Weekly Track Roundup #17
It was the time of forgetting your locker combination, questionable fashion choices, and maybe even more questionable music choices. Aural Wes contributors take a look back at the awkward times of pre-teenhood to share their middle school jams.
"Snow (Oh Hey)" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
For some reason my music tastes haven't really changed since middle school, but only expanded. I can't think of many bands that I'd be embarassed to admit I liked (save a few Guitar Hero 3 guilty pleasures). But the main band I associate with middle school is the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Stadium Arcadium came out in 2006, thus propelling fifth grade me into a future of funk-rap/soft alternative rock frenzy. Their music was also a big inspiration for me to pick up the guitar. Obviously, "Snow (Hey Oh)" is a classic.
- Adam Manson
"Skinny Love" - Bon Iver
This song makes me want to sit by my locker on a cloudy day and cry about how Edward Cullen will never love me. Bon Iver 4evr.
- Cayla Blachman
"Act: 1 Chasing Suns" - The Sound of Animals Fighting
It’s always the older kids that introduce you to this stuff. He was a metalhead in the 8th grade (I was in 6th) and we’d listen to his MP3 player (NOT an iPod). This is a side project consisting of members of RX Bandits, Circa Survive, Finch, and the Autumns (later including Craig Owens from Chiodos). They played fast, speedy hardcore infused with a sense of experimentalism.
There’s a number of bands I could have selected, but I chose this band because, in addition to it being the soundtrack to the latter half of my middle school, it exponentially opened up my musical world.
- Will King
"I'm Like A Lawyer With The Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You)" - Fall Out Boy
Every day after middle school I would go to my friend's house and watch what was left of MTV's music video lineup. Fall Out Boy was on regular rotation, and this song still gets in my head every once in a while and refuses to get out. And I don't mind at all.
- Emily Feher
"your love is my drug" - KeSha
I don't know if any song better defines middle school than this bar mitzvah classic. Kesha (she dropped the $!) is honestly still my fave, and I listen to this song all the time whenever I need a pick-me-up.
- Aurora McGuckin
"Twilight zone" - Golden Earring
In middle school I wore a lot of tights paired with Converse and never wanted to listen to new music. Most of the stuff I listened to, including this song, came from my parents' stack of CDs. I was pretty obsessed with this song: it was my favorite song to play on my guitar, and I even had it played at my bat mitzvah. Definitely a little embarrassing, but I still love listening to the awesome guitar solo whenever it comes on.
- Michelle Rosen
"Pressure" - Paramore
Nothing summarizes my middle school days of moodiness, braces and black eyeliner like Paramore. My favorite memory of this song is when I heard it played live at the Warped Tour with my mom. (It only took a few months of begging to make that happen.) Hayley Williams was (still is?) the pop punk princess of my dreams.
- Kelsey Gordon
