Music can be a magical thing in a person’s life. With just a couple of notes, a song can send you back to a time in your life that you might have only vaguely remembered from Timehop or some other nostalgia-inducing app.
At 22, I try my best to forget what I was like ten years ago. But this summer, I remembered exactly what it was like to be an awkward preteen who had no idea what she was doing with her life because I got a chance to finally do what I always wanted to: I attended the Boys Like Girls ten year anniversary tour.
It’s been 10 years since the Boston-based pop rock band came onto the scene with their self-titled debut album. Although the songs that made it to the Top 100 were catchy and incredible, some of their greatest songs on their albums never made it to mainstream radio. In honor of their tenth anniversary tour, which spanned numerous cities throughout August, here’s a Pop10 list of my favorite songs ever done by the band.
10. On Top of the World – Boys Like Girls
There’s something about being young and feeling invincible, but sometimes it’s the presence of our friends that make us feel like nothing can touch us. Honestly, it feels like, growing up, we can lose that boldness, and sometimes it could be because we’ve lost the people who helped us believe that we could do anything. This song is perfectly nostalgic because it gives a pretty good vibe that this person might not be in our life anymore, but it doesn’t mean it’s the end. For me, this song just reminds me of that expression where the most important people in your life always find a way back and no matter where you go in life; those people will always be around, even if it’s only through your dreams and memories.
9. Me, You and my Medication – Boys Like Girls
This is one of those songs that really hit closer to home once I got beyond my awkward early teenage years. This song perfectly captures what it means to be so lost that you’re not even sure what way is up. This isn’t your normal party anthem, but, for being able to capture the struggle of people dealing with pain, this song nails capturing that emotion. When that kind of emotion just eats at you, this song nails it — we just want something or someone to take away that pain to help us make the world right again.
8. Five Minutes to Midnight – Boys Like Girls
This was one of my favorite songs to jam out to with my best friends during high school, and much to the dismay of our parents, it was our favorite thing to belt at the top of our lungs at five minutes to midnight. Now this song has a whole different meaning for me to belt out because it definitely captures what it’s like to see that person when you’re out and you just can’t get enough of them. Will it last forever? Who knows, but, when you meet that person that at the end of the night, you know one time isn’t enough, and the thrill of what if is pretty exciting.
7. Be Your Everything – Crazy World
Released in 2012, this song went relatively unnoticed by many fans since the band was on indefinite hiatus since 2011. It has a different tone than most people knew since it wasn’t as exciting or pop-y as their big hits. It’s pretty romantic. It’s all about being at that phase where you know you love the other person, but just can’t say it even though that the other person is all you could ever want. It’s got a slower vibe, but a song you could definitely use if you don’t know how to say those four letters to someone important in your life.
6. Learning to Fall – Boys Like Girls
That struggle of seeing the one you loved with another person is pretty accurately described with this song. It’s where you’re struggling to keep going on the surface, but you’re struggling because you were so sure you were gonna be with that person, making them happy in ways only you knew how. It’s a combination of what ifs stuck with the presence of the one that got away that really resonated with the angsty teenager I was during the 2000s.
5. Contagious – Love Drunk
Speaking of the one that got away, sometimes you just can’t give up on them without a fight. The fast beat and lyrics sum up how it would feel when you’ve got that adrenaline pumping and that burning need to at least try one more time. Second chances aren’t always guaranteed, but sometimes you just meet the person that you’re not willing to give up because of one failed attempt.
4. Hero/Heroine – Boys Like Girls
Meeting that someone who makes you feel invincible is one hell of a feeling. It could be really confusing if you’re a bit apprehensive at first, but, when you realize the genuine nature of the other person, it makes you feel like a super hero. This song captures what it means to be at that confusion and hesitant part of being with someone legitimately good for you.
3. Love Drunk – Love Drunk
Not only was this song super upbeat and catchy, it featured Ashley Tisdale, and, being that it was released during 2009, that was a pretty huge deal. Cool guest starring aside, “Love Drunk” was definitely a song you blasted and wanted to sing along to. Sometimes the one you had feelings for just isn’t the person you’re meant to be with when things go from happy and fun to just angry and bitter. It provided a nice metaphorical middle finger anthem to those who might have broken your heart in the past. Besides, not all break ups go on good terms, and sometimes you just need a good song to sing along to in order to get rid of that bitterness towards your ex.
2. The Great Escape – Boys Like Girls
Every band has their one iconic song if they make it past the world of just having their music floating around on the Internet. This song brought Boys Like Girls into the Pop Punk scene, becoming a song that people just couldn’t help but sing along with. No good dance or party could go without this iconic Boys Like Girls song ten years ago. It was the anthem for just wanting to live in the moment and escape from the life you were living. There was nothing more magical than hearing the opening notes and feeling like an awkward preteen again. Music lets you escape, and this song never fails to help me escape to a time where the worst thing I could worry about was acne and who was in my Myspace Top 8.
1. Go – Love Drunk
This is one of the longest songs ever done by the group and one of the most important ones that I ever heard by Boys Like Girls. It’s about not giving up and taking that chance by letting go of that thing that might have been haunting you for an ungodly amount of time. It’s not a fast-paced song whatsoever, but it hits you right in the heart with the chorus “get up and go, take a chance and be strong or you could spend your whole life holding on.” This is one of the most powerful songs I ever heard in my entire life. I remember listening to the entire album and reaching this song. I honestly just cried in my room because it changed my life and helped pushed me to not be weighed down by my fears. It’s one of their best songs, easily.
Based on the official Boys Like Girls Facebook, the 10 year anniversary tour doesn’t seem to be the end of this band. So you should definitely check out all of these songs as well as the rest of their albums just to prepare for whatever they have next.
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