This November, wonderful area radio station WEXT-FM has decided to put together a massive list; and oh boy, do I love lists. Their "The 100 Greatest Rock Songs Of All Time" will air on January 1, 2008 and will be compiled exclusively online through listener suggestions.
Naturally, I feel compelled to throw my two cents in. The station is asking for 20 suggestions per listener. I can do that. To add to my challenge, I will choose no more than 2 songs from any one band or act (it would be very easy for me to topload this list with stuff from the Beatles, REM, Bruce Springsteen, and other bands I've loved for years and years), and I will try to keep it to one song per act wherever possible. I'm not going to pick exclusively "rock songs" either - I will pick songs by rock bands, but if their best work doesn't come in a Zeppelin-esque hail of rhythmic thunder, so be it. I'm all about the subtlety. Finally, I'm going to shed this "of all time" moniker - it adds far-unneccessary significance to a list. I'm going to pick my essential 20 rock songs - my favorite 20.
So, here goes:
1. "Born To Run," Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
2. "Like A Rolling Stone," Bob Dylan
3. "You Can't Always Get What You Want," The Rolling Stones
4. "Here Comes The Sun," The Beatles
5. "Fall On Me," R.E.M.
6. "Beautiful Day," U2
7. "Heroes," David Bowie
8. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," The Band
9. "Solsbury Hill," Peter Gabriel
10. "Into The Mystic," Van Morrison
11. "California Stars," Wilco
12. "I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You," Tom Waits
13. "Ooh La La," The Faces
14. "Let Down," Radiohead
15. "Radio Radio," Elvis Costello and the Attractions
16. "Landslide," Fleetwood Mac
17. "These Are Days," 10,000 Maniacs
18. "Here Comes Your Man," The Pixies
19. "Wishlist," Pearl Jam
20. "Unsatisfied," The Replacements.
I find that a lot of these placements are arbitrary. That being said, "Born To Run" is most assuredly number one and "Like A Rolling Stone" is most assuredly number two - both are the kind of song where you hear the first second (Max Weinberg's snare roll at the beginning of "Born To Run," and Bobby Gregg's single crack that kicks off "Like A Rolling Stone") and you know - you just do - that you're going for a ride and that hell yeah, you're in capable hands.
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1 comment:
I can't seem to get much satisfaction from this list, perhaps I should get back, or find someone who can gimme shelter, but then again you can't always get what you want, well that's what my friend Jack Flash was saying to Jude before he went all the way across the universe before he ended up rocking in the jailhouse. But he was always something of a tumbling dice if ya had a mind to shine a light on him - imagine that.
All that said I love your selection and can claim to have 15 of your top 20 in my own collection.
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