I was driving. The car. Rather than my usual rig. And the babe was a disatisfied customer in the back. So I turned up the radio. The Wolf scrolled across the screen. And the station switched from talking to music. And suddenly,
man, suddenly, I was transported back in time. To a small building that sat opposite the baseball fields. To a cafeteria at a neighboring school. To the gym in the school where I lived another life. Oh… that song… It was no accident… me finding you. I was transported back to every school dance I attended from junior high into high school. Keeper of the Stars. I swear, if any song was a treasured slow dance number, that was it. And then… I started thinking back to what other songs were played in the days where I waited all evening for that boy to ask me to dance. Whoever that boy happened to be at the moment. I was not so smooth with the gentlemen folk {I know. Shocking.} So I was rarely brazen enough to make the first move. To ask the guy that was the object of my affection to dance. So we could awkwardly breathe in the same space. And step around in circles. And often avoid eye contact. Whenever possible.
But that song. It carries memories. But it’s not the only one. You know what I’m talkin’ about. Those songs. The ones that got played and that you danced your face off to {the log… inside joke}. The ones that you wanted to dance to with someone special. The ones that you warmed up to in basketball. Or the ones that accompanied your cruising of a four block strip with two turnarounds… one at the coop. One at the grocery store. THOSE songs.
The ones for which sometimes you even got your hair did, donned fancified poofy dresses, and danced your fanny off. The ones that will forever be with you. Even when the past is very well, in the past.
 |
| I swear. Yellow was in. And so were wall sconces and holding hands, apparently. |
Now, keep in mind, I graduated a mere 14.5 {yes. still clinging to that remaining .5 until I reach the big 1-5} years ago from high school. Soooo my Junior High dances started back when we bought CDs and iTunes was a wild pipedream. But even in those dark ages, there was music. And the following music tracks are my soundtrack to the past.
My high school playlist:
The Slow Ones…
// All my life – K-Ci and JoJO {I prayed for someone like you… And I thank Go-od…}
// Amazed – Lone Star {Every time ours eyes meet. And our sweaty palms, apparently. Magic.}
// Cross My Heart – George Strait {You love it. You know you do.}
// The Dance – Garth Brooks {Quintessential. That is all.}
// Don’t Take the Girl {or squirrel} – Tim McGraw {PLEEEEEEEEAEEESE…}
// End of the Road – Boys II Men {THEY JUST MAKE HITS}
// From this moment – Shania Twain {2nd best duet ever. In the history of high school dances}
// God must have spent a little more time on you – N Sync {You bet he did;)}
// Hero – Mariah Carey {Because only 1 out of every 430 people can actually sing Mariah}
// How do I live – Leann Rimes {How do I leeeeeve without you?}
// I can love you like that – All 4 One/ John Michael Montgomery {They both have their pros.}
// I do cherish you – 98 degrees {Oh boy bands. How I loved thee}
// I don’t wanna miss a thing – Aerosmith {Don’t die, Ben Affleck. I’ll eat animal crackers with you!}
// Iris – Goo Goo Dolls {This song is actually creepy. In a sweet creepy way.}
// It’s Your Love – Faith Hill and Tim McGraw {Hot. Under. The. Collar. #1 BEST duet.}
// I’ll be – Edwin McCain {This one goes out to Lindsay and Jeremy. Forevs.}
// My Heart Will Go On – Celine Dion {Don’t throw the locket! Please! Don’t!}
// Strawberry Wine – Deanna Carter {When seventeen seemed old. Ha.}
// To Make You Feel My Love – Garth Brooks {From the movie Hope Sinks. One bright light. This song.}
// Truly Madly Deeply – Savage Garden {Don’t even pretend you didn’t love Savage Garden.}
The Ones That Got Everyone On The Dance Floor…
// Any Man of Mine – Shania Twain {Girls in a circle. With some girl with a name like Abby leading the charge.}
// Boot Scootin’ Boogie – Brooks & Dunn {Heel toe dosey doe…}
// Bye Bye Bye – NSYNC {Full choreography}
// California Love – 2Pac {Pretty sure I didn’t know any of the words. But I was straight up gangsta when this little tune started thumpin}
// Chattahoochee – Alan Jackson {It gets hotter than a wha?}
// Cmon ride the train – Quad City DJs {With the actual train. Of course.}
// Cotton Eyed Joe – Rednex {The MOST boring line dance. Worst song ever.}
