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”
If I do this I’ll have to admit how old I am.
My take, based on what I thought of first, betrays my college rock, middle of the road taste:
1976: Electric Light Orchestra, “Livin’ Thing”
1977: Elvis Costello, “Alison”
1978: Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London”
1979: McFadden & Whitehead, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”
1980: George Jones, “He Stopped Lovin’ Her Today”
1981: Mission of Burma, “That’s When I Reach For My Revolver”
1982: Roxy Music, “More Than This”
1983: New Order, “Blue Monday”
1984: R.E.M., “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville”
1985: Depeche Mode, “Shake The Disease”
1986: The Smiths, “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”
1987: The Replacements, “Alex Chilton”
1988: The Church, “Under The Milky Way”
1989: The Ocean Blue, “Between Something and Nothing”
1990: Michael Penn, “No Myth”
1991: Massive Attack, “Unfinished Sympathy”
1992: Matthew Sweet, “Girlfriend”
1993: Urge Overkill, “Sister Havana”
1994: The 77’s, “Film at 11″
1995: Pulp, “Common People”
1996: Fountains of Wayne, “Radiation Vibe”
1997: Spiritualized, “Ladies and Gentlemen…”
1998: Stardust, “Music Sounds Better With You”
1999: Flaming Lips, “Race For The Prize”
2000: Lambchop, “Up With People”
2001: Andrew W.K., “Party Hard”
2002: Flaming Lips, “Fight Test”
2003: The Knife, “Heartbeats”
2004: The Futureheads, “First Day”
2005: Sufjan Stevens, “The Man of Metropolis…”
2006: Phoenix, “Long Distance Call”
2007: The National, “Mistaken For Strangers”
2008: M83, “Kim & Jessie”
@ Maura
I initially read that as “Jerry Lee Lewis Labor Day Telethon”, and then got misty eyed dreaming about how much more entertaining that would be.
Sigh.
1989: The Stone Roses “I Wanna Be Adored”
1990: Depeche Mode “Enjoy the Silence”
1991: My Bloody Valentine “Only Shallow”
1992: Manic Street Preachers “Motorcycle Emptiness”
1993: Suede “Animal Nitrate”
1994: Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci “Merched Yn Neud Gwallt Eu Gilydd”
1995: Pulp “Common People”
1996: Blur “Country House”
1997: Radiohead “Karma Police”
1998: Neutral Milk Hotel “[untitled]“
1999: Chemical Brothers and Noel Gallagher “Let Forever Be”
2000: Outkast “B.O.B.”
2001: The Strokes “Hard to Explain”
2002: Wilco “Heavy Metal Drummer”
2003: Biffy Clyro “Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys”
2004: Dogs Die in Hot Cars “Godhopping”
2005: The Fall “Blindness”
2006: Muse “Starlight”
2007: Arctic Monkeys “Do Me A Favour”
2008: Los Campesinos! “You! Me! Dancing!”
Yeah, i’d love to put “B.O.B.” in there but the opening of “Gas Panic!” goes better with the end of “Stop the Rock”
@DocStrange: Wait, was there that much space at the end of that? I had no clue. Oops.
I think that might of been from where I was copy/pasting stuff from my RateYourMusic account. Again, whoops.
@DocStrange: And I guess I did put “B.O.B.” in there instead of “Gas Panic!” by Oasis because I removed “Stop the Rock” by Apollo 440 and replaced it with “Let Forever Be”.
Oh and (fifth comment in a row. Am I the only reader of this blog?) my CD came up to about 1 hour 28 seconds. I like long songs is all, but it’s eight minutes too long for an actual CD of 80 minutes of music.
@Dan Gibson: wow, you are fast! good call on the michael penn - it’s enough to let me forgive you for using some of the songs i was thinking of. :)
First off, let me say this was *really* hard & I left out lots of songs that I love. But, this is but one mix.
1969: Isaac Hayes, “Walk On By”
1970: Gil-Scott Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
1971: Esther Phillips, “Home is Where the Hatred Is”
1972: Bobby Womack, “Across 110th Street”
1973: War, “The World Is a Ghetto”
1974: Joni Mitchell, “Free Man In Paris”
1975: Bob Dylan, “Tangled Up In Blue”
1976: Stevie Wonder, “As”
1977: Elvis Costello, “Welcome To The Working Week”
1978: Patti Smith, “Rock ‘n Roll Nigger”
1979: Nick Lowe, “Cruel to be Kind”
1980: Chaka Khan, “Clouds”
1981: Heaven 17, “Penthouse and Pavement”
1982: Donald Fagen, “The Nightfly”
1983: R.E.M., “The Perfect Circle”
1984: Rickie Lee Jones, “The Magazine”
1985: New Order, “The Perfect Kiss”
1986: Boogie Down Productions, “P Is For Free”
1987: M/A/R/R/S: “Pump Up The Volume”
1988: Public Enemy, “Night of the Living Bassheads”
1989: Stone Roses, “I Wanna Be Adored”
1990: Lush, “De-Luxe”
1991: My Bloody Valentine, “Only Shallow”
1992: The Orb, “Blue Room”
1993: Bjork, “Violently Happy”
1994: Nas, “N.Y. State of Mind”
1995: Super Deluxe, “Suitcases”
1996: Belle & Sebastian, “Fox In The Snow”
1997: Harvey Danger, “Flagpole Sitta”
1998: Lucinda Williams, “2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten”
1999: Everything but the Girl, “The Future of the Future (Stay Gold”
2000: Air, “Playground Love”
2001: Zero 7, “Spinning”
2002: Beck, “Paper Tiger”
2003: The Shins, “Kissing the Lipless”
2004: Estelle, “1980″
2005: Fiona Apple, “Oh Well (Jon Brion Version)”
2006: Guster, “Manifest Destiny”
2007: DJ Day, “A Place To Go”
2008: Ivan Colon, “Gabriel”
I’m just doing my favorite song per year, not based on how well they’d work in a mixtape. Why? Because I fucking can, dagnabbit. And yes, I know a lot of my choices are singles; perhaps that’s because bands choose to put out their best songs as singles? Sure, I’ll use that.
