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The Badger Herald

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Badger Herald staff remembers middle school years through favorite songs

Badger Herald staff remembers middle school years through favorite songs
Photo Courtesy of Destiny’s Child

Although it can be painful to remember those awkward middle school days, The Badger Herald staff chose to look back on the fond moments where these special tunes helped us feel older, get closer with friends at the playground and joined us together on the bat mitzvah dance floor.

Fergie – “Fergalicious”

My primary mode of music discovery in sixth grade was talking to my fellow classmates in a Microsoft Office suites class. Between pretending to use the Learn To Type application and bouts of spider solitaire, we talked about the latest Top 40 hits and blasted the music videos over our desktops. Because the release of Fergie’s debut album, The Duchess, coincided perfectly with the start of the semester, our favorite topic of discussion was a revolutionary piece in the pop world, “Fergalicious.” The synthy, electric sounding beats and male vocals harked back to the classic Black Eyed Peas days, and Fergie’s more powerful and seductive voice was titillating for us young and confused middle school kids. – Selena Handler

Baby Bash – “Suga Suga”

There are probably at least 100 songs I could pick for this topic. I could list the tracks verbatim from my second-generation iPod Nano from seventh grade. I grew up on the musical genius of composers like T-Pain, G-Unit, Sean Paul, Ja Rule and of course Soulja Boy. Though those artists are great, no single song really encapsulates the emotional roller coaster of middle school quite like Baby Bash’s “Suga Suga.” It was the perfect break-up song and the perfect turn up song, “Suga Suga how you get so fly?” More beautiful words have not since been written. – Louis Johnson

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Good Charlotte – “The Chronicles of Life and Death”

My love for Good Charlotte started with an obsession with three songs from their sophomore album: “Girls & Boys,” “The Anthem” and of course “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous.” I then made the mistake of buying their third album, as we all did in the days of listening to Walkman, for the sole purpose of listening to one song on repeat. For me, it was “I Just Wanna Live,” and I was just one of the “fake ass girls [who] all know [their] name.” Little did the Madden brothers know, their biggest fans were just my brace-faced friends and I, who wore plaid knee-length Bermuda shorts and Kohl’s Bobby Jack monkey t-shirts and recited their songs on the playground at recess. To my surprise, the album’s intro was 2:25 minutes of this really eerie choir singing in some language I couldn’t identify. My mom was terrified, but I was all, “OMG mom, take a chill pill, the album’s not all like that,” because I was in the midst of going through my angsty, “no one understands me,” awkward pre-teen years. – Rachael Lallensack

Weezer- “Beverly Hills”

This song is sure to help you distinctly recall standing in a circle of friends at an awkward middle school dance, bopping along to the bass-bumping beat while throwing in a few awkward rock ‘n’ roll head bobs. You and your friends would yell the bridge, “Beverly Hills, that’s where I want to be.” Though the only thing you knew about Beverly Hills at age 11 was that it was in California, you’d never actually admit that. Hooray for being cool during your pre-teen years! — Elise Romas

T-Pain- “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper)”

To my great shame, I had an intense dislike for rap in middle school. Blame my dad’s country music CDs. But this gem from the “golden age” of rap definitely stuck in my head, and brings me back to me all of the awkwardness and misplaced angst of Morse Middle School for the Gifted and Talented. 2000’s rap god T-Pain, relatively free of auto-tune for once, croons his affections for an exotic dancer with such sure-fire lines as, “Mike Jones don’t ever trick/but goddamn she thick,” and made us all feel better about our secret desires. — Nathan Scharping

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4eGsbYTgtY

Jonas Brothers- “Year 3000”

The Jo Bros got me through my teenybopper years comprised of failed AIM relationships, gaucho pants, coping with Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy and the subsequent cancellation of Zoey 101. While the Jonas Brothers are no geniuses when it comes to writing song lyrics, I proudly listened to them every day while my mom drove me to school. “Year 3000” was my fav and I will luv Nick and Joe 4 Ever (sry Kevin). — Laura Schmitt

Now (That’s What I Call Music) 17

I regretfully owe so much of my musical breadth to Now CDs, but don’t act like we all didn’t. My first Now CD was the 17th — there are 89 now if you want to feel old. This plastic circle of cross-genre gold featured beats like “Let’s Get It Started” by The Black Eyed Peas, “Lean Back” by Terror Squad, “Goodies” by Ciara and “I Like That” by Houston feat. Chingy, Nate Dogg and I-20. Then you’ve got some slow jams by Jo-Jo, Jessica Simpson, her sister Ashlee Simpson and Switchfoot. The best gem on the disc was obviously “1985” by Bowling for Soup. Now there’s a song I can still repeat word-for-word on the spot at absolutely any given moment. – Rachael Lallensack

Soulja Boy- “Crank that”

If you were going to a bat mitzvah in 2007, you knew one thing for certain: the dance floor or the local community Jewish center would be packed with eager young tweens cranking that all on the floor. “Crank that” by Soulja Boy was like the middle school millennial equivalent of “Thriller” by Michael Jackson in its ability to bring a whole room to its feet, or shall I say foot. Although the one-footed hop and the head jerk accompanying a hand crank has not been the most graceful dance move of our generation, it did have the unique ability to bring socially awkward and angsty teens together on the dance floor. — Selena Handler

Akon – “Smack That”

I don’t think I’ve ever experienced euphoria combined with sexual awkwardness as much as I did when this song came on at my sixth grade dance. It was the first time I witnessed an entire room of people simultaneously stop, look each other in the eye with dropped jaws and proceed to go crazy. I still have the same reaction whenever I hear Akon introducing Slim Shady in the first few bars. It’s such a timeless jam that takes me back to that dimly lit, sexually awkward dance oh so many years ago. – Chris Bumbaca

Nelly feat. Paul Wall – “Grillz” 

This song was what Top 40 music sounded like in 2005, when popular music still came from the streets and not from the club. It’s incredibly nostalgic to reminisce on this refreshing ode to diamond-studded teeth, as well as your first introduction to “grinding,” which probably occurred as this song played in the background of one of your junior high school dances. — Erik Sateren

Destiny’s Child- “Cater 2 U”

Ah, my first slow dance. It was with Abe Mulberry, the class clown who was probably shorter than me at the time. My face was flushed as it always was, either because I was nervous or maybe because I just belted “Hollaback Girls” a few minutes before, but probably both. As awkward as middle school dances always were, since they were set up in the cafeteria with chaperones surrounding the perimeter, I was glad to have Beyoncé with me. My girl Bey was with me through many iconic moments of my life. Destiny’s Child’s #1s CD/DVD set lived in my Walkman and portable movie player for all eight hours of our family vacation to Mount Rushmore. I was distraught when she broke free from Kelly and Michelle, but elated when “Dangerously in Love” came out and she dropped “Crazy in Love.” It goes with out saying I’m obsessed with anything and everything she’s ever done … ever.—Rachael Lallensack

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