LUCIDMEDIA

Back to School Mix Tape

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Friday, 29 August 2008 12:33

1) “Summertime” – DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

This was the first big iconic summer song to come along since the hey day of the Beach Boys and oddly enough considering that its nearly 20 years old, its still as hot as the summer pavement. (See the soundtrack of The Wackness.)

2) “Grade 9” – Barenaked Ladies

From the first, and in my opinion best, BNL album, Gordon, comes this cut that manages to capture perfectly the frenzy and folly of being a high school freshman. Come on, who can’t identify with at least one thing in this song? I did carry a humungous binder. Half my friends were either crazy or depressed. And I think I did once actually fail a math test because instead of studying I was watching Wrath of Khan.

3) “Graduation (Friends Forever)” – Vitamin C

Even if you hate this song, it’s a gimme because if you’re graduating this year, you’re bound to hear it at least once; might as well attune yourself now and avoid the May-rush. But if you still can’t bring yourself to burn it, then feel free to switch it with Sarah McLachlin’s “I Will Remember You.” Same diff really, but McLachlin will probably save you some coolness points.

4) “Popular” – Nada Surf

Probably the best advice about teenage dating you’ve never received. The short version is to remember that if you want to attract the opposite sex, you must keep your hair spotless and neat; wash it at least every two weeks. Then again, this sing was written during the glory days of grunge so that was asking a lot of some…

5) “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” – The Ramones

Come on, it’s the Ramones, are you seriously going to put together a Back to School mix tape without them. But you don’t have to go with this one. Clearly “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School is the more well-known song, but if you’re fishing for something to standout, go with “I Don't Wanna Be Learned.”

6) “Jock-O-Rama” – The Dead Kennedys

If you weren’t one, then you hated the jocks at your high school. This short and sweet punk ditty perfectly captures that hatred in a compressed little punk ball you’ll flip your iPod over to every time someone talks to you about the big game. Let it be you calming draught until you realize that all of those guys are living their best years, while you have more to look forward to.

7) “Don’t You Forget About Me” – Simple Minds

Over the years there have been a number of high school based movies, but can you think of any signature songs from any of those films. Wikipedia says it best in its notes for the Family Guy episode “Let’s Go to the Hop” – “The song played at the end as Meg walks down the corridor is "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds which is a song famous for being played in the '80s high school movie The Breakfast Club. It is well known for being a song representing high school and is often played at proms in the U.S.”

8) “Under Pressure” – David Bowie & Queen

A lot of you will be under pressure yourselves this year as busily prep for university or post-grad by studying hard, saving money by working and squeezin’ in those extracurriculars to make yourself more well-rounded. For you I recommend this Queen number, which ironically has a rather soothing effect on me when listen to high strung. Many have tried to duplicate the magic of the original, but they just can’t get the cadence right.

9) “September” – Earth, Wind and Fire

For some reason, this song makes me think about riding my bike, and there’s no better biking weather than September. What that was to do with anything, I don’t know. But in keeping with the 70s theme of this mix, the track gives just the right amount of disco with the tune’s opening riff. Technically, the song’s R&B, but with this diddy, all the musical food groups are well represented.
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10) “We Used to Be Friends” – The Dandy Warhols

Although probably not the Warhols best, the song is bizarrely catchy and is certainly an easy reminder to a time when friendships, still in a state of flux, changed and moved with great frequency. The tune was used smartly as the theme music for Veronica Mars until they re-cut it into some lame, low tempo version for the third season.

11) “Me and Julio Down By the School Yard” – Paul Simon

Although I don’t think the song is technically about school, I wanted to reach back a little further than the rest of the music on the list and bring in something peppy sounding, though lyrically heavy to bridge the Warhols and Pink Floyd. It features a cool little banjo opening and is followed by little odd bits of melody and Simon’s pure poetry. As a bonus, including this one will make you look hipper.

12) “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” – Pink Floyd

“We don’t need your edu-ca-tion. We don’t need your thought-con-trol.” These are powerful words that made The Wall such a great album, but it’s this track we love to chant along to. When teacher starts trying to tell you what to do and what to think, we all want that advocate to say, “Hey! Teacher! Leaves those kids alone.” Two generations have tried to knock down that wall, but it just won’t stay down.

13) “Be Chrool to Your Scuel” – Twisted Sister

Obviously you could have put a Beach Boys song here, but sandwiched between Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd, it’s a little like putting the Saved By the Bell box set between My So-Called Life and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. “Be Chrool” isn’t one of Twisted’s bigger hits, but it’s definitely one of their hidden gems. And the video with make-up effects by Tom Savini was banned from MTV.

14) “School’s Out” – Alice Cooper

This is pretty much the only song you can end a mix like this on. Cooper proved himself sly a couple of years ago when he lent himself, and the song, to Staples for Back to School ads, yet somehow it miraculously remained taint free. Not only is it still a powerful rock anthem that perfectly captures that beginning-of-summer euphoria, but it’ll put a wicked punctuation on the Mix and end it on a high note.