, and I can't remember the names of the songs or singers that I've heard. Listening randomly to the songs in QQ Music's random playlist, I found it a bit boring. Most newly released songs seem to be crudely produced for profit; some melodies are so bizarre that they disrupt one's train of thought.
Suddenly, I remembered some songs I listened to during college, especially those from 1995 and 1996. At that time, I listened to some foreign language songs, but strangely, I don't have much impression of Chinese songs from that period. Perhaps it was because campus radio played them too often. Instead, the cassette tapes of foreign songs I bought remain vivid in my memory. These tapes were called "Music Heaven." After searching on Baidu, I discovered there are still some loyal nostalgic fans of MH (referring to Music Heaven, not Men's Health). There was a post on Tianya in 2004 where a group of people reminisced about the past. It turns out that MH was a beacon in the hearts of many people back then. It was probably the earliest domestic audio magazine dedicated to introducing Western pop music. I always lagged behind trends, but surprisingly, I kept up with fashion when I entered college by buying several early issues of MH and later its supplement, "The Rhythm of the Sun," which is why others find it strange that someone who doesn’t listen to songs knows a few Japanese songs.
In the university years without internet or much television, I relied on an 80-yuan Jinghua Walkman and these cassettes to pass the time. I liked listening to English songs for two reasons: first, I was influenced by the cassettes my sister bought when I was in junior high school; second, I didn't need to memorize the lyrics since I didn't have the ability to sing along. While listening to the songs, I could read books without being distracted. The "Classic Golden Hits of American and British Pop" only became popular later, and songs like "Yesterday Once More" felt outdated compared to MH.
I listened repeatedly to the first issue of MH. For ten yuan, you got a cassette tape and a simple magazine that introduced popular music and provided lyrics. I most clearly remember the last song of that issue, whose lyrics weren't printed in the magazine. It was mentioned that if you could transcribe the lyrics correctly and send them to the magazine, you would receive the second issue of MH as a gift. Though I knew I couldn't do it, I still listened to that song many times. To this day, I only remember that it was a very beautiful song. Driven by curiosity, I searched for the track lists of various issues on Baidu and eventually found the song again on QQ Music: "If You Leave Me Now..." When I heard the first line, my eyes welled up with tears. Scenes from my freshman year in 1995 came flooding back— the atmosphere in the dormitory, the narrow corridors, the ping-pong table downstairs, the old classrooms, and all those people and events. They suddenly hit me with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. Youth—it feels so distant yet vividly clear...
Below is the list of tracks from the first 15 issues of MH, which may evoke similar feelings in others... MH has now ceased publication, reportedly because it gradually leaned towards underground music, which wasn't widely accepted. I stopped paying attention just before I graduated due to the increasing heavy metal and electronic music. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the memories MH gave me in that era.
MH CD1
1. Bryan Adams - Everything I Do, I Do it For You
2. Ronan Pretty - Woman
3. Seals & Crofts - Windflowers
4. Paula Abdul - Rush Rush
5. Lobo - I’d Love You to Want Me
6. Michael Jackson - Black or White
7. Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven
8. Vanessa Williams - Save the Best for Last
9. Terry Jacks - Seasons in the Sun
10. Mariah Carey - Make it Happen
11. Kenny G - Songbird
12. Michael Jackson - Heal the World
13. Bobbie Gentry - I’ll Never Fall in Love Again
14. Chicago - If You Leave Me Now…
MH CD2
1. Boyz II Men - End Of The Road
2. Martika - Toy Soldiers
3. Richard Marx - Hazard
4. Yuzuko Hara - The Journey Of The Flowers
5. Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
6. Cathy Dennis - Too Many Walls
7. Michael Bolton - Missing You Now
8. Enya - How Can I Keep From Singing
9. Jon Secada - Just Another Day
10. Shakespears Sister - Stay
11. Santa Esmeralda - You’re My Everything
12. Simply Red - For Your Babies
13. Richard Marx - Endless Summer Nights
14. New Kids On The Block - I’ll Be Loving You Forever
MH CD3
1. Whitney Houston - I’ll Always Love You
2. Gregorian - So Sad
3. Wilson Phillips - You Are In Love
4. Snap Rhythm - Is A Dancer
5. Masaru Hamada - Sentimental Christmas
6. Annie Lennox - Why
7. Patty Smyth - Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough
8. TLC - Baby, Baby, Baby
9. Simon & Garfunkel - Scarborough Fair
10. Tears For Fears - Sowing The Seeds of Love
11. Roxette - It Must Have Been Love
12. Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind
MH CD4
1. Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle - A Whole New World
2. The Beautiful South - Bell-Bottomed Tear
3. Guns N’ Roses - Don’t Cry
4. Color Me Badd - I Wanna Sex You Up
5. Yukihiro Nakamura - Rouge
6. Bobby Brown - Humpin’ Around
7. Duran Duran - Ordinary World
8. Prince - When Doves Cry
9. Bangles - Eternal Flame
10. Madonna - Bye Bye Baby
11. Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly With His Song
12. Suzanne Vega - Tom’s Diner
MH CD5
1. Vanessa Williams & Brian Mcknight - Love Is
2. Shanice - Saving Forever For You
3. Snow - Informer
4. Silk - Freak Me
5. Sting - PROLOGUE(If I Ever Lose My Faith In You)
6. East 17 - Gold
7. Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall
8. Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
9. Bertie Higgins - Casablanca
10. Glenn Frey - The One You Love
11. Noriaki Maeda - A Ballad For Those Who Cannot Cry
12. Elaine Paige - Memory
MUSIC HEAVEN Collection - MP3 Directory (Chinese)
MH CD6
1. Dusty Springfield - Windmills Of Your Mind
2. UB 40 - Can’t Help Falling In Love
3. K.d.lang - Constant Craving
4. Tina Turner - I Don’t Wanna Fight
5. Whoopi Goldberg & The Sisters - I Will Follow Him
6. Rod Stewart - Your Song
7. Janet Jackson - That’s The Way Love Goes
8. Boy George - The Crying Game
9. Tori Amos - Silent All These Years
10. Bon Jovi - Keep The Faith
11. Southern All Stars - Fruit of Midsummer
12. Destiny - Scorpions
MH CD7
1. Sting / Bryan Adams / Rod Stewart - All For Love
2. Meat Loaf - I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)
3. Mr. Big - Wild World
4. 4 Non Blondes - What’s Up
5. Soul Asylum - Runaway Train
6. Aerosmith - Cryin’
7. Air Supply - The Vanishing Race
8. Don McLean - Vincent
9. Eagles - New Kid In Town
10. Ace of Base - All That She Wants
11. Billy Joel - The River of Dreams
12. Pearl Jam - Alive
MH CD8
1. Celine Dion - The Power Of Love
2. All 4 One - I Swear
3. Mariah Carey - Without You
4. Richard Marx - Now And Forever
5. Take That - Babe
6. Enigma - Return To Innocence
7. Queen - Somebody To Love
8. Garth Brooks - The Thunder Rolls
9. Toni Braxton - Breathe Again
10. Regine & Jacky Cheung - In Love With You
11. Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box
12. Neil Young - Philadelphia
MH CD9
1. Big Mountain - Baby I Love Your Way
2. Wet Wet Wet - Love Is All Around
3. Lisa Loeb & Stories - Stay
4. Joan Baez - Famous Blue Raincoat
5. Elton John - Can You Feel the Love Tonight
6. Annie Lennox - Love Song for a Vampire
7. Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Summer Wine
8. Marvin Gaye & Diana Ross - You Are Everything
9. Erasure - Always
10. The Knack - My Sharona
11. Rolling Stones - The Worst
12. Sinead O'Connor - You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart
MH CD10
1. John Lennon - Imagine
2. The Cranberries - Zombie
3. Frente! - Bizarre Love Triangle
4. The Beautiful South - Especially For You
5. REM - Everybody Hurts
6. Depeche Mode - Leave In Silence
7. Dionne Warwick with Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder - That’s What Friends Are For
8. Grant Lee Buffalo - We’ve Only Just Begun
9. Sinead O'Connor - A Perfect Indian
10. Cyndi Lauper - True Colors
11. Bjork - Play Dead
12. Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
13. The Doors - Light My Fire
MH CD11
1. October Project - A Lonely Voice
2. Scott McKenzie - San Francisco
3. Dolly Parton - Silver And Gold
4. Peter Gabriel - Red Rain
5. Dan Fogelberg - The River
6. Beverley Craven - The Winner Takes It All
7. Roy Orbison - A Love So Beautiful
8. Sheryl Crow - Strong Enough
9. Julio Iglesias - Song of Joy
10. Mary Chapin Carpenter - Stones In The Road
11. Bonnie Raitt - Longing In Their Hearts
12. Terence Trent D'arby - Delicate
13. Suede - The Next Life
MH CD12
1. Bryan Adams - Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman
2. Joni Mitchell - Night Ride Home
3. Lenny Kravitz - Flowers For Zoe
4. Letters to Cleo - Laudanum
5. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Natural Mystic
6. Sade - No Ordinary Love
7. Tom Petty - Wildflowers
8. Alannah Myles - Song Instead Of A Kiss
9. U2 - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
10. Concrete Blonde - Everybody Knows
11. Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World
12. Elastica - Never Here
13. Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out)
MH CD13
1. Seal - Kiss From A Rose
2. Mariah Carey - Fantasy
3. Michael Learns To Rock - That's Why (You Go Away)
4. Scatman John - Scatman's World
5. K.D. Lang - The Infinite And Unforeseen
6. Blur - The Universal
7. Garbage - Milk
8. Coolio Featuring L.V. - Gangsta's Paradise
9. P.J. Harvey - C'Mon Billy
10. Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You
11. David Bowie - Space Oddity
12. Alanis Morissette - Forgiven
13. Metallica - Fade To Black
MH CD14
1. George Michael - Jesus To A Child
2. Shania Twain - Any Man Of Mine
3. Moira Kerr - Charles Edward Stuart
4. Sting - Shape Of My Heart
5. Joan Osborne - One Of Us
6. Vanessa Paradis - Joe Le Taxi
7. TLC - Waterfalls
8. Blueboy - The Joy Of Living
9. Danielle Brisebois - What If God Fell From The Sky
10. John Mellencamp - Dance Naked
11. Sonic Youth - Self-Obsessed And Sexxee
12. Bush - Machinehead
13. Portishead - Mysterons
MH CD15
1. The Beatles - Real Love
2. Gloria Estefan - The Heart Never Learns
3. Chris De Burgh - I Will
4. Tori Amos - Blood Roses
5. Bee Gees - My World
6. Robert James Waller - The Madison County Waltz
7. Linda Ronstadt - Adonde Voy
8. Live - Lighting Crashes
9. Throwing Muses - Snakeface
10. The Cranberries - Salvation
11. Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue - Where The Wild Roses Grow
12. Lush - Last Night
13. The Smashing Pumpkins - Zero
14. The Levellers - Searchlights