Thursday, November 19, 2015

From the archives: Mixtape of my life

I saw Kimmi's post about a mixtape of her life.  I love a good music post.  I love to steal borrow posts.  Kimmi got the idea from someone else's post, who got the idea from someone else.  You know, that's how this blog game works.  This time, I'm  not really stealing.  I'm reaching into the archives of posts that no one ever read because no one was following me.  And, my post is different more complicated but still fun.

Originally posted 30th of May 2013:  I'm turning 40 in nineteen days.  Yikes.  I'm having a lot of thoughts, a lot of emotions, and a lot nostalgia surrounding this birthday.  So, I've created a list...I'm calling it the "Mixtape of My Life".

I had to make some rules for myself in order to create such a list.  I used Billboard's Top 100 Singles for each year.  On Billboard's actual website, they call it the "Hot 100" (I think), and they only have about ten years listed.  According to other websites, they've been keeping such a list since the '50's, so I used other websites too (mostly, wikipedia...sad, I know).  I'm not quite sure how the "Top 100" or "Hot 100" was created throughout the years (I'm sure I could have done some more research to find out, but I didn't), but it seems to be the industry standard to look to Billboard's list for the popularity of music singles.  I haven't always been one who was a fan of only the "popular" stuff (such as the songs that are going to be on Billboard's Hot 100), so there's several artists/bands that are not respresented.  The "Mixtape" is definitely an imperfect reflection of "My Life".  Anyways........ Here's how I came up with the list..........

I looked at the "Top 100" list for each year of my life: 1973 to 2012 (obviously, 2013 year end charts aren't listed yet).  My initial rule was that I'd select TWO songs from EACH year, then add in 20 others from whatever years I wanted in order to create my own "Top 100" songs of my life.  That was my initial rule, but I changed it because there were actually a couple of years when music was crap, and I couldn't even choose two songs out of a hundred for this fun little experiment of mine (hello, 1997 & 1998).** Another rule I made for myself was no band/artist could have two songs in the same year.  Lastly, I told myself if the song is not in my current music library, or if I couldn't remember owning the song prior, then it didn't make the cut.  For each of these, I can remember the LP or 45 or cassette or CD or digital download (a select few weren't "mine", but my mom's, dad's, or brother's).

