Today marks the start of “week twenty-six” of the Song of
the Day posts. Which means we’re halfway through 2014. And that also means I’ve
got 182 posts to show for myself. The sequence of songs is listed below. The
number in parentheses after the date indicates how many songs from that decade
have appeared. After that listing comes a listing of the songs so far posted
on, broken down by year, with bolded artist names indicating those with more
than one selection. So, on this page, then, you can pretty much see the lay of
the land, for the first half.
Back there a ways I speculated about which decade would
dominate. It’s easy to see that the Seventies rule—with 53 selections to date—and
will continue to do so. The Sixties and the Eighties are neck-and-neck at this
point, 34 and 33 respectively. The Nineties, with 21, just recently got
surpassed by the Aughts, with 22, a fact that surprises me a bit since I
thought I liked the Nineties considerably more. The most recent decade, the
Teens, and the oldest, the Fifties, haven’t even broken ten, but, at 9, the
Fifties will certainly do so. With 6, the Teens have some work to do. Will
there even be a dozen songs apiece for those two decades?
I’m not trying for parity, but on the other hand I’ve
noticed that I’ve begun looking at “most recent” work by some artists rather
than the time-honored stuff. That’s what gave the Aughts the push. As the year
goes on that tendency may become more pronounced, indicating that I’m finally
making my peace with the 21st century. But that still can’t offset that fact
that the main era of my acquisition—the Sixties through the Eighties—offer the
most to me for purposes of commentary and personal reflection, to say nothing
of familiarity. Clearly, this series is all about the retrospective nature of
memory and, as I’ve said, acknowledging the ghosts that remain, not so much
about hitting on some newbie for the sake of contemporary buzz. As I’ve seen all-too-often with tapes I’ve
made—tapes with some upstart added to a mix of favorites—the flash-in-the-pan
stuff can be pretty annoying when its time is done. This is all about staying
the course.
Not least, for me; to see if I can keep ‘em coming and make
the voyage there and back. At halfway, I can say “I’m there.” It began on
January 2nd with a high temperature of 29 and a low of 11. And today, July 2nd,
the high should be 84 and the low 73. Now it’s time to start the long journey “back”
to January 1st. Cyclical and linear,
that’s why I like the seasons so much.
The sequence:
January
17.
NYC—
Steve Earle
1997 (2)
22.
Winter—
The
Rolling Stones 1973 (7)
28.
Ohm—
Yo La Tengo
2013 (1)
February
41.
O Death—
Camper
van Beethoven 1988 (10)
59.
Biko—
Peter Gabriel
1980 (14)
March
66.
Time—
Tom Waits
1985 (17)
71.
Albion—
BabyShambles
2005 (6)
77.
Muzzle—
Smashing
Pumpkins 1995 (10)
April
99.
Domino–
Van
Morrison (1970) (29)
101.
Please—
John Cale
(1970) (30)
105.
Taxman—
The
Beatles (1966) (21)
May
135.
Under—
Brian Eno
(2005) (15)
146
. So What—
Miles Davis (1959) (8)
148.
Lodi—
CCR (1969)
(28)
June
170.
Fly—
Nick Drake
(1970) (50)
179.
