These songs were the background to elementary school, they were always on the radio, and you loved them, even if you didn’t know what they were about.

1. Sk8er Boi-Avril Lavigne. If you didn’t rock out to this and pretend that you were punk rock, we can’t be friends. Also, this is one of my mom’s favorite songs, and she’s almost 50 years old. Rock on Avril.

2. Chasing Cars-Snow Patrol. I would always dramatically look out the window when this song came on and pretend that I had just endured some terrible heartbreak, even though I was probably 10 and the biggest heartbreak I had was when I found out Nick Jonas had a girlfriend.

3. Year 3000-Jonas Brothers. Speaking of Nick Jonas, this song ruled my childhood. It was the first song that launched the Jonas Brothers into rocket stardom and I will always, always scream the lyrics, no matter how old I am (I did it quite soon after I wrote this. I’m 19).

4. Show Me What I’m Looking For-Carolina Liar. This one is perhaps a little more under the radar, but I distinctly remember this playing on the radio and I would listen to the 90 second snippet on itunes over and over (don’t pretend like you didn’t do that).

5. I Gotta Feeling-Black Eyed Peas. This song played at every middle school dance without fail. It was everywhere, no matter what radio station you turned to, this song was almost always on at least once in the hour.

6. Poker Face-Lady Gaga. The sound-track to the summer before sixth grade was this song. It was played endlessly on repeat complete with the patented hand movements. Seriously, I went to a birthday party once where all we did was listen to this song the whole time.

7. Tik-Tok-Kesha. I remember that my mom disapproved of me listening to this song, and I never understood (what is “jack?”) why. Now, I can’t believe that so many middle schoolers and elementary schoolers knew all the words to this song. Oh well.

8. 21 Guns-Green Day. I had no idea who Green Day were before this song came out. I didn’t know that they were one of the most famous punk bands in the world, I just knew that I liked this song a lot and it was one of the only songs my dad wouldn’t skip on the radio.

9. In Too Deep-Sum 41. This was the perfect elementary school angst song. That, and it was in one of my favorite movies, Cheaper By The Dozen. I head-banged to this quite a lot, I will admit it. I am not ashamed.

10. I Kissed A Girl-Katy Perry. Katy Perry didn’t exist in mainstream culture until I was in fifth grade. This song was a big deal, mostly because I didn’t understand the whole concept of being gay. I remember the “popular” girls in fifth grade would sing this and I would gasp at their raunchiness.