When it comes to music, everyone has their favourite artists and genres.  For some it’s rock, and others it’s jazz.  In some cases, you’ll meet people (myself included) who have eclectic tastes that span the musical spectrum, and a collection that will rival many radio stations.

But aside from that, I take pride in being a fountain of useless music information.  Not too long ago, a colleague randomly walked by my desk asking me who sang the 80’s classic “Turning Japanese” (Answer: The Vapours).  He was baffled.  Not at my response necessarily, but at the speed in which I was able to answer this otherwise ridiculous question.

And that’s why when I came across an article not too long ago, I began to question my own musical credentials.  The article, an AP story by David Bauder, talks about losing touch with today’s Top 40 music, with the belief that Top 40 radio is geared to 16 year olds.  His theory; subtract one song from the Top 40 for every year you are over the age of 16, and that should represent the number of songs you should know in today’s Top 40 chart.

A quick visit to Billboard.com and their latest Hot 100 chart, and to my shock and horror, I only knew 17 songs.  Powerless, I proceeded to Radio and Records, the charts immortalized by Casey Kasem and Shadoe Stevens for the American Top 40 as I grew up, and again only 17 songs.

To draw from the 80’s classic by Hall & Oates, am I “Out of Touch”, longing for the “Old Days” that Chicago so aptly sang about, or was U2 right and I’m “Stuck in a moment you can’t get out of”? 

Oh, and I should mention, my score should have been 27.