‘84/’85: a-ha, “Take on Me” (The single was late 1984, the album was ‘85, and I was born in late December of ‘84, anyway, so… whatever.)
‘86: Bon Jovi, “Wanted Dead or Alive”
‘87: The Replacements, “Alex Chilton”
‘88: Public Enemy, “Don’t Believe the Hype”
‘89: Barenaked Ladies, “Be My Yoko Ono”
‘90: Bart Simpson, “Do the Bartman” (Not really, but it was co-written by Michael Jackson, and 1990 was- in my singular view- a very bad year for music, so screw you, OK?)
‘91: Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”… JUST KIDDING! NIRVANA WAS AWFUL! Actual answer: Queen, “The Show Must Go On”
‘92: Eric Clapton, “Tears in Heaven” (Unplugged)
‘93: Bjork, “Like Someone in Love”
‘94: Weezer, “Say It Ain’t So”
‘95: No Doubt, “Sunday Morning”
‘96: The Wonders, “That Thing You Do”
‘97: Splashdown, “Deserter”
‘98: Barenaked Ladies, “Light Up My Room”
‘99: Fiona Apple, “Paper Bag”
‘00: The White Stripes, “Apple Blossom”
‘01: Splashdown, “Elvis Sunday” (also my favorite song ever)
‘02: The Roots featuring Cody ChesnuTT, “The Seed (2.0)”
‘03: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Maps”
‘04: Saul Williams, “List of Demands (Reparations)” (This was the absolute hardest year to decide- there was Feist, Kings of Convenience, the Dresden Dolls, Death from Above 1979, the “Garden State” soundtrack, the Hives… I could go on and on.)
‘05: The White Stripes, “The Nurse”
‘06: The Hold Steady, “Chips Ahoy!”; Julie Sokolow, “Your Wrists”; and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “The Sweets” (I absolutely refuse to choose between these three, as they’re all among my ten or so favorite songs. I won’t do it- I can’t, and I won’t.)
‘07: Battles, “Atlas”
‘08: Vampire Weekend, “M79″
1978: Funkadelic - “One Nation Under A Groove”
1979: Michael Jackson - “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough”
1980: The Clash - “Police On My Back”
1981: Tom Tom Club - “Genius Of Love”
1982: New Order - “Temptation”
1983: Loose Joints - “Tell You Today”
1984: Sheila E. - “The Glamorous Life”
1985: Ready For The World - “Oh Sheila”
1986: Prince - “Kiss”
1987: Rhythm Is Rhythm - “Strings Of Life”
1988: Neneh Cherry - “Buffalo Stance”
1989: Royal House - “Can You Party?”
1990: Dee-Lite - “Groove Is In The Heart”
1991: LFO - “We Are Back”
1992: Acen - “Trip II The Moon Parts One And Two”
1993: The House Crew - “Euphoria (Nino’s Dream)”
1994: Suburban Knight - “Midnight Sunshine”
1995: The Bucketheads - “The Bomb”
1996: Blackstreet - “No Diggity”
1997: Missy Elliot - “Beep Me 911″
1998: Total - “Trippin’”
1999: Aphex Twin - “Windowlicker”
2000: Trusteppers - “Out Of Your Mind”
2001: Basement Jaxx - “Romeo”
2002: Kylie Minogue - “Love At First Sight”
2003: Juan MacLean - “Give Me Every Little Thing”
2004: Phonique - “The Red Dress (Tiefschwarz Remix)”
2005: Alter Ego - “Rocker”
2006: Justin Timberlake feat. T.I. - “My Love”
2007: Ne-Yo feat. Jay-Z - “Crazy”
2008: Lloyd feat. Lil Wayne - “Girls Around The World”
1975: “Convoy”-C.W. McCall
1976: “You Should Be Dancing”-Bee Gees
1977: “American Girl”-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
1978: “My Life”-Billy Joel
1979: “The Gambler”-Kenny Rogers
1980: “Against the Wind”-Bob Seger
1981: “Rapture”-Blondie
1982: “Mickey”-Toni Basil
1983: “Wrapped Around Your Finger”-The Police
1984: “When Doves Cry”-Prince
1985: “A View to a Kill”-Duran Duran
1986: “Nasty”-Janet Jackson
1987: “I Need Love”-L.L. Cool J
1988: “Orange Crush”-R.E.M.
