When I was young, my parents always listened to the Oldies radio station. We’re talking The Beach Boys and The Monkees.
Now I enjoy this music, but at the time, it was sooooooo uncool.
But once upon a time, that music was hip.
I already mentioned the rap that annoyed my parents, but here are the songs my kids are going to roll their eyes at when I sing along.
- “Champagne Supernova” by Oasis: One day you will find me caught beneath the landslide….
- “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette: And I’m here to remind you….
- “Wrong Way” by Sublime: Annie’s 12 years old. In two more she’ll be a….
- “Waterfalls” by TLC: Don’t go chasing waterfalls. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to….
- “Mr. Jones” by Counting Crows: Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation with this black-haired….
- “MmmBop” by Hanson: Mmmbop, da ba da ba doooobop….
- “All I Wanna Do” by Sheryl Crow: All I wanna do is have a little fun before I die….
- “Runaway Train” by Soul Asylum: Little out of touch, little insane, just easier than dealing with the pain….
- “Macarena” by Lose Del Rio: Hey, Macarena…. Face it. No one really knows the words to this song.
- “The Right Stuff” by New Kids on the Block: You got the right stuff, baby….
- “Peaches” by Presidents of the U.S.A: Millions of peaches, peaches for me….
What songs do you still know all the words to?
Thoughts Appear 
April 20th, 2012 at 7:31 am
Now Waterfalls is stuck in my head. Argh!
“Rockstar” by Nickelback was played at every basketball game I ever played at. It’s words are forever ingrained in my brain.
April 20th, 2012 at 7:31 am
Gotta love the Beastie Boys “Fight for your right to party”!
April 20th, 2012 at 7:35 am
Quirky sidenote: we saw Hansen at Disney in October- they still have groupies- major groupies who sat all day waiting for seats…..
April 20th, 2012 at 8:24 am
wasn’t me… (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rsWf09_PmI&ob=av2n) ahem…
April 20th, 2012 at 8:30 am
They were fun- they even performed dressed as Storm Troopers since it was Halloween…..
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:18 am
That would be neat to see!
April 20th, 2012 at 7:37 am
Ha ha! Just wait until someone “cool” re-makes these songs. When Miley Cyrus re-made “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” our kids couldn’t believe we knew all the words.
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:19 am
Miley Cyrus remade that? ::Cringe:: I’m not sure anyone could do Cyndi Lauper justice.
April 20th, 2012 at 7:54 am
Oh man. I am one of those people who, if I hear a song a couple times, I have the words forever engraved in my brain. Forever! For some songs, it’s great. For some, it is very very bad. Blessing/Curse.
Most of my favorites are bad 80s/90s hits. And yeah, NKOTB will forever be etched in my mind. And Vanilla Ice. And Marky Mark. Damn, I’m cool.
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:20 am
Ice…Ice…Baby….
April 20th, 2012 at 8:51 am
What songs do I know that words to? All of them. Once they’re in there, they’re in for good. Granted, there may be some gaps due to undecipherable lyrics, but I skip those parts when singing in the car.
Note: It’s not a good idea to sing along with Meat Loaf, if you have to do any speaking later in the day. Your throat will be toast.
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:19 am
I would do anything for love…. Oh wait. You said no singing.
April 20th, 2012 at 9:41 am
All of those songs. And then tack on Wonderwall, Ghetto Supastar, and Semi-Charmed Life. *Runs and hides*
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:21 am
I love Semi-Charmed Life. Love. It. It should be on my list.
April 20th, 2012 at 9:44 am
Love this list! I grew up on James Taylor and John Denver, and had to pretend to hate it, but by the time I was 12 I was secretly listening to it when my parents weren’t home. 😉
I think my kids (should I ever have them) will definitely be hearing some ‘NSync and Boyz II Men…
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:22 am
I think I was out of boy bands and into punk by the time NSync came out. But yes to Boyz II Men….
April 20th, 2012 at 9:47 am
Love this post!!
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Steal My Sunshine
November Rain
Let’s Hear it For the Boys
Layla
Hotel California
I could go on and on and on =]
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:22 am
Great songs!
April 20th, 2012 at 10:10 am
If I ever sing along to MmmBop I’m going to request that my children put me out of my misery.
But House of Pain should be on this list… Jump Around, jump around, jump up, jump up and get down
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:23 am
House of Pain was on my rap list. I loved that one.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:15 am
C&C Music Factory – Everybody Dance Now
“Here is the dome back with the bass
The jam is live in effect and I don’t waste time
Off the mic with a dope rhyme jump to the rhythm…”
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:23 am
I may or may not have a Livin in the 90s CD with this on it. I admit to nothing.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:29 am
Every Nirvana song
Default – Deny
Eiffel 65 – Blue
REM – End of the World (As We Know It)
Stone Temple Pilots – Atlanta
Snoop Dogg – Gin and Juice
April 21st, 2012 at 8:05 pm
I’d also like to add that I know the words to every Flobots song as well.
