Wednesday, December 01, 2004
The Best Rock and Roll Song Ever
It's official. The best song ever is "Like A Rolling Stone", by Bob Dylan. How do I know? Well, Rolling Stone told me in their list of the 500 greatest rock and roll songs of all time.
Clearly, this is a subjective thing. Although, it would be nice if they didn't reveal the list's complete lack of validity right off the bat by picking a song that really isn't even close to the best ever only because they happened to name their magazine after it. I mean, if you're going to make such a list, let's at least keep up the farce for the first 100 songs or so.
Now, as I said, lists like these are usually pretty darn stupid. I've mentioned before, when discussing the Grammys, that music is especially subjective, and that's why the Grammys end up being so retarded. I've argued that movies are not AS subjective, and that's why the AFI lists of the top movies ever aren't nearly as absurd.
So, let's look at some of the selections. Right off the bat, "Like A Rolling Stone" isn't such a good choice. It's really not that compelling or exciting, and while I suppose it may have been a nice mesh of folk and rock, I don't think it really revolutionized things.
Number 2 is "Satisfaction", by the Rolling Stones. Hey, more silly bias! But you can make some sort of argument for this, although most people I know actually prefer "Sympathy for the Devil". I mean, honestly, that's just a far better song, but "Satisfaction" is somewhat respectable. I wouldn't put it at 2, but maybe in the top 50.
Number 3 is "Imagine" by John Lennon. Why? It's kind of sweet, and maybe great for certain idealistic background music, but it's not the third best rock and roll song ever. Can you honestly say that it's better than everything the Beatles ever wrote? John Lennon was better without Paul McCartney? No, no, no. I don't know if this song even makes my list of the top 500.
Number 4 is "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye. I guess this is ok too. Not my cup of tea, but a good song, politically relevant, and powerful. Plus, you got the sad Marvin Gaye story there too. A decent choice.
Number 5 is "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. It's tough to argue with this one. A classic, and definitely has worked its way into the collective American psyche.
Number 6 is "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys. I'd probably go with "California Girls", or "Kokomo" (just kidding!) but this is a decent selection.
Number 7 is "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry. THIS should be number 1. Chuck Berry was one of the guys who invented rock and roll. This song was revolutionary, has clever lyrics, and is still tons of fun to listen to. It's better than "Imagine", that's for sure.
Number 8 is "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. I love the Beatles. But this is NOT the best Beatles song. Not even close. I honestly don't know what I'd select - maybe "Let It Be" ? I personally prefer "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", but I know most people don't. How about "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" ? Or "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" ? Or "Can't Buy Me Love" ? Or, or, or...something else besides "Hey Jude".
Number 9 is "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. Er, ok. Whatever. Let's give some credit to recent music, and may have launched the alternative movement, but really, it only lasted for like five years. I suppose this is the seminal grunge song, but is it really that good? What about "Would" by Alice in Chains? Or "Outshined" by Soundgarden? These songs should be lower down. Maybe history will prove me wrong, and people will view Nirvana in 30 years like they view Led Zeppelin now, but I don't think so.
Number 10 is "What I'd Say" by Ray Charles. I guess that's fine with me. I don't really know this song.
So, you'll notice that there's no Elvis in the top 10, but Nirvana's there. Elvis' highest song is "Hound Dog", at 19. Pretty good, but I'd choose "Burnin' Love" or "Can't Help Falling In Love", or maybe "Jailhouse Rock". But Elvis should generally be higher. If you're going to recognize Nirvana for their contribution to rock by ranking them high, then you have to do so for Elvis.
It's also interesting to rank them by year. If you look at the last set, you see that only 65 of the songs came in the past 20 years. (There are only 66 years covered total.) The most recent songs there are "Hey Ya" by OutKast, and "Lose Yourself" and "Stan" by Eminem, and "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by the Verve. "Hey Ya" is a good song, but it'll wear off soon. "Lose Yourself" is not even one of Eminem's top 5 songs, although "Stan" is. It's a bit slanted to have two Eminem songs on the top 500, and only one Beastie Boys song ("Sabotage"). I hate "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
What would my top 500 be? I don't know. I'm not sure of the criteria. I could tell you MY favorite songs, but that would be boring. It's tough to have the same historic perspective that the people who create these lists have, but I don't even know how important that is. What do you think about the results of this list? It all seems kind of silly to me, honestly.
