Middle school is the time in most people’s lives where they branch out from whatever their parents listen to and start to find their own music. Everyone found a different genre to latch on to, but there were still some songs that every one of us knew by heart.
Fall Out Boy – Sugar We’re Goin Down
For many of us in middle school, Fall Out Boy was the band. They were like a gateway band that exposed us to a whole new kind of music other than our parents’ oldies stations. A lot of us stopped listening to FOB after middle school, but we all still celebrated when they ended their hiatus last year.
Paramore – crushcrushcrush
Who didn’t own a Paramore t-shirt in 7th grade? Also, who didn’t wish they were Hayley Williams? Paramore embodied everything we wanted to be when we were little too-much-eyeliner-wearing middle schoolers.
The All-American Rejects – Dirty Little Secret
You couldn’t get away from this song in 2006 even if you tried. “Dirty Little Secret” was played on Top 40, alt. rock, and rock stations alike. It also showed up in what felt like every teen movie soundtrack that came out that year.
Panic! At The Disco – I Write Sins Not Tragedies
Okay, so I’ll admit it, I thought that this was a Fall Out Boy song when I first heard it (and I know some of you did too), but that’s what made us all fall in love with the song in the beginning. “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” is one of those songs that, when you hear it today, you just have to belt it out.
My Chemical Romance – I’m Not Okay
It was impossible to not love this song between the chorus and the high school-set music video directed by Marc Webb. “I’m Not Okay” was an anthem for troubled youth, so who didn’t love this song in 6th grade? When the band announced their break-up last year, everyone’s middle school self was heartbroken.
OK GO – Here It Goes Again
“Here It Goes Again” was probably everyone’s favorite music video when it came out. Who wasn’t talking about the treadmill video? You knew everything little detail about the video and waited patiently for the trip at 0:59 whenever you watched it.
Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue
This song described what so many girls wanted in guys when we were younger: staying up all night, walking on the beach, and running away together. What girl didn’t wish this song was about her?
The Killers – Mr. Brightside
“Mr. Brightside” is a song that will go down in history. I hear it played today just as much as when it was released, and everyone still knows all the lyrics. I think there’s an unwritten law that every time you hear “Mr. Brightside” you have to sing it as loud as you possibly can. This is a universally loved song. Think about it; have you ever heard anyone say they didn’t like this song? No, you haven’t.