Audience participation time
A while ago, I made an entry about songs which mention specific ages in their title or lyrics. Like, for example, Alice Cooper's "Eighteen." And I asked y'all to come up with other songs of a similar nature. And you sure did.
The list began because of the line, "I was just 34 years old, and I was still wandering in a haze," in Pete Townshend's brilliant "Slit Skirts". And I started thinking of the list again because 1) I'm fast approaching 34, and 2) I finally found a song that mentions my current age, Five for Fighting's "100 Years" ("I'm 33 for a moment").
Together, you and I came up with the following list. It only includes the first suggested song (or, in some cases, my personal preference) to mention one particular age -- many, many songs mention 16, 17, and 18, for example, but I'm only looking for one. 35 also turned out to be a popular year: both Springsteen's "My Hometown" and Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb" mention the age, but since they're already represented, I stuck with Frank. The Chairman of the Board outranks the Boss, I guess.
Anyway, the list so far:
3 -- Led Zeppelin, "The Ocean"
4 -- Adam Sandler, "Four Years Old"
5 -- Velvet Underground, "Rock 'n' Roll"
6 -- Neil Sedaka, "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen"
7 -- Norah Jones, "7 Years"
8 -- Bruce Springsteen, "My Hometown"
10 -- Neil Sedaka, "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen"
13 -- Neil Sedaka, "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen"
15 -- Depeche Mode, "Little Fifteen"
16 -- John Cougar, "Jack & Diane"
17 -- John Mellencamp, "Cherry Bomb"
18 -- Alice Cooper, "Eighteen"
19 -- Joe Jackson, "Nineteen Forever"
20 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
21 -- The Cranberries, "Twenty-One"
22 -- Flaming Lips, "When You're 22"
23 -- Blink 182, "What's My Age Again"
24 -- Neil Young, "Old Man"
25 -- Phil Ochs, "Half a Century High"
29 -- Mary Chapin Carpenter, "He Thinks He'll Keep Her"
31 -- Bob Seger, "Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets"
33 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
34 -- Pete Townshend, "Slit Skirts"
35 -- Frank Sinatra, "It Was a Very Good Year"
36 -- Mary Chapin Carpenter, "He Thinks He'll Keep Her"
38 -- Tragically Hip, "38 Years Old"
40 -- John Lennon -- "Life Begins at 40"
41 -- Helen Reddy, "Delta Dawn"
45 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
64 -- The Beatles, "When I'm 64"
67 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
99 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
100 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
And again I'd like your help filling in the gaps. Ideally, it would be great to fill in every year from 1 to 100, but that ain't likely. So if you can come up with just one or two that aren't covered yet (or ones that can replace duplicates on the list, like "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" or "100 Years," which appears, like, a dozen times), that would be swell. I mean, maybe it's just me, but I think it's fun to find a song that matches your age -- a birthday theme song, of sorts. I'm set for the next few years, but where's my 37?
The list began because of the line, "I was just 34 years old, and I was still wandering in a haze," in Pete Townshend's brilliant "Slit Skirts". And I started thinking of the list again because 1) I'm fast approaching 34, and 2) I finally found a song that mentions my current age, Five for Fighting's "100 Years" ("I'm 33 for a moment").
Together, you and I came up with the following list. It only includes the first suggested song (or, in some cases, my personal preference) to mention one particular age -- many, many songs mention 16, 17, and 18, for example, but I'm only looking for one. 35 also turned out to be a popular year: both Springsteen's "My Hometown" and Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb" mention the age, but since they're already represented, I stuck with Frank. The Chairman of the Board outranks the Boss, I guess.
Anyway, the list so far:
3 -- Led Zeppelin, "The Ocean"
4 -- Adam Sandler, "Four Years Old"
5 -- Velvet Underground, "Rock 'n' Roll"
6 -- Neil Sedaka, "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen"
7 -- Norah Jones, "7 Years"
8 -- Bruce Springsteen, "My Hometown"
10 -- Neil Sedaka, "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen"
13 -- Neil Sedaka, "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen"
15 -- Depeche Mode, "Little Fifteen"
16 -- John Cougar, "Jack & Diane"
17 -- John Mellencamp, "Cherry Bomb"
18 -- Alice Cooper, "Eighteen"
19 -- Joe Jackson, "Nineteen Forever"
20 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
21 -- The Cranberries, "Twenty-One"
22 -- Flaming Lips, "When You're 22"
23 -- Blink 182, "What's My Age Again"
24 -- Neil Young, "Old Man"
25 -- Phil Ochs, "Half a Century High"
29 -- Mary Chapin Carpenter, "He Thinks He'll Keep Her"
31 -- Bob Seger, "Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets"
33 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
34 -- Pete Townshend, "Slit Skirts"
35 -- Frank Sinatra, "It Was a Very Good Year"
36 -- Mary Chapin Carpenter, "He Thinks He'll Keep Her"
38 -- Tragically Hip, "38 Years Old"
40 -- John Lennon -- "Life Begins at 40"
41 -- Helen Reddy, "Delta Dawn"
45 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
64 -- The Beatles, "When I'm 64"
67 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
99 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
100 -- Five for Fighting, "100 Years"
And again I'd like your help filling in the gaps. Ideally, it would be great to fill in every year from 1 to 100, but that ain't likely. So if you can come up with just one or two that aren't covered yet (or ones that can replace duplicates on the list, like "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" or "100 Years," which appears, like, a dozen times), that would be swell. I mean, maybe it's just me, but I think it's fun to find a song that matches your age -- a birthday theme song, of sorts. I'm set for the next few years, but where's my 37?