  1. 1973 - (4) - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
  2. 1973 - (17) - Drift Away - Dobie Gray
  3. 1974 - (40) -  The Joker - Steve Miller Band
  4. 1974 - (78) - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me - Elton John
  5. 1975 - (1) - Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain and Tenille
  6. 1975 - (33) - Sister Golden Hair - America
  7. 1976 - (18) - Bohemain Rhapsody - Queen
  8. 1976 - (51) - Dream On - Aerosmith
  9. 1977 - (68) - Cold As Ice - Foreigner
  10. 1977 - (78) - Give a Little Bit - Supertramp
  11. 1978 - (13) - You're the One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta
  12. 1978 - (22) - Hot Child in the City - Nick Gilder
  13. 1978 - (30) - Two Out of Three Ain't Bad - Meatloaf
  14. 1979 - (67) - Renegade - Styx
  15. 1979 - (74) - I Was Made For Lovin' You - KISS
  16. 1979 - (95) - Dance the Night Away - Van Halen
  17. 1980 - (4) - Rock With You - Michael Jackson
  18. 1980 - (55) - All Out of Love - Air Supply
  19. 1980 - (62) - I Can't Tell You Why - The Eagles
  20. 1981 - (5) - Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
  21. 1981 - (7) - Kiss On My List - Hall and Oates
  22. 1981 - (10) - Keep On Lovin' You - REO Speedwagon
  23. 1981 - (88) - Smoky Mountain Rain - Ronnie Milsap
  24. 1982 - (22) - Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson
  25. 1982 - (48) - Young Turks - Rod Stewart
  26. 1982 - (73) - Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
  27. 1982 - (90) - Hot in the City - Billy Idol
  28. 1982 - (96) - Workin' for the Weekend - Loverboy
  29. 1983 - (7) - Maneater - Hall and Oates
  30. 1983 - (17) - Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
  31. 1983 - (81) - Faithfully - Journey
  32. 1983 - (90) - Photograph - Def Leppard
  33. 1984 - (1) - When Doves Cry - Prince
  34. 1984 - (4) - Footloose - Kenny Loggins
  35. 1984 - (57) - Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benetar
  36. 1984 - (68) - Cum On Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot
  37. 1984 - (99) - Rock Me Tonite - Billy Squier
  38. 1985 - (1) - Careless Whisper - Wham
  39. 1985 - (26) - Cool It Now - New Edition
  40. 1985 - (44) - Never Surrender - Corey Hart
  41. 1986 - (30) - You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi
  42. 1986 - (62) - Your Love - The Outfield
  43. 1987 - (7) - Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
  44. 1987 - (10) - Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
  45. 1987 - (15) - With or Without You - U2
  46. 1988 - (5) - Sweet Child of Mine - Guns N' Roses
  47. 1988 - (11) - One More Try - George Michael
  48. 1988 - (19) - Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
  49. 1988 - (21) - Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson
  50. 1988 - (41) - Bad Medicine - Bon Jovi
  51. 1988 - (95) - Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
  52. 1989 - (3) - Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison
  53. 1989 - (15) - Heaven - Warrant
  54. 1989 - (68) - Lovesong - The Cure
  55. 1989 - (86) - Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
  56. 1990 - (55) - U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
  57. 1990 - (67) - Love Song - Tesla
  58. 1990 - (72) - I Remember You - Skid Row
  59. 1990 - (91) - What It Takes - Aerosmith
  60. 1990 - (96) - Without You - Motley Crue
  61. 1991 - (78) - Something to Believe In - Poison
  62. 1991 - (82) - Silent Lucidity - Queensryche
  63. 1992 - (2) - Baby Got Back - Sir Mix A Lot
  64. 1992 - (17) - November Rain - Guns N' Roses
  65. 1993 - (50) - What's Up - 4 Non Blondes
  66. 1993 - (60) - Cryin' - Aerosmith
  67. 1994 - (91) - Always - Bon Jovi
  68. 1995 - (5) - On Bended Knee - Boys to Men
  69. 1995 - (70) - This Ain't a Love Song - Bon Jovi
  70. 1996 - (29) - You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette
  71. 1996 - (41) - The World I Know - Collective Soul
  72. 1996 - (56) - Wonderwall - Oasis
  73. 1996 - (68) - Just A Girl - No Doubt
  74. 1997 - (25) - Hypnotize - The Notorious B.I.G.**
  75. 1997 - (36) - All for You - Sister Hazel**
  76. 1998 - (14) - Gettin' Jiggy wit It - Will Smith**
  77. 1998 - (79) - Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve**
  78. 1999 - (10) - Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
  79. 1999 - (13) - Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
  80. 2000 - (9) - Bent - Matchbox Twenty
  81. 2001 - (9) - Again - Lenny Kravitz
  82. 2001 - (100) - Hemorrhage (In My Hands) - Fuel
  83. 2002 - (26) - Wasting My Time - Default
  84. 2003 - (4) - Crazy in Love - Beyonce with Jay Z
  85. 2003 - (28) - Lose Yourself - Eminem
  86. 2004 - (8) - Hey Ya! - Outkast
  87. 2004 - (19) - My Immortal - Evanescence
  88. 2005 - (4) - Since You Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
  89. 2005 - (16) - Mr. Brightside - The Killers
  90. 2005 - (36) - Scars - Papa Roach
  91. 2005 - (68) - Best of You - Foo Fighters
  92. 2006 - (29) - Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
  93. 2007 - (59) - Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
  94. 2007 - (69) - Who Knew - P!nk
  95. 2008 - (33) - Stop and Stare - OneRepublic
  96. 2008 - (44) - Sorry - Buckcherry
  97. 2009 - (26) - Second Chance - Shinedown
  98. 2009 - (45) - So What - P!nk
  99. 2010 - (45) - Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert
  100. 2010 - (87) - Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
  101. 2011 - (24) - Someone Like You - Adele
  102. 2012 - (1) - Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye with Kimbra
  103. 2012 - (15) - Wide Awake - Katy Perry
  104. 2012 - (22) - Everybody Talks - Neon Trees
  105. 2013 - (25) - Sail - AWOL Nation - added since original post
  106. 2013 - (100) - Still Into You - Paramore - added since original post
  107. 2014 - (19) - Let Her Go - Passenger - added since original post
  108. 2014 - (23) - Demons - Imagine Dragons - added since original post
**Due to peer pressure from Megan and Jana, I looked again at 1997 and 1998. 
 