1989: “Roam”-The B-52’s
1990: “Enjoy the Silence”-Depeche Mode
1991: “Say Hello to Heaven”-Temple of the Dog
1992: “Would?”-Alice in Chains
1993: “Serve the Servants”-Nirvana
1994: “4th of July”-Soundgarden
1995: “Generation Spokesmodel”–Mudhoney
1996: “Bound for the Floor”-Local H
1997: “Nothing Like You”-Sebadoh
1998: “Two Little Girls”-Ani DiFranco
1999: “Satan Is My Motor”-Cake
2000: “#1 Must Have”-Sleater-Kinney
2001: “Arcarsenal”-At the Drive-In
2002: “Radio Cure”-Wilco
2003: “The Sky Is Fallin’”-Queens of the Stone Age
2004: “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”-Arcade Fire
2005: “Loud Cloud Crowd”-Stephen Malkmus
2006: “Hang Me Up To Dry”-Cold War Kids
2007: “Ouch”-Be Your Own Pet
2008: “Ode to LRC”-Band of Horses
Wow, that was hard. Oh, and sorry for all the white space.
1980-John Lennon “Beautiful Boy”
1981-Adam and the Ants “Stand and Deliver”
1982-Flipper “Shed No Tears”
1983-Judas Priest “Screaming For Vengeance”
1984-The Replacements “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out”
1985-The Descendents “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up”
1986-Beastie Boys “Girls”
1987-The Replacements “Cant Hardly Wait”
1988-Operation Ivy “Yellin’ In My Ear”
1989-De La Soul “Me Myself and I”
1990-Danzig “Long Way Back From Hell”
1991-NOFX “Moron Bros.”
1992-Green Day “Christy Road”
1993-Flaming Lips “Moth in the Incubator”
1994-Guided By Voices “Gold Star for Robot Boy”
1995-Wax “California”
1996-Nada Surf “Popular”
1997-Hot Water Music “Just Don’t Say You Lost It”
1998-Murder City Devils “I Want A Lot Now”
1999-Turbonegro “Apocolypse Dudes”
2000-Memphis Bleek “Is That yo Chick”
2001-The Strokes “Is This It?”
This is a fun, fun list…but I have to shut down the office and start my weekend. Let’s pretend I died in 2001.
1980 X - Los Angeles
1981 Mission of Burma Academy Fight Song
1982 Elvis C. - Beyond Belief
1983 Verlianes - Death and the Maiden
1984 Husker Du - Celebrated Summer
1985 New Order - Love Vigilantes
1986 Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
1987 Husker Du - Could You Be the One?
1988 Sonic Youth - Total Trash
1989 Scrawl - Clock Song
1990 Blur - There’s No Other Way
1991 Throwing Muses - Counting Backwards
1992 Th’ Faith Healers - Love Song
1993 Archers of Loaf - Might
1994 Superchunk - Without Blinking
1995 Guided By Voices - Motor Away
1996 Spinanes - Lines and Lines
1997 Yo La Tengo - Deeper Into Movies
1998 The Delgados - Pull the Wires From the Wall
1999 Le Tigre - Deceptacon
2000 Dismemberment Plan - Gyroscope (technically 1999 but whatevs)
2001 Spoon - Anything You Want
2002 Wilco - Jesus, Etc.
2003 Stars- Elevator Love Letter
2004 Andrew Bird - Fake Palindromes
2005 Wolf Parade - Shine a Light
2006 Jennifer O’Connor - Complicated Rhyme
2007 Future of the Left - Suddenly It’s a Folk Song
2008 Kills - Black Balloon
i too stuck to the indie rock out of laziness/frankness. not really a list of favorites OR a functional mix, per se - kind of more songs with sentimental value, at least in the 1990s region. also, i kinda spaced on the 80s, obviously. thanks for sucking out any last drop of productivity from me today, idolator!
1975 Augustus Pablo, “King Tubby’s Meets Rockers Uptown”
1976 Double Exposure, “Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons’ 12-Inch Mix)”
1977 Al Green, “Loving You”
1978 Instant Funk, “I’ve Got My Mind Made Up (Larry Levan Remix)”
1979 Talking Heads, “Cities”
1980 Elvis Costello & the Attractions, “Temptation”
1981 Funky 4 + 1, “That’s the Joint”
1982 Prince, “Automatic”
1983 Marshall Crenshaw, “One Day with You”
1984 Dominatrix, “The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight”
1985 Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force, “I Wonder If I Take You Home”
1986 Gwen Guthrie, “Padlock (Larry Levan Mix)”
1987 Adonis, “7 Ways to Jack”
1988 Sonic Youth, “Teen Age Riot”
1989 De La Soul, “Eye Know”
1990 Tony! Toni! Tone!, “Feels Good”
1991 Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
1992 Jonathan Richman, “I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar”
1993 Omni Trio, “Mystic Stepper (Feel Better)”
1994 DJ Shadow, “Lost & Found”
1995 Moby, “Bring Back My Happiness”
1996 Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre, “No Diggity”
