My "loved tracks" are basically a desert island/ultimate ipod type of list.

I can't find the old post I made about this, so I'll just redescribe what it is and what I'm doing...

ChuckyG's Desert Island Songs

I'm picking through my 250,000+ mp3 collection and marking out my favorite songs using LastFM and some custom scripts I've written. 

I have now skimmed over the Billboard Hot 100 for every year from 1952 to 2009 with the exception of 1980-1988, leaving the eighties for last. I finished the nineties up last week.  I'm also skimming over the aor and modern rock charts for the 80s, and the greatest hits collections for about 800 groups.

I'm estimating about 5500-6000 tracks total by the time I've finished reviewing the eighties.  I'm up to 4300+ or so right now.

The only requirement is that it has to be a song I like, and don't mind hearing still.  There's a couple songs I just can't stand to hear anymore (whether they were good or not) so they don't make the cut.  A couple performers I dislike are probably also pretty underrepresented.  So it's not a "best of" list, where I try and narrow down my favorites to a dozen tracks.  It's more like trying to program the ultimate radio station.

My biggest challenge are the tracks that were popular, but didn't make it in the Hot 100 in the US (only the Airplay 100).  Some are by groups I like, such as Green Day, but others like the Cardigans are too easy for me to overlook.  I also don't have the aor and modern rock charts for the 90s, which I'm sure would turn up a lot more stuff I like.

I'm going to post YouTube links in the thread to the stuff I think people will remember but don't recognize by name.

Alive and Kicking, "Tighter, Tighter"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyU4C06jcGY

Bad English "Forget Me Not"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbg4IvyDvSw

Everyone always thinks of "When I See You Smile" which is kind of a sappy song (which didn't even make the cut in my opinion).  I always knew I liked a couple Bad English songs, but could never remember what they were until I began running through their chart entries.

The Beau Brummels - Laugh Laugh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah_9-4uIDsU

If you have a really good memory, you might remember this from the Uncle Buck movie.  A "pretend" British invasion track.  According to the YouTube comments it was even featured on the Flintstones!

Black Box - Ride On Time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Tt8GjLwMg

Forgotten late 80s classic dance track.  Great song despite all the legal wranglings surrounding it.

Black Box - Ride On Time

Forgotten late 80s classic dance track.  Great song despite all the legal wranglings surrounding it.


Not 'forgotten' in Britain, where it was one of the biggest hits of 1989!

The legal wranglings meant that the original version had to be replaced with a 'new' vocal track, which was supplied by Heather Small of M People fame...

Alive and Kicking, "Tighter, Tighter"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyU4C06jcGY



What a great group and a good song.  :)

Supernova, "Chewbacca"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOVjPZZISDg

Straight from the Clerks soundtrack.  I can't even find a decent picture of the group from that time period (early 90s) for the site.

Boris Grebenshikov "Radio Silence"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZcGlRMXW68

great forgotten track... I doubt anyone remembers this one. 

Man,I'm confused how do you post a video here?  ???

Man,I'm confused how do you post a video here?  ???


Read this.

Everyone always thinks of "When I See You Smile" which is kind of a sappy song (which didn't even make the cut in my opinion).  I always knew I liked a couple Bad English songs, but could never remember what they were until I began running through their chart entries.


Not everyone... Their biggest hit (by far) in Holland was "Time Stood Still". For those that don't remember:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVhEPFEHRVI

Read this.


Ok Now I get it,Thank You. :)

Not everyone... Their biggest hit (by far) in Holland was "Time Stood Still". For those that don't remember:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVhEPFEHRVI


Whenever I think Bad English, the first thing that comes to mind isn't even a Bad English song, but 'Missing You' by John Waite LOL

Wow, that is really cool, Chucky!  I see several of my favorites on your list (and also some of my least favorites)!  I wish I had the patience to do something like that!!

Wow, that is really cool, Chucky!  I see several of my favorites on your list (and also some of my least favorites)!  I wish I had the patience to do something like that!!


thanks... I'm starting to run out of patience at this point, which is probably why I left the 80s for last.  I knew I'd want to do those as opposed to some of the other decades (the one we're in currently for example).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdEmojBlL6I

YES YES YES It worked,Thanks Tam.  :)

A one hit wonder NORTHEND and their song "HAPPY DAYS" 1981

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYgsvBg_b2o


RAYMOND HARRIS "UNDER YOUR SPELL" 1983

YES YES YES It worked,Thanks Tam.  :)




I think you should be thanking Chucky. ;)

I think you should be thanking Chucky. ;)


I thought Tam was involved too? ???

