Design of a (Half) Decade

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

FSVO "Define" (it certainly doesn't mean 'best') - and a lot of the early ones are obviously wild guesses!

1910-1914: "It's A Long Way To Tipperary"
1915-1919: "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"
1920-1924: "Rhapsody In Blue"
1925-1929: "Makin' Whoopee"
1930-1934: "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?"
1935-1939: "Over The Rainbow"
1940-1944: "In The Mood"
1945-1949: ?????? (honestly, I have NO idea)
1950-1954: "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?"
1955-1959: "Jailhouse Rock"
1960-1964: "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"
1965-1969: "A Day In The Life"
1970-1974: "Mouldy Old Dough" (UK only!)
1975-1979: "Stayin' Alive"
1980-1984: "Rio"
1985-1989: "Kiss"
1990-1994: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
1995-1999: "The Macarena"
2000-2004: "Independent Women Pt 1"
2005-2009: "Don't Cha"

(Not at all persuaded on this last)

Comments

Jeremiah was a bullfrog

[koganbot]

Tom, that is remarkably good, considering. What I wonder, though, is what you do with something definitive for a period that is vastly different from another song that is just as definitive. E.g., for 1990-1994, "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang" is at least as definitive as "Smells Like Teen Spirit." And for what it's worth, I wouldn't be surprised if, e.g., "Jeremy" was actually more definitive than "Spells Like Teen Spirit" as to what music at the time actually sounded like, even if it wasn't definitive for what people remember as a Big Deal. Ditto for "Sunshine Of My Love" over "A Day In The Life." Also, the '60s moving at warp speed from galaxy to galaxy, nothing from 1968 can feel definitive for 1966 or vice versa, so carsmilesteve's pick "Paint It, Black" is obsolete by 1967, unfortunately.

Speaking of Jeremy, if I can fill the breach for US of A in 1970-1974, Three Dog Night's "Joy To The World" is my choice (though I'd have much preferred the Temptations' "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone"). And I'd think that even in the U.K., any hit by Elton John would be more definitive than "Mouldy Old Dough." But then, how would I know?

The one I disagree with the most is "The Macarena": too much of a novelty, not a big enough ongoing constituency. Not that I have anything that obviously belongs in its place, which perhaps tells us something about the late '90s. "Wrong Way" by Sublime? "Push" by Matchbox 20? "Waterfalls" by TLC? Maybe "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger, which I don't even remember, a fact that could well make it definitive of the late '90s.

Also, probably any random hit single by Rihanna over the last year and a half might do for the late '00s. As for the early, I'd like "In Da Club" or "Get Low" to be more definitive than "Independent Women," but you're probably right.

The underarm deodorent with a dictionary

[koganbot]

"Spells Like Teen Spirit"? Oh, the glorious typos.

Re: Jeremiah was a bullfrog

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

I reckon that Sublime, Matchbox 20 and Harvey Danger (whatever, whoever that is) are as non-existent to us as Three Lions is to you.

Re: Jeremiah was a bullfrog

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

harvey danger = peep show theme music!

Re: Jeremiah was a bullfrog

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

Aaaah! My ignorance exposed.
(But in that case, it still had no traction here in the period in question, since Peep Show didn't start till the 2000s).

Re: Jeremiah was a bullfrog

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

agreed, although i think mrs carsmile maybe had it on 7" (possibly even cassingle...), everyhit suggests it didn't even chart over here...