Trask Avenue

So my sister, thinking she is the funny sort, posted a link on Zuckerface to a slideshow on the AARP website titled “16 Songs Everyone Over 50 Must Own.” Not sure why she sent it to me. Doesn’t she remember I figured out how to stop the aging process? You would think that kind of information would stick in a person’s mind, the proclamation, “I have discovered the secret which will allow people to stay their current age forever, never to grow old or infirmed.” But apparently it takes more to impress her. She’s a tough crowd.

The list was compiled by Jacquelyn Mitchard, an accomplished writer raised in Chicagoland. Now before your eyes start darting around in search of that off-color font promising a linky exit from here into the ether which ends on Ms. Mitchard’s slideshow, stop. There’s more to discuss first. Please show some patience.

I have issues with her choices, but who cares? Isn’t the point of any list to spark conversation, debate, kinship, anxiety, blind rage? It must be since lists do not seem to serve any other purpose. Yet the concept of a list of 16 songs anyone over a certain age should own is intriguing, partly because it can be approached from several perspectives. Here’s how she chose to go about it.

Music stokes my mood, keeps me spinning, on the bike and in life, and recalls for me irreplaceable moments we get to experience once, if we’re lucky. So I’ve compiled a list of favorites from every genre, each of which speaks in some important way to our generation.

Fair enough. It is her list. She can do whatever she damn well pleases. If she wants to frame it with genre limitations while simultaneously trying to speak to the experiences of her generation, have at it. Still there are plenty of other approaches to this topic, even using the odd 16 song parameter. For example:

– 16 songs from every decade you have been alive, evenly divided among those decades. Contrary to what most people over 50 have always thought, young musicians continually create music of sock-knocking-off awesomeness.
– 16 songs which remind you of various eras of your life.
– 16 songs which were cultural touchstones within your lifetime. (Okay, she sorta included this one.)
– 16 songs which address aspects of growing older, providing thoughtful insight to the emotions folks within your age range often encounter.
– 16 songs which are among the most enduring and well crafted pieces of music created, again within your lifetime.
– 16 songs from any era which are so outrageously phenomenal that anyone who enjoys music, especially someone your age, should own a recording.
– 16 songs you personally love, everyone else be damned. This is the list most people would compile.
– And so on and so forth.

As you see, the possibilities are enormous.

Anyway, the point is not trash Ms. Mitchard’s list. (See? The link! Patience pays off.) Nor is it to inflict upon you some bastardization of a list created by me using parameters which suit my idiosyncratic interests. The point is to burden YOU and let YOU proceed with the bastardization under the guise of a “Demographically Inspired Social Study of the Influence of Art on Individuals with a Particular Focus on Musical Expression Created by Other Individuals.” Sounds gibberishy enough, doesn’t it?

The rules are so simple even I would understand them.

1) List one, two or however many songs you want which you believe people within your general age range should own. But don’t be piggy. If you find yourself blasting past 16, give your fingers a rest.
2) Include your reasons. Or don’t.
3) Include the decade of life you are currently sailing though. 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, whatever. Or don’t.
4) If so moved comment on what others say keeping in mind The Gold Record Rule: Don’t be a freakin’ know-it-all snob. If that void needs to be filled, someone here at Traskland can step in.

Other than having no rules, does it get easier? (The answer is, “No John, it doesn’t.”) And take heed, amazing contributor! Your selections will not go unnoticed! Ummm…let’s rephrase. They will not go unnoticed by me or (I assume) the other folks who are kind enough to stop by this little corner of the universe every now and then. As for the rest of humanity, I am pretty certain they will not stumble upon your insightful analysis. Which, of course, is their loss.