Jerry Harrison - Rev It Up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc-poATAr8c

this is a live version.  Jerry was the keyboardist for the Talking Heads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Olf7YLsiZs


Jeffrery Osbourne "I REALLY DON'T NEED NO LIGHT" (1982)

Bunburys - Fight The Good Fight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgRHwnFWvuA

The Bee Gees with Eric Clapton.  Performers I don't like individually that much, I like them teamed up.

Like Barry Gibb with Barbara Streisand... like neither individually, but I do when they were together

David & David - Welcome to the Boomtown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eysGQuTm6s

Kevin Paige - Don't Shut Me Out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuWE26Qwqdg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-txlmAmlvk


Rock Your World, Weeks And Company (1981)

ENJOY!  :)

Face to Face - 10-9-8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmp9kxNZwN8

Lots of stuff I've never heard before/that didn't make it to mainland Europe.

This one, for example:


Kevin Paige - Don't Shut Me Out



Reminds me of Jermaine Stewart, and Terence Trent d'Arby's "Dance Little Sister".

My "loved tracks" are basically a desert island/ultimate ipod type of list.

I can't find the old post I made about this, so I'll just redescribe what it is and what I'm doing...

ChuckyG's Desert Island Songs



I just had a quick peek at your list, but long enough to see lots of stuff I like.. Especially pleased to see Diesel make the cut. And funny how there's only one Madonna song.

I just had a quick peek at your list, but long enough to see lots of stuff I like.. Especially pleased to see Diesel make the cut. And funny how there's only one Madonna song.


that's not funny... that's by design... not a fan.... there's a few performers with dozens of hits that don't appear on the list for more than one or two songs.  Madonna, Prince, the Bee Gees and ABBA come to mind most.

I've got four years of the 80s to still review. I'm still finding stuff I totally forgot about.

DONE!

Finished listening/sampling the 40,000 or so songs that make up the Hot 100 from 1952 to 2009 and the album oriented rock charts from the 80s as well. I still need to make a quick pass through my albums and my 80s compilations. 

For the most part I can safely say I like the music from 1964 to about 1989.  Before and after is pretty much a non-sell for me.  Hip hop really took off in 1989 (curse you Vanilla Ice) and before the Beatles arrived, rock music was basically Elvis, Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Sam Cooke for me.

So the list is nearly complete.  I assume there's some New Wave stuff still missing (most of the good New Wave stuff didn't chart), as well as some 90s alternative stuff that's probably missing because the Hot 100 charts only tracked songs released as singles which were pretty much dead by 1992.

Really Done!

I’m through with my personal CD album collections, all my 80s compilations, going to poke around some others (mostly the CMJ New Music Monthly series) to find anything I might have missed.  Ended up with about 6250 songs, the groups with the most tracks follow:

•  Aerosmith - 54 songs
•  Duran Duran - 45 songs
•  Led Zeppelin - 42 songs
•  Rolling Stones - 41 songs
•  Clash - 41 songs
•  Cars - 39 songs
•  R.E.M. - 36 songs
•  Billy Joel - 33 songs
•  Chicago - 31 songs
•  Beatles - 31 songs
•  David Bowie - 30 songs
•  A Flock of Seagulls - 30 songs
•  B-52's - 30 songs
•  Who - 29 songs
•  Talking Heads - 29 songs
•  Eagles - 29 songs
•  Foreigner - 28 songs
•  Police - 27 songs
•  Electric Light Orchestra - 27 songs
•  Elton John - 26 songs
•  Genesis - 26 songs
•  Four Tops - 26 songs
•  John Lennon - 26 songs

Aerosmith at #1 with the most songs was a bit of a surprise, but they had some really excellent albums and were at their peak twice, whereas Duran Duran really petered out in the 90s.  Aerosmith comes in at 0.8% of the total list.

Aerosmith will always be a good group,They rock.