High School Musical

Taking a break from politics for some mindless memeing… 

Go to this convenient compilation site right here http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php and find the five years you were in high school. For each year, admit to the song that was your favorite at the time, then decide which one you now generally consider to be the best song on the list. Lastly, pick the year’s worst song, snarking optional.

1983

Favorite: It’s hard not to pick one of Prince or David Bowie’s songs, all of which I still love, and I didn’t really discover “Faithfully” until several years later, so I’ll have to go with Spandau Ballet’s “True”.

Best: Without question, it’s Prince’s “1999”

Worst: Toto’s “Africa”

1984

Favorite: I’ve always been a sucker for love songs of all kinds, but it’s the heartbreak songs that get me the most and the Cars’ “Drive”, Steve Perry’s “Oh, Sherrie” and John Waite’s “Missing You” were all in heavy rotation for me back in the day.

Best: Any one of the above could go here, but I’m going with Hall & Oates’ underrated “Adult Education” which I grew to appreciate more as I got older.

Worst: Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” was like a drunken one-night stand with your ugly second cousin. (That’s how Giuliani’s first wife might describe it!)

1985

Favorite: Largely because of The Breakfast Club, Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”, but Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was right there with it.

Best: Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”

Worst: The Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance”

1986

Favorite: A tie between “Human” by Human League, which I used as the soundtrack for an anti-drug PSA I made for my media class, and “Tender Love” by Force MDs which was the soundtrack for my first serious High School romance.

Best: Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name”

Worst: Lionel Richie’s “Dancing On The Ceiling”

1987

Favorite: Billy Idol’s “Mony Mony” and Club Nouveau’s “Lean On Me” were the two songs that could always get me on the dance floor, no matter the crowd I was in.

Best: U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead Or Alive”

Worst: There’s not really any song I’d consider the “worst” this year, not even the easy target of Bruce Willis’ “Respect Yourself” which I actually liked.

Written by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is the Chief Content Officer for LibraryPass, and former publisher & marketing director for Writer’s Digest. Previously, he was also project lead for the Panorama Project; director, content strategy & audience development for Library Journal & School Library Journal; and founding director of programming & business development for the original Digital Book World.