A Music Playlist Keeping sAd (senility Alzheimer's dementia) Away

          This 62-song playlist is me memory-flexing and sAd combatting*—which occurred not only during the exercise of digging, stacking and bolting shiny-bits to shadow-bytes (resulting in a spiral staircase climbing thru my years) but, hopefully, re-occurs during my future listen-thru's.

          If you don't already know: my biggest fear is losing the me of my memories.  Worse, would be to not be cognizant of it happening as it's happening—to lose and never miss things that I consider intrinsic raises my hackles.  The reason this doesn't feel like an unreasonable apprehension is because my elderly female ancestors succumbed to sAd and all my male ancestors died before they were elderly (so even though I'm now officially an elder, I have no way to know if ...metaphor about shitting one's pants and wondering where's that smell coming from?...).

          I'm turning 62 years old.  With emphasis on that last word.  But.  I have an extra skip in my step (♬appy ♪ay to-me) because I'm the first in my male ancestral line to make it to gov't-bonafide old'nuff to collect monthly social security retirement benefits.    

          Since so many of my memories are nostalgically-attached to music, I set a few guidelines to make composing this playlist a challenge:

• One song—released during each year—which had a memorable impact on me.
• First priority has been given to songs listened to repeatedly during the year of their release.
• Alternatively, songs "discovered" after their release are listed in the year of their discovery.
  
• Last resort: placing a song in the year of its release when it was memorable later (e.g. 1959).
• No song for the current year (a 63-song playlist would bruise my design aesthetic). 
• Sixty-two songs / 62 different artists (solo-artists/samples, separate from their bands, allowed).
• Describe at least one memorable personal first from each year.
• Include a snippet of lyric relevant to then-me (which doesn't have to be related to the personal first).

          After the playlist was finished, I created an intermediate memory tool artwork / story-line to memorize it. 

          List to this entire playlist (4 hours 20 minutes) on YouTube by clicking the image.  Or—for those less interested in the full dose of this elderly creative philosopher's flashbacks—cherry-pick from the below titles/artists: 

1959  Theme From a Summer Place, Percy Faith Orchestra - my first year alive (no memories) this was played on family's 45rpm record player (for years) to put me to sleep

. . .

 

1960  Alley Oop, Hollywood Argyles - my first interaction with a newspaper (referred to as the Sunday Funny's in our house) I enjoy the ones that don't require words to understand

he lived a long time ago

 

1961  The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh), The Tokens - my first "I understand all the words" non-nursery rhyme song (not easy replacing the itisy bitsy spider)

in the jungle ... near the village ... hush my darling

 

1962  Loco-motion, Little Eva - my first car trips; car seats don't exist so I stand between the seats on 'the hump' (in the backseat) and my new-born infant sister (Nanett) is held in someone's arms

my little baby sister can do it with me

 

1963  Dominique, Soeur Sourire - my first awareness of foreign countries and different languages, which I learn to translate (poorly) in high-school freshman French class (ten years later)

s'en allait tout simplement (over the land, he simply went or went simply)

1964  You Really Got Me, The Kinks - my first sleepwalking nightmare (a giant clown swinging in the leafless trees behind my house like they are the jungle-gym monkey bars on the playground)

you got me so I can't sleep at night

 

1965  King of the Road, Roger Miller - my first trip by passenger train (sleeper-compartment Massachusetts to Iowa and back, with my mother and three-year-old sister)

 third boxcar, midnight train

1966  Nowhere Man, The Beatles - my first moves; new schools, and new friends are disappearing faster than my baby teeth; new step-dad (three different schools and four different houses this year)

knows not where he's going to

1967  Windy, The Association - my first visit to a big city (Chicago, 'the windy city') this song played in heavy rotation on the radio (communal pickle barrel restaurant; dinner with step-dad's friends; their petulant child's name: Wendy)

who's reachin out to capture a moment

1968  Spooky, Classic IV - my first pet hamster, which I named Spooky [given to me, dead, on xmas eve by my parents; it's replacement was Spooky II (Spooky VI died in 1979) my parents were not intending to teach me Memento Mori, at 10]

just like a ghost, you've been a hauntin

 