1997 We, “Magnesium Flares”
1998 Aaliyah, “Are You That Somebody?”
1999 Michael Watford, “Reach on Up”
2000 Lifter Puller, “Space Humping $19.99″
2001 Daft Punk, “Digital Love”
2002 Moony, “Dove (I’ll Be Loving You)”
2003 Dntel ft. Ben Gibbard, “(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan (Superpitcher Kompakt Remix)”
2004 Black Leotard Front, “Casual Friday”
2005 Three-6 Mafia, “Stay Fly”
2006 Escort, “Starlight”
2007 Jens Lekman, “If I Could Cry (It Would Be Like This)”
2008 Matias Aguayo, “Minimal (DJ Koze Mix)”
1974 David Essex - Rock On
1975 Patti Smith - Gloria
1976 Pere Ubu - Final Solution
1977 Cheap Trick - He’s a Whore
1978 Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Radio, Radio
1979 Ian Hunter - Cleveland Rocks
1980 The Clash - Police on My Back
1981 Black Flag - TV Party
1982 English Beat - Save it For Later
1983 Michael Stanley Band - My Town
1984 The Pretenders - My City Was Gone
1985 Camper van Beehthoven - Take the Skinheads Bowling
1986 Flesh for Lulu - I Go Crazy
1987 Poison - Talk Dirty to Me
1988 Jane’s Addiction - Jane Says
1989 Jesus and Mary Chain - Head On
1990 Fugazi - Waiting Room
1991 Ned’s Atomic Dustbin - Grey Cell Green
1992 The Lemonheads - Allison’s Starting To Happen
1993 The Breeders - Cannonball
1994 Archers of Loaf - Web in Front
1995 Smoking Popes - Need You Around
1996 Weezer - El Scorcho
1997 Brian Jonestown Massacre - This is Why You Love Me
1998 Sloan - Keep on Thikin’
1999 Wilco - A Shot in the Arm
2000 Ultimate Fakebook - Tell Me What You Want
2001 The Strokes - Last Nite
2002 Trail of Dead - Baudelaire
2003 Black Keys - Set You Free
2004 Two Gallants - Fail Hard to Regain
2005 The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend
2006 Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
2007 No Age - My Life’s Alright Without You
2008 Jay Reatard - An Ugly Death
This is impossible. But, all this nostalgia brings a question: Who is Bob Ludwig and why was his name on every album I ever bought back then?
[en.wikipedia.org]
@Winning_Personality: it happened to you too!
@BillRocksCleveland: UFB!!! hearts to you, BillRocksCleveland. despite my kansan upbringing, and them playing a significant role in it, i don’t honor them like i should these days. even after i moved to chicago, i saw them everytime they came through, despite the fact that they often hitched their wagon to cruddy emo-esque bands, despite the fact that they were a turn-of-this-century punk rock cheap trick.
@BillRocksCleveland: although i hate to be “that guy (girl)”, much like tuscadero and “the pink album” i def prefer the original, less agressively hi-fi version of “this will be laughing week” to the sony re-release, so your choice probably should have gotten bumped back to 1999(?). still, though, you very much made my day.
oohh, y’all so young.
well i don’t know how anyone can pin down one song for a year. So here goes nothing:
1971: Black Sabbath- “Lord of this World”
1972: David Bowie- “Hang on to Yourself”
1973: New York Dolls-”Looking for a Kiss”
1974: Queen- “Now I’m Here
1975: Bob Dylan- “Idiot Wind”
1976: Ac/DC- “Big Balls”
1977: Johnny Thunders/Heatbreakers- “Born to Lose”
1978: Van Halen-”Runnin’ with the Devil”
1979: B-52s- “Dance This Mess Around”
1980: X- “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline”
1981: Van Halen- “Unchained”
1982: Black Flag- “TV Party”
1983: Metallica- “Seek and Destroy”
1984: The Minutmen- “History Lesson, Part II”
1985: The Replacements-”Bastards of Young”
1986: REM- “Begin the Begin”
1987: Dinosaur Jr.- “Little Fury Things”
1988: N.W.A.- Straight Outta Compton
1989: Pixies- “Debaser”
1990: Mother Love Bone- “Stardog Champion”
1991: My Bloody Valentine- “To Here Knows When”
1992: Pantera- “Walk”
1993: Smashing Pumpkins- “Cherub Rock”
1994: Pavement- “Elevate Me Later”
1995: Pulp- “Common People”
1996: Weezer- “El Scorcho”
1997: Sleater-Kinney- “Dig Me Out”
1998: Massive Attack- “Inertia Creeps”
1999: Pavement- “Spit on a Stranger”
2000: Radiohead- “Everything in Its Right Place”
2001: The Strokes- “Take It Or Leave It”
2002: The Libertines- “Time for Heroes”
2003: The Postal Service- “Such Great Heights”
2004: The New Pornographers- “From Blown Speakers”
2005: Art Brut- “Formed a Band”
2006: Neko Case- “Star Witness”
2007: Band of Horses- “Is There A Ghost”
2008: No Age- “Sleeper Hold”
@Maura: Your 1989 is the best song ever. When I first discovered this ‘downloadable music’ thing, that was the first song I ever purchased.
