Ok, I had this idea Sunday while shoveling. A list of the best Beatlesque song for each year since 1970 or 1971 (the year after the final Beatles song).
I wasn't sure of the criteria
- songs that the Beatles might have made, had they still been together
- songs that sound most like the Beatles
I wonder if this already exists.
1970:
No Matter What (Badfinger);
With My Face on the Floor (Emitt Rhodes); 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 (Zoot)
1971:
Baby Blue (Badfinger);
Day After Day (Badfinger)
1972:
Alone Again (Gilbert O'Sullivan);
Nobody Knows (The Raspberries);
Couldn't I Just Tell You (Todd Rundgren);
Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealers Wheel); I'm Coming Home (Stories)
1973:
Bluebird is Dead (Electric Light Orchestra)
1974:
September Gurls (Big Star);
Can't Get It Out of My Head (Electric Light Orchestra); Cry (The Raspberries)
1975:
New York City (Artful Dodger);
Good Company (Queen)
1976:
Telephone Line (Electric Light Orchestra); Yes It's True (The Flamin' Groovies);
Sub Rosa Subway (Klaatu)
1977:
Chance To Get Away (Dwight Twilley Band);
Mr. Blue Sky (Electric Light Orchestra);
Baby It's Cold Outside (Pezband);
The Things We Do For Love (10cc)
1978:
Flying With Broken Wings (Angel); Where Have You Been All My Life (Fotomaker);
See You Tonite (Gene Simmons)
1979:
Good Girls Don't (The Knack);
South Bound Saurez (Led Zeppelin)
1980:
Another Nail in My Heart (Squeeze);
I Just Want To Touch You (Utopia)
1981:
Absolute Beginners (The Jam)
1982:
If You Want My Love (Cheap Trick)
1983:
Cry Just A Little Bit (Shakin' Stevens)
1984:
Valotte (Julian Lennon)
1985:
My Love Explodes (Dukes of Stratosphear)
1986:
World Where You Live (Crowded House);
Earn Enough for Us (XTC)
1987:
Hank's Little Fingers (Guided By Voices);
Long Distance Man (Guided By Voices)
1988:
Into Temptation (Crowded House)
1989:
Everybody Needs A Holiday (Big Audio Dynamite);
Paper Girl (Guided By Voices);
Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz);
Sowing the Seeds of Love (Tears for Fears);
The Loving (XTC);
Mayor of Simpleton (XTC)
1990: How Loft Am I? (Guided By Voices);
Baby's Coming Back (Jellyfish);
She Still Loves Him (Jellyfish);
Feelin' (The La's);
I Can't Sleep (The La's);
Way Out (The La's);
Every Little Thing (Jeff Lynne);
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (The Pogues);
God On My Side (World Party);
Put the Message in the Box (World Party); Take It Up (World Party)
1991: Chance of a Lifetime (Material Issue);
Window Pane (The Real People);
Top of the Pops (The Smithereens);
Girlfriend (
Matthew Sweet);
I've Been Waiting (Matthew Sweet);
What You Do To Me (Teenage Fanclub)
1992: Exit Flagger (Guided By Voices);
Long Way Down (Michael Penn);
Seen the Doctor (Michael Penn); As A Child (Suzanne Vega);
Blood Makes Noise (Suzanne Vega);
Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (XTC);
My Bird Performs (XTC);
1993:
Wish I Was Skinny (The Boo Radleys); Crutch Came Slinking (Guided By Voices);
Hey Aardvark (Guided By Voices); Kisses to the Crying Cooks (Guided By Voices);
My Love (Lenny Kravitz);
Into Your Arms (The Lemonheads);
Hang On (Teenage Fanclub); Silver Naked Ladies (Paul Westerberg); World Class Fad (Paul Westerberg);
