Welcome back to FYA JAM! Mandy W. and I are kickin' it old school by bringing you only the finest music 1999 had to offer (well, besides the Prince song). How is it possible that 1999 was 15 years ago? Were you wearing your finest metallic backless shirts and butterfly clips while awaiting the Y2K bug? (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I am going to pretend we don't know you.) For my part, I spent 1999 scrupulously avoiding listening to "1999," and actually succeeded. (I actually avoided listening to most of the first playlist at the time. What can I say? \m/)
That's right! We have not one, but TWO playlists: your danceable hit songs from 1999, and an "afterparty" playlist full of our 1999 favorites that would never have appeared on the trendy teen's party playlist. (I refuse to call them "not danceable," because you haven't lived until you've seen Teen Jennie "dancing" to "Du Hast.")
1. "1999" - Prince
Jennie: Going for the low-hanging fruit.
2. "If Ya Gettin' Down" - 5ive
Mandy W: Britain's answer to "Get Down"! People of the '90s really enjoyed getting down. And moving it all around.
3. "Jumpin' Jumpin'" - Destiny's Child
Mandy W.: OBVS.
Jennie: #SFFYA just sang this at our holiday party karaoke. Everybody in the apartment complex was jumpin', jumpin'.
Mandy W.: BUT DID YOU MAKE IT HOT HOT!?
4. "Will 2K" - Will Smith
Mandy W: This song was literally created to celebrate December 31st, 1999. In the words of the Fresh Prince: WOO! Uh, ha ha...
5. "Party Up" - DMX
Mandy W.: As evident by this scene from Like Mike, a movie I legit own on DVD (and features our dear Landry as a bully!), this chorus is serious fun to sing along to. Just, um, don't pay so much attention to the rest of the lyrics.
6. "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" - Eiffel 65
Jennie: In 1999, you could not escape this song. I hate this song so much that I'm not even ironically including it on the playlist. I just want you to remember this one with me.
Mandy W.: Never, ever sing this song for karaoke. You'll regret it by the end of the first verse. Or maybe even during.
7. "(You Drive Me) Crazy" - Britney Spears
Mandy W.: 1999 had many debuts from blonde pop princesses to choose from -- Aguilera, Moore, Simpson -- but I went with the one with the best party tunes and the greatest longevity. IT'S BRITNEY, BITCH.
8. "S Club Party" - S Club 7
Mandy W.: THERE AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE AN S CLUB PARTY.
9. "Bring It All To Me" - Blaque (featuring *NSYNC)
Mandy W.: Seems like anybody who was anybody had a 1999 album. Except 'N SYNC, whose fourth best-selling album was actually released the year before, thus their omission.
BUT ANYWAY. Blaque! Please make it your goal today to watch the music video for this song. After you consult a calendar to ensure that you haven't time travelled back to 1999, you might recognize these ladies as the East Compton Clovers. I said, BRR, IT'S COLD IN HERE... !
10. "Livin' La Vida Loca" - Ricky Martin
Mandy W.: Another inescapable song in 1999. Incredibly, it only took half a year for this song to be immortalized in the fellow Class of '99 gold standard, "The Thong Song".
11. "Then The Morning Comes" - Smash Mouth
Jennie: I always dug Smash Mouth's 60's-pop sound, even if they quickly became overplayed. (They were also one of my first teenage concerts. I made my parents sit way behind me and they were horrified when a mosh pit broke out...at the county fair...)
Mandy W.: Bless you for not choosing "All Star" or "Can't Get Enough of You, Baby". DAGNABBIT, I got an earworm just by mentioning those songs.
12. "Mambo No. 5" - Lou Bega
Jennie: This may be the most awful song on earth, but I dare you not to dance to it.
13. "Millennium" - Robbie Williams
Mandy W.: Robbie Williams, that magnificent cocky bastard. I have no idea if he's really like that IRL, but I'd like to think so anyway.
Jennie: Robbie Williams put out the kind of pop I liked in 1999, but the fact that he's fairly charming and hot doesn't hurt.
14. "You Get What You Give" - New Radicals
Jennie: Oh, so edgy! Mocking Marilyn Manson, Hole, and Hanson! Regardless, I will sing along to this song no matter where I am when it comes on. The children at the roller rink think I'm insane, and they may be correct.
15. "All the Small Things" - Blink 182
Mandy W.: I tried to sneak some BSB past the FYA JAM gatekeeper, to no avail. (Tell me why...!) Instead, let's enjoy a band that paid, um, homage to their music video.
Jennie: Blink 182 were one of my teenage staples, for when Tool, VAST, and Depeche Mode were too dark. I saw them several times during the Enema of the State-era tour, and was always amused when they would ask the girls who flashed them if they were over 18. "Put your underage boobies away!"
16. "No Scrubs" - TLC
Mandy W.: OMG OF COURSE TLC. TLC 4EVA. It's amazing how they could totally work goofy futuristic costumes, in contrast to the aforementioned Blaque video. You could even say they definitely ain't no scrubs. (Or not. Let's no one say that ever again.)
