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Monday, April 23, 2007 12:00 AM

Rolling Stone hits the big 4-0

The list-loving music magazine picks the 40 songs "that changed the world" as part of its 40th-birthday celebration.

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  • Monday, April 23, 2007 01:17 PM

    I'm with Howard

    Sorry, Mr. M, but this is a white baby boomer's list. You can tell by the eager-to-impress, yet not-quite-hip token choices: the Stripes (the third record = the one RS finally noticed), Black Flag (is "TV Party" the proto-alternative choice? Cos it's goofy? "Nervous Breakdown" or even the hoary-but-potent "Rise Above" are much more representative of the Flag catalog), and Dr. Dre (love how RS goes with the ingratiating shorthand "Dre").

    I understand that a list of "songs that changed the world" is going to have even more obvious choices than the typical Rolling Stone bagjob, but in Jann-land, the world was evidently called into being around 1955 (and I bet even including music from the 50s must be killing him inside). And I also get that there was a period from roughly 1964-1972 wherein - more or less - anything went, as far as rock expression/experimentation, so this era will always need to have heavy representation.

    But I also know that any list without Louis Armstrong can kiss my ass. Ditto to Woody Guthrie (good call, Mr. M). Really good arguments ought to be made for Rhythim is Rhythim's "Strings of Life," Schooly D's "PSK," something from the Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP, Neu!'s "Hallogallo," Minor Threat's "Out of Step," and about a hundred others. But krautrock doesn't really push the tequila, I guess.

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