50 Years of May Music (in playlists)

Friday is fun because it’s music and there are links and playlists. Today, I made a playlist of every decade’s May music chart hits since the 1970s. Not sure why, but I did it.

It’s May, 2025 — but I’m sure you knew that already. And if you didn’t, that’s possibly how you’ve found yourself here thinking you were getting the news.

I was thinking that I used to make more of an effort to make playlists on Fridays, not just the regular weekly one for the weekend — can you believe we are up to week 222 that I have been doing this; never once missed a weekly playlist?! Crazy.

But some of the earlier music posts had loads of playlists, loads more links.

I was trying to give my writing fingers a break today also. So I came up with this lazy concept.

I have made a playlist of the 20 biggest singles from the end of May in 1975.

I don’t know what favourites you’ll find there, but Stand By Your Man is obviously a classic. Not sure I always want to listen to it, but it’s undeniably a massive tune. Lovin’ You by Minnie Riperton is better. But again, not a regular listen for me. Only Yesterday isn’t a top Carpenters song for me — but it’s Carpenters, so it gets a tick at the least. The single version of Autobahn is more like it, though I’d rather buckle up for the whole side of the LP. Can we even talk about Gary Glitter these days? And anyway, is there really even anything to say about his music if it’s not Rock N Roll Pt 2? That’s the song right?

So, um, yeah, that’s 1975 in May. In terms of a playlist-sampler. I wonder what you think? Any of your absolute favourites in there? Anything much you even know in there? It’s different for everyone, right.

Okay, so that’s not actually much of a topic or a thing, so I decided to make a playlist for 1985, same time — roughly the last week in May. So here goes:

This is more my era, I can remember these songs hitting the radio when they did. I still listen to a few of these. Let’s have a look. Paul Hardcastle’s 19 is a bit of a banger, blew my mind at the time. Still kinda like it a lot, wouldn’t choose it often, but you know. A View To A Kill isn’t a favourite Duran Duran song, but I do have big memories around seeing the film in the cinema. Some songs here I wouldn’t be mad to hear and would not turn off, but wouldn’t choose necessarily, — DeBarge’s Rhythm of the Night and Bronski Beat doing I Feel Love are great examples of that. But the first absolute must, a song I’ve listened to a lot in 2025, is Bryan Ferry’s Slave To Love, probably my favourite solo Ferry. Walking on Sunshine can fuck right off. But there’s a couple more biggies on here in Don’t You (Forget About Me) and Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Both songs I’m still listening to in May of 2025. And in any month, and across all of the years since first hearing them.

So for me May 1985 isn’t always great, but I prefer more of the songs here than from May of 1975. How about you?

I was a bit curious about how May of 1995 was; I’m pretty curious about the year in general, 30 years on from first moving out of home, and the novelette I’m working on currently has a lot of connection to that era, and the music from it. At least I thought so, but maybe not the music from the month of May 1995:

Do I like Scatman by Scatman John. No. No I don’t. Is it a fucking banger thought? Yes, sometimes. Montell Jordan’s This Is How We Do It would be another example, and because I worked in retail a lot in the late 90s, I’m going to say same for Take That’s Back For Good, because I heard it a lot. Not great, but annoyingly catchy. I think of 1995 for all its great albums, but the singles on display at the top of the chart this time in May were incredibly disappointing, apart from Pulp’s Common People. And that Oasis one I guess. Well, not as far as I am concerned. But Some Might Say…

So yeah, bit of a disappointment, May 1995.

I had a great time listening to music in 2005, I was active as a reviewer on TV, and in print. And I was talking a little bit on radio now and then too…So Let’s have a look at May of that year then.

Gorillaz’ Feel Good Inc. is a very good way to almost-start, not a huge Akon fan ever, but Lonely was a big one. Not sure there’s much else here to be honest. I’m triggered by even seeing Crazy Frog. I was once asked to provide the music for a family leaving party in 2005. I made an iPod playlist (remember those) and spent most of the day on getting it just right, moving through from background tunes to some gems for dancing, and moving up through the moods and years and genres. About 45 minutes into my hard work, the person at the helm of the party unplugged my device and put her own iPod Shuffle in the dock (SCOFF!) and played Crazy Frog about six times. Let’s just say I left the farewell before they did. Nothing else here for me, that annoying KT Tunstall song and music by Kelly Osbourne makes it seem like 2005 wasn’t a good year for music. Where’s my Pernice Brothers record? Stat!

May of 2005 isn’t sounding so flash to me.

So what about ten years ago. I was still very much an active music reviewer then, though mostly for my earlier internet platform, the Off The Tracks website (archive of which is here in the back pages of “Sounds Good!”) I was still writing reviews of gigs for the newspaper, but not so much with albums. I remember some great music from that time, for sure. I wonder if any of it was released in May?

Maroon 5 gives me the ick. Jason Derulo gives me the ick. First appearances of Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, they don’t give me the ick, but they are not for me, nor are they meant to be. They do what they do and need no real comment from me either way. Just interesting to note them here. The obvious banger of this list is Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars. A baking-paper tracearound of Prince and James Brown and such things, but still a lot of fun, and a hell of a pop hit. First appearance of Selena Gomez (see Swift, Grande). Charlie Puth gives me the ick — surname sounds like a silent fart. I remember writing that in my non-award winning review of his album in The Dominion Post actually. Possibly my last ever newspaper album review. What a way to go out. Puuuuuuthhh….Ed Sheeran (ick). David Guetta (ick). Pitbull (ick). Sam Smith (ick).Yeah, nothing here for me apart from Uptown Funk in a right time/right place kinda way.

Turns out May 2015 wasn’t anything really.

This was a stupid idea. Sorry. But I did want to commit to the bit. So here’s May 2025 — now, today, here, this month. As we speak. Here’s what’s a hit today. I didn’t know there were still charts. Everything drops. People stream in huge numbers. I don’t know if I know any of these songs. That doesn’t make them bad. I just don’t know if I know them:

I haven’t really heard Chappell Roan, but I recognise she’s a big deal and that’s just fine. Billie Eilish, ditto. Lady Gaga’s new album is getting raves, and I don’t mind her but never feel the need to listen to her, maybe I should check out the new album at least once. I’ve never got the appeal of Drake. I do get the appeal of Kendrick Lamar. I like him. New album is pretty good, for me it’s not a patch on the last one, but I get that it arrives with new hype, he won the rap battle, he played the Super Bowl, he toured the world again and is now Victory Lapping it with his duet partner on his May big single, Luther. It’s a great track, one of the highlights of the new album. About the only song I even know on this list. Oh no, that’s not true, I really like Anxiety by Doechii, it’s cool. Not quite as good as the absolute bangers on her earlier mixtape, but very cool. Yeah, that’s all I know here. I’ve never heard Post Malone. Not keen for that to ever change either.

So, there you go — 50 years of May, checking in only every decade. Imagine how gruelling this would have been with a playlist for every year in that span. Geezus.

Anyway, goal was to not write many words. Failed. Once again. But had a bit of fun working through this, and making these playlists. How about you? Anything here you wanna defend, celebrate, or just give a plug? What are you thoughts on revisiting music in this way?

And if you have no thoughts at all on that, I have made a really nice playlist to celebrate week 222 of sharing a playlist every Friday. It’s here:

As always, thanks for reading. And for listening. Have a great weekend.