Over the Independence Day weekend, I challenged you guys to pick one favorite album for each year that you’ve been alive, and you all certainly rose to the occasion. So I figured I’d give it another go–only this time, with songs instead of full-lengths. Obviously, picking a “favorite” song from each year would take longer than a three-day weekend, and possibly drive you utterly mad in the process. So let’s do it this way: Craft a mix CD that contains one track representing each year of your life, in order. This way, you can transfer any fretting you might have about whether or not “Last Child” or “Beth” should be your representative for 1976 to whether or not 1990’s outro transitions well into 1991’s intro. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still difficult, but at least it won’t send you on a holiday trip to the sanitarium, where you’ll only have the Jerry Lewis Labor Day telethon to accompany your murmurings about whether “White Belly” is superior to “Rid Of Me.” My stab at it, after the jump.
1975 - Bruce Springsteen, “Born To Run”
1976 - Thin Lizzy, “Jailbreak”
1977 - Hall & Oates, “Rich Girl”
1978 - Althea & Donna, “Uptown Top Ranking”
1979 - The Slits, “Typical Girls”
1980 - Squeeze, “Another Nail In My Heart”
1981 - Scritti Politti, “The ‘Sweetest’ Girl”
1982 - Michael Jackson, “P.Y.T.”
1983 - OMD, “Genetic Engineering”
1984 - Prince, “The Beautiful Ones”
1985 - The Cure, “Close To Me”
1986 - Janet Jackson, “When I Think Of You”
1987 - Terrence Trent D’Arby, “Wishing Well”
1988 - Pebbles, “Mercedes Boy”
1989 - Neneh Cherry, “Buffalo Stance”
1990 - Lisa Stansfield, “All Around The World”
1991 - The La’s, “There She Goes”
1992 - Sugar, “If I Can’t Change Your Mind”
1993 - Belly, “White Belly”
1994 - Mary Lou Lord, “Some Jingle Jangle Morning”
1995 - Edwyn Collins, “A Girl Like You”
1996 - Space, “Female Of The Species”
1997 - Yo La Tengo, “Autumn Sweater”
1998 - Liz Phair, “What Makes You Happy”
1999 - Fiona Apple, “Fast As You Can”
2000 - OutKast, “B.O.B.”
2001 - 2 Many DJs, “Magnificent Romeo”
2002 - Kylie Minogue, “Love At First Sight”
2003 - R. Kelly, “Step In The Name Of Love (Remix)”
2004 - Annie, “Chewing Gum”
2005 - Sleater-Kinney, “Rollercoaster”
2006 - The Raconteurs, “Steady, As She Goes”
2007 - Bat For Lashes, “What’s A Girl To Do?”
2008 - Ida Maria, “Oh My God”
I am ancient and addicted to cr@p.
