The 2016 All-Time College Playlist

The waiting is finally over. The nominations have been verified, the legitimacy of the electorate certified, and the votes counted. Yes, the results are in on the 2016 My College Wisdom All-Time College Playlist.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the process. Reviewing the submissions was a journey down memory lane that took me back to beer-soaked fraternity basements and sweaty college bar dance floors that I had long ago forgotten. I ended up busting out some long idle cassette tapes and blowing the dust off more than a few LPs to listen to some of the nominations in their purist form. It was a ton of fun.

A few intriguing conclusions can be drawn from reviewing the submissions. For instance, a close examination would lead one to believe that college students have never listened to any music written after 1999. My guess is that virtually all of those who submitted nominations were born before Jimmy Carter took the oath of office. On the other hand, I have spent the last 34 years at American colleges and universities, and the truth is the songs and artists that made the list are still getting major air time on campuses today.

The range of nominated songs and artists was wonderfully broad and eclectic. To be sure, the vast majority would fall under the heading of contemporary music – pop, rock, hip-hop, rap, and the like. But there were also a few that were decidedly not. The nominations included songs ranging American Pie (Don McLean) to My Way (Frank Sinatra) to Turning Japanese (the Vapors) to Bust A Move (Young MC) to Heard It In A Love Song (Marshall Tucker Band). Nominated artists and bands included Crosby, Stills, Nash, Ah Ha, the Grateful Dead, Marvin Gaye, Guns n Roses, Jane’s Addiction, Debbie Gibson, Journey, the Clash, the Middlebury College Dissipated 8 (a campus a cappella group), Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Stephen Sondheim, and too many more to list here.

As promised, the 2016 All-Time College Playlist has been formed in a totally transparent, non-rigged fashion. The formula was simple. The songs with the most votes won. The original plan was to list the top ten vote getters. However, because of ties, there are actually twelve songs on the list. All of the songs listed received strong support that separated them from the rest of the pack. But interestingly, they all ended up clustered together within a few votes of one another. As such, I have decided to list them together alphabetically rather than rank ordering them 1 – 12 based on the total number of votes received.

Additionally, a number of artists/bands emerged as hugely influential mainstays for college listeners. Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, and the Talking Heads had by far the largest number of different songs nominated – even though neither Springsteen nor the Stones ended up with a specific song on the list. Likewise, REM, the Police, and the B52’s got a lot of love from the voters. As such, I have decided to create a second list of the most nominated artists and bands.

As to the prize for the best story to accompany a submission, I have to say there were several strong candidates. Some had to be eliminated for failing to pass the ready-for-primetime test (though those were particularly entertaining). There were a number of pregame psych-up songs. A few connected to important romantic encounters and several rattle-the-chandelier dance tunes. Those that were cited as jukebox mainstays at favorite college hangouts certainly earned a special place in my heart for purely sentimental reasons. In the end, though, the winner stood out not only for its commitment to the music, but for its artistic incorporation of goofy college antics that likely resulted in some sort of dorm damage fine. That was, of course, Cindy Dale Hohman who, along with her freshman roommates painted over the number on their dorm room door – changing it from 352 to B52 – in honor of the B-52’s Rock Lobster and 52 Girls. In the immortal words of Eric “Otter” Stratton in Animal House: “This situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody’s part.” And Cindy and her roommates were just the ones to do it. Congratulations!

Anyway, without further delay, here are the lists:

The 2016 All-Time College Playlist

Song                                                                                 Artist

Black Coffee In Bed                                                Squeeze

Burning Down The House                                                Talking Heads

LA Woman                                                                  The Doors

Life During War Time                                                    Talking Heads

Paradise By The Dashboard Lights                            Meat Loaf

Psycho Killer                                                            Talking Heads

Red, Red, Wine                                                         UB40

Rock Lobster                                                              B-52’s

Save It For Later                                                          The English Beat

September                                                                Earth, Wind, and Fire

Tempted                                                                   Squeeze

What I Like About You                                               The Romantics

 

The 2016 All-Time College Bands/Musical Artists

The B-52’s                                                                                 Bob Marley

Bruce Springsteen                                                                   The Clash

The Doors                                                                                  The Police

REM                                                                                            The Rolling Stones

The Talking Heads                                                                U2

Thanks for tuning in. Rock on.