1969  Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), Sly & The Family Stone - [my first Mondegreen] my first crush (Janice Brailer, not her twin Janet) and I listened to this song at my first spin-the-bottle party

thank you for the party but I could never stay 

 

1970  No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature, Guess Who - my first awareness that adults were incompetent hypocrites unaware they're terrible at raising children (the call's coming from inside the house)

lonely feeling, deep inside; find a corner, where I can hide

 

1971  Changes, David Bowie - my first after school job ($1.25 hr) and my first overt disregard for adults 

So I turned myself to face me (turn and face the strange) ... don't wanna be a richer man

 

1972  Father and Son, Cat Stevens - my first artworks are created (stones glued and painted to look like people)

you're still young (that's your fault) ... I am old, but I'm happy ... think a lot ... your dreams may not

 

1973  Jenny, Chicago - my first verbal and physical abuse / assault (beat-up by my summer-job manager)

sad but true, z' always someone waiting just ta shit on you

1974  Seagull, Bad Company - my first rejection (of many) from girls I ask to "go out with me"

fly all around 'til somebody shoots you down

1975  Letting Go, Paul McCartney/Wings - my first kiss after a date (in my parent's car, in her driveway)

ahh, she tastes like wine, she's human bein so devine

 

1976  Livin Thing, Electric Light Orchestra - my first sexual encounter (oral, in a rented canoe)

sailin away on the crest of a wave ... slippin an slidin (it's a givin thing) floating downstream

 

1977  Never Going Back Again, Fleetwood Mac - my first serious alcohol poisoning (two-day hangover)

been down one time, been down two time

 

1978  Peg, Steely Dan - my first discovery of what became a life-long passion (double-feature art films)

it will all come back to you; it's your favorite foreign movie

 

1979  Pop Muzik, M - my first cat (white with spots of caramel-orange, named Popcorn, nicknamed him 'Pop') and my first college law class (based on my awareness that I probably won't be able to feed myself with an art degree)

wanna be a gun slinger, don't be a rock singer, eanie meany miny mo

 

1980  Emotional Rescue, Rolling Stones - my first art gallery show (UW-Milwaukee student show)

promises were never made to keep

 

1981  ABACAB, Genesis - my first co-habitation, first marriage (immediately followed by my first pregnancy)

think I'm to blame? (you want it - you got it) or reflection of someone else's name

 

1982  Shock the Monkey, Peter Gabriel - my first child is born (my son, Bram, was such a beautiful purple)

there is one thing you must be sure of, I can't take any more

 

1983  True, Spandau Ballet - my first overseas assignment (18 months in Korea)

always in time, but never in line for dreams

 

1984  Hold Me Now, Thompson Twins - my first breakup (and first failed marriage counseling and first amicable divorce)

look at our life now, we're tattered and torn; we fuss and we fight and delight in the tears

 

1985  Something About You, Level 42 - my first illicit affair (fraternizing with a junior soldier was forbidden)

making mistakes is a part of life's imperfections ... is it so wrong to be human

 

1986  Holding Back the Years, Simply Red - my first adrenaline fueled chase, while driving a military police sedan (eventually caught the stolen TransAm after 35+ miles; driver ran into a Georgia forest swamp and got away)

I'll keep holdin on, I'll keep holdin on

 

1987  Rhythm of Love, Yes - my first assignment as an undercover investigator (black-market and drug suppression team) and my initial advanced-training application was rejected (for Apprentice CID Agent school)

innocence no answer ... in this situation: I have found you in

 

1988  Orange Crush, REM - my first physical signs of mental stress/anxiety (back muscle seizure / heart palpitations / arrhythmia / incapacitating migraine / one mini-stroke)

I've had my fun and now it's time to serve your conscience overseas

 

1989  She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals - my first calculated insubordination (my letter to the MG) and my subsequent first opportunity to witness a miracle (BFR)

waitin round's killin me (runnin out of time) things go wrong, they always do

 

