Music Meme


Here's a meme I picked from Tom the Dog (who is also the author of the Zombie Eats Brains blog).


A. Go to http://www.musicoutfitters.com.
B. Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function.
C. Bold for the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don't remember (or don't care about). Edit: I italicized the songs I hate, since I am too dumb to figure out how to strike through text on this blog.


1. Careless Whisper, Wham!
2. Like A Virgin, Madonna
3. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Wham!
4. I Want To Know What Love Is, Foreigner
5. I Feel For You, Chaka Khan
6. Out Of Touch, Daryl Hall and John Oates
7. Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Tears For Fears
8. Money For Nothing, Dire Straits
9. Crazy For You, Madonna
10. Take On Me, A-Ha
11. Everytime You Go Away, Paul Young
12. Easy Lover, Phil Collins and Philip Bailey
13. Can't Fight This Feeling, REO Speedwagon
14. We Built This City, Starship
15. The Power Of Love, Huey Lewis and The News
16. Don't You (Forget About Me), Simple Minds
17. Cherish, Kool and The Gang
18. St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion), John Parr
19. The Heat Is On, Glenn Frey
20. We Are The World, U.S.A. For Africa
21. Shout, Tears For Fears
22. Part-Time Lover, Stevie Wonder
23. Saving All My Love For You, Whitney Houston
24. Heaven, Bryan Adams
25. Everything She Wants, Wham!
26. Cool It Now, New Edition
27. Miami Vice Theme, Jan Hammer
28. Lover Boy, Billy Ocean
29. Lover Girl, Teena Marie
30. You Belong To The City, Glenn Frey
31. Oh Sheila, Ready For The World
32. Rhythm Of The Night, Debarge
33. One More Night, Phil Collins
34. Sea Of Love, Honeydrippers
35. A View To A Kill, Duran Duran
36. The Wild Boys, Duran Duran
37. You're The Inspiration, Chicago
38. Neutron Dance, Pointer Sisters
39. We Belong, Pat Benatar
40. Nightshift, Commodores
41. Things Can Only Get Better, Howard Jones
42. All I Need, Jack Wagner
43. Freeway Of Love, Aretha Franklin
44. Never Surrender, Corey Hart
45. Sussudio, Phil Collins
46. Strut, Sheena Easton
47. You Give Good Love, Whitney Houston
48. The Search Is Over, Survivor
49. Missing You, Diana Ross
50. Separate Lives, Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
51. Raspberry Beret, Prince and The Revolution
52. Suddenly, Billy Ocean
53. The Boys Of Summer, Don Henley
54. One Night In Bangkok, Murray Head
55. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, Sting
56. Obsession, Animotion
57. We Don't Need Another Hero, Tina Turner
58. Material Girl, Madonna
59. Better Be Good To Me, Tina Turner
60. Head Over Heels, Tears For Fears
61. Axel F, Harold Faltermeyer
62. Smooth Operator, Sade
63. In My House, Mary Jane Girls
64. Don't Lose My Number, Phil Collins
65. All Through The Night, Cyndi Lauper
66. Run To You, Bryan Adams
67. Glory Days, Bruce Springsteen
68. Voices Carry, 'Til Tuesday
69. Misled, Kool and The Gang
70. Would I Lie To You?, Eurythmics
71. Be Near Me, ABC
72. No More Lonely Nights, Paul McCartney
73. I Can't Hold Back, Survivor
74. Summer Of '69, Bryan Adams
75. Walking On Sunshine, Katrina and The Waves
76. Freedom, Wham!
77. Too Late For Goodbyes, Julian Lennon
78. Valotte, Julian Lennon
79. Some Like It Hot, Power Station
80. Solid, Ashford and Simpson
81. Angel, Madonna
82. I'm On Fire, Bruce Springsteen
83. Method Of Modern Love, Daryl Hall and John Oates
84. Lay Your Hands On Me, Thompson Twins
85. Who's Holding Donna Now, Debarge
86. Lonely Ol' Night, John Cougar Mellencamp
87. What About Love, Heart
88. California Girls, David Lee Roth
89. Fresh, Kool and The Gang
90. Do What You Do, Jermaine Jackson
91. Jungle Of Love, The Time
92. Born In The USA, Bruce Springsteen
93. Private Dancer, Tina Turner
94. Who's Zoomin' Who, Aretha Franklin
95. Fortress Around Your Heart, Sting
96. Penny Lover, Lionel Richie
97. All She Wants To Do Is Dance, Don Henley
98. Dress You Up, Madonna
99. Sentimental Street, Night Ranger
100. Sugar Walls, Sheena Easton

What an interesting trip down memory lane! I surprised myself at how quickly I recalled the tunes as I went down this list. You will note that I hated a lot of stuff and was indifferent to much of the rest. I was a fickle kid in those days. Another lesson learned: pop music was crap back in my youth too, nostalgia be damned!


