Of course, this begs the question: what will constitute the next generation of oldies? What songs from the late 90’s, 2000’s, 2010’s, will our kids know by heart? Which songs will endure the test of time? “Yeah!” – Usher feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris A megahit from a mega-album, Usher’s smash is destined to go down as “The Doodoot, Doo-doot, Doo-doot Doo-doot Song.” It has the added bonus of memorializing featured artists Lil Jon and Ludacris. “Yeah!” is a jam, there’s no way around it. “Hey Ya!” – OutKast This one was a no-brainer. “Hey Ya!” was destined to be a classic from the first listen. From one of the catchiest choruses of the decade, to iconic lines (“Shake it like a Polaroid picture”), this will be played for decades to come. “A Thousand Miles” – Vanessa Carlton Oh, man. That piano intro, those strings in the pre-chorus, those eternal lyrics: three things that will cement this song’s place as one of the 2000’s classics. Plus, one of the true one-hit wonders of a decade that simply did not supply enough. “Hot In Herre” – Nelly Please don’t actually take off all your clothes right now, it’s winter. Hearing this song 13 years after its 2002 release makes me question if I’ll really want my kids listening to it, but fuck it, it’s an undeniable jam. “Mr. Brightside” – The Killers This one is a rare 2000’s song that might someday fall into the category of Classic Rock. Representative of the alt-rock sounds of the period, the iconic chorus is one that
will be enthusiastically sung by many a rowdy college student for years to come. “Sugar, We’re Going Down” – Fall Out Boy The second that unmistakable drum beat blares through the speakers, you can be certain that every person within earshot will drop everything to belt out the lyrics to Fall Out Boy’s most iconic song. Hard to believe it’s been ten years of FOB domination, hiatus and all, but it’s definitely not hard to imagine that this song will find its way onto even our kids’ kid’s favorite playlists. “Semi-Charmed Life” – Third Eye Blind Considering, “Do do do, do do do dooo,” has been stuck in our heads for at least 13 years and doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, we’re confident you’ll drill it into your children’s brains as well. “How To Save a Life” – The Fray This is a song that brings tears to the eyes of even the most stoic music fans so we would have been wrong not to include it on this list. Maybe the first song that showed us what it’s like to cry over something we didn’t experience ourselves. We’re sure your angsty 7th grader won’t be so different from your 13-year-old self.
*BONUS: “Higher” – Creed We post-grunge loyalists can only hope.
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