Thanks, msbelle.

Stupid music, especially stupid music that makies me remember middle school in a vague, pleasant, nostalgia-drenched way, is too much fun to be snobbish about. (I do have a much higher threshold for "would buy" than for "would listen to" -- I think Oasis and Smashing Pumpkins are the only bands on that list I've ever paid money for an album by.)

13. Ironic, Alanis Morissette

Ahhhhhhh!

See, I loathed Alanis when I was 17. Now I kind of respect her for doing her own thing, even if I wouldn't call the thing that is her own actually *good,* and that makes me tolerant of her music.

I'd listen to about half of those, but even if not, I can't judge. I listed "I Touch Myself", you know? I have no cred. Except that it's not "My Ding-a-Ling" And I'm totally living in the wrong era, anyway. Still like "Ironic", too.

God, 'ruined, quiet dignity' is a stunning description of Bubs.

This just needed to be said twice.

Misha, that dress is gorgeous!

I was going to do the high school songs thing, but I realized I would listen to about half of them in the same way I would watch a car wreck, so it didn't seem a true test.

It's All Coming Back To Me Now, Celine Dion (The ONE Celine song I can stand, seriously. It's just sexy somehow.)

I rather like this one, too. Produced by Jim Steinman, so the bombast of the vocals and the bombast of the instrumentals balance each other out.

But I also think Dion made a mistake in giving up the up-tempo songs.

Whoa. I only know about 20% of the songs from 1998. Ones that would not immediately cause me to change the radio station:

3. You're Still The One, Shania Twain
5. How Do I Live, LeAnn Rimes
14. Gettin' Jiggy Wit, Will Smith
20. Adia, Sarah McLachlan
22. Everybody (Backstreet's Back), Backstreet Boys
25. This Kiss, Faith Hill
28. Sex And Candy, Marcy Playground
35. Tubthumping, Chumbawamba
37. I Want You Back, 'N Sync
51. One Week, Barenaked Ladies
75. Ray Of Light, Madonna
79. Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Verve
83. The Mummers' Dance, Loreena McKennitt
87. Foolish Games / You Were Meant For Me, Jewel

I have a far greater tolerance for silly pop songs now than I did in high school, since only 3 or 4 of those would have made the list at the time.

Also,

39. They Don't Know, Jon B.

Jon B.! You've been holding out on us.

edited for formatting, duh.

Thank you. My descriptive sense soaks up the props.

In retrospect, 1984 (high school), still looks pretty great, and 1989 (college), is still pretty awful. Further down the list 1989 has stuff I like, but the top of the list -- the hard-to-escape songs that color the overall view -- is ghastly. The summer of 1984 OTOH was dominated by Purple Rain, "Ghostbusters," Tina Turner, "Jump" and "Jump (for My Love)", and Born in the USA. Granted I didn't, and still don't, like "Dancing in the Dark" but the rest of the album is great. Prince just blew up with Purple Rain. I was miserable but the music wasn't.

Which, geographically, would be the Riverbend section of New Orleans over by Tulane.

I don't have "Meet De Boys on De Battlefront" with me, nor could I find the lyrics online, so I'm not sure if there's a textual basis for thinking the battlefront is Riverbend, but in my experience the Mardi Gras Indians aren't near Tulane. I'm curious about your geographical contention.

Now I kind of respect her for doing her own thing

How can you respect someone who doesn't know the meaning of "ironic"?

How can you respect someone who doesn't know the meaning of "ironic"?

I said I respected her seemingly-generally-independent career path, not that I wanted her to tutor me in AP English.