I got the music in me...

OK, I know I just did a meme, but I found this one at Mrs. X's blog, The Young & the Infertile, and thought it was so cool. Give it a try & let me know if you did -- I would love to see your lists!

Here's what you do:

A.) Go to musicoutfitters.com

B.) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function box at the top of the page. The first thing on the list should be a link to the list of the 100 most popular songs of that year.

C.) Cut & paste the list into your blog. Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you REALLY hate.

Please tell me there's someone out there who graduated before I did. ; ) I graduated in 1979 (yes, I know, I am TOTALLY dating myself here -- I am actually older than Barack Obama, although not by much...!).

Looking over the song list brought back a LOT of memories. A few observations:

• Really, not a great year musically (!) -- I can see that disco was still huge (& yes, I will admit I loved disco -- remind me to tell you sometime about trying to sneak in to see "Saturday Night Fever" when I was still underage...) -- but from what I remember, the edgier, punk/new wave influence was starting to be felt, not to mention classic rock still ruled in some quarters. I remember loving The Cars' first & second albums around that time, as well as Elvis Costello's first, "My Aim is True," but perhaps that was 1978 or 1980??
• My musical tastes are all over the board. There's not a whole lot of music I really can't stand (I've even learned to like country), although a lot of the rap/hiphop cr@p that passes for music these days can drive me nuts pretty quickly, and I've never been very big on opera.
• Not too many songs here that I don't remember hearing -- most of them are pretty familiar.
• Not a lot of songs that I really love or really hate. There were some that I liked or loved at the time that I've gotten tired of, or don't really think about much anymore. Some of them are almost like wallpaper, if you know what I mean. (I can't remember the last wedding I was at where "YMCA" WASN'T played.) You've heard them so many times, you don't really pay much attention when they come on the radio anymore. But you still sometimes find yourself singing along anyway.

Anyway -- here's my list -- with comments added on some.

1. My Sharona, The Knack -- loved it then, still love it now. It was a such a refreshing blast of power pop, after a decade of mostly easy listening, California rock & then disco. Plus, I am a sucker for anything with a catchy guitar hook & harmonies!

2. Bad Girls, Donna Summer
3. Le Freak, Chic

4. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy, Rod Stewart -- didn't like it then, makes me want to gag now. Especially the video, with Rod in leopard skin tights!!

5. Reunited, Peaches and Herb yawn...

6. I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor -- probably my favourite disco song. It's gotten to be totally ubiquitous, but great message!

7. Hot Stuff, Donna Summer -- whenever I hear this now, I see the guys in "The Full Monty," standing in line for their unemployment cheques, lol.

8. Y.M.C.A., Village People -- I can't say I absolutely HATE it, but the thrill is totally gone, lol.

9. Ring My Bell, Anita Ward
10. Sad Eyes, Robert John -- used to dance to this one at our high school dances.
11. Too Much Heaven, Bee Gees I love a lot of BeeGees songs, but this is not one of them...

12. MacArthur Park, Donna Summer
13. When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman, Dr. Hook
14. Makin' It, David Naughton

15. Fire, Pointer Sisters -- I got totally sick of this one. Love Bruce's version, though.

16. Tragedy, Bee Gees
17. A Little More Love, Olivia Newton-John

18. Heart Of Glass, Blondie -- it's gotten kind of like wallpaper over the years, but it was pretty cool when it came out. I still have the album.

19. What A Fool Believes, Doobie Brothers -- yawn...

20. Good Times, Chic -- I'd probably take "Le Freak" over this one...

21. You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond
22. Knock On Wood, Amii Stewart

23. Stumblin' In, Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman -- got a little sick of this one too, but their raspy voices were a great match. Whatever happened to Suzi Quatro?? (aka "Leather Tuscadero," lol)

24. Lead Me On, Maxine Nightingale
25. Shake Your Body, Jacksons

26. Don't Cry Out Loud, Melissa Manchester -- not one I loved, but I heard it recently as we were driving to the cemetery, & I almost started bawling over the lyrics: "Don't cry out loud... just keep it inside and learn how to hide your feelings... Fly high and proud, And if you should fall, remember you almost had it all." A little too close to home...

27. The Logical Song, Supertramp -- another one that's gotten to be like wallpaper, but I loved Supertramp, & I loved this album. It was HUGE just as I was graduating in May/June 1979.

28. My Life, Billy Joel -- not one of my favourite songs of his, but I was & still am a fan.

29. Just When I Needed You Most, Randy Vanwarmer
30. You Can't Change That, Raydio
31. Shake Your Groove Thing, Peaches and Herb
32. I'll Never Love This Way Again, Dionne Warwick
33. Love You Inside Out, Bee Gees

34. I Want You To Want Me, Cheap Trick -- loved the guitars in this. I had several of their albums & saw them several times in concert. Always a lot of fun.

