500 Greatest Songs

  No idea about this.  Starting fresh. --- So far I like it.  Bass sounds great, slide guitar made me pay attention and her voice is fantastic. I think that's the first one I stopped thinking and typing and just listened. That's a beautiful song and recording. I was in my early 20s when it was release, I missed out. Just what I wanted out of this little project - to find some music I missed. I'll have to check out some more Mazzy Star.  

  I've heard of the Dixie Chicks (now just Chicks, good for them!) , mostly I remember the fuss when they criticized the then President (younger Bush) at a concert overseas (I think it was in England). I kinda remember the song "Wide Open Spaces", this doesn't seem familiar.  But I won't be surprised if I recognize it after it starts.   ------------ I really like the intro.  I don't recognize the song at all. Oh, it's a peppy murder song.  Cool. I think it would work better as a straight up rock song, which it nearly is - the banjo seems a bit out of place. Not that i'm opposed to the banjo. I love the Pogues.   Overall the instrumentation is really fantastic. Love the organ sound.  And the banjo at the end is good, driving the thing.  It's just the banjo in the verses that seemed a bit out of place to me. Ok, liked that one more than I thought I would.  Nice!

  I've heard this, but it's been decades.  I don't recall it making much of an impression.  Let's see what I missed... --- Yeah, great vocals, of course.  And some really cool things going on in the arrangement.  Some subtle guitar and some interesting mixing decisions (interesting in a good way). Most of the time the background vocals were on one side and then they would have some lines in both ears, really putting emphasis on it.  Very cool.   Good choice!

  I've definitely heard this one before, but I know if I've really listened to it. I don't recall anything spectacular about it.  Let's see what I've been missing -- ---- Wow, listening with headphones vs. in a car or in the background of a TV show or something makes all the difference for me. I particularly liked the vocal performance and the organ.   I wondered if this was kind of heavy for the time, so I took a look at the top 100 (US) singles from 1964.  It is a bit of an outlier.  Lots of early Beatles there, Motown, and some stuff that was probably "safer" at the time - Barbara Streisand and Andy Williams.  So yeah, maybe a bit edgy.  But we also have  The Kink's "You Really Got Me", which is hopefully on this list. Enjoyed that. I've heard it a million times but have a new appreciation.  

  I know Peter Gabriel from his 80s MTV songs and early Genesis, but I'm not sure I know this song.  The RS blurb says it's often used in TV/Films, so maybe I'll recognize it.   Based on my (admittedly shallow) knowledge of Gabriel's work, I don't expect it to be boring. --- Yeah, I've heard this song.  I don't think I ever realized it was Peter Gabriel. As expected I didn't find it boring.  The first verse or two is pretty conventional but things are slowly added to the arrangement that I really like.  It builds without hitting you over the head with it.  Nice!

 Folks my age know this from The Blues Brothers performance of this in Bob's Country Bunker.  I'm sure I've heard the original, but I don't really remember it.  Lots of popular country music in that time period was too orchestrated for my taste.  Hopefully this won't be, but I'm concerned... ---- Gosh, I love her voice.  And the guitar with the tremolo or whatever is going on is a great part. I was afraid there would be a bunch of strings and things, very happy with this arrangement.  Five stars!

 Ok, looking forward to this.  I like his guitar playing, but I'm not sure I recall this particular song. --- Oh yeah, I've heard this.  It's not unlike the more contemporary R&B on this list, but it's made by humans playing instruments, giving a different sense of groove. And tone.  Those are real hands hitting real drums. Digging his vocals and everything about this.  I much prefer this to more modern stuff.  And get off my lawn!  Five stars!

 I know I heard some songs from this album when it came out, but I don't really recall them.  It's kind of sad that when many of us (like me) think of Janet Jackson, the first thing that comes to mind is the Super Bowl incident. I'm not sure what to expect; expectations are low mostly because I'm expecting dance music and I generally don't dig that.  But I know she can sing, so I'll stop yapping and start listening.... --- Ok, this is exceeding my admittedly low expectations.  Slicker than I generally like;  as with many of the songs so far, fine if you are at a dance club (which is not something I personally enjoy), but not something I would sit and listen to.  That said, it's catchy and infectious.  And really interesting orchestration. I like it.