1990  The Power, SNAP! - my first foam-art sculpture (fade to black) and my first art commission

sgettin'sgettin'sgettin'sgettin kinda hectic

 

1991  Crazy, Seal - my first too-odd-for-words investigation (false rape allegation which hinged on a coincidence)

but we're never gonna survive unless we get a little ... crazy

 

1992  Walking on Broken Glass, Annie Lennox - my first assignments travelling* throughout Europe as a protective service agent (bodyguard for NATO commander in 20+ countries)

know that I might bleed ... nothing left to fear ... doing really well my dear

 

1993  Cose Della Vita, Eros Ramazzotti (Italian: the matters of life) - my first recognition of favorite cities and places to visit (Musée d'Orsay in Paris; as well as Florence, Venice, Siena, Naples and smaller cities throughout Italy)

all the memories we’ve had ... I want to remember, I can never forget

 

1994  Your Ghost, Kirsten Hersh/Michael Stipe - my first offensive driving course (Nürburgring, DE)

i-think-last-night-you were driving circles around me

 

1995  Carnival, Natalie Merchant - my first career self-sabotage [Although I hated being a protective service agent (labelled* babysitting grown-ass adults by a co-worker) I loved the travel; I decide to return to criminal investigation supervision]

have I been blind-have I been lost-inside myself and my own mind   

 

1996  Real World, Matchbox 20 - my first assignment as a unit commander (Special Agent in Charge)

well I'd shout out ... boy don't make me wanna change my - tone 

 

1997  A Long December, Counting Crows - my first scuba diving (open water PADI certification, obtained during a winter vacation in Negril, Jamaica)

it's been so long since I've seen the ocean - guess I should  

 

1998  One Week, Barenaked Ladies - my first awareness of the term Asperger's (although I realized how much it fit me, it would be many years before I admitted it to myself and still more before I talked about it openly)

I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve

 

1999  Praise You, Fatboy Slim - my first significant family (genetic?) poor-health confirmations (my father, Leverett, dies at age 60 and my maternal grandmother is diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 80)  

we've come a long, long way together; through the hard times, and the good

 

2000  Dreaming, BT/Kirsty Hawkshaw - my first success at lucid dreaming accompanied my first long-form-scribble pen/ink drawing (full drawing)

 walk with me, the future's at hand ... one taste is never enough

 

2001  Breathe, Télépopmusik/Angela McCluskey - my first danger-pay deployment "NATO peace keeping" assignment (7 days-a-week for seven months; Ops Officer Kosovo/Macedonia)

another day ... I'm used to it by now, I'm used to it by now

 

2002  No Children, The Mountain Goats - my first contested divorce (and my first military pension check)

I hope I lie: and tell everyone you were a good wife

 

2003  Brimful of Asha, Cornershop (Norman Cook Remix) - my first online dating foray (U-date) eventually results in a successful partnership (eighteen years later and there aren't sufficient words of praise)

she's the one that keeps the dream alive, from the morning past the evening to the end of the light

 

2004  Float On, Modest Mouse - my first serious car accident (SUV flipped end-over-end, at highway speed, during a massive Arizona hail storm) which became my first blog post on s n a p p e r h e a d (my first blog)

bad news comes, don't-you-worry, even when it - lands

 

2005  Feel Good Inc, Gorillaz - my first digitally rendered artwork (sarah in the pity - based on, and derived from, my significant other who consistently seems to be incessantly imbued with unforeseen unplanned serendipitous events)

got a new horizon, it's ephemeral style 

2006  Crazy, Gnarls Barkley - my first visit to Manitoba, Yellowstone, Glacier and Grand Tetons (grizzly bears, elk, owl, red fox, bison, black bears, bald eagle, moose, wolf)

having the time of your life ... no coincidence I've come (I can die when I'm done) 

 

2007  Kashmir, Led Zeppelin - my first "I would have paid $1000 for a ticket" event (London benefit concert with John Bonham's son, Jason, on drums) because Zep is the only band I regret not seeing when I had the chance

 traveler of both time and space to be where I have been ... across the sea of years

 

