Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Rolling Stone 500
Yet another end-of-year list. This time from Rolling Stone.
The 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time
It's really not a bad list. considering the source. Without even looking at it, you know it's going to be mostly classic rock 'n' roll...some R&B and blues thrown in...a fair bit of pop...a few nods to country and punk...maybe a few old standards thrown in. But we all know the coming from Rolling Stone - it's gonna be primarily a rock 'n' roll list.
Surprises? More 50's music than I expected. God Bless Little Richard. Elvis gets his due, which is nice, because he's usually mostly ignored in these things. More 80s/new wave stuff than I expected. Some deserved. Some not. Punk was decently represented by The Clash, The Ramones, The New York Dolls and The Sex Pistols (among a few others).
I haven't really studied the list, but a few random thoughts:
You can argue all day over which Beatles/Stones/Dylan/Bowie/Zeppelin songs should be there. I'm not gonna go there. However, The Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends does not belong on this list.
Glaring omissions:
The Kinks - All Day and All of the Night.
Nothing at all from The Grateful Dead, Talking Heads or KISS?
Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi.
Neil Young - The Needle And The Damage Done/After The Gold Rush.
Parliament - Tear The Roof Off The Sucker.
The Supremes - Stop In The Name Of Love.
Aretha - You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman.
Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues.
I was even surprised there weren't more Carpenters songs. (Stop laughing.) Where's Close To You?
I was positive Frank's New York, New York would be there. Nope.
Good songs, but they don't deserve to be on this list:
Beasties - Sabotage
Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love
Blondie - Call Me
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty
The Cure - Just Like Heaven/Pictures Of You
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams
Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is
Don Henley - The Boys of Summer
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Rod Stewart - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
Whoever selected I Want To Know What Love Is and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? should never be allowed to listed to music again. The others are decent songs, but certainly not one of the best of all time. Not even the best by those artists. I mean - come on - Do you really think Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? is better than everything The Talking Heads ever wrote?
Yeah, I know. These lists suck. But I love them. They make me think about records I haven't listened to in years. I tend to get stuck in an indie-rut every now and then and just forget about 80% of my CD/LP collection.
I think maybe it's time to put away that TV On The Radio EP and put on some Marvin Gaye.
The 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time
It's really not a bad list. considering the source. Without even looking at it, you know it's going to be mostly classic rock 'n' roll...some R&B and blues thrown in...a fair bit of pop...a few nods to country and punk...maybe a few old standards thrown in. But we all know the coming from Rolling Stone - it's gonna be primarily a rock 'n' roll list.
Surprises? More 50's music than I expected. God Bless Little Richard. Elvis gets his due, which is nice, because he's usually mostly ignored in these things. More 80s/new wave stuff than I expected. Some deserved. Some not. Punk was decently represented by The Clash, The Ramones, The New York Dolls and The Sex Pistols (among a few others).
I haven't really studied the list, but a few random thoughts:
You can argue all day over which Beatles/Stones/Dylan/Bowie/Zeppelin songs should be there. I'm not gonna go there. However, The Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends does not belong on this list.
Glaring omissions:
The Kinks - All Day and All of the Night.
Nothing at all from The Grateful Dead, Talking Heads or KISS?
Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi.
Neil Young - The Needle And The Damage Done/After The Gold Rush.
Parliament - Tear The Roof Off The Sucker.
The Supremes - Stop In The Name Of Love.
Aretha - You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman.
Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues.
I was even surprised there weren't more Carpenters songs. (Stop laughing.) Where's Close To You?
I was positive Frank's New York, New York would be there. Nope.
Good songs, but they don't deserve to be on this list:
Beasties - Sabotage
Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love
Blondie - Call Me
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty
The Cure - Just Like Heaven/Pictures Of You
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams
Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is
Don Henley - The Boys of Summer
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Rod Stewart - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
Whoever selected I Want To Know What Love Is and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? should never be allowed to listed to music again. The others are decent songs, but certainly not one of the best of all time. Not even the best by those artists. I mean - come on - Do you really think Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? is better than everything The Talking Heads ever wrote?
Yeah, I know. These lists suck. But I love them. They make me think about records I haven't listened to in years. I tend to get stuck in an indie-rut every now and then and just forget about 80% of my CD/LP collection.
I think maybe it's time to put away that TV On The Radio EP and put on some Marvin Gaye.