Also, I refuse to dedicate the time it would take to make this, so I’ll just do some years that were really important to me:
1982 (birth): PYT - Michael Jackson
1985 : Close to Me - the Cure
1999 : 43% burnt - the Dillinger Escape Plan
2001 : Silent Deaths, Crowded Lives - 7 Angels 7 Plagues
2002 : Reroute to Remain - In Flames
2005 : Alaska - Between the Buried and Me
2008 (now): little bit - lykke li
What’s with all that metal in the center? it’s like the opposite of an m&m…
Most of these songs are from actual mix tapes anyway:
74 - Rebel Rebel - Bowie
75 - 10th Avenue Freeze-out - Springsteen
76 - Somebody To Love - Queen
77 - Draw The Line - Aerosmith
78 - Heart Of Glass - Blondie
79 - Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd
80 - Canary in A Coalmine - Police
81 - TV Party - Black Flag
82 - Shock The Monkey - Peter Gabriel
83 - Two Hearts Beat As One - U2
84 - Jump - Van Halen
85 - Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads
86 - Boy In The Bubble - Paul Simon
87 - Sweet Child O’Mine - GnR
88 - Cult Of Personality - Living Colour
89 - There Is No Time - Lou Reed
90 - Welcome To The Terrordome - PE
91 - November Rain - GnR
92 - The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight - REM
93 - Divorce Song - Liz Phair
94 - My Wave - Soundgarden
95 - Wonderwall - Oasis
96 - Devil’s Haircut - Beck
97 - Breathe - The Prodigy
98 - Praise You - Fatboy Slim
99 - Sleep Now In The Fire - Rage
00 - The Way I Am - Eminem
01 - Hard To Explain - Strokes
02 - Hurt - Johnny Cash
03 - Rock Me - Liz Phair
04 - Jesus Walks - Kanye West
05 - We Are All On Drugs - Weezer
06 - Teenagers - My Chemical Romance
07 - Bodysnatchers - Radiohead
08 - Mercy - Duffy
1987: yesterday is here- tom waits
1988: wrote for luck- happy mondays
1989: into the goovey- ciccone youth
1990: spinning away- john cale/brian eno
1991: sometimes- my bloody valentine
1992: love is blind- pulp
1993: pantomime horse- suede
1994: this is a low- blur
1995: hallo spaceboy- david bowie
1996: seeing other people- belle and sebastian
1997: youre so great- blur
1998: instant death- beastie boys
1999: parades go by- magnetic feilds
2000: image change- elastica
2001: slow country- gorrillaz
2002: guess im doing fine- beck
2003: childhood memories- british sea power
2004: room on the broom- liars
2005: love and pain- clor
2006: everyting’s just wonderful- lily allen
2007: behind the sun- the good the bad and the queen
2008: the bears are coming- late of the pier
and yes i realize damon albarn is on here four times.
1965 “Drive My Car” - The Beatles
1966 “19th Nervous Breakdown” - The Rolling Stones
1967 “The Tears Of A Clown” - Smokey Robinson And The Miracles
1968 “For Once In My Life” - Stevie Wonder
1969 “Suspicious Minds” - Elvis Presley
1970 “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’” - The Velvet Underground
1971 “Life On Mars?” - David Bowie
1972 “I’m Still In Love With You” - Al Green
1973 “Pyjamarama” - Roxy Music
1974 “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us” - Sparks
1975 “What Do You Want From Life?” - The Tubes
1976 “Beat On The Brat” - Ramones
1977 “King’s Lead Hat” - Brian Eno
1978 “Non-Alignment Pact” - Pere Ubu
1979 “Making Plans For Nigel” - XTC
1980 “A Song From Under The Floorboards” - Magazine
1981 “Tiny Children” - The Teardrop Explodes
1982 “Club Country” - Associates
1983 “Age Of Consent” - New Order
1984 “William, It Was Really Nothing” - The Smiths
1985 “In Between Days” - The Cure
1986 “It’s A Good Thing” - That Petrol Emotion
1987 “Town To Town” - Microdisney
1988 “Everyday Is Like Sunday” - Morrissey
1989 “The Downtown Lights” - The Blue Nile
1990 “Iceblink Luck” - Cocteau Twins
1991 “Racheland” - The Jazz Butcher
1992 “Books Are Burning” - XTC
1993 “Bluebeard” - Cocteau Twins
1994 “Hey! Student” - The Fall
1995 “Da Funk” - Daft Punk
1996 “God Bless You Kid” - The Blue Nile
1997 “Selfless, Cold And Composed” - Ben Folds Five
1998 “You Get What You Give” - New Radicals
1999 “The City” - The Dismemberment Plan
2000 “Payday” - Cathal Coughlan
2001 “Automatic” - The Dismemberment Plan
2002 “Say Hello To The Angels” - Interpol
2003 “Dance Commander” - Electric Six
2004 “The Swish” - The Hold Steady
2005 “Isabelle” - Koufax
2006 “Skinny Boy” - Amy Millan
2007 “Love Surreal” - Nicole Atkins
2008 “Nothing Can Come Between Us” - Obi Best
hey! they fixed that spacing problem. Right on.
Wait, so being born in 1989 makes me the youngest regular poster on this site or what? It seems everyone is at least in their late-mid 20’s. It doesn’t help that I have the musical taste of someone in their mid 20’s.