Home—
David Byrne
and Brian Eno (2008) (22)
July
Sequence of songs by
year
1956
Johnny Cash: Folsom Prison Blues
Elvis Presley (1):
Heartbreak Hotel
Ella Fitzgerald (1):
Love for Sale
Ella Fitzgerald (2):
Always True to You in My Fashion
1957
The Everly Brothers: Bye Bye Love
1959
Jacques Brel: Ne me quitte pas
Charles Mingus: Gotta Git It in Your Soul
Bobby Darin: Mack the Knife
Miles Davis: So What
1961
Robert Johnson: Come On In My Kitchen
1962
Elvis Presley (2):
Return to Sender 1962
1963
The Beatles (1):
She Loves You
1964
Sam Cooke: A Change is Gonna Come
Muddy Waters: My Home is in the Delta
Bob Dylan (1):
Mama, You Been On My Mind
Bob Dylan (2):
Boots of Spanish Leather
1965
Roger Miller: King of the Road
1966
The Beatles (2):
Taxman
Nancy Sinatra: These Boots Are Made for Walking
The Beach Boys: I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times
1967
Jimi Hendrix Experience: The Wind Cries Mary
Jefferson Airplane: Comin’ Back to Me
The Beatles (3):
Strawberry Fields Forever
Velvet Underground: All Tomorrow’s Parties
The Rolling Stones
(1): Ruby Tuesday
Aretha Franklin: Chain of Fools
The Kinks (1):
Waterloo Sunset
1968
Pink Floyd (1):
Jugband Blues
Pete Seeger: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
Traffic: Feelin’ Alright?
The Band (1): In
a Station
Dusty Springfield: Son of a Preacher Man
The Rolling Stones
(2): Sympathy for the Devil
Nilsson: Good Old Desk
Otis Redding: (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay
1969
Fairport Convention: Who Knows Where the Time Goes?
Tim Buckley: The River
Pink Floyd (2):
The Narrow Way
The Doors: The Soft Parade
Murray Head: Superstar
Blind Faith: Can’t Find My Way Home
Creedence Clearwater
Revival (1): Lodi
Procol Harum (1):
A Salty Dog
1970
Neil Diamond: Cracklin’ Rosie
Syd Barrett: Golden Hair
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: The Tears of a Clown
Creedence Clearwater
Revival (2): Lookin’ Out My Back Door
Derek & the Dominoes: Bell Bottom Blues
Van Morrison (1):
Domino
John Cale (1):
Please
Van Morrison (1):
Into the Mystic
Dave Mason: Only You Know and I Know
Joe Cocker: The Letter
John Cale (2):
Big White Cloud
Nick Drake: Fly
1971
Led Zeppelin (1):
Black Dog
Rod Stewart: Reason to Believe
Janis Joplin: Me and Bobby McGee
The Rolling Stones
(3): Moonlight Mile
Sly & the Family Stone: Family Affair
Elton John: Madman across the Water
Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On
The Who: Baba O’Riley
Led Zeppelin (2):
When the Levee Breaks
Yes: Long Distance Runaround
1972
Humble Pie: 30 Days in the Hole
Lou Reed (1):
Dressing Up
Neil Young (1):
The Needle and the Damage Done
Stevie Wonder: Superstition
The Rolling Stones
(4): Let It Loose
1973
Neil Young (2):
Time Fades Away
The Rolling Stones
(5): Winter
Led Zeppelin (3):
No Quarter
Roxy Music: A Song for Europe
John Cale (3):
Paris 1919
Procol Harum (2):
Grand Hotel
Alan Price: O Lucky Man!