Clearly, this is a subjective thing. Although, it would be nice if they didn't reveal the list's complete lack of validity right off the bat by picking a song that really isn't even close to the best ever only because they happened to name their magazine after it. I mean, if you're going to make such a list, let's at least keep up the farce for the first 100 songs or so.
Now, as I said, lists like these are usually pretty darn stupid. I've mentioned before, when discussing the Grammys, that music is especially subjective, and that's why the Grammys end up being so retarded. I've argued that movies are not AS subjective, and that's why the AFI lists of the top movies ever aren't nearly as absurd.
So, let's look at some of the selections. Right off the bat, "Like A Rolling Stone" isn't such a good choice. It's really not that compelling or exciting, and while I suppose it may have been a nice mesh of folk and rock, I don't think it really revolutionized things.
Number 2 is "Satisfaction", by the Rolling Stones. Hey, more silly bias! But you can make some sort of argument for this, although most people I know actually prefer "Sympathy for the Devil". I mean, honestly, that's just a far better song, but "Satisfaction" is somewhat respectable. I wouldn't put it at 2, but maybe in the top 50.
Number 3 is "Imagine" by John Lennon. Why? It's kind of sweet, and maybe great for certain idealistic background music, but it's not the third best rock and roll song ever. Can you honestly say that it's better than everything the Beatles ever wrote? John Lennon was better without Paul McCartney? No, no, no. I don't know if this song even makes my list of the top 500.
Number 4 is "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye. I guess this is ok too. Not my cup of tea, but a good song, politically relevant, and powerful. Plus, you got the sad Marvin Gaye story there too. A decent choice.
Number 5 is "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. It's tough to argue with this one. A classic, and definitely has worked its way into the collective American psyche.
Number 6 is "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys. I'd probably go with "California Girls", or "Kokomo" (just kidding!) but this is a decent selection.
Number 7 is "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry. THIS should be number 1. Chuck Berry was one of the guys who invented rock and roll. This song was revolutionary, has clever lyrics, and is still tons of fun to listen to. It's better than "Imagine", that's for sure.
Number 8 is "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. I love the Beatles. But this is NOT the best Beatles song. Not even close. I honestly don't know what I'd select - maybe "Let It Be" ? I personally prefer "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", but I know most people don't. How about "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" ? Or "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" ? Or "Can't Buy Me Love" ? Or, or, or...something else besides "Hey Jude".
Number 9 is "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. Er, ok. Whatever. Let's give some credit to recent music, and may have launched the alternative movement, but really, it only lasted for like five years. I suppose this is the seminal grunge song, but is it really that good? What about "Would" by Alice in Chains? Or "Outshined" by Soundgarden? These songs should be lower down. Maybe history will prove me wrong, and people will view Nirvana in 30 years like they view Led Zeppelin now, but I don't think so.
Number 10 is "What I'd Say" by Ray Charles. I guess that's fine with me. I don't really know this song.
So, you'll notice that there's no Elvis in the top 10, but Nirvana's there. Elvis' highest song is "Hound Dog", at 19. Pretty good, but I'd choose "Burnin' Love" or "Can't Help Falling In Love", or maybe "Jailhouse Rock". But Elvis should generally be higher. If you're going to recognize Nirvana for their contribution to rock by ranking them high, then you have to do so for Elvis.
It's also interesting to rank them by year. If you look at the last set, you see that only 65 of the songs came in the past 20 years. (There are only 66 years covered total.) The most recent songs there are "Hey Ya" by OutKast, and "Lose Yourself" and "Stan" by Eminem, and "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by the Verve. "Hey Ya" is a good song, but it'll wear off soon. "Lose Yourself" is not even one of Eminem's top 5 songs, although "Stan" is. It's a bit slanted to have two Eminem songs on the top 500, and only one Beastie Boys song ("Sabotage"). I hate "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
What would my top 500 be? I don't know. I'm not sure of the criteria. I could tell you MY favorite songs, but that would be boring. It's tough to have the same historic perspective that the people who create these lists have, but I don't even know how important that is. What do you think about the results of this list? It all seems kind of silly to me, honestly.
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