Oh no, here we go again. I’m still reeling from Rolling Stone’s Best-of lists for 2020 and the 2010s decade (see my first post for Rock N’ Roll in the 2020s). A refresher: Cardi B/Megan Thee Stallion and Taylor Swift for 2020 Best Song and 2020 Best Album, respectively. And Robyn and Kanye West for Best Song and Album of the Decade, respectively. Now Rolling Stone has updated its 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs of all time by assembling a panel of musicians, critics, journalists, and critics from El-P, to The Edge; Billy Gibbons to Rosanne Cash. This post will focus on the top 100 as provided in the new print edition – the entire list is available at rollingstone.com. As with my previous reviews of Rolling Stone’s Best-of lists (see previous posts on Best Sitcoms and Action Movies), I’ll highlight some of the entries that I like and leave it up to you to check out the rest. This list continues the recent trend of rap and hip-hop assuming more cultural significance at the expense of rock and roll. You know which way I lean, but I’m slowly and reluctantly coming around to the fact “that the times they are a changin’.” Hey, speaking of Bob Dylan…
#100 – “Blowin’ in the Wind” (Bob Dylan): An early indicator of the changes, this was #14 in 2004.
#97 – “Gloria” (Patti Smith): My favorite cover song is “So You Want To Be (A Rock N’ Roll Star”) (see previous post on Top 10 Cover Songs) and was glad to see Patti Smith on the list with this punk poetry from Horses.
#95 – “Wonderwall” (Oasis): Not my favorite Oasis song, but they deserve recognition for this huge hit.
#88 – “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (Guns N’ Roses): The guitar gets you right away. One of the best solos ever.
#77 – “Roadrunner” (The Modern Lovers): Gotta love this one. Jonathan Richman and future members of The Cars and Talking Heads make a garage tune for the ages.
#64 – “Blitzkrieg Bop” (The Ramones): The only punk song on the list. The Sex Pistols were on the previous list.
#62 – “One” (U2): This seems to be the U2 song that lands on these polls (#36 in 2004). “Pride” is my favorite.
#61 – “Stairway to Heaven” (Led Zeppelin): #31 last time. The song is so iconic, it’s become kind of a joke, but it’s got to be on here.
#48 -” Idioteque” (Radiohead): “Everything in Its Right Place” would get my nod from the “era-defining” Kid A album, but I’m glad that they’re on here somewhere.
#47 – “Tiny Dancer” (Elton John): This song that got rejuvenated by the film Almost Famous is Elton’s only one on the top 100.
#46 – “Paper Plates” (M.I.A): This song is a great example of the musical shift from rock to hip-hop and rap. I listened to it. The “gunshot and cash-register sound effects” in this flipped sample of the Clash’s “Straight to Hell” is just not for me.
#42 – “Redemption Song” (Bob Marley): This acoustic folk anthem is the only Marley song on the list.
#41 – “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Joy Division): This post-punk classic moves up from #179 and was Joy Division’s last single, released just after Ian Curtis’ suicide.
#36 – “Seven Nation Army” (The White Stripes): Rock lives with Jack White’s guitar; “the weightiest hard-rock riff this side of Jimmy Page.”
#31 – “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones): This song still resounds after 56 years. It was #2 in ’04.
#28 – “Once in a Lifetime” (Talking Heads): I prefer their earlier work, but this song announces their African-funk influences and David Byrne’s “same as it ever was” mantra.
#23 – “Heroes” (David Bowie): One of my favorite songs (see previous post on Top 10 songs in movies) moving up from #46.
#14 – “Waterloo Sunset” (The Kinks): Again, this ballad wouldn’t be my pick, but The Kinks have got to make the list. This one moves way up from #42.
#13 – “Gimme Shelter” (The Rolling Stones): My favorite Stones song “conjuring an unparalleled aura of dread, while singer Merry Clayton brings down Armageddon with a soul-wracked wail.”
#11 – “God Only Knows” (The Beach Boys): This exquisitely-arranged song is the opus of Pet Sounds.
And now the top 10…
#10 – “Hey Ya!” (Outkast): Ok, not my type of song, but yeah, it’s uniquely infectious.
#9 – “Dreams” (Fleetwood Mac): Good song off the blockbuster Rumours album, but #9?
#8 – “Get Ur Freak On” (Missy Elliott): The number 8 song of all time?!
#7 – “Strawberry Fields Forever” (The Beatles): This “groundbreaking sonic collage” heralded the psychedelic sound of the Beatles. Moved way up from #76.
#6 – “What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye): The title song of Rolling Stones’ greatest album of all time (Top 500, 2020 list). “Marvin Gaye’s finest studio achievement, a timeless gift of healing.”
#5 – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana): The song that brought Seattle grunge and the soft-loud dynamic into the mainstream. Raw with a pop touch.
#4 – “Like a Rolling Stone” (Bob Dylan): #1 on the 2004 poll. Dylan’s best song written at the age of 24 in 1965. “A confrontational chorus and four taut verses bursting with piercing metaphor and concise truth.”
#3 – “A Change is Gonna Come” (Sam Cooke): The highlight of Regina King’s A Night in Miami film when Sam Cooke hears Dylan’s “Blowin in the Wind,” and answers with this civil rights anthem.
#2 – “Fight the Power” (Public Enemy): A match made in heaven: “Fight the Power” and Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.
#1 – “Respect” (Aretha Franklin): I get it. This cover of Otis Redding “catalyzed rock & roll, gospel, and blues to create the model for modern soul music.”
Some mighty classics have disappeared from the top 100. “Layla,” “For What It’s Worth,” and “Light My Fire” just to name a few. The Clash was #15 in 2004 with “London Calling” and now gone from the top 100. The Cure just missed out coming in at #108 for “Just Like Heaven.” The most glaring omission for me is The Who. “My Generation” was #11 on the earlier list and now no more Who. In fact, no song of theirs made the top 100. Three Who songs do show up in the greater list. Pearl Jam, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Elvis Costello, New Order, and the Buzzcocks do show up later, as well. As well as additional songs from artists in the top 100 (like Bowie’s “Station to Station.”) So, upon checking out the entire top 500 I felt a little better. As Rolling Stone put it, “the classics are still here, but the canon keeps growing.”
Trivia ? – (Again, this subject warrants a couple questions) Joni Mitchell comes in at #26 with this song title from Blue that completes the lyrics, “Oh, you’re in my blood like holy wine, You taste so bitter and so sweet, I could drink __ ____ __ ___, darling.”
Answer: “A Case of You”
Trivia ? #2 – The second highest place for the Beatles is #15 with this song that was their first U.S. #1 hit in 1964.
Answer: “I Want to Hold Your Hand”