  Here's another where I know the name, but outside of his work in the Highwaymen, I'm not sure I know his work.  Embarrassing, because I think he's from Texas* (as am I). But I was a toddler when this came out.  I'm expecting something folkie/singerwriterish, but I could be completely wrong. ---- I like his voice, it's recorded really well.  The lyrics are a big part of this, and they are really great, painting a picture of this guy's pain. Both emotional and his apparent hangover.  The organ player deserves a callout.  Really cool part.  Very nice overall. *Looked it up, yeah born in Texas, but his Dad was in the Army and he moved a lot.  He joined the Army as well and was a Ranger.  He wrote 'Me and Bobby McGee', among others, of course.

  I am very familiar with this, I was in middle school.  It was quite popular - my high school band actually played a marching band arrangement of it.  I like a good guitar based pop song and I haven't heard this a long time.  I wonder how it will age... ---- Actually, I think it was "We Got the Beat" our HS band played.  In any case, everything sounds great.  The synths date it a bit, but they are subtle.  It sounds like the 80s without overdoing the chorused guitars, drum machines and synths.   There's more going on here than I remember - more guitar parts with interesting variations on each verse and things like that.  I like it more than I remember.  Some nostalgia may be at play here (although I can't say I miss high school). I was sure I wouldn't dislike it, but I like it more now than I did then.  I was a bit of a music snob back then, I suppose.  Anyway, a really good, solid song, nicely recorded and arranged.

  Lil Wayne again.  To be honest, I'm not looking forward to this at all.  It's times like this that test my fortitude to finish this project. But that's just based on the previous Lil Wayne song on this list.  I'll try to keep an open mind.  How many artists will have multiple songs on this list, right? OK, deep breath... ---- Ugh!  I like the intro, it grabbed my attention.  Then it quickly disappointed.  

  Ok, this one I know. I've even played it in a cover band.  The other guitarist in the band was huge Santana guy, he played the leads.  This is a cover, by the way, Tito Puente maybe?* ----------------------------------------------------------- Yeah, great guitar sound, beautifully recorded overall.  Listening to this so soon after Lady Gaga and Biz Markie, it sounds so human.  In a lot of contemporary music, they go overboard fixing "flaws" and take away something in the process.  In this song you can hear variations in the notes where he striking them a little differently or whatever.  The personality of the performers really comes out.  The organ is fantastic, too.  I think some of these guys went on to form Journey.*  If I was rating, five stars * Naturally I see the picture from the Rolling Stone list and scan their little write up. But otherwise, in an attempt to minimize preconceptions,  I try not to read about these songs b...

  I can't say that I remember this one (I was 20-21 when it came out) or know anything about Biz Markie.  Starting from a clean slate! -------------- I like the piano. It invokes an upright piano in an old west saloon or something.  You can't say that Biz is a great singer, but his voice appeals to me. He just sounds like a guy that would be fun to hang out with.  I don't think I'll seek out more music by Biz Markie, but that's a fun song.

  I am familiar with this one.  My Dad had the LP "King of the Delta Blues Singers".  I later bought his complete recordings on CD. This is probably his best known song, behind maybe "Sweet Home Chicago".   There were lots of great delta blues artists, but Johnson is the best known.  Besides the quality of his work, his popularity probably had a lot to do with the LP of his recordings being more available and finding its way to England where young people like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards heard it.  Plus the whole mythology that developed around him (check it out if you don't know what I'm talking about).   And then of course that corny movie with the Karate Kid guy.  I haven't heard this in years.  Looking forward to it. ------------------------------- Yeah, great.  The quality of the recording is remarkably good, considering it was probably a single microphone on a reel to reel tape in a hotel room.  But that's what ma...