Is It Like Today? (World Party); Sunshine (World Party)
1994:
End of a Century (Blur);
The Game of Eyes (Gorky's Zygotic Mynci);
Echoes Myron (Guided By Voices);
Yours To Keep (Guided By Voices);
Kite (Nick Heyward);
Live Forever (Oasis);
Shakermaker (Oasis);
Supersonic (Oasis);
Whatever (Oasis);
Love and Kisses (Sam Phillips);
Strawberry Road (Sam Phillips); I Hate My Generation (Sloan); Snowsuit Sound (Sloan); Worried Now (Sloan)
1995:
It's Lulu (The Boo Radleys);
Wake Up Boo! (The Boo Radleys);
Wilder (The Boo Radleys);
Alright (Cast);
Big Me (Foo Fighters);
As We Go Up, We Go Down (Guided By Voices);
Chicken Blows (Guided By Voices); Closer You Are (Guided By Voices); Little Whirl (Guided By Voices);
Game of Pricks (Guided By Voices);
Watch Me Jumpstart (Guided By Voices);
You Will Know (The Inbreds); Limited Liability (Chris Knox); Mirror Mirror (Chris Knox);
Don't Look Back in Anger (Oasis);
She's Electric (Oasis);
Some Might Say (Oasis);
Wonderwall (Oasis);
She's Electric (Oasis); Passion Play (Papas Fritas);
Just (Radiohead); Try To Please (The Spongetones);
Alright (Supergrass);
Time To Go (Supergrass)
1996:
Tea (Brendan Benson);
C'Mon Kids (The Boo Radleys);
Not the Girl You Think You Are (Crowded House);
If We Wait (Guided By Voices); It's Like Soul Man (Guided By Voices); Stars in Her Eyes (Nick Heyward);
Cambridge California (Lilys); Almost Arms (The Minders);
The Day We Caught the Train (Ocean Colour Scene); We'll Talk (The Odds);
Nothing Beautiful (The Odds); Anybody Else But Me (The Odds); Courtyard (Olivia Tremor Control); Green Typewriters (I Don't Wanna Hear That Song) (Olivia Tremor Control); Jumping Fences (Olivia Tremor Control); No Growing (Olivia Tremor Control);
The Opera House (Olivia Tremor Control);
The Good In Everyone (Sloan);
The Lines You Amend (Sloan);
That Thing You Do (The Wonders)
1997: About Your Fame (The Apples in Stereo); Tin Pan Alley (The Appples in Stereo);
Beetlebum (Blur); Lily Dreams On (Cotton Mather);
My Before and After (Cotton Mather); Main Street Electrical Parade (Richard Davies); I May Never Know (Bill Fox);
Jane of the Waking Universe (Guided By Voices); No Gnashing Teeth (Eric Matthews);
D'You Know What I Mean (Oasis);
Don't Go Away (Oasis);
Stand By Me (Oasis); Live By The Water (Papas Fritas);
Love is the Law (The Seahorses);
Say Yes (Elliott Smith);
Winter (Teenage Fanclub);
Mermaids (Paul Weller);
She's The One (World Party)
1998:
Comb Your Hair (The Boo Radleys);
Kingsize (The Boo Radleys); A Viper In Hiding (Doleful Lions); For Anyone That You Love (Bill Fox); My Baby Crying (Bill Fox); Over and Away (Bill Fox); Day After Day (Julian Lennon); Hooray for Tuesday (The Minders); Now I Can Smile (The Minders); Pauline (The Minders);
Yeah Yeah Yeah (The Minders); She's Everything (Myracle Brah);
Baby Britain (Elliott Smith);
Oh Well, Okay (Elliott Smith);
Mr. Underground (Superdrag);
Hellbent (Superdrag)
1999:
Strawberryfire (Apples in Stereo);
If We Can Land a Man on the Moon... (Beulah); Olde Tyme Waves (Elf Power);
Choking Tara [Creamy Version] (Guided By Voices);
Hold On Hope (Guided By Voices); Dimes Make Dollars (Lilys);
