My lifetime...in music

2014

London Grammar - Wasting My Young Years

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkeDBwsIaZw

the start reminds me of the theme to the TV series harrys Game

2013

Imagine Dragons - Radioactive

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thbsg9i2mZ0

a nice BIG sound like Coldplay on steroids

2012

Gotye featuring Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY

Best break-up song ever...possibly

2011

Adele - Someone Like You

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0

THE female vocalist of the 2010s - thankfully this is a minimalist song which allows Adele to just sing

2010

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

www.youtube.com/watch?v=98WtmW-lfeE

pop princess about to become the current pop queen

2009

Lily Allen - The Fear

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-wGMlSuX_c

I like the contradiction between the spacey nice pop and the cynical lyrics

2008

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemKqzILV4w

a real grower as I hated this song at first

2007

The Fray - How To Save A Life

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjVQ36NhbMk

sometimes the performance, lyrics music and video all combine to make a really moving experience and this is one of them

2006

Muse - Supermassive Black Hole

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6okwg6PiSis

when Radiohead disappeared into "art" along came Muse to steal their crown and one of the biggest modern rock acts

2005

The Chemical Brothers - Galvanaize

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b9ci_z4v7M

somewhere a mating of dance, rock and eastern music spawned this song

2004

The Rasmus - In The Shadows

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MzCMa2wcuo

pop meets goth and ends up pretty good

2003

Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules -Mad World

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvPkLG-tvzM

for what good it did, this became a sort of anti-war anthem

2002

Db-Boulevard - Point-View

www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2eFF-AIvo8

one of those rare happy songs

2001

SAMANTHA MUMBA - Always Come Back To Your Love

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzFFfV33zkQ

sounds both old and modern at the same time

2000

William Orbit - Barber's adagio for strings

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNcdVuPVXR0

nice

1999

TLC - Unpretty

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfN3B67WL10

Apart from the laughable irony this is a great song

1998

Billie Myers - Kiss The Rain

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq-r4ZUpels

wow what a one hit wonder

1997

The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyu1KKwC74

"you're slave to money then you die..." a perfect summary of modern life

1996

Underworld - Born Slippy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiMrrleH_hI

The soundtrack really is the only good thing about Trainspotting

1995

U2 - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfcQ13iQzn8

This has a kind of T Rex vibe

1994

Stiltskin - Inside

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuTVKO0RScI

Possibly the heaviest number 1 ever

1993

Spin Doctors - Two Princes

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsdy_rct6uo

1992

Sophie B. Hawkins - Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt6r-k9Bk6o

a few hits then she disappeared...shame

1991

Divinyls - I Touch Myself

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-34w8kGPM

LOL

1990

Adamski - Killer

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XBcT41ImSI

The final proof that you dont need to play a traditionl instrument to make good music

1989

Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

a shopping list song with political context

1988

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTIB10eQnA0

the futility of everyday life

1987

Kiss - Crazy Crazy Nights

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6gaS9wrtM4

its totally dumb and kind of stupid...so therefore one of the best rock songs ever

1986

Debbie Harry - French Kissing In The USA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT3-Ol3iaMU

the 80s real pop queen...forget about Madonna

1985

Prince - Little Red Corvette

www.metacafe.com/watch/5750283/prince_little_red_corvette/

Prince on the verge of superstardom

1984

Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel - White Lines (Don't Do It)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ChjLMbXVrU

"vision dreams of passion"

1983

Tom Robinson - War Baby

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArGNB5M3Kg4

Just cool

1982

The Stranglers - Golden Brown

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7R7q1lSZfs

This just proved that the group had far more musicality and longevity than main rivals The Sex Pistols

1981

Ultravox - Vienna

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U-NHTW2-Ps

Of course this was soo famous at the time for being kept off the number 1 spot by Joe Dolce Shaddup Ya Face...kind of sums up the pop industry

1980

Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZmlUV8muY

ART rock

1979

Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwuy4hHO3YQ&feature=kp

1979??? - sounds far more recent

1978

Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSIw09oqsYo

Man that sax solo...plus I can now relate to the lyrics

1977

Julie Covington - Don't Cry For Me Argentina

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR9HmEfNU2I

I just love the way its both fragile and powerful

1976

Abba - Dancing Queen

www.youtube.com/watch?v=72oh_6vp5bU

almost celestial pop

1975

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

prog rock for the masses

1974

Terry Jacks - Seasons In The Sun

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd_Fdly3rX8

And I thought Eleanor Rigby was sad until I heard this

1973

Carly Simon - You're So Vain

www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6UAYGxiRwU

I like that this song is quite bitter

1972

Don McLean - American Pie

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAsV5-Hv-7U

probably my first exposure to a complex song

1971

T Rex - Jeepster

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3PznrYmWzc

this basically defined glam rock of the 70s

1970

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZyVZFJGX5g

This chugs along beautifully and rocks LAMF

1969

David Bowie - Space Oddity

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D67kmFzSh_o

Bowie trod the very thin line between gimmick/novelty records and...art - luckily this one fell on the right side

1968

Richard Harris - MacArthur Park

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRwYQgk05DY

A really cryptic epic song with wonderfully obtuse lyrics and a good delivery by Harris

1967

Procol Harum - Whiter Shade Of Pale

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb3iPP-tHdA

I think this upped the ante in terms of what pop music could actually be

1966

Beatles - Eleanor Rigby

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LOgMWbDGPA

One of the saddest songs ever written

1965


Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8hjtFq3vE0

Sort of proof that Phil Spector was close to God-like