The spring of 2005 was a pretty emotional time for me. I was in what I felt was my prime—I was a soon to be elementary school graduate, nearly 10 years old, and ready for middle school to be the best years of my life. Needless to say, I was misguided in many different ways. I was too focused on fifth-grade drama, like who secretly came to the dance together even though we weren't supposed to bring dates, to notice the pure fire being spit by our DJ who was also one of our fifth-grade teachers. For whatever reason, I felt like re-living these memories of a simpler time, a pre-pubescent time, and tried to recreate the soundtrack to the magical, sweaty night in my elementary school gym.
Even if you were too old or too young to be graduating elementary school in 2005, I invite you to re-visit these magical bops as if you were, all censored for your 10-year-old ears:
1. "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani
In a word, iconic. "Hollaback Girl" has the kind of infectiously simple rhythm that really makes fifth graders want to dance. And by dance, I mean jump up and down awkwardly, because they are fifth graders. Fifth graders in 2005 were different that fifth graders now-- there was no dabbing, no whipping, only jumping.
2. "1, 2 Step" by Ciara & Missy Elliot
This song is all about a good ol' 1, 2 Step. At my fifth grade graduation dance, I definitely didn't know what a 1, 2 Step was. Even while re-visiting this jam, I had to google whether or not there was an actual dance to go with this song. There totally is, and what I was doing at nine years old looked nothing like, but this bop is still timeless.
3. "Beverly Hills" by Weezer
This was the ultimate sing along song at your dance. Every 10-year-old in the joint knew every word and sang it loud and proud! Even I had the lyrics memorized, even though I was only allowed to listen to Radio Disney until I was twelve. Thank God for carpools.
4. "Hey Ya!" by OutKast
Because what would an elementary school event be without the boys and girls lining up across from each other, Coke and Pepsi style, and asking one another what's cooler than being cool? (The correct response is ice cool!) I'd pay money to see my fifth grade self try to shake it like a polaroid picture.
5. "Don't Cha" by The Pussycat Dolls
This is the one of the songs on the playlist that was probably too inappropriate to be played at a fifth grade dance, but compared to what these dances probably look and sound like now, this was pretty tame. Don't cha think so?
6. "1985" by Bowling for Soup
Call me biased, but this song is the single greatest song to come out of 2005. It was then, is now, and always will be my true jam.
7. "Don't Phunk With My Heart" by Black Eyed Peas
There is absolutely no way that I knew what any of these lyrics meant, and I definitely was not allowed to listen to this song until I was forced to at the dance, but I still pretended like I was with it anyway, as you generally do when the Black Eyed Peas are playing.
8. "Lose Control" by Missy Elliot
This song has always held a special space in my heart because it was the first song I ever downloaded onto my very first mp3 player. I was immediately after punished by my father for doing so, because this song was definitely not on my Radio Disney approved playlist. This song is still a jam, though, and when I dance to it, which I often do, I probably look just as awkward as I did at my fifth grade dance.
BONUS TRACKS!
You didn't think I was going to leave out the emotional bits, did you?
9. "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
The student teacher in my fifth grade class burned this onto a "Class of 2005" CD, and I'll never forget crying the first time I listened to this song. My life was changing, I was going to a school that made you walk a few yards between classes, and nothing would be the same again. These thoughts are laughable now, that my life has changed in much more dramatic ways over the years, but it doesn't change the fact that this song meant a lot to me at that time.
10. "Graduation (Friends Forever)" by Vitamin C
OK, this is it: The dance is coming to a close... The miserable chaperons are cleaning up the empty water bottles and cookie wrappers... Your mom is waiting at the gym door to pick you up, waving her arms frantically because she's parked illegally. It's finally hitting you that elementary school is over, and you're basically all grown up now. Kiss your childhood goodbye, wrap your arm around your best friend's shoulders, and belt this at the top of your lungs.
I find a lot of the songs on this playlist and the emotions attached to them particularly striking as my own college graduation is now less than two months away. I definitely reminisced a lot while putting this together, and I laughed at my own naivete, and I absolutely wished I could go back.
