# What song defines adolescence? (for wedding Slideshow) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 13, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294 "2006-07-13T03:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![katusbratus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aca169/32.png) [@katusbratus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katusbratus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/21 "2006-07-14T03:33:23Z")
[QUOTE=Jackknifed Juggernaut] Sorry, I missed the “upbeat” request. [/QUOTE] I still think that “Good Riddance” is upbeat. I know that at some of our school farewells our senior students use it and bop around to it with great fervour and fun. It’s a good choice IMHO ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/22 "2006-07-14T03:35:25Z")
What about ‘Alright’ by Supergrass? It’s really upbeat, it was used on the Clueless soundtrack: > [@](#): > > We are young, we run green, keep our teeth, nice and clean, > See our friends, see the sights, feel alright. > We wake up, we go out, smoke a fag, put it out, > See our friends, see the sights, feel alright. > Are we like you? I can’t be sure, > Of the scene, as she turns, we are strange in our worlds. > > But we are young, we get by, can’t go mad, ain’t got time, > Sleep around, if we like, but we’re alright. > Got some cash, bought some wheels, took it out, cross the fields, > Lost control, hit a wall, but we’re alright. > Are we like you? I can’t be sure, > Of the scene, as she turns, we are strange in our worlds. > > But we are young, we run green, keep our teeth, nice and clean, > See our friends, see the sights, feel alright. > Are we like you? I can’t be sure, > Of the scene, as she turns, we are strange in our world. > But we are young, we run green, keep our teeth, nice and clean, > See our friends, see the sights, feel alright. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/23 "2006-07-14T04:32:23Z")
Cheap Trick - “Surrender” Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/24 "2006-07-14T04:50:16Z")
Any song by Beat Happening. Particulary Jamboree (the song mostly, but also the entire album), Teenage Caveman, and Our Secret. The last two can be found [here.](http://www.kpunk.com/html/artists/media.php?interest=2) Modest Mouse can also be good for this, like with Baby Blue Sedan, The World At Large, So Much Beauty In Dirt, Styrofoam Boots, Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset, etc etc. Also, you could try Tilly and the Wall, who have two albums that have captured the sound of youth more consistently than any other band I have heard. Beat Happening captures silly first loves perfectly, Joy Division captures all the moments of pain and frustration of adolescence well, Modest Mouse covers all the questioning of life, religion, and anything else questionable to a young one. Tilly and the Wall, however, covers them all with their simple, lovely sound. Team Love’s website has the entire album, [www.team-love.com](http://www.team-love.com) , but it seems to be down at the moment. Oh, and, Saves the Day. Their B-Sides album is _perfect_. Hell, they recorded it as teenagers, so they are as close as you can get really. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/25 "2006-07-14T08:18:45Z")
Big Star - “Thirteen.” _Won’t you let me walk you home from school Won’t you let me meet you at the pool Maybe Friday I can Get tickets for the dance And I’ll take you_… ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/26 "2006-07-14T11:07:51Z")
Eagles’s “Boys of Summer” always reminds me of happy teen summers… ---
**Author:** ![What\_s\_That\_Smell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3bc359/32.png) [@What\_s\_That\_Smell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_s_That_Smell)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/27 "2006-07-14T11:13:06Z")
[QUOTE=singular1] Eagles’s “Boys of Summer” always reminds me of happy teen summers… [/QUOTE] Nitpick: not The Eagles. Don Henley. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/28 "2006-07-15T17:33:07Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions! I think she wants something that the older folks will recognize, so right now it’s between Beach Boys “wouldn’t it be nice” and Beatles “I saw her standing there” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/29 "2006-07-17T13:59:38Z")
[QUOTE=SusanStoHelit] Thanks for all the suggestions! I think she wants something that the older folks will recognize, so right now it’s between Beach Boys “wouldn’t it be nice” and Beatles “I saw her standing there” [/QUOTE] In that case, my vote goes for Beach Boys. When talking about teenagers, you’re probably better off with “Wouldn’t it be nice _if we were older_” rather then “I saw her [a minor] standing there.” Either one is good, but all alse being equal, I’d vote for the beach boys tune when it comes to a wedding. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/30 "2006-07-17T20:45:01Z")
Much as I hate to start a post like this, i have to say that I am appalled that no one has mentioned “I’m Eighteen” by Alice Cooper. That’s adolescence. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/31 "2006-07-17T22:25:33Z")
[QUOTE=SusanStoHelit] Thanks for all the suggestions! I think she wants something that the older folks will recognize, so right now it’s between Beach Boys “wouldn’t it be nice” and Beatles “I saw her standing there” [/QUOTE] Woo Hooo! MY suggestions! [does Pee Wee Herman Tequila dance] ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/32 "2006-07-17T22:41:27Z")
[QUOTE=SusanStoHelit] I have a friend (24 years old) who is planning a wedding and wants a good song to play during the teen years of her slideshow that talks about teen years and growing up. Any ideas? She wants something upbeat, and everything I can think of is kind of nostalgic or bittersweet. She’s playing a laid-back version of “over the rainbow” for the childhood part. [/QUOTE] MC5’s “High School” or “Teenage Lust” [http://www.lyricsdownload.com/mc5-high-school-lyrics.html](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/mc5-high-school-lyrics.html) [http://www.lyricsdownload.com/mc5-teenage-lust-lyrics.html](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/mc5-teenage-lust-lyrics.html) Or Springsteen’s “Growing Up” > **[Growin' Up Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/bruce-springsteen/growin-up.html)** > > Growin' Up Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen at the Lyrics Depot ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294/33 "2006-07-17T23:44:27Z")
I think it’s just because it’s the theme of “Veronica Mars,” but the first song to pop into my head was the Dandy Warhols’s “We Used to be Friends.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-defines-adolescence-for-wedding-slideshow/364294.md?page=1)