Another Mellow Winter (Mellow); Albert's Hand (Myracle Brah); Treat Her Right (Myracle Brah); A New Day (Olivia Tremor Control); Hideaway (Olivia Tremor Control); Do It Yourself (Salako); I'll Be There (When You're Down) (Salako); The Idiot Boy (Ron Sexsmith); The N.S. (Sloan); ELT
(Wilco);
My Darling (Wilco); Not
hing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again) (Wilco);
I’d Like That (XTC)
2000:
Alright/Not Quite (Apples in Stereo);
Pissing in the Wind (Badly Drawn Boy); Anything You Want (Mike G);
A Crick Uphill (Guided By Voices); Flesh Ears From June (Guided By Voices); Sing It Out (Guided By Voices); Wondering Boy Poet (Guided By Voices);
Go Let It Out (Oasis); Problem With April (Of Montreal); Sorry Paul (Oranger); Stoney Curtis In Reverse (Oranger);
Heart of Mine (Peter Salett);
Somebody That I Used To Know (Elliott Smith)
2001: Up In The Sky (The Anniversary);
Something to Sleep To (Michelle Branch);
Glad Girls (Guided by Voices);
No Fear of Falling (I Am Kloot);
(Drawing) Rings Around the World (Super Furry Animals); Near Perfect Smile (Swag);
Flowers in the Window (Travis);
I Can't Wait (The White Stripes);
Now Mary (The White Stripes);
We're Going To Be Friends (The White Stripes)
2002:
Wednesday (Tori Amos); She's Telling Lies (Apples in Stereo);
Good to Me (Brendan Benson);
Dreaming of You (The Coral);
Do You Realize? (The Flaming Lips);
You'll Be Sorry (The Greenhornes); Cheyenne (Guided By Voices);
L-O-V-E (Irving);
A Question For Emily Foreman (Of Montreal);
Pancakes for One (Of Montreal);
LA Breeze (Simian);
Grace (Supergrass)
2003: People Who Care (Vic Conrad);
Family Romance (Department of Eagles); Girljacketdrunk (The Emergency);
Look What You've Done (Jet);
Anytime Soon (Marshmallow); Her is You (Mull Historical Society);
Saint Simon (The Shins);
So Says I (The Shins)
2004:
Baby I've Changed (Fountains of Wayne);
Girls of Wild Strawberries (Guided By Voices); Hospital Bed (Ben Kweller); Riverside (The M's);
Memory Lane (Elliott Smith)
2005: Brighter Than Sunshine (Aqualung);
Where Has All The Love Gone (Sheryl Crow);
The World May Never Know (Dr. Dog);
Eleanor Put Your Boots On (Franz Ferdinand);
Twin Cinema (New Pornographers);
Thank You (The Redwalls);
Spanish Teeth (Robbers on High Street)
2006: St. Paul (Capstan Shafts);
Together (Raconteurs);
Shine (Take That)
2007:
Will You Return (The Avett Brothers); The Trilateralist Told You Not To (Capstan Shafts);
Keep A Friend (Dr. Dog); Hang On (Salim Nourallah);
Nicely Now (Robert Pollard);
Whatever (Elliott Smith)
2008:
Furr (Blitzen Trapper);
Middles of June (Capstan Shafts);
Weekend Wars (MGMT);
Nine in the Afternoon (Panic at the Disco); Landscape Typing (Unbunny)
2009:
Any Fun (Coconut Records); Sawdust Man (Ben Kweller);
Everyday (Vetiver)
2010:
Heaven and Earth (Blitzen Trapper); Look Out (Peter Case);
Coquet Coquette (Of Montreal); "
Young Veins (Die Tonight)" (Young Veins)
2011:
The Roller (Beady Eye);
Sleep Forever (Portugal. The Man)
2012:
This is Sally Hatchet (Father John Misty)
The last two records Spoon released were inequivocably my favorite releases of their respective years. "Gimme Fiction" was a dark and noisy job that screamed "Art!" without asking for a spot in history books, while "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" was a smoother and poppier ride. Both rank in my Top-100 albums of all-time. Easy.