I now pass the torch to Grinding Metal, But Is It Fun?, Eric's Musings and Athens Pie.

Files Deleted


Apple's iPod, which is a great and handy device, allows the user to download songs from the iTunes database on one's PC to the iPod but does not allow the user to upload songs from the iPod to the PC. I understand that Apple intends this prohibition against uploading to be a discouragement to people who want to swap copies of mpeg files willy-nilly (dare I say, illegally?). I am cool with this, to a point. Under normal circumstances, I am happy to drive the one-way street from iTunes to iPod. I obtain my music using (currently) legal methods. I spent many hours ripping most of my CD collection into iTunes (over 7 GB). I purchase other music from the iTunes store. I have nothing to be ashamed of.

But what happens when you lose the data in iTunes, including music you purchased in mpeg only format? You are screwed. You can't use your iPod as a backup storage device to retrieve lost data. Let me qualify that: you can do it with utilities one can obtain on the internet but these only work if your iPod does not automatically sync with iTunes. And this "auto-sync" is the default condition that can only be changed when the iPod is connected to iTunes. And the iPod and iTunes sync automatically when the iPod is connected. And when iTunes discovers that it doesn't have copies of the music stored on the iPod, iTunes erases the music on the iPod. Unless you are forward thinking enough to turn off the "auto-sync" function while the data in iTunes matches the data in your iPod (I wasn't), then you will lose your iPod data before the utility has a chance to load. That is what happened to me last night. Over 7GB of data gone, including $30+ worth of mpeg only music.

I am not happy with Apple right now. I am seriously re-considering my stance on digital copyright. This is getting silly and directly affecting my pocket book.

The iPod is dead. Long live the iPod.

Speaking of music, my faithful iPod has ceased to be, joined the choir celestial, etc. As I can't live without that tinny noise that passes for music nowadays (damn kids), I bit the bullet and purchased a new one. This one has a color screen and is slightly thicker than my old one. As it turns out, this is a problem. It does not fit into the cradle of my portable speakers, which allow me to listen to my iPod without headphones. Which means that I can't take it to work, which is where I listen to my music these days (mostly as background noise, played softly, but still), unless I purchase a compatible set of speakers. I can't spend money on that right now, after spending money on the frickin' iPod! So I am somewhat put out by this turn of events.

In related news, I lost the data stored in my Windows iTunes the other day, including the stuff I bought from the iTunes store over the last year or so. So now I have to figure out how to upload the stuff from my new iPod to iTunes. Grrr.

Happy Birthday, Oscar!

Oscar Peterson, jazz pianist extraordinaire, turned 80 last week. Over the course of his prolific career, he has played with all of the jazz greats, from Stan Getz to Lester Young. At one time, his trio boasted the tightest drum-and-bass combo in music. I am particularly fond of Night Train, in which his trio quietly swings through blues standards. Many happy returns! I hope he plays for another 80 years!

I am a huge fan of Phillip Pullman's series entitled His Dark Materials and I still found this very funny.

Pratchett on Rowling

As a taste of things to come, here is a short piece by Terry Pratchett, author of the excellent Wee Free Men and Hatful of Sky, concerning J.K. Rowling's apparent disdain for the genre that has made her oneof the richest women in Britain.

Cedar Chopping Capital Of the World!

A very short history of my home town. It does not mention that the church alternated between Methodist and Baptist every other week for quite a long time, and I wonder where the cottin gin used to be, but it's as fair a summary as one could hope to find.

Seven Soldiers Redux

And speaking of bustling metropolises (metropoli?) Here is an article about Grant Morrison's vision of New York that could have been, one with buildings designed by Gaudi and Frank Lloyd Wright, that is featured in his Seven Soldiers series.

A brief program note: in the next few days I will post a review of the latest Harry Potter book. It will contain spoilers. You have been warned.

More Whedon

Here is an interview with Mr. Whedon that discusses his work from Buffy to Wonder Woman, with an emphasis on "Serenity". It is a lengthy article but it is chock full of stuff.