Usually we do the Mundo 5 on Fridays, but for this week we thought we would do something dedicated to Throwback Thursday. For this edition, we are each listing five of our favourite tracks from the time when we were 5 years old. Yes, this means you will find out just how old Ben is and how young Rich is. Share with us your favourite songs from the year you turned five.

1981

I’m dedicating this list to my Aunt Shirley and cousin Lori, who exposed me to all this music. I still remember the days of lipsyncing and doing impersonations of our favourite ’80s artists. Break out your Jordache jeans, put on that brown leather vest, tease your perm, and just break loose to the list below – or just sing along.

Queen, “Another One Bites the Dust”

This will probably be me in the not-so-distant future, but the stuttering beat and the simple lyrics make this a classic. I remember (heck I still do) jerk my head every time I hear the “dut dut dut…another one bites the dust… dut dut dut…” And has there been a better frontman in music than Freddy Mercury?

Rick Springfield, “Jessie’s Girl”

Like Jessie’s girl / I wish that I had Jessie’s girl / Where can I find her, a woman…/ Where can I find her, a woman like that?

I was five years old, and I wanted Jessie’s girl. I had no idea who Jessie’s girl was at that time (and I still don’t), but I wanted her. Probably to play in the sandbox or with the Lego or maybe even with her Cabbage Patch Kids or My Little Pony collection. Maybe she likes G.I. Joe or better yet Transformers. Honestly, it didn’t really matter what she liked because if Rick Springfield wanted Jessie’s girl then she must be cool and we needed to be friends.

Kool and the Gang, “Celebration”

Was there a cooler band in 1981 than Kool and the Gang? O.k., maybe The Police, but they didn’t write party songs like K & G (they preferred the stalking type songs). And think about it. Before Michael Jackson became Michael, there first was Robert “Kool” Bell. Every young kid wanted to be “Kool”, myself included with my bowl cut, which wasn’t very cool.

“Celebrate good times” for me when I was 5 was getting to stay up until 9:00 to watch Solid Gold. And who could forget Dionne Warwick and Marilyn McCoo, who were trendsetters for female, African-American hosts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWOJ809OjHk

John Lennon, “Woman”

Even at a young age, I thought John Lennon was really special. It wasn’t just the look – you know, his hair, the glasses – but his soft, whispery voice and the emotion that he expressed in every song. “Woman”, an ode Lennon wrote to Yoko Ono, especially stands out for me. I could only wish I could write some beautiful lyrics to my wife:

Woman I know you understand
The little child inside the man,
Please remember my life is in your hands,
And woman hold me close to your heart,
However, distant don’t keep us apart,
After all it is written in the stars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-x1FsvOAz4

Kim Carnes, “Bette Davis Eyes”

And we finish with a classic and arguably the best song of 1981. Honestly, who hasn’t belted out the lyrics to this song when it’s played on the radio or on your iPod? The likes of Taylor Swift, Brandon Flowers of The Killers, and countless others of aspiring and celebrated musicians have covered the song at one time or another. It’s emotional, it’s uplifting, it’s kind of freaky, and it’s completely absorbing.

She’ll tease you
She’ll unease you
Just to please ya
She’s got Bette Davis eyes
She’ll expose you, when she snows you
She knows ya
She’s got Bette Davis eyes

1993

The early nineties were a very interesting time in music. Grunge was beginning to become the huge force it eventually became thanks to bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam. Gangsta rap became huge, N.W.A., Ice-T, Snoop Doggy Dogg and others released some incredibly popular music in the early 90’s. And bands like Radiohead laid groundwork for what would become incredible careers.

Clutch, “A Shogun Named Marcus”

The hardcore punk debut album from now blues-infused stoner rock band Clutch, Transnational Speedway League was released in 1993. It’s no secret that I’m a huge Clutch fan, and the first track off of their first album has a special place in my heart. Sure, the album was a little all over the place, and was quickly overshadowed by their incredible follow-up Clutch, but this is what pretty much started it all, and for that, I’m going to go blast this as loud as I can today.

“So Beebopalloobopawopshamboo, and domo arigato if I got to”

Ice Cube, “It Was a Good Day” / “Check Yo Self”

I’ll consider this one song for the sake of the list, as both songs were released as singles in 1993 and the “Check Yo Self” music video was a continuation of “It Was A Good Day” . Both songs sampled some pretty famous songs, “It Was A Good Day” sampled the Isley Brothers’ “Footsteps In The Dark” and “Check Yo Self” sampled Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message”. A movement backed by Jimmy Fallon, among others tried to get the Goodyear Blimp to actually say “Ice Cube’s a Pimp”. The campaign raised $25,000, and Goodyear eventually did reference Ice Cube, but did not think the word “pimp” fit their family friendly image and just put “Ice Cube” on the side of the blimp instead.

Even saw the lights of the Goodyear Blimp
And it read, “Ice Cube’s a pimp” (yeah)

The Proclaimers, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”

This song was actually released in my birth year of 1988, but wasn’t released in the United States until five years later, in 1993. The song was used in 1993 movie “Benny and Joon” and became a huge hit. The song is a little silly, but it’s fun and insanely catchy. It’s been referenced in pop culture numerous times, most notably on the TV shows How I Met Your Mother and Family Guy.

But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

Radiohead, “Creep”

One of the most popular songs of the 1990’s, and an anthem for weirdos all over, Radiohead’s Creep was released in 1993 on their first full-length album, Pablo Honey. “Creep” became Radiohead’s most popular song, causing fans to attend Radiohead concerts just to hear the song and uninterested in the rest of the performance, leaving Thom Yorke to feel constrained. Yorke wrote the song “My Iron Lung” as a reaction to the success of “Creep”.

“You’re so fucking special / I wish I was special”

Weezer, “Undone (The Sweater Song)”

Weezer’s breakthrough self-titled blue album was recorded in 1993, and is arguably Weezer’s best album. Weezer (Blue Album) featured some of Weezer’s most recognizable hits, including “Buddy Holly”, “Say It Ain’t So”, and “My Name is Jonas” but my favorite track is “Undone (The Sweater Song)”. Weezer’s music was a huge part of my life for many years, and their first album will forever be one of my favorites.

If you want to destroy my sweater
Hold this thread as I walk away
Watch me unravel, I’ll soon be naked
Lying on the floor (lying on the floor)
I’ve come undone