 Like a lot of people, I know who Lady Gaga is, but I don't know if I'd recognize a song by her.  Except I did see her in "A Star is Born".  She's an excellent singer.  Outside of that, I don't know much.  She got points from me for wearing a Yes shirt in that movie.  Who would've thought? Giving it a listen,  Ok, I think I've heard this before.  Seems fine for a dance club, not sure I'd call it great, much less in the greatest 500 of all time.  The instrumentation, especially the bass drum overpowers the vocal, and I know she's a fantastic singer.  But I guess that's the style; like I said, fine for a night out.  I wouldn't just sit and listen to it. But maybe that's not a criteria for this list.  Overall, I don't see what separates this from a zillion other songs in this genre.  Maybe I'm missing something.

  Ok, looking forward to this one. I like the 60s Motown stuff, but I've usually heard it in a car, or in a business or as a soundtrack.  I'm ready to listen in a quiet environment with headphones. Ok, two and half minutes and had exponentially more dynamics and interesting things in the arrangement than the Lil Wayne one a few slots back.  This came out before I was born so it's not nostalgia that makes me feel this.  This song is a classic for a reason.

 OK, I know this one.  I think I saw the CD at the library and had heard of them, so I checked it out and liked it.  Wasn't enough to make me a fan - I'm sure I listened to the whole album but I only recall this one and one about a sweater or something.  I also remember the Happy Days themed video. Looking forward to giving it a fresh listen. I like it how jumps right into it.  Who needs an intro?  Nice to hear some freakin' guitar.  I like it.  But I don't have much else to say....

 Another relatively (in the span of recorded pop music) recent one.  I'm completely unfamiliar with the song and the artist.  Here we go.. A heck of a lot better than that Lil' Wayne one.  I like the groove and the pseudo horn line thing.  Personally it's just too processed and sterile for my taste.   I mean, it's fine if you are out for a night on the town or something I guess, but among the greatest of all time? 

 Uh Oh.  All I know about this artist is a youtube video of him playing guitar that was widely mocked in the Internet guitar communities.  Hopefully this song shows a different side of him. Let's give it a listen. Not my thing.  Some of the other  that songs I didn't like, I could at least appriciate;  this one not so much.  The arrangement is boring. The first time the bass dropped out I thought that was kinda cool.  The fourth time or so, not so much.  Nothing about this song grabbed me.

 Happy Thanksgiving! Another one I'm completely unfamiliar with.  And another that just seems too new to already be considered among the greatest of all time (says Rolling Stone). That said, let's get going. OK, I like the intro.  Drums and bass are excellent.  I like her voice, too.  That piano panning around the mix is very cool.  Dang, I kinda gasped when everything but the bass and drums dropped out.  This is nice.  Is that some wah wah guitar? Nice ending, too. Clearly I typed that last paragraph as I listened.  That was by far my favorite of the 21st century songs so far.  Not even close.  All kinds of interesting stuff going on in that arrangement, but most importantly it never distracts from the song and vocal, which were both outstanding.  Searching for some credits for this, I only found Solange on vocals and a couple of synth players. Interesting.  I'll probably listen to that one again.

  No idea what to expect.  Can't say anything about this sounds familiar. This is the first one I really don't want to finish.  I've liked them all, but this is the first one I've disliked.  Won't say any more because I'm not going to finish - I gave it 2 minutes.  Sorry about the Weeknd.

 I haven't listened to the radio much since the late 1980s.  You'd think someone of my age would be familiar with this, but only the name of the band rings a bell.  Couldn't say anything about it. So no preconceived ideas on this one. Here it goes... I've been trying to resist the temptation to learn about the songs before I listen, but I do read the paragraph about it on the Rolling Stone list.  So second appearance of Kim Deal, who was in the Pixies.  I like it, bounces along nicely.  The vocals are catchy.  Top 500 of all time? Probably not for me, but it's good.

