Fogeydom
Discussing music on Facebook with my mate Motley Dave, and in particular the music of 1974 (we started talking about Suzi Quatro and went from there).
In my usual somewhat Pollyannaish way, I said ‘Music hasn’t got worse, it’s just that we only remember the good stuff from the past, and we’ve forgotten all the dross.
I partly stand by that, but thought I’d do a little research and see. Here’s the top 25 Australian singles of 1974:
1. “My Coo Ca Choo” Alvin Stardust
2. “Billy Don’t Be a Hero” Paper Lace
3. “Evie” Stevie Wright 1 6
4. “The Night Chicago Died” Paper Lace
5. “Seasons in the Sun” Terry Jacks
6. “Farewell Aunty Jack” Graham Bond
7. “Can’t Stop Myself From Loving You” William Shakespeare
8. “Leave Me Alone” Helen Reddy
9. “Ballroom Blitz” The Sweet
10. “I Love You, I Honestly Love You” Olivia Newton-John
11. “The Lord’s Prayer” Sister Janet Mead
12. “The Entertainer” Marvin Hamlisch
13. “Devil Gate Drive” Suzi Quatro
14. “I Am Pegasus” Ross Ryan
15. “(You’re) Having My Baby” Paul Anka
16. “Sorrow” David Bowie
17. “The Streak” Ray Stevens
18. “She (Didn’t Remember My Name)” Osmosis
19. “I Love You Love Me Love” Gary Glitter
20. “Rock Your Baby” George McCrae
21. “Sugar Baby Love” The Rubettes
22. “Kung Fu Fighting” Carl Douglas
23. “48 Crash” Suzi Quatro
24. “Photograph” Ringo Starr
25. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” Elton John
And, by way of comparison, here’s 2011:
1. “Raise Your Glass” Pink
2. “Like a G6” Far East Movement feat. The Cataracs & Dev
3. “We R Who We R” Kesha
4. “Firework” Katy Perry
5. “The Time (Dirty Bit)” The Black Eyed Peas
6. “Yeah 3x” Chris Brown
7. “Who’s That Girl?” Guy Sebastian feat. Eve
8. “Grenade” Bruno Mars
9. “Saturday Night” Jessica Mauboy feat. Ludacris
10. “Who’s That Chick?” David Guetta feat. Rihanna
11. “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)” Enrique Iglesias feat. Ludacris & DJ Frank E
12. “Dirty Talk” Wynter Gordon
13. “Happiness” Alexis Jordan
14. “Hold It Against Me” Britney Spears
15. “What the Hell” [A] Avril Lavigne
16. “I Just Had Sex” The Lonely Island feat. Akon
17. “S&M” Rihanna
18. “E.T.” Katy Perry feat. Kanye West
19. “Just Can’t Get Enough” The Black Eyed Peas
20. “More” Usher
21. “Born This Way” Lady Gaga
22. “Coming Home” Diddy-Dirty Money feat. Skylar Grey
23. “On the Floor” Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull
24. “The Lazy Song” [B] Bruno Mars
25. “Price Tag” Jessie J feat. B.o.B.
I dunno, maybe it is just nostalgia, and advancing fogeydom, but I don’t think so… I think the present (or recent past) suffers by the comparison.
Waddaya reckon?