Entertainment For Lively Minds
A century of music
Posted by davebigpicture on 18 January 2011 - 11:35am.
I really enjoyed the 100 verses of A Bang On The Ear at Christmas and was reminded of a phone in Danny Baker tried when he did the Breakfast Show on BBC London. The idea was to find songs that mentioned all of the years of the twentieth century either in their title or lyrics. I think he tried to do it over two days but I have no idea if it was successful, I suspect it's not possible but it might be fun to try. Extra points for songs that mention more than one year. I'll start you off with a favourite of mine
The Ghosts of Cable Street by The Men They Couldn't Hang
"England 1936 the grip of the Sabbath day"
- More from davebigpicture.
- Login or register to post comments
-
Randy Newman - Dayton Ohio 1903
And Louisiana 1927.
Unfortunately
the first thing to leap, unbidden, to mind is that insipid ditty about 1973 by James Blunt.
I'm fired, aren't I?
Lots of points from The Clash's "1977"
n 1977
sod the jubilee
in 1978
in 1979
stayed in bed
in 1980
in 1981
the toilet don't work
in 1982
in 1983
here come the police
in 1984
That's 8 years in one song!
New York Mining Disaster 1941
New Order - 1963
The Stooges - 1969
The Stooges - 1970
1969 comes up a lot:
The Summer Of '69
Hotel California
Death Valley '69
A couple of others I've forgotten.
The most popular song year?
John Cale - Paris 1919
David Bowie - 1984
Obviously!
Oh what a night...
December 1963 - Four Seasons
Summer of '42 - Michel Legrand/Johnny Mathis
Summer of '67 - Bryan Adams
Al Stewart - 1934
The Last Day Of June 1934
The mighty Stuffies
with their seminal classic "30 Years in the Bathroom"
Who's fault is this? I deny that it's mine
I been stuck in here since 1959
1939 Returning
by the Crocketts
Possibly slightly more Wordista than Queen's '39
Although if no-one has had 1996 yet, it's featured in Radio Gaga.
1972
by Josh Rouse
It's 1974
Just like the day I was born
Ryan Adams
As nobody's mentioned it
As nobody's mentioned it yet, Prince, "1999".
Also, Smashing Pumpkins, "1979".
"Ain't no more Cane," as covered by the Band mentions 1910: "should have been on the river in nineteen and ten," etc.
1986 in "Missing You," written by Jimmy MacCarthy, popularized by Christy Moore.
Snap!
to Prince.
Summer '78
- Yann Tiersen
1999 - Prince
1979
by the Smashing Pumpkins
"1921" by The Who, on
"1921" by The Who, on Tommy.
Sandi Thom gets in '69 and '77 on "I wish I was a punkrocker."
74-75 the cornells
1917 Mecano. 1915 The band played waltzing mathilda 1902 The Heaadmaster. Ritual. 1955 Bowie's 1984 All of te 1970s in After the Goldrush 1963 Sheryl Crow shit this is fun buit I gotta get into class..
Ps didn't we do this recently?
The 34 in Charley Patton's
The 34 in Charley Patton's "34 Blues" refers to the year 1934.
What Are We Gonna Do In '64
by The Wildcats
Hey Joni - Sonic Youth
FORGET THE FUTURE, THESE TIMES ARE SUCH A MESS
TUNE OUT THE PAST, AND JUST SAY YES
IT'S 1963
IT'S 1964
IT'S 1957
IT'S 1962
PUT IT ALL BEHIND YOU
NOW IT'S ALL BEHIND YOU
------------
lyrics: lee ranaldo
sonic youth - daydream nation (1988)
Richard Thompson 1952 Vincent Black Lightning.
Ithangyew.
1989
In "Fight The Power" by Public
Enemy
Grrr!
That's the one I was trying to remember! What a great tune... "sound of the funky drummer'...
Phoenix - 1901
Randy Newman - Dayton, Ohio 1903
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - 1906
Woody Guthrie - 1913 Massacre
Pulp - Disco 2000
This is why it counts, though there is some debate on the issue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_century
Also
1975 - Chris Difford, with mentions of 1979,1982,1999
1963 - New Order
Bah, 1975 is gone
I was going to suggest The Summer of 75 by Mulligan and O'Hare.
"No colour section in our record collection..."
The Auteurs - 1967: "In 1967, the clock's ticking by, I'm 35, I think we should have a child soon..."
The Afghan Whigs - Summer's Kiss: "Put on your rose fur coat baby, it's 1973."
Manic Street Preachers - 1985: "In 1985, Orwell was proved right, Torville and Dean's bolero redundant as a sad Welsh chapel."
Saint Etienne - Fake '88: "A scene from a film circa 1982. We drove down George Street, en route to Wendy's. Glenn Campbell was on the radio singing about cleaning his gun and dreaming of Galveston. "What's this?" she said. "It's Hall & Oates or nothing for me.""
"Uh. I don't remember any of those things.
Cos if you can remember the 80s, you weren't really there."
Macca
1985
1945
Mentioned in Van Morrison's Wild Children
Born Late '58
from 'The Hoople'
The years have gone but
Saturday Gigs by Mott The Hoople covers 1969, 70, 71, 72, 73, and 74
Pictures of Lily
She's been dead since nineteen twenty ni-yine...
1971
Jethro Tull, Strange Avenues:
"The wino sleeps --- cold coat lined with the money section.
Looking like a a record cover from 1971."
1984
David Bowie,Eurythmics and Spirit all give George Orwell a nod.