 The only thing familiar about this one is the name of the artist. Can't say where I've heard of them.  This just came out 2 years ago. They should probably have some sort of waiting period, like with the Hall of Fame. Even sports hall of fames do this.  To make sure it's going to stand the test of time.  You ever look at Oscar winners from a couple of years and wonder what they were thinking? Let's give it shot.... OK, under two minutes. Did what it needed to do. I do think that in general pop songs have gotten too long. The Supremes song early in the list was around 2 minutes and damn near perfect. I feel like many songs could lose a verse and no one would care. Anyhow,  I like that more than I do most heavily sampled, drum machine sort of songs. Really cool contrast of the urban sounds and a cowboy subject.   Of the three songs released in the 21st century that have been on the list, this is my favorite.  By far.  Well done, Lil Nas. ...

  I graduated high school in the 1980s, so yeah, I know this one.  It was ubiquitous.  It's good, but I always thought of them as an above average band for the time. Not a great one. I didn't feel the motivation to spend my money on the album or anything.  But I've mostly heard it in cars or at a party or something.  Time to give it a serious listen.... How many teenaged hands reached to turn the radio up when that guitar intro came on? Yeah,  I think it was the vocal that didn't do it for me.  The band is kicking ass.  The guitar sounds are muscular and the two parts mesh really great. Don't really need the singers little orgasm sounds over the solo. So I enjoyed more than I thought I would.  The singer is probably why I didn't dig Guns N' Roses more.  For me, he's kind of like David Lee Roth without the charisma.  Good song, though. 

  The first one from the 50s.  I know this one well, I've listened to the entire album many times. It seems an odd selection, though. If they are going to include Jazz instrumentals, that opens up a wide range of possible tunes, but I suspect there won't be many. If you think you aren't into Jazz, this album  (Miles Davis, Kind of Blue) is a great place to start.   I haven't listened to this in a long time, looking forward to checking it out..... This opens the album, as I recall.  Great intro. I love the way many Jazz albums from this era were recorded.  You can hear them breath and clear throats and stuff, it sounds like you are in the room. Dang, Jimmy Cobb (drums) really kicks off Coltrane's solo. At eight minutes, probably the longest song so far.  Didn't seem like.  There's a reason why this album is still relevant.  Fantastic soloists, of course. Interesting that it fades.  I wonder if the ending wasn't clean or had a technic...

  Ok, surely I've heard this before.  I was on a Jazz kick in 1988, so maybe I missed it. Actually, I've seen the Pixies live, maybe in 2019 or 2020. I went with some friends.  We were quite late, it was really crowded and we had to stand way in the back, near the door.  I'm not sure if I heard this one or not.   Start it up.... Not familiar. I like the guitar sound. Drums sound really good, too.  Yeah, I kinda missed out, I like it.  The background vocal is really terrific.  Adds a lot to the song with out taking away.  Nice ending.

 I was in high school when this came out, so of course I remember it.  I also remember the Miles Davis version.  I recall that some Jazz purists made a fuss, but a big part of Jazz was interpreting the popular songs of the day.  I suppose popular music has come to rely more on rhythm and timbre and less on harmony and melody, so it doesn’t lend itself as well to Jazz.  Got sidetracked.  Heard this many times, but not recently. Let’s check it out! The synth and heavily chorus are pretty, but seem dated now. Those sounds were overused back then. The guitar part is particularly brilliant.  Cool little teaser when she sings “Time after..” and then heads into another verse.   Very nice.  Love the ending; while it fades, the lowers the energy level with the arrangement, rather than just turning down the fader as the chorus is repeated.  That often seems like lazy arranging to me. Anyway, nice song.  

 Ok, last one for tonight. I was five when this came out. I'm sure I've heard it a million times, I can hum the hook - "Bet you think this song is about you, don't you". Starting it up. I don't recall this intro at all.  That's some cool bass.  This song is hipper than I remember.  Nice guitar solo and rhythm guitar on the verse after the solo.  Interesting without taking away from the song. The band is really tight.  Going to look that up...  Jimmy Ryan on guitar, I'm not familiar with him. He doesn't even have a wikipedia entry.  But nice work! Jim Gordon on drums and Beatle connected Klaus Voorman on bass.  Gordon played on a ton of records, including Layla (at least one song from Layla I expect will be on this list).  

