Early 2000s vs. Ms. Rona

I often consider middle/ high school some of the best days of my life. I went to an awesome performing arts school, was friends with everyone, had great style and made the best playlists for everyone's parties. I mean the party literally did not start until I arrived.

During this pandemic I wanted to go back to a simpler time. A time when the most pressing things on my mind were making sure my friend didn't back out on me when we decided to wear skirts together; a time when playing matchmaker to two friends who liked each other was the highlight of my week. In all of the uncertainty surrounding Miss Rona I needed some familiarity.

Spanning from (roughly) 2000 - 2007 and covering artists from B2K to Nickelback, this playlist is quite simply defined as "songs that defined my childhood".

I can see your mind blowing the dust off of itself. So let's dive right in. We start with some heavy pop tracks to get the gears rolling. Dream, Samantha Mumba, S Club 7...remember when sitcoms used to feature popular music artists? *sigh* they don't make em like that anymore. The entire first half of the playlist is light and upbeat. One of my favorite things about this time period was that top 40 radio wasn't very segregated and everyone knew every popular song, regardless of genre. Corona has sort of caused (most) of us to come together as a people and enjoy the little things in life, regardless of walk of life.

I had to add all the big dance tracks of the time - Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It, Do It To It, Da' Dip, Walk It Out...you can request any of those songs during a party right now and it's guaranteed to get everyone on the dance floor (not literally right now because social distancing but you get my drift).

While I try to make all playlists universally appealing and make sure that they tell the story of the time, I had make sure that this playlist made me happy so I included some deep cuts from popular artists. I remember not wanting to take my massive 100-slot CD case everywhere with me so choosing a couple of CDs forced me to listen to them in their entirety. I was obsessed with B2K and had all of their albums so some of their lesser known tracks appear here & there.

As we flow into the smoother R&B section of the playlist, the concept of ringback tones pops into my head. Do you remember those? When you called someone instead of hearing the ringing sound you would hear whatever song they chose until they picked up. I know I was caught singing along to someones ringback tone a time or two, especially when someone had Say Goodbye on theirs. Say what you want about the man but Chris Brown completely dominated the airways in the early 2000s, giving middle/ high schoolers all the fuel they needed in any part of their "dating" lives. Trying to get the girl? Send her the lyrics to With You. Already got the girl? Cop & paste the lyrics to Forever. Headed for splitsville? Just play Say Goodbye and let C. Breezy for it for you.

As R&B turns to pop ballads, pop ballads turn to emo/ angsty alternative music. I still cannot figure out why everyone hates Nickelback but I was a big Nickelback fan so I had to add them to the playlist (fun fact: I actually went to their concert with 3 Days Grace & Buckcherry). The playlist wraps with Fall Out Boys's masterpiece album From Under the Cork Tree. That album is easily top 5 for me. It in and of itself reminds me of my childhood - a simpler time.

So now that you can remember your middle school crush, that awful haircut you thought was cute in 6th grade and the pythagorean theorem, I hope you can remember that life goes on and there will be life post-pandemic.