1979: Donna Summer: “Hot Stuff”
1980: Blondie: “Call Me”
1981: Stevie Nicks: “Edge of Seventeen”
1982: Hall & Oates: “I Can’t Go For That”
1983: Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney: “Say, Say, Say”
1984: Tina Turner: “What’s Love Got To Do With It”
1985: Kate Bush: “Hounds of Love”
1986: Robert Palmer: “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On”
1987: Dead or Alive: “Brand New Lover”
1988: INXS: “Need You Tonight”
1989: Madonna: “Like a Prayer”
1990: Deee-Lite: “Groove Is in the Heart”
1991: Prince: “Cream”
1992: Brand New Heavies: “Stay This Way”
1993: Janet Jackson: “Throb”
1994: Dionne Farris: “Passion”
1995: Seal: “Newborn Friend”
1996: Toni Braxton: “You’re Makin’ Me High”
1997: Maxwell: “This Woman’s Work (live)”
1998: Jamirouai: “Cosmic Girl”
1999: Cher: “Believe”
2000: DJ Spiller: “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)”
2001: Daft Punk: “Digital Love”
2002: Res: “They-Say Vision”
2003: Annie Lennox: “Wonderful”
2004: The Savage Juliet: “Trouble”
2005: Franz Ferdinand: “Do You Want To”
2006: Van Hunt: “The Thrill of This Love”
2007: Rahsaan Patterson: “Delirium”
2008: Janelle Monae: “Violet Stars/Happy Hunting”
72 - Torn and Frayed, Rolling Stones
73 - Mother of Pearl, Roxy Music
74 - Train Kept A’ Rollin’, Aerosmith
75 - Fame, David Bowie
76 - American Girl, Tom Petty
77 - Get Down Make Love, Queen
78 - Runnin’ With the Devil, Van Halen
79 - She’s Lost Control, Joy Division
80 - Born Under Punches, Talking Heads
81 - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, The Police
82 - Rio, Duran Duran
83 - Strip, Adam Ant
84 - Let’s Go Crazy, Prince
85 - Just Like Honey, Jesus and Mary Chain
86 - Don’t Let’s Start, They Might Be Giants
87 - Paradise City, Guns N’ Roses
88 - Turn You Inside Out, REM
89 - Down In It, NIN
90 - Stop!, Jane’s Addiction
91 - Siva, Smashing Pumpkins
92 - Just One Fix, Ministry
93 - Hits From the Bong, Cypress Hill
94 - Mr. Self Destruct, NIN
95 - Fake Plastic Trees, Radiohead
96 - Caught a Lite Sneeze, Tori Amos
97 - Little Babies, Sleater-Kinney
98- I Don’t Like the Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me), Marilyn Manson
99- Gimmie Stitches, Foo Fighters
00- Weapon of Choice, Fatboy Slim
01- Hotel Yorba, White Stripes
02 - Keep Fishin’, Weezer
03- Purple Haze, Groove Armada
04 - Somebody Told Me, Killers
05 - Galvanize, Chemical Brothers
06- Ooh La La, Goldfrapp
07 - Don’t You Evah, Spoon
08 - Run, Gnarls Barkley
I’m old. And my tastes are kinda poppy. I accept all this.
1969: River Man - Nick Drake; The End - The Beatles
1970: Instant Karma! - John Lennon
1971: Family Affair - Sly & The Family Stone
1972: Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
1973: Kodachrome - Paul Simon
1974: Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
1975: Golden Years - David Bowie
1976: Kid Charlemagne - Steely Dan
1977: (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes - Elvis Costello
1978: One Nation Under a Groove - Funkadelic
1979: Heart of Glass - Blondie
1980: Don’t Stand So Close to Me - The Police
1981: Stumble - R.E.M.
1982: It’s Nearly Africa - XTC
1983: Overkill - Men At Work
1984: Method of Modern Love - Hall & Oates
1985: Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) - Scritti Politti
1986: The Edge of Heaven - Wham!
1987: Could You Be The One? - Hüsker Dü
1988: I Remember That - Prefab Sprout
1989: Me Myself and I - De La Soul
1990: Fotzepolitic - Cocteau Twins
1991: Everyday Sunshine - Fishbone
1992: Would? - Alice In Chains
1993: Heart-Shaped Box - Nirvana
1994: Beercan - Beck
1995: Army of Me - Björk
1996: Lazybones; Disseminated - Soul Coughing
1997: Songs of Love - The Divine Comedy
1998: Intergalactic - Beastie Boys
1999: Coffee & TV - Blur
2000: In Like A Lion - Graig Markel
2001: There’s No Fucking Rules, Dude - !!!
