Tuesday, August 30, 2005

The music of my senior year 

The problem with this meme (found via Mitch) is that the list we're told to use doesn't represent the hits we were listening to in 1975. I found this list far more compelling. I mean, there aren't many bad ones. See how few crossouts?

1 24 Bruce Springsteen Born to Run
2 62 Queen Bohemian Rhapsody
3 207 Bruce Springsteen Thunder Road
4 236 Aerosmith Walk This Way
5 252 Bob Dylan Tangled Up in Blue
6 279 Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers Roadrunner
7 296 Led Zeppelin Kashmir
8 351 Patti Smith Gloria
9 380 Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
10 419 10 CC I'm Not in Love
11 425 Augustus Pablo King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
12 451 David Bowie Young Americans
13 489 Roxy Music Love Is the Drug
14 539 Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here
15 702 David Bowie Fame
16 737 Parliament Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)
17 793 Kiss Rock'n'roll All Nite
18 843 The Eagles One of These Nights
19 847 Donna Summer Love to Love You Baby
20 947 Fleetwood Mac Rhiannon
21 978 Shirley and Co. Shame Shame Shame
22 1027 KC and The Sunshine Band That's the Way (I Like It)
23 1043 Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes Wake Up Everybody
24 1096 David Bowie Golden Years
25 1125 Bob Dylan Hurricane
26 1129 ABBA S.O.S.
27 1180 Paul Simon 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
28 1274 Loretta Lynn The Pill
29 1339 The O'Jays I Love Music
30 1448 Willie Nelson Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
31 1530 Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes Bad Luck
32 1550 War Low Rider
33 1576 Elton John Philadelphia Freedom
34 1582 Aerosmith Sweet Emotion
35 1632 Television Little Johnny Jewel
36 1717 Pink Floyd Shine on You Crazy Diamond

Compare it to this gawdawful list we were assigned.
1. Love Will Keep Us Together, The Captain and Tennille
2. Rhinestone Cowboy, Glen Campbell
3. Philadelphia Freedom, Elton John
4. Before The Next Teardrop Falls, Freddy Fender
5. My Eyes Adored You, Frankie Valli
6. Shining Star, Earth, Wind and Fire
7. Fame, David Bowie
8. Laughter In The Rain, Neil Sedaka
9. One Of These Nights, Eagles
10. Thank God I'm A Country Boy, John Denver
11. Jive Talkin', Bee Gees
12. Best Of My Love, Eagles
13. Lovin' You, Minnie Riperton
14. Kung Fu Fighting, Carl Douglas
15. Black Water, Doobie Brothers
16. Ballroom Blitz, Sweet

17. (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song, B.J. Thomas
18. He Don't Love You (Like I Love You), Tony Orlando and Dawn
19. At Seventeen, Janis Ian
20. Pick Up The Pieces, Average White Band
21. The Hustle, Van McCoy and The Soul City Symphony
22. Lady Marmalade, Labelle
23. Why Can't We Be Friends?, War
24. Love Wont Let Me Wait, Major Harris
25. Boogie On Reggae Woman, Stevie Wonder
26. Wasted Days And Wasted Nights, Freddy Fender
27. Fight The Power, Pt. 1, Isley Brothers
28. Angie Baby, Helen Reddy
29. Jackie Blue, Ozark Mountain Daredevils
30. Fire, Ohio Players
31. Magic, Pilot
32. Please Mr. Postman, Carpenters
33. Sister Golden Hair, America
34. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Elton John
35. Mandy, Barry Manilow
36. Have You Never Been Mellow, Olivia Newton-John
37. Could It Be Magic, Barry Manilow
38. Cat's In The Cradle, Harry Chapin
39. Wildfire Michael Murphy

40. I'm Not Lisa, Jessi Colter
41. Listen To What The Man Said, Paul Mccartney and Wings
42. I'm Not In Love, 10cc
43. I Can Help, Billy Swan
44. Fallin' In Love, Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds
45. Feelings, Morris Albert
46. Chevy Van, Sammy Johns
47. When Will I Be Loved, Linda Ronstadt
48. You're The First, The Last, My Everthing, Barry White
49. Please Mr Please, Olivia Newton-John
50. You're No Good, Linda Ronstadt
51. Dynomite, Bazuka
52. Walking In Rhythm, Blackbyrds
53. The Way We Were / Try To Remember, Gladys Knight and The Pips
54. Midnight Blue, Melissa Manchester
55. Don't Call Us, We'll Call You, Sugarloaf
56. Poetry Man, Phoebe Snow
57. How Long, Ace
58. Express, B.T. Express
59. That's The Way Of The World, Earth, Wind and Fire
60. Lady, Styx
61. Bad Time, Grand Funk
62. Only Women Bleed, Alice Cooper
63. Doctor's Orders, Carol Douglas
64. Get Down Tonight, K.C. and The Sunshine Band
65. You Are So Beautiful / It's A Sin When You Love Somebody, Joe Cocker
66. One Man Woman-One Woman Man, Paul Anka and Odia Coates
67. Feel Like Makin' Love, Bad Company
68. How Sweet It Is, James Taylor
69. Dance With Me, Orleans
70. Cut The Cake, Average White Band
71. Never Can Say Goodbye, Gloria Gaynor
72. I Don't Like To Sleep Alone, Paul Anka
73. Morning Side Of The Mountain, Donny and Marie Osmond
74. Some Kind Of Wonderful, Grand Funk
75. When Will I See You Again, Three Degrees
76. Get Down, Get Down (Get On The Floor), Joe Simon
77. I'm Sorry / Calypso, John Denver
Killer Queen, Queen
79. Shoeshine Boy, Eddie Kendricks
80. Do It (Til You're Satisfied), B.T. Express
81. Can't Get It Out Of My Head, Electric Light Orchestra
82. Sha-La-La (Makes Me Happy), Al Green
83. Lonely People, America
84. You Got The Love, Rufus
85. The Rockford Files, Mike Post
86. It Only Takes A Minute, Tavares
87. No No Song / Snookeroo, Ringo Starr
88. Junior's Farm / Sally G, Paul McCartney and Wings
89. Bungle In The Jungle, Jethro Tull
90. Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance), Leo Sayer
91. Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Elton John
92. Misty, Ray Stevens
93. Bad Blood, Neil Sedaka
94. Only Yesterday, Carpenters
95. I'm On Fire, Dwight Twilley Band
96. Only You, Ringo Starr
97. Third Rate Romance, Amazing Rhythm Aces
98. You Aint Seen Nothin' Yet / Free Wheelin', Bachman-Turner Overdrive
99. Swearin' To God, Frankie Valli
100. Get Dancin', Disco Tex and The Sex-O-lettes

There's just no way that second list represents the music I listened to.

UPDATE (8/31): I'm glad I'm old. I could have had Foot's list. He's right. I left music radio in 1983 to finish the PhD and get on with my real life. I could not have left at a better time; there are very few good songs between 1982 and 1993.

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