wasn’t this list the “greatest ROCK songs of all time” at some point? when did it change? and apparently no great songs were written before 1951?
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Ah yes. Apparently the top “best songs ever” all just happen to be by Americans or the Beatles.
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Lists like this one, “The Greatest _________ of All Time” are really lists of “The Greatest _________ of the Past Generation or Two that I Like / Grew Up With / Respect Because of Critical Opinion.” I offer an example from my own antediluvian youth. When I was in college almost everyone had grown up watching 1930s and 1940s movies–movies from our parents’ generation–because they were unavoidable, filling airtime on every TV station. Movies from that period (Casablanca, It Happened One Night, The Maltese Falcon, etc.) regularly placed high in Greatest Movie lists compiled by both older critics and critics from my own generation. Over the next couple of decades cable TV took over and balkanized content. The only people who saw 40s movies were those who chose to pay for TCM. 40s films dropped off the Greatest Ever lists and the band played on.
Greatest Ever lists will always be pleasant conversation- (or fight-) starters created by and for a group of people who grew up in a roughly-similar media environment and share more-or-less similar tastes.
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How about greatest songs under a minute of all time?
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When Young Master Peas showed a propensity for piano at about 6 years old, I noticed it was a little percussive (piano is percussion, but I mean rhythmically). I immediately introduced him to Philip Glass and Moondog. I still hear certain elements in his playing he learned from them.
Interestingly, Philip Glass was a major booster of Moondog and actually invited him to live with him and his wife when he was homeless. Apparently life on 7th ave had made him a little less than house-broken and he eventually moved out. Still a cool story.
Also: Listicles are dumb, especially when coming from Rolling Stone. I remember when they referred to Prince as “The artist formerly known as relevant.” What a bunch of dopes.
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Besides being nightmares of category failure, these lists always strike me as generational vanity; a way of placing one’s own taste within the pantheon of greats. Think about it, of the 500 songs of all time and wow 95% of them just happen to have been written starting about 10 years before I was born and probably 10-20% have been written in the last 20 years. Pat yourselves on the back, you have awesome taste and we truly are living in the best of times.
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Under a minute, you say?
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Rolling Stone would still be sticking “Her Majesty” high on that list.
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Link or it doesn’t count!
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Under a minute, you say? Napalm Death got this.
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0’00” on the original vinyl.
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You need a link to a Beatles song?
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Danny Boy
Happy Birthday To You
Auld Lang Syne
These songs have staying power that nothing in the list comes near to, just sayin’.
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My first thought when I read “cats in a trap” was Yoko Ono, but this is much better. I think I might even genuinely like it.
That’s not to say that I condone trapping pets.
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If this is not on the list it’s a bogus list.
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They missed one
No, wait, they missed two…
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