Future Oldies
When I was younger, my dad would often makeme listen to “oldies music” (his words, not mine) as part of my “musicaleducation.” These songs included (but are definitely, DEFINITELY not limitedto): “Rasputin” by Boney M.; “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham!; “LoveShack” by The B-52’s; “Heart Of Gold” by Neil Young; “Little Bitty Pretty One”by Thurston Harris; and “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis. I used toroll my eyes – and groan something along the lines of “DAAAD, can we please change it back to my station?” –but now that I’m older, I really am glad that he bestowed so much musicalwisdom on me.
Recently, I’ve been reflecting on what our“oldies” might be – what iconic songs define our generation. They are the songsthat we recognize within the first few seconds of them playing; the tunes thatmake everyone go “OMG, YESSSSSSS” when they come on at a Queen’s house party;the crowd-pleasers that get the whole crowd on their feet at #SundayNightBrass.I can just hear future me shamelesslyenlightening my kids as they roll their eyes: “Let me pair up to this b-toothright now Junior; I’ll show you how we used to kick it.” These are the songsthat I’ll most definitely cue up, and why:
- “You Belong With Me” –Taylor Swift. This song is absolutely classic – there’s no question about it. It’sthe ultimate song for uniting a crowd. It conjures up so much emotion! Whenthis tune comes on, party-goers are most definitely belting the lyrics with headsback, eyes clenched, drinks raised, and arms outstretched. There are so manyiconic T-Swift songs, but I think this is the most universally-loved (hottake?).
- “Tik Tok” – Ke$ha. This isthe song that launched our girl Ke$ha into stardom. It requires no explanation,except this: we love it, we also kind of hate it, but we need it.
- “I Gotta Feeling” – TheBlack Eyed Peas. This song is the bomb.It epitomizes that example I gave of recognizing a song within the first fewseconds. It’s the classic party song that gets the whole crowd jumping up anddown in perfect sync, every time, without fail.
- “Wonderwall” – Oasis. Thisis the song that gets everybody in the bar swaying in sweet, sweet, unison. Idon’t know how this song came to be so famous, but it’s a crowd pleaser andthat’s for sure. It’s definitely one of my go-tos when I play at The Brass Pubon Tuesday nights from 10 PM-1 AM… (shameless plug, sorry).
- “Sk8er Boi” – Avril Lavigne.The punky love story takes us back to our angsty 7-year-old days (just me?).That hypothetical Sk8er Boi gives us the rub-it-in-your-ex’s-face success storythat we all need, really. Needless to say, this song is timeless (can I make itany more obvious?).
This list is not exhaustive by any means.There are so many great songs that I think will have that “oldies” status whenwe’re our parents’ age. This list is also not universal, since I’m sureeveryone has their own opinion about what songs define our generation. Theimportant thing is that music has this profound ability to define who we are,put the untouchable into words, make us feel deeper and love harder, and helpus forge a sense of collectiveness in a sometimes-lonely world. Can you imaginea world where music isn’t a thing? That would be a sad world indeed.
Because I had ~way~ too much fun coming upwith this list, frankly I thought it would be inappropriate if I didn’t sharethe rest of the contenders with you guys:
- “Party in the U.S.A.” – Miley Cyrus
- “Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…)” – Lou Bega
- “Mr. Brightside” – The Killers
- “Caroline” – Animé
- “Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
- “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” – Shania Twain
- “Crazy” – Gnarls Barkley
- “Hips Don’t Lie” – Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean
- “Hey Ya!” – OutKast
- “Pursuit of Happiness” – Kid Cudi ft. MGMT
- “Wake Me Up” – Avicii
- “She Will Be Loved” – Maroon 5
- “Baby” – Justin Bieber
- “Gold Digger” – Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx
- “Apologize” – One Republic
- “Take a Bow” – Rihanna
- “Rolling in the Deep” – Adele
- “Oops…I Did It Again” – Britney Spears
- “Teenage Dream” – Katy Perry
- “Born This Way” – Lady Gaga
- “Single Ladies” – Beyoncé
- “Ignition (Remix)” – R. Kelly
- “I Want It That Way” – Backstreet Boys
- “Since U Been Gone” – Kelly Clarkson
- “Love Story” – Taylor Swift
- “One Thing” – One Direction
- “I’m a Believer” – Smash Mouth
- “I’m Like a Bird” – Nelly Furtado
- “A Thousand Miles” – Vanessa Carlton
- “Yes” – LMFAO
- “Beautiful Girls” – Sean Kingston
- “Hold On, We’re Going Home” – Drake
- “Hey There Delilah” – Plain White T’s
- “Closer” – The Chainsmokers
- “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” – Backstreet Boys
- “Big Girls Don’t Cry” – Fergie
- “I Hate This Part” – Pussycat Dolls
- “The Climb” – Miley Cyrus
- “Love Song” – Sara Bareilles
- “No Air” – Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown
- “Ironic” – Alanis Morissette
- “Island in the Sun” – Weezer
- “Hey Soul Sister” – Train
