Site Presented By
Saturday, Jul 4, 2009
Hm. Well, these discussions are generally silly, but I'm game.
For one, I'm surprised that "My Generation," by The Who isn't on there. And for the Ramones, I think "I Wanna Be Sedated" would be a better choice.
I also question the lack of a Talking Heads or Peter Gabriel song, as both artists were out in front of the World Music movement. And one might also consider something like Paul Simon's "Graceland," for the same reason.
And there's no question that Bowie had a profound impact, but was it "Ziggy Stardust" that had that impact? I dunno.
And can we really leave off R.E.M.? I mean, when we're talking impact, R.E.M. is hard to ignore. I may not have understood "Radio Free Europe," but I listened to it like 1000 times. And I can't speak for anyone else, obviously, but The Police had a lot more influence on *me* than Black Flag. Not to mention The (English) Beat.
Just a few random thoughts.
Good Night Irene- Leadbelly (The Weavers had a hit with it and sparked the folk revival in the 50's)
Little Red Rooster- Howlin' Wolf (EVRY rock band in the sixties played this song. I think it was a requirement.)
Bo Diddley- Bo Diddley (Where would rock and Roll be without this shave and a haircut jam? It's R&R's Salt Peanuts)
Dark Star- The Grateful Dead (the LSD culture wouldn't have been the same without this aural companion. Not to mention the influence this type of music had on bands like Sonic Youth some years later. Seriously, Lee Renaldo cites the dead as important in developing the noise rock/no wave sound)
Flashlight- Parlament/Funkadelic (Hello?)
You put Robert Johnson at number 1 on your list.
Wow, that rocks. I love you so much!
He created Led Zeppelin. He created heavy metal. He created Southern rock.
How could people not know that? I thought everyone knew that.
The old editors of Rolling Stone knew that. Shame on the new ones if they don't.
What a list of American Boomer nostalgia-dominated nonsense, made even more irrelevant by inclusions #35 and #38-#40, and by the general focus on mainstream pop/rock. Where are songs that changed the musical landscape like Kraftwerk's Autobahn (launced Electronica), XTC's Dear God (spearheaded the college radio revolution), or The Resident's Hello Skinny (gave birth to truly alternative music)? Not to mention people who pioneered real indie music, like Wire, Pere Ubu and Laurie Anderson. Whole movements are missing, like Industrial and New Romantic, as well as almost any band you'd see at Lollapalooza (Front 242, Ministry, RHCP), while New Wave scarcely makes a showing with a late entry by The Cure (instead of one of their foundation tunes like Boys Don't Cry).
Instead of a challenging look across the breadth and depth of music history, we get this, a list of songs that looks like the track listing on the back of K-Tel's Golden Hits, available now for $24.99 if you call in the next hour. Sure there is some important stuff in there, but there's way too much junk that reeks of audio complacency. And the last entry is symptomatic of that phenomenon where people just can't resist adding their current favorite to the list of "things that will live forever". Don't expect to see it on next year's list, assuming anyone can expend the same minimal effort to do another one.
Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" was a huge influence on early hip-hop. Their music has informed all electronic/pop/hip hop music to follow in the past 30 years.
Not sure what Beach Boys song I would pick. Good Vibrations is the obvious, but their real impact was earlier in the decade. But they are way more important than the White Stripes.
Seriously? Please explain?
Also, I think Rolling Stone is way too parochial in its outlook.
They forgot key, world-changing songs like "la marseilles," "the internationale," The "Horst Wessel Leid," etc.
After all, nobody invaded Poland or stormed the Bastille singing "All Right Momma."
I'm not at all a metal fan, but it would seem that the whole genre is missing from the intial list. At least one Van Halen track should be on there (as EVH was a massive influence over later guitarists), probably an early Metallica track of sorts, and maybe Motorhead's Ace of Spades as a Metal/Punk fusion. I'm not sure there is much on the original list I'd kick off, but at least the EVH omission is pretty glaring.
"launced" should be "launched" in my post, and thanks to mjwycha for pointing out a couple other crucial omissions - Parliament/Funkadelic should definitely be in there somewhere, as should Howlin' Wolf, though for him I personally favor "Wang Dang Doodle". Likewise, I'd much prefer Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You" to some of the weaker be-bop choices they made.
Well their list seems fine to me as far as it goes… Briteny and the White Stripes? But then I looked at the title of the list again and thought “Changed the World”?... “Nothing But A “G” Thang”….
So where is Louis Armstrong, or W.C. Handy? How about the Marseillaise, or “Dixie” or the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” or “Amazing Grace”? How about “We Shall Overcome” or for that matter, Hank Williams “Cold, Cold Heart”? Heck I think I could make an argument for “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” by everyone’s Mom. Maybe I'm coming at this from a different angle.
What Fun, thanks for the diversion.
PS What about GMF's "The Message" instead of "Rappers Delight"?
Cheers
Uh, no.
Thank you for playing.
I'd put it on a list with "Rock And Roll Fantasy", "Barracuda", "Make Your Own Kind Of Music", and "Rock Lobster". The good stuff that didn't change the world, just made it a bit better.
Patti Smith - Land or Gloria. She changed the world.
It's the Mozart of pop tunes. The crispest best most perfectly formed pop tune in the history of the world. You cannot add or substract anything to it.
#13 - Jimi so hated playing that song
#15 - Boring as fuck
#18 - You dirty hippy, that's your pick?
#25 - Not a pop tune
#31 - I hate U2
#32 - C'mon?
#33 - Why not pick something w/o a White Boy?
#37 - 40 a)You posers b)You can't pick anything that new
The Wasilla soap opera just gets weirder as Palin complains critics are "picking apart a good point guard"
The media outlet's use of Bush euphemisms sparks a much-needed debate on journalistic standards.
And so are his Fox News pals, who lambasted Sen. Al Franken's "stolen election"
An inflexible right wing is allowing the Golden State to drown in debt. But it's not alone
Thanks for sharing, Governor. Now please take a cue from Norm Coleman, and go away
Salon headlines in your mailbox
