Song of the Year

Every year since 1985 (with the exception of 06 and 08) I have picked a "song of the year." The song is supposed to represent the coming year. Sometimes it is a pessimistic song...sometimes it is an optimistic song. Sometimes I am not even sure why I pick the song...but they almost always end up...one year later...to have been an excellent representation of the previous year.

I pick the song on New Year's Eve for the coming year...and it is supposed to be the first song that I hear in the New Year (and the previous year's song is supposed to be the last song that I hear in the previous year). Of course, logistically this is not always possible, but usually it is.

This year I forgot all about it until Jan 2nd. I remembered and the first song that came to mind was Divine Hammer, by The Breeders. And so it is.



1985 Kids from Fame, I Still Believe in Me
1986 Go West, Don't Look Down
1987 Outfield, Taking My Chances
1988 Police, King of Pain
1989 U2, Where the Streets Have No Name
1990 Erasure, Hideaway
1991 Aztec Camera, Stray
1992 Erasure, Home
1993 Kirt Kempter, Standing on this Bridge
1994 John Wesley Harding, End of Something
1995 Poi Dog Pondering, Postcard from a Dream
1996 Indigo Girls, Watershed
1997 Poi Dog Pondering, Complicated
1998 Michelle Shocked, The Hard Way
1999 Ani DiFranco, Fuel
2000 The Nields, Giving it Back to Susan
2001 Barenaked Ladies, Falling for the First Time
2002 The Nields, This Town is Wrong
2003 Fleetwood Mac, Landslide
2004 Barenaked Ladies, Go Home
2005 Barenaked Ladies, For You
2006
2007 The Motor Primitives,Favorite Dream
2008
2009 Barenaked Ladies, Testing 1, 2, 3
2010 Barenaked Ladies, Maybe You're Right
2011 The Breeders, Divine Hammer