This is another I feel like I should know, but I can't recall it.  I was only 3 years old when it came out.  Let's give it a spin. I like the drum sound and the arrangement overall.  The strings are really tasteful.  Did George Martin do this?  Nice build up at the end and then it just fades out. Seems like a cop out.  It's a good song and performance.  Top 500 song of all time? Not so sure about that.  Worth noting this is a cover, originally done by Badfinger.

  This is only a couple of years old.  I'm not sure that it's been long enough to judge. I think art has to age a while before it can be deemed among the "best of all time". But if RS says so.... I can't say I've heard this before.  I think I read something about the artist, Lizzo.  Maybe about body image or something.  I could be mistaken. Probably just saw a headline.  I'm lame.  Let's give it a listen. Kinda liked it until the drums came in.  "Put the sing in single" and "Got my DNA results, I'm 100% that bitch".  Ok, that's good.  But like the Kanye West song, it just seems to lack the human element. Except the vocal; the vocal is cool. But the timbre of it just seems sterile.  Cool arrangement, just not my thing. Probably wouldn't change the channel, but wouldn't seek it out, either.

  I know the Willie Nelson version, but it's been years (decades?) since I've heard it.  Looking forward to the Townes Van Zandt version.   I know of Townes Van Zandt mostly by reputation.  Being from Texas, I'm a little embarrassed that I'm not more familiar with him.  Starting it up... Oops, I'm listening to a live version (the album is called "Rear View Mirror"), not the one RS listed.  Nice melody, lyrics paint a picture.  The fiddle player deserves a call-out. He played through the whole song, but tastefully, never getting in the way of the song and the vocal. I feel I should listen to the one RS listed.  It's nice, too, but I think I prefer the live one.  The studio version (from "The Late Great Townes Van Zandt") sounds great.  It has some mariachi horns and strings, tastefully done, but I like the sparse arrangement of the live one.  I miss the fiddle. Just seems more honest, like I'm sitting in the room.  As a goo...

  Preconception: Ok, I've certainly heard this song.  I would listen to oldies and motown stations in the car when I was kid.  Even when I was a teen and had control of the radio.  Looking forward to hearing this in a listening environment. Listening: Ok, compared to the Kanye song, it sounds so warm.  The bass sound is great, the rhythm section is grooving.  Fantastic arrangement played by humans. Hard not to smile listening to this.  Oh, nice modulation. That's cool. I'm listening again. Two and half minutes of awesomeness. Lots going on in the arrangement - vibes or something.  Every little piece supports the song. Wonderful vocal.  

  Holy Crap!  First one is Kanye West.  I'm not sure I've ever heard this song before. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've heard a Kanye West song before.  Of course I've heard of Kanye West.  His "run" for president.  And I think I saw a not so impressive live video of him covering "We are the Champions".  That's about all my Kanye West knowledge.  Let's give it shot... Yeah, not digging it.  With a lot of newer music that makes use of drum machines and sampling, I find myself missing the human element. It's all in the grid.  I gotta admire the craftsmanship and arrangement, though.  But I'll be OK if I never hear this again. OJ and isotoners?  Do kids today get that reference?

Years ago (over 10 years, I'm pretty sure) I was browsing through Rolling Stone Magazine's list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Of course they mean 500 greatest songs, in English, since about 1950.  But that's not a very catchy title. So I'm browsing through; yeah, Strawberry Fields. Some Motown.  But there were a lot on the list that I didn't recall ever hearing before, and another big chunk of songs that I was aware of, but never thought of them as great.  I thought it would be fun to listen to them all. Well, I kinda kept it in the back of my mind and decided to take this up in summer 2021.  Turns out, they redid the list.   The list first came out in 2004 and then was updated in 2021. Over half the songs on the new list weren’t on the 2004 list.   Really? Of the entire history of recorded music, half of the best 500 songs either didn't exist or weren't great enough in 2004?  I was tempted to go to the old list, but in the spirit of d...