OH!Press Feature: Throwback Thursdays

New releases are fresh but old classics are still cherry-ripe as ever.

Feeling nostalgic? Take a trip down memory lane with OH!Press’ Throwback Thursdays.

Throwback Thursdays is a new feature of the blog where the team selects songs and dramas for first-timers to experience or second-timers to reminisce back to the good ol’ days.

It is a chance to embrace the past treasures that may have inspired today’s top hits.

Check out this week’s pick below!

Jay Chou (周杰倫) – Back to the Past (回到過去)

Back to the Past was released back in 2002, as apart of Jay’s The Eight Dimensions album. Fitting the ‘throwback’ theme, this ballad delivers what the title suggests. It makes listeners want to go back in time and do things better. Jay’s vintage ‘mumbling’ vocals exerts a desperate yet hopeful mood to the song.

The first verse begins with a refreshing acoustic sound. Jay adopts a fragile tone to start the song. His uses his delicate falsetto to lead into the chorus. Drums are introduced in the chorus, which picks up the pace of the song. Jay serenades about wanting to go back to the past and when he does, he would hug his ex-girlfriend even tighter. In the second verse, Jay starts to mumble again as his voice gives off a lonely vibe. At the end of the last line, he surprisingly does a little belt and a cute ‘oo-oh~’. In the last chorus, he tries to lure his girl to return to the past based on their old, sweet feelings. The song ends with his auto-tuned message to the girl. He confesses to be a leapfrog who silently supports and watches her during the night and morning, even noticing her loss of balance and downgrading figure. He mumbles for one last time, “Would like to go back to the past.”

It is recommended for not only Jay Chou fans but for those who want to listen to a meaningful ballad.