Last month’s playlist was all about electro swing, and this month I want to go back 20 years to my time as a student. Here are 10 songs that you would probably hear if you went to a student union rock night in Bradford in the mid-2000s – as I did many times. As usual, you can listen along on Spotify.
- ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ by Lit. Lit have actually released 7 albums, but the massive popularity of this song means that they’re sometimes seen as a one-hit wonder. Indeed, it’s been streamed on Spotify 10 times more than any of their own songs.
- ‘Diamonds and Guns’ by Transplants. This always went down well as dancefloor filler. Transplants were a supergroup made up of members of Rancid and blink-182, and were a punk rock/hip hop crossover.
- ‘Chop Suey!’ by System of a Down. Another popular one for fans of heavy metal.
- ‘Take On Me’ by Reel Big Fish. Organisers of ‘rock’ nights also needed to keep fans of rock-adjacent genres happy, and so you would usually get at least a few ska tracks in there too. This is Reel Big Fish’s cover of the a-Ha classic.
- ‘Fat Lip’ by Sum 41. More punk rock, opening with a really powerful guitar riff.0
- ‘The Rock Show’ by blink-182. A blink-182 song was usually guaranteed at some point. If it wasn’t this one, then it would be ‘What’s My Age Again?’ or ‘All The Small Things’ from their previous album.
- ‘Basket Case’ by Green Day. I’m convinced there was some secret law that required all student unions to play this song at least once a month. I must’ve heard this song thousands of times by now.
- ‘Smooth Criminal’ by Alien Ant Farm. Although the Michael Jackson original has more Spotify streams, this version seemed way more popular at the time. Alien Ant Farm are still going incidentally, with a new album out last year, but this is far and away their most famous song.
- ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ by Good Charlotte. I really liked Good Charlotte’s first album when it came out, and again, this song was everywhere for a while.
- ‘Want You Bad’ by The Offspring. This isn’t their most streamed song, but nor is the breakthrough hit Pretty Fly (For A White Guy), surprisingly. I’ve included it as it best fits the theme. And yes, they’re still going after 35 years.