The war years
1914 - Christmas 1914 (Mike Harding)
1915 - The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda (The Pogues)
1916 - 1916 (Motorhead)
1917 - 1917 (Emmylou Harris)
1918 - It Ain't 1918 (Sparks)
1939 - 1939 Returning (Pete Doherty)
1940 - 1940 (The Submarines)
1941 - 1941 (Harry Nilson)... also mentions 1944, 1945, 1946, 1955, 1961, 1964 and 1965.
1942 - 1942 (Counting Crows)
1943 - German Soldiers Helmet circa 1943 (Ian McNabb)
1944 - 1944 Kicking and Screaming (The Bay State)
1945 - Holland 1945 (Neutral Milk Hotel)
Saint Etienne
In 'Girl VII' off 'Foxbase Alpha' there's a lovely, surreal break heralded by Sarah Cracknell announcing 'June 4, 1989...' before reeling off a list of placenames from around the world interspersed with London stations.
There's also Gorky's with 'Foot and Mouth '68' off 'The Blue Trees'
A pedantic nod to Aladdin Sane (1913 - 1938 - 197?), so that's the rogue year 197? covered then
REM shout out to 1980, 1984, 1988 and 1992, too, too in 'Ignoreland'
Great Lata Mangeshkar tune from an ancient Indian movie, '1956, 1957, 1958'
New Gold Dream
81, 82, 83, 84.
Randy Travis - 1982
Also
Lloyd Cole - Rich
"She left you 1958
When the thought of another fifteen years
Was more than she could face.
Remember 1970
When the thought of a day without a drink
Was more than you could face."
Abba - Happy New Year
"It's the end of a decade
In another ten years' time
Who's to say what we'll find
What lies waiting down the line
In the end of '89"
Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping
"Most of '81 passed along those lines."
Winter of '79
TRB
Beautiful South
You Keep It All In mentions 1962 and 1973.
Some Years
Stiff Little Fingers - 78RPM (mentions 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77 & 79 - it doesn't actually refer to 78 as a year, only the fact that in this new year there will be '78 Revolutions per Minute'
Carter USM - 1992 (The Love Album) - includes the song '1993'
Can we include re-mixes?
New Order - Blue Monday 1988
M - Pop Muzik 1989
No Re-Mixes - OK, ignore the last two then
David Soul
1927, Kansas City
June Tabor
sang Bill Caddick's 'The Writing of Tipperary' which covers the build-up to WW1 and has a verse each on 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1914.
Mary Chapin Carpenter
on the "Shooting Straight in the Dark" album,Ms CC had a bit of a 1910 obsession. 2 different songs mention it.
1910-"Down at the twist and shout" and "Halley came to Jackson"
Fantastic! Almost two thirds there
A quick scan suggests we still need 1900, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991,1994, 1995, 1997, 1998
Two more (from one song)
"Sir leads the troops jealous of youth, same old suit since 1962 / jokes since 1902"
The Headmaster Ritual, The Smiths.
There y'are.
Edit: Bah, read your post wrong. You've already got both years!
Rancid - 1998
mentions 1974, 1976 and, more importantly, 1998
Jonsi & Alex - Boy 1904 (not sure if this is a year or a number though as it's an instrumental)
The Gin Club - Brisbane, 1933
1985
Dai mentioned this earlier:
20th Century Boy
I know. Nobody likes a smart arse. There's always one. Coat etc.
At the risk of hubris...
...I don't think I saw a 1901 anywhere above. I have a song, coming out on album in a slips-out-into-the-great-void-of-cyber-oblivion sort of way (ie via CDBaby), in a few weeks called 'Gold Rush' which begins with the line 'Me and the boys in 1901...' It goes on to mention 1910 as well and, yes, 'Ain't No More Cane' (also mentioning 1910, cited above) was in the back of my mind at the time. Not many mentions of 1901 in songs!
My friend James Devlin has a song on his late 90s CD 'Throughother' called, from memory, 'Let Me Get My Record On' - a wry country-rock exploration of a guy trying to get his record on the radio. It has a verse beginning 'Elvis Presley, '54...' which should take care of the 1954 vacuum in Big Dave's list...
Joxer Goes to Stuttgart
"'Twas in the year of 88, in the lovely month of June
When the gadflies were swirling, and dogs howling at the moon
Oh with rosary beads and and sandwiches, for Stuttgart we began
Joxer packed his German phrasebook, and jump leads for the van..."
A Christy Moore classic.
I Wish It Could Be 1965 Again
I'll claim 1966...
... with "1966 And All That" by Half Man Half Biscuit. Surprised no one got this sooner, given the affection for HMHB within the massive.
And "1985"...
... by Bowling For Soup.
And I'll claim my hat-trick...
... with "1953 Photograph" by janglesome south London trio The Hillfields. Very popular with Gideon Coe on 6 Music.
OK - I'm back to work.
Paul Simon - 1960
in the first line of "Adios Hermanos" off "Songs from the Capeman"
1926 solved
"Bradman", by Paul Kelly. Back when the Ashes was a proper contest...
"Sydney, 1926, this is the story of a man
Just a kid in from the sticks, just a kid with a plan
St George took a gamble, played him in first grade
Pretty soon that young man showed them how to flash the blade
And at the age of nineteen he was playing for the State
From Adelaide to Brisbane the runs did not abate
He hit 'em hard, he hit 'em straight "
Brilliant, seven-and-a-half minute song if you haven't heard it. Helps to be a cricket tragic, though...