1968 The Zombies - Hung Up on A Dream
1969 Amon Duull - Luzifer’s Ghilom
1970 Nick Drake - At the Chime of a City Clock
1971 T Rex - Jeepster
1972 Big Star - Feel
1973 Stories - Top of The City
1974 Kraftwerk - Autobahn
1975 Neu! - E-Musik
1976 Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 2
1977 Wire - Pink Flag
1978 Gary Numan - My Shadow in Vain
1979 XTC - Making Plans For Nigel
1980 Joy Division - Isolation
1981 Human League - Seconds
1982 The Clean - Getting Older
1983 Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized
1984 Go Betweens - Draining the Pool For You
1985 The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?
1986 The Chills - Pink Frost
1987 The Bats - North by North
1988 Slayer - South of Heaven
1989 Stone Roses - I am the Resurrection
1990 Galaxie 500 - Fourth of July
1991 My Bloody Valentine - When you Sleep
1992 Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
1993 Trembling Blue Stars - Catholic Easter Cours
1994 Cardinal - “If You Believe in Christmas Trees
1995 Magnetic Fields - Smoke and Mirrors
1996 GBV- The Official Ironmen Rally Song
1997 Air- Le soleil est près de moi
1998 St Etienne - Lose That Girl
1999 Fountains of Wayne - A Fine Day For a Parade
2000 Paul Van Dyk - Tell Me Why
2001 Dismemberment Plan - Secret Curse
2002 Felix Da Housecat - Silver Screen
2003 Motorcycle - As The Rush Comes
2004 Interpol - Slowhands
2005 Ladytron - High Rise
2006 Goldfrapp - Fly Me Away
2007 Ulrich Schnauss - Einfeld
2008 Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire
1969:Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes
1970:Grateful Dead - Ripple
1971:The Who - Baba O’Riley
1972:Allman Brothers Band - Blue Sky
1973:Pink Floyd - Brain Damage
1974:Supertramp - Dreamer
1975:Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
1976:Modern Lovers - Roadrunner
1977:David Bowie - Heroes
1978:The Cars - All Mixed Up
1979:The Clash - Lost in the Supermarket
1980:John Lennon + Yoko Ono - Watching the Wheels
1981:Police - Invisible Sun
1982:INXS - Don’t Change
1983:Violent Femmes - Good Feeling
1984:Prince - When Doves Cry
1985:New Order - Love Vigilantes
1986:They Might Be Giants - Don’t Let’s Start
1987:U2 - With or Without You
1988:Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot
1989:Pixies - La La Love You
1990:The La’s -Timeless Melody
1991:Nirvana - Something in the Way
1992:The Lemonheads - Bit Part
1993:Smashing Pumpkins - Silverfuck
1994:Weezer - In the Garage
1995:Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
1996:Belle and Sebastian - Judy and the Dream of Horses
1997:Yo La Tengo - My Little Corner of the World
1998:Neutral Milk Hotel - The King of Carrot Flowers
1999:Wilco - I’m Always in Love
2000:Bright Eyes - Sunrise Sunset
2001:Strokes - Take it or Leave it
2002:The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize?
2003:The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
2004:The Walkmen - The Rat
2005:Sufjan Stevens - The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
2006:Ali Farka Toure - Yer Bounda Fara
2007:Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running
2008:Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
1969 Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
1970 Elton John - My Father’s Gun
1971 Grin - White Lies
1972 Todd Rundgren - I Saw The Light
1973 John Cale - Paris 1919
1974 Rupert Holmes - Our National Pastime
1975 Led Zeppelin - Night Flight
1976 Flamin’ Groovies - Shake Some Action
1977 Cheap Trick - He’s A Whore
1978 Elvis Costello & the Attractions - (I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea
1979 Gang of Four - Damaged Goods
1980 Joy Division - Atmosphere
1981 Duran Duran - Careless Memories
1982 Kate Bush - All The Love
1983 Tears for Fears - Pale Shelter
1984 The Smiths - This Charming Man
1985 Kate Bush - Hello Earth
1986 New Order - Every Little Counts
1987 The Primitives - Crash
1988 American Music Club - Western Sky
1989 The Beautiful South - Song For Whoever
1990 Ween - Birthday Boy
1991 Kitchens of Distinction -Drive That Fast
1992 Jeannette Katt -Can I Call You Daddy?
1993 American Music Club - Will You Find Me?
1994 Allen Clapp - Something Strange Happens
1995 The Ropers - You Have A Light
1996 Eggstone - Summer and Looking for a Job
1997 Ween - Cold Blows The Wind
1998 Sloan -Money City Maniacs
1999 Damien Jurado - Letters and Drawings
2000 The Clientele - (I Want You) More Than Ever
2001 The Avalanches - A Different Feeling
2002 Montgolfier Brothers - The World Is Flat
2003 My Favorite - The Happiest Days of My Life
2004 Sahara Hotnights -Mind Over Matter
2005 Feist - Lonely, Lonely
2006 The Futureheads - Favours for Favours
2007 Laura Viers - Drink Deep
2008 Working For A Nuclear Free City - Heaven Kissing Hill
Great, only THREE months behind on this one…anyway…
1980: Once In A Lifetime (Talking Heads)
1981: Under Pressure (David Bowie & Queen)
1982: You Dropped A Bomb On Me (The Gap Band)
1983: The Lovecats (The Cure)
1984: Go! (Tones On Tail)
1985: Cities In Dust (Siouxsie & The Banshees)
1986: Red Rain (Peter Gabriel)
1987: Just Like Heaven (The Cure)
1988: Fisherman’s Blues (The Waterboys)
1989: Riviera Paradise (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
1990: Nothing Compares 2 U (Sinead O’Connor)
1991: Mysterious Ways (U2)
1992: Deeper And Deeper (Madonna)
1993: Elsewhere (Sarah McLachlan)
1994: (It’s Good) To Be Free (Oasis)
1995: Strangers When We Meet (David Bowie)
1996: Lovefool (The Cardigans)
1997: Hey, Johnny Park! (Foo Fighters)
1998: Blindfold (Morcheeba)
1999: Soldier Through This (Garbage)
2000: Disco Science (Mirwais)
2001: Hash Pipe (Weezer)
2002: Hurt (Johnny Cash)
2003: Your Name (Reggie Watts)
2004: Vertigo (U2)
2005: The Importance Of Being Idle (Oasis)
2006: Cruel (T-Time)
2007: Back To Black (Amy Winehouse)
2008: Heart Songs (Weezer)