17. "Big Pimpin'" - Jay Z
Mandy W.: Sorry, The Lonely Island, but Shawn Carter was on a boat first. Even if he's since soured on the shallow lyrics.
18. "Nookie" - Limp Bizkit
Jennie: Yeah, guys, I'm sorry, but no survey of 1999 party music would be complete without this song. You probably knew a Fred Durst lookalike (with a stupid red hat) who claimed this as his anthem. Oh Limp Bizkit, remember when you were the voice of oppressed middle-class white guys? When this song came on, he would jump on the couch and headbang as though his life depended on it. HE DID IT ALL FOR THE NOOKIE. AND YOU CAN TAKE THAT COOKIE.
19. "Still D.R.E." - Dr. Dre (featuring Snoop Dogg)
Mandy W.: What a difference fifteen years makes. Kids these days probably know Dr. Dre by their headphones rather than the songs they listen to on them, and some such on my lawn. Admittedly, I'm not much better, since I def. wasn't listening to this back in 1999. But I'm willing to go out on a limb to say that, musically speaking, this track holds up well.
20. "Bodyrock" - Moby
Jennie: Play was one of my favorite albums of 1999, and I seem to recall that "Bodyrock" got a lot of mainstream airplay. Rock yo, nonstop yo, to the beat yo.
Mandy W.: This is totally one of those "Oh, it's THAT song!" for me. Thanks for finally teaching me the name of it, Jennie!
21. "Praise You" - Fatboy Slim
Jennie: Yet another inescapable song from 1999, this time with one of the strangely-funniest videos.
1. "Army - Ben Folds Five"
Jennie: This song never fails to make me giggle, especially because I knew someone who essentially lived out the lyrics.
2. "Everything Will Flow" - Suede
Jennie: 1999 was the height of my britpop phase, and I still love this song.
3. "Coffee & TV" - Blur
Jennie: See above. This song also has the best video ever.
4. "Take a Picture" - Filter
Jennie: What a beautiful song about being so drunk on an airplane that you're running around naked and won't remember the next day.
5. "One Man Army" - Our Lady Peace
Mandy W.: So much great Canadian music from this year! OLP, Sloan, Sarah McLachlan*... and, of course, "Blame Canada"!
* DON'T HATE; if she's good enough for Leslie Knope, she's good enough for you.
6. "The Big Three Killed My Baby" - The White Stripes
Mandy W.: A cheerful tune about the perils of the automotive industry.
7. "Learn To Fly" - Foo Fighters
Mandy W.: My first and most important stipulation for this playlist was, "ANYTHING FROM THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE". Other possible contenders include "Stacked Actors", "Gimme Stitches", "Generator", "M.I.A". Or if you prefer not to rock as hard, "Aurora" or "Next Year" (which could lead to those corny jokes about seeing people "next year"). TAKE YOUR PICK.
8. "Otherside" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Jennie: Anthony Kiedis can (still) get it, although I question his current facial hair choices.
9. "Why I'm Here" - Oleander
Jennie: Whatever happened to Oleander? They were a local (to me) (Central Valley, CA) band named for the pretty but poisonous flowers that grow in the median of Highway 99.
10. "Du Hast" - Rammstein
Jennie: Again I say, you haven't lived until you've seen sullen teen Jennie dancing to this song.
11. "Shock the Monkey" - Coal Chamber
Jennie: I always liked Peter Gabriel's original, but add some thunderous guitar riffs and it's even better.
12. "Rock is Dead" - Marilyn Manson
Jennie: A delightful selection from the original Matrix soundtrack.
13. "When Worlds Collide" - Powerman 5000
Jennie: Sadly, despite an awesome album title, this band never had another good song. Well, at least not one of which I am aware.
14. "Clubbed to Death" - Rob Dougan
Jennie: 15 years after this song was initially released (and his first album, which is fantastic -- he has a beautiful voice), Rob Dougan has never put out another album.
15. "The World is Not Enough" - Garbage
Mandy W.: ALL HAIL SHIRLEY MANSON. And let's just ignore the Bond movie that shares this song's name. (Dr. Christmas Jones!)
Jennie: Oh, Shirley Manson, can I just be you?
Mandy W.: Cosigned.
16. "Here With Me" - Dido
Jennie: I always preferred this song over "Thank You."
Mandy W.: Me too! Plus, it's the Roswell theme song! (Although I do like the samples of "Thank You" in "Stan".)
17. "Stolen Car" - Beth Orton
Jennie: Beth Orton is seriously underrated.
18. "Porcelain" - Moby
Jennie: Like I said in the first playlist, Play was a great album; "Porcelain" ended up on heavy rotation, along with "Honey," "Natural Blues" and "Inside."
19. "Contradictive" - Tricky
Jennie: Tricky's voice is all manner of dirty things, come to life and made into sound.
Which song(s) would you add to the 1999 party/afterparty playlists? Let us know in the comments!