the fun never got off the ground.

Occasionally my friends and I like to have small little dance parties in my living room. As in we'll pop a CD into the player, turn it up, and dance like crazy before going out for the evening. Generally, this involves 3 or 4 of us. So what? It gets us pumped. We usually listen to a little mix that Nina made a couple years ago called the "fun mix." This fun mix lives up to its name and includes songs like "Back That Ass Up" (our personal favorite) and a whole lotta Kanye.

I was sorting through my CDs a while back when I realized that I too have a fun mix. Oooh, the excitement. I was thinking it must have been made some time around Junior year in college, so it could be a bit old school. But I pride myself on my generally good taste in music, so I wasn't too worried. There would probably be a bit too much Enrique involved, but hey, he's fun, so that would be OK.

So during one of our pre-going out dance parties, I whipped out my CD and said, "Hey guys, I've got a fun mix of my own. Let's see what's on it." My friends were game...but quickly regretted it.

It was bad. Really bad.

Here is the track listing for my "fun mix":

1. "Irresistible" by Jessica Simpson- OK, so my tastes were a bit questionable but a fun song nonetheless, yes? Maybe we're just off to a slow start.

2. "The Good Life" by Weezer- Awesome song, but it had been so long since I heard it it took a bit for me to place it. I don't think my friends were impressed by it either. If only they knew how bad it was about it get.

3. "All or Nothing" by O-Town- Um, what? Fun? How is this on a fun mix? How is this on any mix I have in my possession? I was starting to get embarrassed. And I still knew all the words. I think we all did.

4. "Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child- I seriously hate this song so I don't know what possessed me to put it on a mix. Maybe this mix isn't really mine? Right, that must be it.

5. "Every Other Time" by LFO- This mix really isn't mine, I swear. And no, I do not own both of LFO's CDs, thank you very much. At least I don't currently have them at my apartment. I'm feeling a little ashamed, starting now.

6. "Ghost of You and Me" by BBMak- I seriously hate myself right now. I think my friends are concerned. I should probably just turn the CD player off and go hide.

7. "Dirty Pop" by Nsync- I suck at life.

8. "In My Pocket" by Mandy Moore- You know I love Mandy Moore, but this song? Not OK.

9. "Prophet of Doom" by the Samples- I am a huge Samples fan, but how is this fitting in with the plethora of boy bands? And furthermore, a song called Prophet of Doom is not fun. Not one bit. Was I depressed?

10. "Estoy Aqui" remix by Shakira- Love it. Now, this is my idea of a fun mix. Do I still have time to redeem myself?

11. "Get Your Freak On" remix by Nelly Furtado and Missy Elliott- Again, I actually like this song for an old school fun mix, though it reminds me entirely too much of working at American Eagle.

12. "Spinning Away" by Sugar Ray- If there's one thing you might not know about me it's that I used to be the biggest Mark McGrath fan everrr (in his pre-ET days). I had pictures of him hung on my bedroom walls everywhere. I'm starting to seriously wonder how old I was when I made this mix. 13?? I really, really hope so. Could you make CDs back then?

My friends stopped listening right about now and asked to put Nina's fun mix on.

13. "Airport Song" remix by Guster- Actually a good remix, but not fun per say. Kind of scary. This song reminds me of spending Christmas in Key West junior year of high school. My sister gave me the CD and I lay by the pool listening to it on my DiscMan. Yup. Discman.

14. "Be Like That" by 3 Doors Down- Why? This song is like the complete opposite of fun. I totally must have been depressed.

15. "Dame Un Poco Mas" by MDO- You've probably never heard of it. I definitely did a group project where we danced to this song in high school Spanish class. I clearly enjoyed it a little too much and felt the need to put it on the fun mix.

16. "Lovin' Each Day" by Ronan Keating- Ohhh it's getting bad again. Real bad.

17. "Six Packs" by The Getaway People- Wow. Haven't thought about this song in ages. It was the theme for Young America. Am I the only one who watched that TV show? Probably.

18. "Landing On the Sidewalk" by the Samples- The Samples again. I liked them a lot. I quoted them in my Senior bio with "maybe nothing lasts forever, not the mountains nor the sea, but the times we had together, they will always be with me." Awww. Not a good fun mix song.

19. "Something About You" by Five for Fighting- I still stand by the fact that I was a Five for Fighting fan before anyone else. I don't know if this is something to be proud of, but I was at the time. The other quote in my Senior bio was "I don't know where I'm going yet, but I sure am getting there" from "Easy Tonight." I'm so clever.

20. "East Coast Anthem" by Good Charlotte- Did I even know Good Charlotte in high school? Strange.

No, I was not able to redeem myself. And I can't believe I just admitted to everyone that I listened to all that horrible music as a Junior/possibly a Senior in high school. I know I'm not alone though. I can't be.

Moral of the story? Don't label something "fun mix" unless it actually is a fun mix. Or at least doesn't have 3 Doors Down and every boy band known to man on it. That's just not fun to anyone anymore.



Not fun. But you probably remember all the words too.





I had a big-size version of this cover on my bedroom wall. Why did my parents allow this? I guess I turned out semi-normal. Kinda?




Dame un Poco Mas. Fun, but super gay.