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:24 am
I love REM…and that Blue song, even though I don’t know all the words to them.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:04 am
The only song I know all the words to is Amy Grant’s “Galileo”. Oh and anything by Wham! It is unfortunate and embarrassing. My Barbies had wild affairs to the music of Wham! I’m pretty bad at memorizing songs though, so I mostly just sing my own wrong lyrics.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
I love Snoop and Dr. Dre and Tupac and know most of the words to all of their stuff. I also find magic in Lady Gaga’s turning of a phrase. I love Grandmaster Flash “Don’t push me cause I’m close to the edge. I’m trying not to lose my head. It’s like a jungle out there. Sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under!”
April 22nd, 2012 at 10:00 am
“Don’t push me cause I’m close to the edge. I’m trying not to lose my head. It’s like a jungle out there. Sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under!”
I’m so excited!! I thought I was the only one left in the world who knows every word of that song!!
April 20th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Awesome list!!
I love rock but trying to show my kids rock music is pulling teeth.
So I just joined their music train… sigh…
April 20th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Baby Got Back. Shameful, I know.
April 20th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
Not only will they cringe, but you’ll be able to use it as a behavioral modifier: If you don’t stop doing that, Mommy is going to start doing the Macarena, right here in the supermarket. Works like a charm.
April 20th, 2012 at 5:58 pm
Can you imagine what they’ll think when they hear LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy And I Know It”?
April 20th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Lol the words of the Macarena are this fuzzy blob in my head 😉
Glad it will never be too ‘uncool’ to sing 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
April 20th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
I was expecting a post about candy…
You’ve got some great ones on your list – most of mine are a bit older. Like Jules, I love me some John Denver and have most of his stuff memorized… Fleetwood Mac, Glen Campbell, The Eagles, Tears For Fears, lots of 80’s music, LOTs of soundtracks: Footloose, Purple Rain, Dirty Dancing, The Breakfast Club, Oh Brother Wherefore Art Thou…
April 21st, 2012 at 10:09 pm
I woke from a dream this morning, about Aerosmith of all things. As soon as I was really awake, I remembered that I had left them off my list. Are you happy now, Mr. Tyler? We must have been singing My Girl in my dream, because that’s what was running through my head all morning. Thoughtsy, you’re effecting my dreams now, woman!
April 21st, 2012 at 12:17 am
As someone who grew up listening to Beach Boys and watching the Monkees on TV, I think they’re still hip. Happily, I also enjoy today’s music like Train, and Jason Mraz. 😉
April 21st, 2012 at 2:40 am
im always listening to music way before my time. sure, top 40 is good sometimes, but the music that really speaks to me is by frank sinatra, celine dion, sarah maclaughlin and the list goes onn..
April 21st, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Amazingly enough, most of the Peter Paul and Mary songs. I still believe I actually belonged in that generation.
April 21st, 2012 at 11:27 pm
Lots of Madonna and Cat Stevens. A few Paula Abdul songs. Oh, and of course “I’ll Be There” by the Escape Club. Soooo romantic, that one! 😉
April 22nd, 2012 at 9:11 am
Fun!
No matter where I am, if I hear Bell Biv Devoe I must sing. “That girl is poisoooooon!”
Any David Bowie song too. And I sound like a dying cat when I sing. It is truly terrible.
April 22nd, 2012 at 9:32 am
That’s it, time to turn on my 90’s station on Pandora. I love these songs. I’d add some Usher- “it’s 7 o’clock, on the dot, I’m in my drop-top cruisin’ the street…”
April 22nd, 2012 at 10:06 am
This post has majorly infected me with multiple earworms! My husband and kids are continually amazed by my ability to know the words to just about everything from jaunty show tunes to filthy rap lyrics. Before reading this I was singing Jumper in my head, now for some odd reason DMB’s Crash is there.
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Roxette, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, REM…. Yes my children would probably also hang their heads in shame….
April 22nd, 2012 at 1:27 pm
I’m pretty sure I still know the words to all, if not most, Nsync songs. It’s funny, I’ll think I forgot the words to a song but as soon as it comes out, sing along begins!
April 22nd, 2012 at 3:37 pm
The Revealing Science of God – Yes – Dawn of the light lying between a science and sold sources… everybody sing along now…
Stink Foot – Frank Zappa – In the dark, where all the fevers grow come on everyone knows this…don’t they???
1812 Overture– Tchaikovsky la la lalalalala la la BOOM
April 23rd, 2012 at 6:11 am
I have too much Backstreet Boys in my head to be healthy really. I’ve already submitted my 3-year-old to “Millenium” in the car but she quite liked it. I suspect she’ll change her mind pretty soon tho’.
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:00 am
I was working my last month at a particular job when NKOTB announced they were getting back together. My replacement had never heard of them. The Right Stuff did not ring a bell. *eyebrow raise*
April 24th, 2012 at 3:43 am
Hehe love this! I’m with you on Alanis You Oughta Know, I love screaming along to that one 🙂 I would annoy them with The Spice Girls – I know all the words to all their songs!!
April 24th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Aaargh, that Peaches song is now in my head and I hate it!