2002: To Hell with Good Intentions - Mclusky
2003: There There. (The Boney King of Nowhere.) - Radiohead
2004: Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
2005: Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) - Arcade Fire
2006: The Funeral - Band of Horses
2007: The Past Is a Grotesque Animal - Of Montreal
2008: Right Away - Pattern Is Movement
1973 Eno: On Some Faraway Beach
1974 Sparks: This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us
1975 Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run
1976 Thin Lizzy: The Boys Are Back in Town
1977 Althea & Donna: Uptown Top Ranking
1978 Only Ones: Another Girl Another Planet
1979 Machine: There But for the Grace of God Go I
1980 George Jones: He Stopped Loving Her Today
1981 Funky 4+1: That’s the Joint
1982 New Order: Temptation
1983 Loose Joints: Tell You (Today)
1984 Prince: When Doves Cry
1985 The Cure: Close to Me
1986 The Smiths: There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
1987 The Go-Betweens: Right Here
1988 Rob Base and DJ Ez-Rock: It Takes Two
1989 The Stone Roses: She Bangs the Drums
1990 Dee-Lite: Groove Is in the Heart
1991 The KLF: Last Train to Trancentral
1992 Saint Etienne: Avenue
1993 Dr. Dre/Snoop: Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang
1994 Blur: This Is a Low
1995 Pulp: Common People
1996 Belle and Sebastian: The State I Am In
1997 Basement Jaxx: Fly Life (Brixton Vocal Mix)
1998 Aaliyah: Are You That Somebody?
1999 Aphex Twin: Windowlicker
2000 Outkast: B.O.B.
2001 Pulp: Sunrise
2002 Jürgen Paape: So Weit Wie Noch Nie
2003 R. Kelly: Step in the Name of Love (remix)
2004 The Knife: Heartbeats
2005 Ciara [ft. Ludacris]: Oh
2006 Tough Alliance: Silly Crimes
2007 LCD Soundsystem: All My Friends
2008 Hercules and Love Affair: Blind
My turn (in reverse chronological order)
2008: Heretic Pride - The Mountain Goats
2007: My My - Menomena
2006: Emily Kane - Art Brut
2005: Be Good To Them Always - The Books
2004: Bridges and Balloons - Joanna Newsom
2003: I Say That I Will Go - Nina Nastasia
2002: Sidewalk Serfer Girl - Super Furry Animals
2001: Following Through - The Dismemberment Plan
2000: Papercuts - Broadcast
1999: I Don’t Believe In The Sun - The Magnetic Fields
1998: Jetty - Tortoise
1997: Refractions in the Plastic Pulse - Stereolab
1996: Port Rhombus - Squarepusher
1995: Do While - Oval
1994: Tracy Jacks - Blur
1993: If I Had A Hammer - American Music Club
1992: I’m Your #1 Fan - The Beautiful South
1991: Nice New Outfit - Fugazi
1990: Only Tongue Can Tell - The Trash Can Sinatras
1989: Interesting Drug - Morrissey
1988: Silver Rocket - Sonic Youth
1987: Only Dream Left - Verlaines
1986: America (She Can’t Say No) - Throwing Muses
1985: Appetite - Prefab Sprout
1984: Pearly Dewdrops’ Drops - Cocteau Twins
1983: Your Silent Face - New Order
1982: Beyond Belief - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1981: In My Eyes - Minor Threat
1980: When You Were Mine - Prince
1979: Life Begins At The Hop - XTC
1978: Heartbeat - Wire
1977: Deacon Blues - Steely Dan
1976: Knowing Me, Knowing You - ABBA
1975: St. Elmo’s Fire - Brian Eno
You know, this was a great exercise, because it shows the tastes of the people who read this blog: indie rock, indie rock, indie rock, rap- but only rap by musicians that are either socially conscious or had a profound impact on music as a whole, indie rock, and musicians that nobody will argue are great (Elvis Costello, Blondie, Bowie, Jacko, the Stones, etc.)… to be honest, I’m kind of disappointed.
@kicking222: Yes, it’s true. But I was born in 1989 and from then to the present there was an influx of fantastic indie music. And besides, 1995 cut close between “Common People” and “Possum Kingdom” by Toadies. I mean could you really call a Welsh language folk group like Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci “indie rock”? Not really. Or my picks in the neo prog genre (Biffy Clyro, Muse)? Or The Fall? And besides, “B.O.B.” is a tremendous song that broke down every genre imaginable.
Many people here are picking bands like Prefab Sprout (who are a new wave band), The Fall (one of my picks, a long lived post-punk band). But where’s the “You Get What You Give” love? I didn’t pick it because I felt NMH’s “[untitled]” flowed better with the track listing (the feedback at the beginning picks up the squealing at the end of “Karma Police”), and I thought more people would put it in somewhere. Oh well.
@kicking222: I’m glad you pointed that out about the rap, because as we all are aware, the Funky 4 + 1 changed EVERYTHING about music as a whole.
75: ABBA - Dancing Queen
76: Serge Gainsbourg - Marilou sous la neige
77: T-Rex - Dandy in the Underworld
78: Bob Marley and the Wailers - Sun is Shining (but I prefer the Lee Perry version)
79: The Clash - London Calling
80: David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes
81: Kraftwerk - Computer World
82: Roxy Music - Avalon
83: Jane Birkin - Fuir le bonheur de peur qu’il ne se sauve (but I prefer the Arabesque version)
84: Jacques Dutronc - Merde in France
85: Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
86: The Smiths - There is a Light That Never Goes Out
87: The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York
88: a-ha - Stay on These Roads
89: The Stone Roses - Made of Stone
90: The La’s - There She Goes
91: Prince - Cream
92: The Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness
93: Bjork and David Arnold - Play Dead
94: Suede - We Are the Pigs
95: Massive Attack - Karmacoma
96: Kenickie - Millionaire Sweeper
97: Blur - Beetlebum
98: Air & Françoise Hardy - Jeanne
99: The Charlatans - The Blonde Waltz
00: Keren Ann - Seule
01: Syd Barrett - Bob Dylan Blues (yes, yes, but he has to be in here)
02: George Harrison - Pisces Fish
03: Carla Bruni - Quelqu’un m’a dit
04: The Libertines - Can’t Stand Me Now
05: Babyshambles - Fuck Forever (single version)
06: Charlotte Gainsbourg - 5:55
07: Mika - Grace Kelly
08: Dirty Pretty Things - Truth Begins
Despite being massively musically geeky, I’ve never had enough patience to make a list. So I’ll skip that like I always do and say that you know I agree with you 100% on 1983.
[uk]
@aprilsimnel: we’re the same age and your tastes are no more out there than mine.
@kicking222: the problem is the amount of time it takes to remember what years certain songs were released or being unsure. i think you’d have found more disparate choices if any of us were 100% positive about release dates on some of the things we really dig that aren’t so surface.
@loudersoft: Yeah, that’s what I meant, my tastes are not “out there” at all. Almost pure pop with a dab of hip-hop and pinch of etherealness, though not anywhere near the entirety of my music library. These are the ones I haven’t erased from my iPod since I first got one. And if there were a way to grab old Electric Company songs, “The Sweet, Sweet Sway” would be representing 1973.
**********************************
1991 - Mistadobalina - Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
I now have to hear this to see if he samples “Zilch.”
@kicking222: I would be happy to argue that several of those artists are great.
I’m lazy, so I’m relying on id3 tags being accurate for everything before about 1985. And I’m only including
songs in my collection.