35. The Main Event (Fight), Barbra Streisand
36. Mama Can't Buy You Love, Elton John
37. I Was Made For Dancin', Leif Garrett
38. After The Love Has Gone, Earth, Wind and Fire
39. Heaven Knows, Donna Summer and Brooklyn Dreams
40. The Gambler, Kenny Rogers
41. Lotta Love, Nicolette Larson
42. Lady, Little River Band
43. Heaven Must Have Sent You, Bonnie Pointer

44. Hold The Line, Toto -- another one that's almost too familiar, but this was a huge album at the time (& yes, I have it in my collection)

45. He's The Greatest Dancer, Sister Sledge
46. Sharing The Night Together, Dr. Hook
47. She Believes In Me, Kenny Rogers
48. In The Navy, Village People

49. Music Box Dancer, Frank Mills -- way, way, way overplayed! Plus my mother liked him & used to play a tape of his over & over &...

50. The Devil Went Down To Georgia, Charlie Daniels Band
51. Gold, John Stewart
52. Goodnight Tonight, Wings

53. We Are Family, Sister Sledge -- another one that's become like wallpaper over the years, but still kinda catchy, & I always liked the sisterhood thing. : )

54. Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy, Bad Company
55. Every 1's A Winner, Hot Chocolate
56. Take Me Home, Cher
57. Boogie Wonderland, Earth, Wind and Fire

58. (Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away, Andy Gibb -- ah, Andy! This is not one of my favourite songs of his, but my friends & I were huge fans. One of my girlfriends went to a concert he played (he was the opening act for, get this, Neil Sedaka!!) & then chased him down at his hotel. I still have a photo of her with him beside the pool. What a tragic waste of talent. :(

59. What You Won't Do For Love, Bobby Caldwell
60. New York Groove, Ace Frehley

61. Sultans Of Swing, Dire Straits -- love the guitars in this. I'm told that stereo salespeople used to play this song when demonstrating the sound on their stereos, because it just sounded so damned good.

62. I Want Your Love, Chic
63. Chuck E's In Love, Rickie Lee Jones
64. I Love The Night Life, Alicia Bridges
65. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now, McFadden and Whitehead
66. Lonesome Loser, Little River Band

67. Renegade, Styx -- not a favourite Styx song, but I always loved their harmonies. Dh & I stayed up late one night a couple of years ago watching a Styx reunion concert on PBS. I was amazed that I could still sing along with all the songs.

68. Love Is The Answer, England Dan and John Ford Coley
69. Got To Be Real, Cheryl Lynn

70. Born To Be Alive, Patrick Hernandez -- one I got thoroughly sick of

71. Shine A Little Love, Electric Light Orchestra
72. I Just Fall In Love Again, Anne Murray
73. Shake It, Ian Matthews
74. I Was Made For Lovin' You, Kiss

75. I Just Wanna Stop, Gino Vannelli -- another one that's been overplayed (especially here in Canada), but I do love how he sings that opening line: "When I think about those nights in Montreal..."

76. Disco Nights, G.Q.

77. Ooh Baby Baby, Linda Ronstadt -- there are other songs of hers I like better, but this does show off her voice nicely. I always loved Linda Ronstadt, in all of her incarnations (country, rock, standards, Mexican folk songs). At university, I sometimes used to put one of her albums on before I went to bed, & lay listening to it in the dark.

78. September, Earth, Wind and Fire
79. Time Passages, Al Stewart
80. Rise, Herb Alpert
81. Don't Bring Me Down, Electric Light Orchestra
82. Promises, Eric Clapton
83. Get Used To It, Roger Voudouris
84. How Much I Feel, Ambrosia
85. Suspicions, Eddie Rabbitt

86. You Take My Breath Away, Rex Smith -- my sister had this album, & we loved the TV movie he was in, although I forget its name now (anyone??) -- he was the older guitar teacher, with a teenaged pupil who had a crush on him & tried to pass as older than she was. I remember slow dancing with a guy I really liked to this song in first year university. It all seemed incredibly romantic.

87. How You Gonna See Me Now, Alice Cooper
88. Double Vision, Foreigner
89. Every Time I Think Of You, Babys
90. I Got My Mind Made Up, Instant Funk

91. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Michael Jackson -- I remember seeing Robin Cousins skating to this in an exhibition after the 1980 Olympics. Skating was still pretty stodgy back then & I don't think I'd ever seen anyone skate to anything so contemporary. I was wowed. This was Michael Jackson at his best, I think.

92. Bad Case Of Lovin' You, Robert Palmer
93. Somewhere In The Night, Barry Manilow
94. We've Got Tonite, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band

95. Dance The Night Away, Van Halen -- again, love the guitars & harmonies. I saw Van Halen in the early 1980s when I was in university. Eddie was a sight to behold back then. Oh yeah, & he played pretty good guitar too. ; )

96. Dancing Shoes, Nigel Olsson
97. The Boss, Diana Ross
98. Sail On, Commodores
99. I Do Love You, G.Q.
100. Strange Way, Firefall