My dad's amazing 22-CD compilation of all his favorite songs from 1950 to 1990

My dad turned 70 this year. This is what he gave me for Christmas.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/F03C0393-3EE1-4647-8BA7-3FE6FD5A5741_zpszf0ama9o.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/F6A8B38B-9EE2-4253-A9E6-CEB189E56BEA_zpsrd0zaeja.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/7A824215-9123-44F5-9849-5719B6BAE4F9_zpsculzrc7c.jpg

I haven't counted the total number of tracks, but averaging 20 or so a disc it's in the 400-500 song range. No attempt at comprehensiveness or allowances for anything other than songs he really liked from when he was 6 to 46, arranged chronologically. (I'm guessing he stopped at 1990 because it's a nice round number and that was the first year my sister and I were both off at college, which I think ended his regular engagement with current music.)

I already have a lot of what's on here, but I love the presentation and the personal idiosyncrasies. (e.g., almost no disco, but there is Abba and "Afternoon Delight"). First song is "Music! Music! Music!" by Teresa Brewer. Last one is "The Sunny Side of the Street" by the Pogues. First appearance of the Beatles ("I Saw Her Standing There") comes between "Deep Purple" by Nino Temple and April Stevens, and "Just One Look" by Doris Troy.

Also glad to see he still loves "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" 30-some years after I first brought that Heaven 17 album home.

This is so awesome. Go dad!

Reminds me I am definitely a 2nd-generation music nerd.

Awesome

That's a good dad.

My sister does these and it's awesome because each numbered disc is just a compilation of whatever she was listening to or digitizing at that point in time, so they're chronological to her listening, not the songs (though some discs are, internally, chronologically sorted). The first edition must be from 1992 or something (they started as tapes) and flipping through this one, like, thirty-disc binder's accompanying note pages becomes a kind of stratified trip through the years when we lived in the same house and shared the same albums, etc.

poll them!

very cool and I'm envious cause if my dad did this it'd just be 200 Benny Goodman tracks

holy shit

that's tremendous

Yeah, that's really cool.

poll the 22 CDs separately (the typing!), then poll all tracks on the winning disc to find the single best song your dad likes

this is rad

granny don't hate on benny goodman, benny is righteous

PLEASE post the tracklists!

tipsy this is rly wonderful

RESPECT

tbh i gave my parents a benny goodman album for xmas

and yeah we totally need tracklists

What a dad! You're very fortunate.

This is so incredibly awesome

Just saw the images. Your dad definitely has a lot more presentation instincts than my sister, those are all awesome.

nothing wrong w benny he wasn't the point

respect

a+ label name/logo too

outstanding. bravo, mr. mothra.

#1 Dad. This is fantastic Tipsy.

This is such a great Christmas present.

Wow!

Even if I didn't like most of the music I'd be touched by all the time and thought that went into this. That's love.

bloody hell.
jealous.
the man has skills!

I still burn CD-Rs, more or less following your dad's method. I often think of surrendering but eh fuck it.

So glad I'm not alone. I raise my glass to him.

is "Telstar" on this?

1969 looks like a big year for him music-wise. where was he at with his life then?

What jazzbo said. Great dad!

1969 looks like a big year for him music-wise. where was he at with his life then?

He would've turned 25 that year. (Year I was born!) I think he was starting to learn pottery then, which is what he did for basically the rest of his working life. Definitely the late '60s to very early '70s are heavily represented. It gets a lot more spread out after that, fewer songs per year.

Can't transcribe all 22 discs, but I'll put up some representative track lists later. It's mostly stuff you'd expect from a white college-grad '60s dude.

# of steely dan tracks:

When you've counted up how many, don't lose that number.

No Dan, though I do remember him liking "Rikki Don't Lose That Number."

What a great gift. Curious what he picked during, say, 1986-1990.

Wow, great gift and those look amazing, such professional-looking packaging!

Also

Disc 21 1983-85
1. Major Tom (Coming Home) Peter Schilling

Hero!

Photo the covers, we'll transcribe!

wow what a gorgeous project

that's the amazingest! (y)

How is this not a poll yet

Wow, great gift and those look amazing, such professional-looking packaging!

OTM

that's cool stuff

how's this holding up?

yeah, tell your dad we want copies!

or at least a dropbox share...

I've only listened to some of it. What I should do is the whole thing chronologically, over however many days or weeks that would take me. I mean, I know most of the songs on it -- not least because a lot of it is what I heard growing up. But it's cool to have it all in one place.

Came across this collection today and remembered I never posted photos of the tracklists. So here they are.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/312605C7-788D-4A42-8353-313341A0E8A7_zpsx13oefju.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/B18BAF3C-2B17-4A4C-AC97-CE679FE874EF_zpsxvem7laa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/E576676D-766B-411F-9881-6503DD52E767_zpsgwuvetwt.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/810D6813-3C86-4E02-88ED-81F9F624BEEF_zpsdmvmwwaw.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/C36A9F0A-79B8-44E7-80FF-57B665279EB9_zpsdjndikrc.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/29F0CE1E-A707-408C-AE67-748F324C8D60_zpskepcmpys.jpg

Spotify playlist!

have we got rid of the spotify sulkers?

I should do one of these for the hell of it.

very tempting...

This is like some Dad Rock valhalla, well done

My young dad (I'm 30s; hes 50s), who has always been an early adopter (esp. for our socioeconomic demo), similarly amassed a huge playlist of meticulously curated tunes back when napster was at its peak. He is a lover of pop and soft rock, so it was a lot of Lionel Richie and Madonna-type stuff with some Til Tuesday-like curveballs. It was days long.

This thread makes me want to ask him for a copy.

Also, nerdiness is clearly hereditary; jeez.

i love this

Also, nerdiness is clearly hereditary; jeez.

Yeah my 11-year-old writes song-by-song reviews of albums and is obsessed with Rotten Tomato rankings. Something in the gene pool.

this remains utterly fantastic

i had never seen this thread! yeah its pretty impressive.

This is not only a really cool gift, it strikes me as a very loving one too.

We should poll each disc!

My first time seeing this, what a lovely gift. (And so far removed from anything my dad would ever think if doing.) I would play Disc 2 (1956-58) a lot.

This set also explains a lot about the first quarter or so of my own 50-album list.