Thursday, May 30, 2013

List # 7 - Mixtape of My Life (so far)

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).

So...without further ado...here's the "Mixtape of My Life":  I make no apologies for some of my choices.  I realize music critics and fans alike might consider some of my selections as "crap" too.  So be it.  This is my list.  Yes, there's a lot of Bon Jovi and power ballads.  Again, this is my list.  Songs are listed by year, rank from Billboard's Top 100 for that year, song title, and artist.  Enjoy :)

  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. 1999 - (10) - Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
  75. 1999 - (13) - Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
  76. 2000 - (9) - Bent - Matchbox Twenty
  77. 2001 - (9) - Again - Lenny Kravitz
  78. 2001 - (100) - Hemorrhage (In My Hands) - Fuel
  79. 2002 - (26) - Wasting My Time - Default
  80. 2003 - (4) - Crazy in Love - Beyonce with Jay Z
  81. 2003 - (28) - Lose Yourself - Eminem
  82. 2004 - (8) - Hey Ya! - Outkast
  83. 2004 - (19) - My Immortal - Evanescence
  84. 2005 - (4) - Since You Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
  85. 2005 - (16) - Mr. Brightside - The Killers
  86. 2005 - (36) - Scars - Papa Roach
  87. 2005 - (68) - Best of You - Foo Fighters
  88. 2006 - (29) - Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
  89. 2007 - (59) - Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
  90. 2007 - (69) - Who Knew - P!nk
  91. 2008 - (33) - Stop and Stare - OneRepublic
  92. 2008 - (44) - Sorry - Buckcherry
  93. 2009 - (26) - Second Chance - Shinedown
  94. 2009 - (45) - So What - P!nk
  95. 2010 - (45) - Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert
  96. 2010 - (87) - Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
  97. 2011 - (24) - Someone Like You - Adele
  98. 2012 - (1) - Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye with Kimbra
  99. 2012 - (15) - Wide Awake - Katy Perry
  100. 2012 - (22) - Everybody Talks - Neon Trees



Thursday, May 9, 2013

Book # 15


Book # 15 -  I put this book on my "to read" list because of a friend's recommendation (see her post about the book here; she's a much better writer than me, and her post is the reason I wanted to read the book).  I was thrilled when I found it here in Australia marked down from $29.99 to $2.  Yep, $2!  

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh surpassed my expectations.  I loved it.  I recommend it. 

Prior to reading it, I've had a connection with flower meanings.  I've been planning a tattoo for years depicting various flowers based on their meaning.  I haven't got that tattoo...yet... 

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Books #11 #12 #13 #14


I've read some more books.  I forgot to post them.  Here they are............


Book # 11 - Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L.James - ridiculous nonsense.  I did not find myself caring at all what happened to these characters.  I had such a lack of interest, I stopped reading when I only had about 50 pages more.  I just couldn't commit myself or my time anymore to this book.  The only positive I have is this - apparently, it got a lot of people reading, and I support anything that gets people to pick up a book (or an ereader). 


Book # 12 - after the disappointment of the previous book, I decided to grab one from my "to read" pile that I was pretty sure what I was in store for.  At this point, John Grisham isn't offering anything innovative,  but his stories are still decent reads for me.  The Racketeer was just alright for me.  It was quick, easy, with a decent number of twists and turns. 


Book # 13 - Wow.  This book took me on an disturbing and emotional journey.  I'd read The Kite Runner, so I know what kind of storytelling Khaled Hosseini is capable of.  Each character in A Thousand Splendid Suns pulled at an emotion, mostly not-so-positive emotions such as sadness, loss, despair, and disgust.  But some characters have such dignity, courage, and small glimmers of hope.  For historical fiction fans or fans of strong female characters, this is a good one.


Book # 13 - This book has been in my "to read" pile for a while.  I knew I'd probably need to be emotionally ready to read it.  A good friend reminded me of it, so I thought I'd tackle it, since I made it through the emotional journey of the previous book.  I haven't seen the movie, and I'm interested.  The book is different.  The main character is different.  I like different sometimes, and this is one of those times.  My heart just aches for Oskar in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.  I've never experienced a loss like Oskar's, but I have experienced emotional and mental turmoil.  I could feel his turmoil.  I thought how the stories of Oskar, past and present, and his grandparents' stories, past and present intertwined was really, really compelling.  I can see how this book wouldn't be one that just any reader would enjoy, but I thought it was brilliant.