2008  Handlebars, Flobots - my first recognition of the world-impacting importance of a US presidential election (Obama-Biden vs McCain-Palin—after the Bush wars—who was president, now, had significance)

the strings that control the system ... end the planet in a holocaust

 

2009  I Remember, deadmau5 and Kaskade - my first santacon (the dichotomy of making fresh memories while drenching brain cells in alcohol . . . I will always remember the four rules of santa rampage!)

 feeling the past moving in ... hold to the time that you know ... add to the memory you keep

  

2010  Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia), Us3 - my first time to play disc golf at a professional course (Horning's Hideout)

drip-trip, flip fantasia ... you move your feet (biddy biddy bop)

 

2011  Pop Culture, Madeon - my first favorite mashup song (the dance video with Nathan Barnatt is priceless)

hole in the world ... time goes by, so slowly, time goes, time goes, time goes by 

 

2012  Simple Math, Manchester Orchestra - my first philosophy readings become studies; this song (and video) best capture my brain's struggles and its failure to comprehend what it's choosing to focus on.

what if I was wrong and started trying to fix it? ... been trying to get to where we’ve always been?

2013  Mash Machine, FAROFF - my first 700+ days of continual work finally finished (beginning in 2011 I/we delivered newspapers a few hours every morning; 7 days a week, with no days off, for almost two years)

I ain't happy ... days destroys the night ... kickin your can all over the place

 

2014  Would You...?, Touch and Go - my first wedding/honeymoon done the right way (two bands, belly/hula/burlesque dancers, a DJ; pot-luck/open bar; two weeks: beach cabin then ocean resort then mountain resort, hot tubs & fireplaces)

Ahmm...

 

2015  Lone Digger, Caravan Place - my first custom-ordered-from-the-factory automobile (matte grey/black cabriolet smart with all the baby-booty-bells and mini-crackerjack-box-whistles; with 7 speakers it's a rolling stereo)

baby can you move it round the rhythm cause you know we're living in the fast lane (speed up)

2016  Human, Rag'n'Bone Man - my first donation to a presidential campaign (others failed to Feel the Bern) and my first smart car road-trip (with my cat, Cecil; 5000 miles) and first reconnoiter-vacation (to Vermont)

don't ask my opinion, don't ask me to lie (don't put the blame on me) 

2017  Believer, Imagine Dragons - my first full solar eclipse experience, first extremely low spring tide, and my first volunteer "work" (in the Oregon Humane Society's cattery section)

First things first: Imma say all the words inside my head ... write down my poems for the few

2018  Hey Soul Sister, Train - my first permanent estraingement from my sister (Kim) after she revealed her covert narcissism following the death of my friend Carol (who also had Asperger's; this was Carol's favorite song)

you have a one-track mind, like me ... you see, I can be myself now finally

 

2019  Finally Moving, Pretty Lights (Etta James) - my first "blind move" (no: local place, friends/family or employment; two cars, two cats, Oregon-to-Vermont) and my first meeting with my two sons (Bram and Ian)

oh sometimes, I get a good feeling - yeah 

 

2020  Bad Guy, Billie Eilish - my first intentionally rude verbal altercation with a supervisor (as a US Census Bureau clerk, I asked one why he was being a fuckin asshole, told another she was a terrible supervisor)

 I do, what I want, when I'm wanting to ... so cynical ... (duh)

 

  * I don't want this groove to ever end (by LTJ Xperience) - this 63^rd song is my first intentional lie [mandatory because Rob Gordon (quoted below from the film rather than the show) and it was rch-close to being 420!  So this eerily appropriate 8 minute song-with-a-perfect-title added the correct ending emotional tone and the correct running time.] . . . oh, yea: asterisked words are spelled the correct British way (combatting with a single 't' sounds-to-my-eye like com-bate-ing; labeling—single l—also sexual, too close to labial; and travelling with one 'l'?  It's just bloody jarring in'it?)

 the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art

similar listening/watching:

 

sAd story origin

 

re-collecting 👍👎 parts 1 - 4

 

30-song playlist catagories

 

critique of 100 films