// The Crossroads – Bone Thugs n Harmony {Again with the rap. I was so street.}
// Devil Went Down To Georgia – The Charlie Daniels Band {The one where some guy with a name like Justin would swing you around like a rag doll}
// Everybody – Backstreet Boys {Who was better? Backstreet Boys? NSYNC? 98 degrees? Tough call}
// Fishin in the Dark – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band {Baby get ready… oooooo oo}
// Footloose – Kenny Loggins {Everybody cut everybody cut…}
// Gangsta’s Paradise – Coolio {As I walked through the field where I harvest my grain… oh wait, that’s the weird Al version…}
// Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It – Will Smith {You know you loved it.}
// Goodbye Earl – Dixie Chicks {Every boy hated this song.}
// Jack and Diane – John Mellencamp {A little ditty…}
// Love Shack – B-52s {Necessary evil. TIIIIN ROOOF! Rusted.}
// Macarena – Los del Rio {Why? Why did this happen?}
// Men in Black – Will Smith {Will Smith. It didn’t even matter what the words were.}
// Mony Mony {Hey Hey wanna get… what was that again?}
// No diggity – Blackstreet {I like the way you work it…}
// Rockafeller Skank – Fatboy Slim {Because every high school is just like a 90s romcom.}
// Shoop – Salt ‘n’ Pepa {I just looked up these lyrics. I’ve been singing them wrong since 1993. Awesome.}
// Whatta Man – Salt ‘n’ Pepa {That’s not iiiit.}
The One That I Hit The Court To…
// Anything from Aerosmith’s Nine Lives Album {What? You don’t know it? Download it.}
// 1,2,3,4 – Coolio {Get your whatever on the floor…}
// All Star – Smash Mouth {Hey now…}
// ESPN Jock Jams {Simply en fuego. This song makes me wanna do a toe touch every time I hear it.}
// It takes two – Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock {This song was made for basketball lip syncing.}
// Jellyhead – Crush {You must be out of your mind if you don’t think this one was catchy}
// Let me clear my throat – DJ Cool {ONE TIME.}
// Tubthumper – Chumbawamba {Weirdest song. But oh so catchy. Darn}
+And, of note, the pep band was likely playing Championship, or Smoke on the Water, or Centerfold, or Barbara Ann, or Eye of The Tiger. And perhaps, even, I was playing those songs, at times, depending on the sport and the year. Remember, band nerds rock. Literally.
The Ones That I Cruised To…
// Anything on Deana Carter’s Did I Shave My Legs For This album {Basically gold.}
// Anything from Tim McGraw’s Everywhere Album {So good.}
// Baby One More Time – Britney Spears {Who knew what that would lead to}
// Bitch – Meredith Brooks {Because of the novelty of swearing}
// The Freshman – Verve Pipe {Because we were barely freshman…}
// How’s It Gonna Be – Third Eye Blind {Third Eye Blind. Just the name is enough.}
// I Want It That Way – Backstreet Boys {Those people just make hits!}
// I Want You – Savage Garden {Again. Savage Garden knocks it out of the park}
// Inside Out – Eve 6 {Heart in a blender. Wow.}
// Kiss Me – Sixpence None The Richer {Because every nerdy girl wants to take off her glasses and look like that girl}
// Never, Ever – All Saints {Because harmony is cool, yo}
// One Headlight – The Wallflowers {Ironic for cruising.}
// Summer Girls – LFO {YES.}
// Time of Your Life – Green Day {So emotional. Oh Green Day. You tear jerkers, you.}
// Torn – Natalie Imbruglia {Who even knew what this was about?!}
// Waterfalls – TLC {Go, go Jason Waterfalls… because that’s what people with names like Emily thought the lyrics were}
// Wide Open Spaces – Dixie Chicks {Dixie Chicks. Amazing.}
// You Were Meant For Me – Jewel {For the tortured teen soul.}
So my lists, well, they’re a bit exhaustive… but if you were in jr. high and high school around the same time, what’s missing? What was on your list? What song pops on your radio and takes you back in time? What song makes you feel 16 all over again? Did Country never even grace your eardrums because you were a grunge fan? Did slow dances make you wanna run for the hills? I’m now realizing how ridiculous most of the lyrics to these songs were. I can only hope my boys have just as ridiculous music. Which I am already certain won’t be a problem given the fact that songs like Let me take a selfie are able to make it to great levels of fandom.
Oh, high school. You were good while you lasted but I’d never go back. Unless there was a dance to go to. And they’d play some of those hits. And I could finally have the courage to just dance like no one’s watching. Then maybe.
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