Any of these 108 songs strike a chord with you??
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16 comments:

  1. Amanda - Voyage of the MeeMeeNovember 20, 2015 at 12:51 AM

    There are some seriously solid songs on here!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Teh MeganNovember 20, 2015 at 1:41 AM

    This is dedication at it's finest...
    Although I question your love of La Vida Loca, ugh that song was sooooo overplayed.
    And NOTHING from 97/98? REALLY? Soo many songs I would have picked from those lists.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rebecca JoNovember 20, 2015 at 3:57 AM

    This is right up my ally - I was born in 71 so I am right with you on these songs ... especially the 80's - I'm singing them all right now.
    Ahh - the days when George Michaels was so hot :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jana @ Jana SaysNovember 20, 2015 at 4:10 AM

    I love this whole entire playlist and sang my way through all of it. Well, most, since there are some I don't know. And I have to agree with Megan; there were some seriously good songs from 97/98. Unless you didn't pick any because there were too many good songs which makes sense.

    Fun fact: a Default song is on my picks for our joint playlist. I'm sending that over today, btw. #slow #lastminute

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kerry @ Till Then Smile OftenNovember 20, 2015 at 4:43 AM

    Totally started singing "I'm All Out of Love" in my head. Air Supply was one of my Dad's favorites!

    ReplyDelete
  6. NadineNovember 20, 2015 at 6:29 AM

    Sail is seriously one of my favorite songs ever. You have so many great songs on this list!!!! I think I did a post like this when all that was going around too. I will have to go back and try to find it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kelli @KellibeansNovember 20, 2015 at 8:12 AM

    I've listened to most of these songs, some I still love today but some I turn off as soon as I hear them.

    Anything Boys II Men annoys me these days for some reason.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousNovember 20, 2015 at 9:30 AM

    Oh so, so, SO many good songs. "Hot Child in the City" is one of my anytime feel-good songs. Awesome list!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ashley LillisNovember 20, 2015 at 11:03 AM

    What a fun idea! I love all of your 80s hair band songs and that Let's Get It On was the song for your birth year! Too funny!

    ReplyDelete
  10. KristenNovember 20, 2015 at 11:38 AM

    I did something like this years ago when I was still keeping a LiveJournal. I'll have to see if I can find it sometime. I don't think I made it the soundtrack for my entire life (maybe just a "life lately" soundtrack), but I can't remember for sure.

    I like that you made a bunch of specific rules for the list. Totally something I would do. :-)

    As for songs I especially love from this list: "You Oughta Know," "Wonderwall," "Bitter Sweet Symphony," "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)," and "Someone Like You." I like several of the others, but I REALLY like these.

    Also, random fact about me: "The World I Know" gives me chills every time I hear it (and not necessarily in a good way). It honestly kind of gets under my skin. It's actually a really good song, but I struggle with listening to it and often burst into tears or just feel really unsettled if I hear it. (And now I probably sound like a crazy person, but I just had to share that since it's not a song people mention often these days!)

    ReplyDelete
  11. SMD @ lifeaccordingtostephNovember 21, 2015 at 2:27 AM

    I should do this. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. lil desiquaNovember 21, 2015 at 2:37 AM

    Wow, you did some major research for this post! Wham! Pat Benetar! Evanescence! So many good songs that I totally forgot about. And I'm glad they persuaded you to add 97/98. I think the 90's were my favorite decade because it was my angsty and confusing teen years.

    ReplyDelete
  13. MarieNovember 21, 2015 at 4:10 AM

    I love this.I love Pat Benatar!! Love love New Edition and I still listen to them. Girl, you look amazing. I would have never guessed that you are almost 40. What is your secret?

    ReplyDelete
  14. jennNovember 22, 2015 at 7:37 AM

    okay. i know it's a concern of yours that not that many people (were) follow(ers of) this blog of yours. erin gray, you've gotten thirteen, now fourteen comments on this one post. i've gotten thirteen comments in five weeks' worth of posts. numbers of followers mean squat. that you get such great feedback is the glory here, my dear. focus on that.

    also, i'm totally doing this post today.

    ReplyDelete
  15. CNovember 23, 2015 at 7:29 AM

    Such a great post! I love just about all of these songs. I'm going to listen to Stop and Stare right now because I forgot all about it and loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  16. KatrinNovember 25, 2015 at 12:29 AM

    That is such a fun idea! Love it! Oasis would clearly be on my list as well!

    ReplyDelete

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