Wave That Flag, Wave It Wide and High
- "Like a Rolling Stone"--Bob Dylan
- "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"--The Rolling Stones
- "Imagine"--John Lennon
- "What's Going On?"--Marvin Gaye
- "Respect"--Aretha Franklin
- "Good Vibrations"--The Beach Boys
- "Johnny B. Goode"--Chuck Berry
- "Hey Jude"--The Beatles
- "Smells Like Teen Spirit"--Nirvana
- "What'd I Say"--Ray Charles
The list is obviously heavily skewed towards the 60's and 70's, but as my father would quickly tell you, "That's when they were making great music." That statement is of course a very subjective one, but if you can find something more subjective than music, please show it to me.
The only song on the list written since my birth is "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and if anything I think it made the list for what it represents rather than the actual monumental quality of the song itself. The song was the first mainstream salvo for the Seattle grunge movement of the late 80's and early 90's and quickly became the new counter-culture anthem. Even if you had no idea what Kurt Cobain was screaming towards the end of the song, you knew that he was the harbinger of bigger things to come.
I also have no qualms with "Like a Rolling Stone" holding the top spot. During a speech inducting Bob Dylan into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bruce Springsteen said that his first memory of the song is "the opening snare shot that sounded like somebody had kicked open the door to your mind." That's why music matters.Labels: Arbitrary Lists
posted by Justin @ 4/16/2007 11:38:00 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Grateful Dead..."US Blues"
"The Legend Killer" Randy Orton
Bohemian Rhapsody should be on there... but I'm not sure which one it should replace.
Oh wait... "What's Going On?" by Marvin Gaye. I hate that song. I don't know why, but I just hate it with all my heart. So yes, Bohemian Rhapsody should replace that. I am a bit biased in that I adore Queen.
Also, there are a lot of other Ray Charles songs that I would place above "What I'd Say", although I love that one too. Cliche, but I do love "Georgia On My Mind" very much. I saw him in concert when I was like 5 and that's one of my distinct memories. I think it was one of the first times (if not THE first) I was truly and deeply touched by music. Of course, they're very different songs.
I have so much to say about that list that when I tried to speak out loud I just drooled on my keyboard. I'll get some coherent thoughts together and get back to you.
Joey "I don't study for some reason" Halbert
when you become president or something, could you make a law that no one can hate?? please? thank you. much love, ms hipp
My deep loathing for "Bohemian Rhapsody" knows no bounds. it has no business being on a list of top ten songs anyway, and it certainly shouldn't boot Marvin Gaye's masterpiece. I find Queen to be fairly mediocre and innocuous, with a greater rep than they deserve due to Freddie Mercury's untimely death, but "Bohemian Rhapsody" is them at their most bloated and pretentious. It's songs like that which explain why punk happened.
Anyway, older songs have two advantages: they have become part of the established canon and there is a far more balkanized music scene today. A band having both the artistic and commercial success of the Beatles is simply unimaginable in today's industry. And rock music has become institutionalized so the truly interesting stuff has no shot at getting on the radio. The 1960s was a weird period in which the best music was the most popular as well. Maybe the early 90s is the only other time that has happened, explaining Nirvana's appearance on the list.
Honestly, the same thing has happened with movies. There is no an established canon of what is "great".
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