I'm starting out with "I Saw Her Standing There"

December 12, 2013 5:47 AM

My baby's turning seventeen and I want to surprise her with a mix CD. We've been joking about Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen" which has oddly been haunting our airwaves. What can I add? She's my music geek kid so the more obscure the better. Please note the title because I can think of no better opening than "She was just seventeen, you know what I mean..."
posted by readery to Media & Arts (42 answers total)

Best answer: Janis Ian-At Seventeen
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:50 AM on December 12, 2013 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Broken Social Scene - Anthems For A Seventeen-Year Old Girl
posted by eponym at 5:50 AM on December 12, 2013 [8 favorites]

Best answer: Dancing Queen-Abba
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:51 AM on December 12, 2013 [6 favorites]

Whatever you do, please don't include Winger's Seventeen
posted by playertobenamedlater at 5:52 AM on December 12, 2013 [4 favorites]

There's a Liz Phair song that mentions the age of 17, but it's probably very-much not appropriate.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:54 AM on December 12, 2013 [4 favorites]

There's that awful country song from the 90's about Strawberry Wine or whatever where she's 17
posted by greta simone at 5:55 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: 16 Going on 17-Sound of Music

Ladytron-Seventeen

I Love Rock and Roll-Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Metro Station Forever-Seventeen

And Happy Birthday to your daughter!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:57 AM on December 12, 2013 [3 favorites]

Possibly inappropriate subject matter, but This Year by The Mountain Goats is about being 17.
posted by burnmp3s at 5:58 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: She's Sexy & Seventeen by The Stray Cats
posted by Rob Rockets at 5:59 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Mini Viva's I Left My Heart in Tokyo, aside from being a great song, features the lines:
"Seventeen and dumb,
Look at me, I know right from wrong.
You and me, we got something on,
And I dont need to hear that come come."
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 6:03 AM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: Also Just About Seventeen by Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers.
posted by burnmp3s at 6:04 AM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: The Cars - "Let's Go" (and she won't give up, because she's seventeen)
posted by sonika at 6:09 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Not particularly obscure, but kings of leon - 17
posted by Ned G at 6:10 AM on December 12, 2013

Ass Ponys - Dried Up: fairly obscure folk-ish rock from Ohio. Though the band or song name may make you think otherwise, it seems appropriate enough.

"we were seventeen and everything was pounding and it wouldn't stop
it's hard to put to words what I was thinking then -- I don't know, we were alive or something"
posted by mean square error at 6:10 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh, and the Vaccines - Norgaard has a lyric about being 17 in it, but maybe it's not a good one to include
posted by Ned G at 6:12 AM on December 12, 2013

Brazzaville: 17
Keren Ann - Seventeen
posted by edgeways at 6:13 AM on December 12, 2013 [3 favorites]

Googling it yields this list on yahoo answers which might be helpful.
posted by Ned G at 6:14 AM on December 12, 2013

Dirty Beaches - Sweet 17: reverb-soaked minimalist surf/rockabilly sounds; the only lyrics I can make out are "sweet 17", the rest is mumbles and grunts to me. The style of it sounds pretty good, if not the content.
posted by mean square error at 6:19 AM on December 12, 2013

Girls by the 1975 has a lot of mention of being 17... but depends how (in)appropriate you find the lyrics!
posted by Ziggy500 at 6:21 AM on December 12, 2013

7 Teen by The Regents.
posted by misteraitch at 6:21 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Eddie From Ohio - Independence, Indiana. Though you might want to listen to the lyrics to make sure it's appropriate for your mix.

That's not the best recording of it but you can buy the MP3 at Amazon for $.89.
posted by bondcliff at 6:37 AM on December 12, 2013

Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
posted by phunniemee at 6:39 AM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: How have we not mentioned Ol' Blue Eyes?
posted by Rock Steady at 6:49 AM on December 12, 2013 [2 favorites]

Well there's always Meatloaf's Paradise by the Dashboard Light:

Ain't no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed

'Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely dressed

But maybe not...
posted by Naberius at 6:56 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

I love Seventeen by Marina and the Diamonds.
posted by kylej at 7:00 AM on December 12, 2013 [2 favorites]

Dancing Queen- Abba

You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen
Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine
posted by Flamingo at 7:17 AM on December 12, 2013

The Waterboys - Red Army Blues, though it is from a male perspective.

So I packed my bags
Brushed my cap
Walked out into the world
Seventeen years old
Never kissed a girl
posted by valleys at 7:24 AM on December 12, 2013

You tube link: 17 Again by the Eurythmics
posted by analog at 7:56 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Saint Etienne - When I Was Seventeen
posted by eschatfische at 7:59 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Runaway Jim by Phish is about a seventeen-year-old dog. Probably also not what you're looking for...
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 8:11 AM on December 12, 2013

Oh and Jethro Tull have a decent song called Seventeen.
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 8:18 AM on December 12, 2013

This is the second Green Day song I've linked here this week. Can I just say I'm not a Green Day fan but was 13 when they became big radio stars-- Anyway.

"Coming Clean" by Green Day starts off: "Seventeen and strung out on confusion."
posted by little_dog_laughing at 8:28 AM on December 12, 2013

Harry Chapin - She Is Always Seventeen
posted by Catseye at 8:36 AM on December 12, 2013

The Beatle-ettes did "Only 17," Supersnazz did "17-18," Prince did "17 Days."
posted by klangklangston at 8:38 AM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: Not really obscure stuff here, but maybe:

The River, Bruce Springsteen ("Me and Mary we met in high school, when she was just seventeen".) Depressing, though.

Lonely Teenager, Dion ("Now I'm seventeen, still alone, wondering if I should go home or maybe stay out on my own")

I'm a Vampire, Future Bible Heroes ("Survived for seven hundred years and I still look seventeen")

I Don't Want to Get Over You, The Magnetic Fields ("I could dress in black and read Camus, smoke clove cigarettes and drink vermouth, like I was seventeen")

Omitting "Girl" by Tori Amos, because the lyric is "Well, I'm not seventeen".
posted by Coatlicue at 8:54 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

When I was 17, it was a very good year...
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:13 AM on December 12, 2013

(Whoops, sorry, missed the "obscure" request.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:14 AM on December 12, 2013

I can't imagine any contemporary 17-year-old liking this but for the sake of completeness any discussion of 'seventeen music':must include the ultimate 1970s prog-rock concept album, Consequences, by Godley and Creme (with Peter Cook, plus Sarah Vaughan).
posted by Rash at 9:15 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Led Zeppelin - Hot Dog
Led Zeppelin - Good Times Bad Times
posted by humboldt32 at 11:01 AM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: "Little Queenie" by Chuck Berry.

"She's too cute to be a minute over seventeen."
posted by DeWalt_Russ at 11:25 AM on December 12, 2013

Response by poster: Wow, thanks. I guess I shouldn't have mentioned obscure because I had totally forgot that line in "Little Queenie". Certainly not obscure, but spot on.

Keep 'em coming, if you got 'em

the kid is cute


posted by readery at 12:38 PM on December 12, 2013

Response by poster: This was so fun. We car danced all week to '17' songs. Boy that Stray Cats song is an earworm.
posted by readery at 10:36 AM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]