Songs of times gone by...

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Songs for me are like photos for the visually inclined. They take me back to an earlier time and remind me of how I felt, how I viewed the world and what was going on.

I only really got into music in year 4, when I discovered that people actually count down songs for a living. On weekends, my sister and I would make a beeline for the lounge room to watch Rage and Video Hits. On weeknights, it was Ugly Phil's Hot 30. On Sunday nights it was Rick Dee and the Weekly Top 40!!! The thrill of the countdown kept us committed. We would wait with bated breath- Who would win? Who would reign supreme? (Iron Chef! Whoops, wrong show).

Anyway, this morning when I switched on the radio Runaway by the Corrs came out. Remember them? The family of four musicians from Ireland, where the three super attractive sisters would play the violin, drums and perform the main vocals while their not so glamorous brother would strum out chords on his guitar? I always felt a bit sorry for the brother, he was always shoved into the periphery because he was outnumbered by his glamorous sisters. The song is whimsical and sad, accompanied by a black and white music video where Andrea, the vocalist, spends a large portion of the clip staring forlornly from the train. It was in the top 10 for most of 1995 and I remember the first time I saw it on Rage, I got busted because I was sitting too close to the tv and so I had to scoot back and sit on a chair because my dad said I had to.

So anyway, it occurred to me that each year has an iconic song:

1994: Hero- Mariah Carey. We had to sing it for the music festival and our music teacher was in despair because she didn't want us to trill the way that only Mariah knows how. It was hot and sticky and with our uniforms stuck to our bums, we had to rehearse in a little hall for about 3 hours a day.

1995: Gangster's Paradise- by Coolio and Kiss from a Rose- by Seal. These two songs battled it out all year! It was a no brainer when they got to the business end of the countdown, we always knew it would either be Coolio or Seal and we didn't really mind who won.

1996: Ironic- by Alanis Morissette. I was obsessed with this song. Knew the lyrics like the back of my hand. Everyone in year 6 tried to impersonate her and I thought she rocked because she did backflips in her other song, "You Learn".

1997: Mmmbop- by Hanson. Three girly looking boys and the catchiest song in the history of year 7. We choreographed our PE dance routine to it, and I kid you not, the hundreds of times we rehearsed that dance, we never once got sick of the song. I still maintain the song is ingenious.

1998: I Don't Want to Wait- by Paula Cole. Only because I loved Dawson's Creek so much. Wasn't the biggest fan of the overly verbose Dawson, but loved Pacey when he got rid of the Caesar haircut.

1999: No Scrubs- by TLC and I want it that way- by the Backstreet Boys. Go BSB!!

2000: I Try- by Macy Gray. Possibly the most played song on radio that year. The big afro, the giant gap between the teeth, the raspy vocals, I loved it all.

2001: Beautiful Day- by U2. In year 11 we had to write a screenplay. This is the song I chose for the closing credits.

2002: I really liked Avril! She had 'tude and fury.

2003: There's Gotta Be More to Life- by Stacie Orrico. This song was so good. She didn't get that famous, but she sure had a cool voice.

2004: Maroon 5. Loved their whole album. I remember listening to it with my friends on the way to watch Garden State in Paddington.

2005: Karma- by Alicia Keys. I liked the fast version. Sammy and Jason on MIX 106.5 played it every day. Could always count on them!

2006: One Crowded Hour- by Augie March. I thought this song was the shizzle. Especially the big climax in the middle where it all goes huge! It was a time of change and awesome fun times.

2007: Fidelity- by Regina Spektor. Takes me back to Canada, exchange and the best times ever.

2008: One, Two, Three, Four...- by Feist. This is the song that sort of never ends. You could listen to it on repeat over and over and not realise that it's started and finished a couple of times already. A sweet, happy song.

2009: Rock and Roll- by Eric Hutchinson. Officially the "When I was looking for work" song. I bopped real hard to this song and ignored the fact that I didn't have anything to do.

Now: A tie between "I gotta feeling"- by the Black Eyed Peas (why do they say masel tof in the middle of it?) and "We are Golden" by Mika.

Whoa, what a hardcore teeny bopper. And I only just realised ...