David Bowie (1):
See Emily Play
Mott the Hoople: I Wish I Was Your Mother
Waylon Jennings: Old Five and Dimers (Like Me)
1974
Steely Dan: Pretzel Logic
Frank Zappa: Stinkfoot
1975
Joni Mitchell: The Jungle Line
Patti Smith: Gloria (in excelsis deo)
Fleetwood Mac: Landslide
Bruce Springsteen (1):
Thunder Road
Bob Dylan (3): Up
to Me
1976
The Modern Lovers: Pablo Picasso
1977
Iggy Pop: Dum Dum Boys
1978
Bob Dylan (4)
& The Band (2): Forever Young
John Cale (4):
Hedda Gabler
Talking Heads: The Big Country
Blondie: Heart of Glass
1979
The Clash (1):
Lost in the Supermarket
The Clash (2):
The Card Cheat
Neil Young (3):
Thrasher
1980
The Grateful Dead: Cold, Rain and Snow
David Bowie (2):
Teenage Wildlife
Bob Marley: No Woman, No Cry
Peter Gabriel (1):
Biko
The Pretenders: Talk of the Town
1981
Elvis Costello (1) &
The Attractions: Shot With His Own Gun
The Kinks (2):
Art Lover
Bob Dylan (5):
Caribbean Wind
Psychedelic Furs: She is Mine
1982
Captain Beefheart: Ice Cream for Crow
Kate Bush (1):
Sat in Your Lap
King Crimson: Sartori in Tangiers
Michael Jackson: Billie Jean
1983
Echo & the
Bunnymen (1): The Cutter
1984
R.E.M. (1):
Camera
XTC (1): I Bought
Myself a Liarbird
The Smiths: The Hand that Rocks the Cradle
Lou Reed (2):
Doin’ the Things That We Want to
Echo & the
Bunnymen (2): The Killing Moon
The Replacements: Unsatisfied
1985
Tom Waits (1):
Time
Hüsker Dü: Perfect Example
The Pogues: The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn
The Cure: In Between Days
1986
PiL: Home
Elvis Costello (2):
Indoor Fireworks
R.E.M. (2):
Cuyahoga
1987
Tom Waits (2):
Cold, Cold Ground
R.E.M. (3): King
of Birds
Bruce Springsteen (2):
Brilliant Disguise
1988
Camper van Beethoven: O Death
Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows
Morrissey: Everyday is Like Sunday
Mekons (1):
(Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletcher Christian
1989
The Pixies: Gouge Away
1990
Cowboy Junkies: ‘Cause Cheap is How I Feel
Mazzy Star (1):
Blue Flower
1991
Robyn Hitchcock (1):
She Doesn’t Exist
1992
Peter Gabriel (2):
Come Talk to Me
Tom Waits (3):
The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me
1993
Nirvana (1): All
Apologies
Willie Nelson and Bob
Dylan (6): Pancho and Lefty
1994
Kristin Hersh: Your Ghost
Richard Thompson (1):
Beeswing
Nirvana (2):
Where Did You Sleep Last Night?
Frank Black: I Want to Live on an Abstract Plain
1995
Pulp: Common People
The Smashing Pumpkins: Muzzle
1996
Robyn Hitchcock (1):
The Speed of Things
1997
Steve Earle: NYC
Nick Cave & The
Bad Seeds (1): Brompton Oratory
1998
Neutral Milk Hotel: From the Aeroplane over the Sea
1999
The Flaming Lips: Suddenly Everything Has Changed
Bob Dylan (7):
Train of Love
XTC (2): Greenman
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Road Trippin’
2000
Emmylou Harris: The Boy from Tupelo
2001
Vic Chesnutt: Very Friendly Lighthouses
David Byrne (1):
U.B. Jesus
2002
The Libertines: The Good Old Days
Mekons (2): Only
You and Your Ghost Will Know
Wilco (1): Kamera
Wilco (2): Ashes
of American Flags
2003
Paul Westerberg: Meet Me down the Alley
2004
Franz Ferdinand: The Dark of the Matinee
Nick Cave & the
Bad Seeds (2): There She Goes, My Beautiful World
Modest Mouse: Bury Me With It
2005
BabyShambles: Albion
Spoon: The Beast and Dragon, Adored
Brian Eno (1):
Under
Paul McCartney: Friends to Go
2006
Cat Power (1):
The Greatest
TV on the Radio: Wolf Like Me
Tom Petty: Down South
2007
The New Pornographers: Myriad Harbour
Cat Power (2):
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
2008
David Byrne (2)
and Brian Eno (2): Home
2009
Levon Helm: Growing Trade
2010
MGMT: Someone’s Missing
2011
Kate Bush (2):
Flower of the Mountain
2012
Andrew Bird: Lazy Projector
2013
Yo La Tengo: Ohm
Richard Thompson (2):
Another Small Thing in Her Favour
Mazzy Star (2):
In the Kingdom