In another form, we were doing this with our kids today who range from 22 -31 years.
Thought it would be totally NOT Covid and fun to do here.
Name the albums (one per time period) that define these eras of your life and dominated your listening to music time:
Your teens
Your 20’s
Young parenthood
Older parenthood (or now!)
BONUS: an album you’ll always love
I’ll start - these were the ones that came to mind for me this morning.
Teens (like, when I was 12!) The Donny Osmond Album - my first concert!
20’s (pre kids for me) Michael Jackson, Thriller (2nd place, anything Phil Collins)
Young Parenthood: Raffi, Baby Beluga (over and over and over…)
Older Parenthood: Coldplay, Head Full of Dreams
BONUS: Tears For Fears, Songs From The Big Chair
Your teens – Tapestry by Carole King (It came out when I was 8, but I loved it for years)
Your 20’s – 1999 by Prince
Young parenthood – Two … Eric Clapton Unplugged and Smooth by Santana and Rob Thomas
Older parenthood (or now!) – Port Saint Joe by Brothers Osborne
BONUS: an album you’ll always love – Best of Bread
It’s funny that I didn’t have to think twice about these. The first three categories were slam dunks. I only picked Best of Bread because I didn’t want to repeat Tapestry, but that’s my all-time favorite album.
I might give different answers tomorrow -
Teens - The Eagles Greatest Hits (this one won’t change)
The below I don’t know the names of the albums, but whatever was popular then
20’s - REO Speedwagon comes to mind
Young parenthood - I recall the Dixie Chicks when not listening to kids music
Older parenthood/now - Train
Favorite album ever - probably something by Elton John
Tough to narrow it down to just one per life stage but these are ones that came to mind, got constant replay and evoke memories of the time period. If I hear songs now from these albums it takes me back in time.
Teens: The Clash - London Calling
20s: Paul Simon - Graceland
Young Parenthood: Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Older/Now: Ben Howard - I Forgot Where We Were
Bonus: Getz/Gilberto (I’m also going to cheat and say Best of Talking Heads and Best of David Bowie albums as both have been constant favorites over decades. )
20s - ditto -- it's the first album I played when my household goods caught up to us at the quarters husband and I shared when we first married
younger parenthood -- Bruce again! Taught prepositions straight from Born in the USA ("Hey, kids, where is Bruce going?") (More from Born to Run: "And where does Bruce hide?")
older parenthood -- started listening to a lot of New Age work to help with the stress of high school then college, etc. Enya always takes me back.
now I really like low-key jazz (Chet Baker, for example)
going full circle to my always favorite: Born to Run. Thunder Road to Junglelands -- best bookends ever.
Younger than teens: Monkees Greatest Hits
Young teens: Teaser and the Firecat (Cat Stevens)
Older teens: Born to Run
Twenties: The River, She’s so unusual (Cyndi Lauper)
Younger parenthood, kids: C is for Cookie
Parenthood: anything by U2 or REM, especially Joshua Tree and Out of Time
Older/Now: Still Bruce, u2, REM but to choose one album I’d say “Be More Kind” by Frank Turner. And loads of Jason Isbell playlists
Your teens - The Queen is Dead, The Smiths
Your 20’s - Mutations, Beck
Young parenthood - Music for the Morning After, Pete Yorn
Older parenthood - In Between Dreams, Jack Johnson
BONUS: an album you’ll always love - Darkness of the Edge of Town, Springsteen
When I was young & in early elementary school I listened to musical soundtracks on 8-track. Hair, Oliver!, Camelot
Older elementary school was The Beatles and I used my allowance to build my album collection.
Junior High was dominated by Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors.
High School was a shift from popular rock to black R&B. Chicago had two excellent black radio stations churning out the hits, along with weekend mixes that were soooo good. I remember making a lot of party tapes on cassette.
In my 20s I remember road trips with Paul Simon’s Graceland and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young.
Went thru a long phase of re-discovering the rock of the late 60s & early 70s — probably still my favorite era.
Somewhere along the line, I stopped buying albums/CDs and I’m quite content to listen to some Pandora station where I’m always 10-15-20 years “behind”.
I have to say that Spotify has really enlarged my music listening. I’ve re-discovered so much music that got lost for me in the CD to online digital transformation, and opened up so much music that I didn’t know about.
Teens: Carole King Tapestry. I can still belt out every word.
20s: Saturday Night Fever
Young Parenthood: Fleetwood Mac-Tango in the Night. Tear for Fear-Seeds of Love
Now: Joanie Bartels Lullaby Magic. Raffi Singable Songs for the Very Young. We played these cassettes hundreds of times for our kids. Now I’m playing them for our granddaughter. Brings back sweet memories.
Young teen: Carole King Tapestry
College: Frampton Comes Alive, Boston and Boz Scaggs (first album) - Those are the 3 my friends and I literally wore out.
Young married- All of Springsteen (thanks to H), Southside Johnny (thanks to friends)
Young parenthood - None. Between young kids and working, the 90’s passed me by entirely
Now: Haven’t listened to an actual album in years, although I like some newer artists (thanks to my kids)
Gosh- I don’t remember the decades, but Herman’s Hermits, Beatles, Rod Stewart (Maggie May), Don McClean (American Pie), Bruce (Born to Run), Bob Dylan (all of it), then moved on to country (Alan Jackson, George Strait
Your teens-- R.E.M. Murmor
Your 20’s-- Billy Bragg Workers Playtime
Young parenthood-- Nanci Griffith Flyer
Older parenthood: Fountains of Wayne: Wlecome Interstate Manager
Now: Frank Turner: Show 2000 (total cheat to avoid picking one Frank album
BONUS: John Hiatt Slow Turniing or Kasey Chamber The Captain
teens- Sweet Baby James (But Tapestry is right up there too)
college - The Smoker You Drink the Player You Get
After college- Running on Empty
young parenthood - Hap Palmer (Don’t know the album name but I can still sing the songs!! Walking walking walking walking, seems so easy now…)
Older parenthood: hmmmm…
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