1969 - Here Comes The Sun - Beatles
1970 - Time and A Word - Yes
1971 - The Supermen - David Bowie
1972 - Supper’s Ready - Genesis
1973 - 21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson
1974 - Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? - Frank Zappa
1975 - White Punks On Dope - The Tubes
1976 - For Those About To Rock - AC/DC
1977 - Pretty Vacant - Sex Pistols
1978 - Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love - Van Halen
1979 - On Your Radio - Joe Jackson
1980 - Sgt. Rock - XTC
1981 - Merry Go Round - Motley Crue
1982 - The Lone Rhinoceros - Adrian Belew
1983 - Motorbreath - Metallica
1984 - Icarus Dream Suite - Yngwie Malmsteen
1985 - Pop Life - Prince
1986 - I Dream in Infrared - Queensryche
1987 - I Would For You - Jane’s Addiction
1988 - Orange Crush - R.E.M.
1989 - Zombie Eaters - Faith No More
1990 - Product - Consolidated
1991 - Mistadobalina - Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
1992 - China - Tori Amos
1993 - Anyone Can Play Guitar - Radiohead
1994 - Faster - Manic Street Preachers
1995 - Everyone I Went to High School with is dead - Mr. Bungle
1996 - Break Your Heart - Barenaked Ladies
1997 - Perfect Drug - NIN
1998 - You Stole the Sun From My Heart - Manic Street Preachers
1999 - Rainbow Connection - Me First and the Gimme Gimme’s
2000 - The Part You Throw Away - Ute Lemper
2001 - Beautiful - Flickerstick
2002 - God’s Away on Business - Tom Waits
2003 - Testing 1,2,3 - Barenaked Ladies
2004 - Super Cute - Prince
2005 - I Hate the Way You Love - The Kills
2006 - Sucker - Peeping Tom with Norah Jones
2007 - A Letter from God to Man - Dan Le Sac -vs- Scroobius Pip
2008 - Power - MC Paul Barman
also note: there’s some years where I wanted to pick 10 or 12 songs, and some years (mostly pre 1983, which is when I started listening to contemporary music instead of kids music or ’songs of praise’) where I struggled to find even one.
71 Sly & the Family Stone - “Family Affair”
72 Neu! - “Hallogallo”
73 Marvin Gaye - “If I Should Die Tonight”
74 Kraftwerk - “Autobahn”
75 Donna Summer - “Love to Love You Baby”
76 Ramones - “Blitzkrieg Bop”
77 The Congos - “Fisherman”
78 Funkadelic - “One Nation Under a Groove”
79 Joy Division - “She’s Lost Control”
80 Grace Jones - “Warm Leatherette”
81 Talking Heads - “Once in a Lifetime”
82 Scritti Politti - “Asylums In Jerusalem”
83 Madonna - “Lucky Star”
84 Prince and the Revolution - “Let’s Go Crazy”
85 Wayne Smith - “Under Me Sleng Teng”
86 Run DMC - “My Adidas”
87 Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock - “It Takes Two”
88 Fingers Inc. - “Can You Feel it”
89 The Stone Roses - “Fools Gold”
90 Deee-Lite - “Groove is in the Heart”
91 Nirvana - “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
92 The Prodigy - “Everybody in the Place”
93 Wu-Tang Clan - “Protect Ya Neck”
94 Goldie - “Inner City Life”
95 Pulp - “Common People”
96 Ghostface Killah featuring Mary J Blige - “All That I Got is You”
97 The Chemical Brothers - “Block Rockin’ Beats”
98 Aaliyah - “Are You That Somebody?”
99 Ol’ Dirty Bastard featuring Kelis - “Got Your Money”
00 Azzido Da Bass - “Dooms Night (Timo Maas Remix)”
01 Missy “Missdemeanor” Elliott - “Get Ur Freak on”
02 Dizzee Rascal - “I Luv You”
03 Kanye West - “Through the Wire”
04 Annie - “Chewing Gum”
05 Lindstrøm - “I Feel Space”
06 The Knife- “Silent Shout”
07 LCD Soundsystem - “Someone Great”
08 Wiley - “Wearing My Rolex”
Some alternatives (no artist repeats):
75: Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel: Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
77: Michel Polnareff: Lettre à France
77: Brian Eno - Spider and I
78: Blondie: Picture This
78: The Rolling Stones - Miss You
78: The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
79: Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
79: Sparks - The Number One Song in Heaven
81: The Go-Go’s - Our Lips Are Sealed
84: Paul McCartney - No More Lonely Nights
84: John Lennon - Grow Old With Me
87: The Pet Shop Boys - It’s a Sin
87: Johnny Clegg and Savuka - Great Heart
90: St. Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
91: Queen - The Show Must Go On
91: Jane’s Addiction - Three Days
91: My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow
94(?): Ismaël Lo - Dibi dib rek
93: Slowdive - Mellon Yellow
95: Pulp - Common People
97: IAM & Khaled - Oran Marseille
01: Benjamin Biolay - Los Angeles
02: Les Cowboys Fringants - L’hiver approche
05: Franz Ferdinand - Walk Away
89: Lou Reed and John Cale - Hello It’s Me
I’m indecisive. At least, I think I am. Maybe.
@MayhemintheHood: Nice call with “I Want A Lot Now.”
Akkkk! 1992 got mangled with 1990 in the list — 1992 should be: Luna - Slash Your Tires
Close call behind a couple tracks from Ween’s Pure Guava
Gosh, that list went from lillywhite lame to worse.