Welcome to the last installment of Playback for 2004. This week’s edition comes from senior biology major Joanna Kula. Kula will be graduating at the semester’s end and is afraid of going into the real world, but can’t wait to go back home to Chicago. If she were to bust out a CD of her favorite tracks, these would be the 15 songs that she would close out her NIU career with.

1. “Save My Heart” – Erika. “I used to listen to this song a lot with my sister, over and over again in the car. We sang our hearts out.”

2. “Lady” – Mojo. This song brings me back to when I was a freshman at NIU. Ahh … the memories of good parties and lots of fun. It was played often on Energy 92.7, a radio station I really miss.”

3. “Love At First Sight” – Kylie Minogue. “This song is infectious. You can try to stop me from dancing [to it] if you want to, but I doubt you’ll succeed.”

4. “Dans Ma Memoire” – In-Grid. “This song is in French and so is the entire album. I love how it incorporates string instruments – it sounds amazing.”

5. “Slow” – Kylie Minogue. “I’m drawn to this song because of its funky beats – it has that ’80s feel to it, but with a modern twist. I’ll sometimes listen to it when I have a bad day, and it puts me in a better mood.”

6. “Hey Ya” – Outkast. “This song always makes me feel a little silly, but in a good way. I love singing along to it.”

7. “Like a Prayer” – Madonna. “The song is old-school, but it’s still awesome. I must have listened to it a thousand times before.”

8. “Dancing Queen” – ABBA. “It’s another one of the those old- time favorites. Can you blame me? I’m a sucker for the dance floor and a catchy tune. My favorite lyrics are ‘You can dance/You can jive/Having the time of your life.’”

9. “Spiderwebs” – No Doubt. “This is from one of the first CDs I ever bought – ‘Tragic Kingdom.’ I feel like a teenager again when I hear it, and I still listen to it every once and a while.”

10. “My Stupid Mouth” – John Mayer. “Sometimes I say things without thinking and regret it later. I suppose most people do, so I’m sure I’m not in the minority.”

11. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” – Cindi Lauper. “This song makes me think of the girls’ nights out I had with my friends going out around here. I’m going to miss Molly’s and all the other bars.”

12. “Hotel Paper” – Michelle Branch. “This song helped me when I went through a breakup. It’s a very emotional and real song that helped calm me.”

13. “Leaving on a Jet Plane” – Chantal Kreviazuk. “An old roommate I’m still friends with used to listen to this song a lot, and it grew on me. She was unaware that I could hear her sing along with it when she blasted it in her room. Now sh” knows.”

14. “Only Time” – Enya. “My boyfriend of two-and-a-half years and I first kissed to this song at Jedynka Club in Chicago. We’re still together.”

15. “Christmas Shoes” – Bob Carlisle. “This song is so sad – when my friends and I first heard it, we cried and gave each other hugs. It tells the story of a poor boy who is trying to buy shoes on Christmas for his dying mother. It makes me think about what the holidays really mean.”