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Notes -
How big a playlist do you want? As I told the last person here for whom I made a playlist, my autistic fixation will quickly overtake me if I’m not given a limit.
The bigger it is the longer I'll take to report back. 25 or 50 is ideal IMO.
Alright, I tried not to overthink it. Whittling down a list of 100 down to 50 was an interesting challenge, and there’s a lot more I’d like to include, but I think this is a good representation. It’s weighted toward the 80’s, with a good smattering of 70’s and a bit from the 60’s. I started with a few mega-hits but tried to stay away from songs that I’m sure you’ve already heard a million times, although I’m sure there’s a few on here you’re already very familiar with. Many of these are, of course, very well-known bands, and in those cases I tried to use somewhat lesser-known songs rather than the ones everyone already hears all the time. A few - for example, ABBA and Def Leppard, two of my all-time favorite bands - were very difficult because I would have loved to include a number of their songs, but decided to stick with just one each.
”Kiss” - Prince
“And She Was” - Talking Heads
“Fat Bottomed Girls” - Queen
“Peace Of Mind” - Boston
“What You Need” - INXS
“Don’t Bring Me Down” - Electric Light Orchestra
“Open Your Heart” - Madonna
“Youth Gone Wild” - Skid Row
“Soul Man” - The Blues Brothers
“Saturday Night’s (Alright For Fighting)” - Elton John
“Vacation” - The Go-Go’s
“Surrender” - Cheap Trick
“Roam” - The B-52’s
“Jungle Love” - Steve Miller Band
“This Charming Man” - The Smiths
“Dreams” - The Cranberries
“Wasted Years” - Iron Maiden
“Rio” - Duran Duran
“Waterloo” - ABBA
“Friday I’m In Love” - The Cure
“Do You Believe In Love” - Huey Lewis & The News
“Bad Reputation” - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
“Oliver’s Army” - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
“War Pigs” - Black Sabbath
“Higher Love - Single Version” - Steve Winwood
“Emotions” - Mariah Carey
“Fox On The Run” - Sweet
“Freeze-Frame” - The J. Geils Band
“Land Of 1000 Dances” - Wilson Pickett
“Dance Hall Days” - Wang Chung
“Everybody Wants You” - Billy Squier
“Down On The Corner” - Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Hysteria” - Def Leppard
“Lido Shuffle” - Boz Scaggs
“Would I Lie To You - ET Mix” - Eurythmics
“Kiss Me Deadly” - Lita Ford
“Paradise By The Dashboard Light” - Meat Loaf
“You Can Call Me Al” - Paul Simon
“China Grove” - The Doobie Brothers
“Breaking The Law” - Judas Priest
“Tell It To My Heart” - Taylor Dayne
“We Belong” - Pat Benatar
“Nightrain” - Guns N’ Roses
“I Was Made For Dancin’” - Leif Garrett
“Stand” - R.E.M.
“Take It Easy” - Eagles
“Young Hearts” - Commuter
“Cold As Ice” - Foreigner
“Dreaming” - Blondie
“Don’t Worry Baby” - The Beach Boys
Maybe I’ve underestimated your knowledge of this era, and this list will all be stuff you know well. (Or, conversely, perhaps I’m assuming too much, and should have just gone with a list of 50 mega-hits. Who knows?)
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Twenty songs.
Twenty songs? That’s barely a warm-up! We’re trying to bring this man up to speed on four decades of music! We need to let this thing breathe.
You asked for limits, man! Work with them!
But I didn’t ask you!!!
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