The problem I have with the introduction of selected years (the undisputed cleverness of the 25 year rule notwithstanding) is that we would only be able to cover 12 years between us. That includes less than a quarter of the music produced between 1960 and 2011. If we want to avoid getting dragged back to the summer of love over and over again, why not stipulate that none of us can play 2 songs from the same decade until we've played at least one song from 4 other decades.

I do like the idea of selecting our own sub-genre, and I like the idea of frequent voting - many small setbacks rather than one crushing defeat (from a glass-is-half-empty perspective). And perhaps there should be some kind of bonus if everybody agrees that your song selection does indeed belong in the proffered genre. Or perhaps a penalty if the majority disagrees with the categorization. I see lots of potential for genre wrangling here.