Rolling Stone updates "Best 500 songs" list; Rhiannon cut from list
 

This month, Rolling Stone updated its "500 Best Songs of All time," which it first published in 2004, cutting "Rhiannon" - among others - to make room for some pretty ghastly songs. I know I shouldn't take any Rolling Stone list seriously since this is the magazine that awarded the new Britney Spears album 4 stars to Stevie's 3 and a half, but cutting "Rhiannon" to make room for a song by Rihanna is just uncivilized.

The entire top 25 remained unchanged. Although certain songs had changed their rank in the top 100, the only new entry was Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" at number 100.

The songs added in the update are as follows. U2 and Jay-Z both have two songs added to the list, however Jay-Z is also featured in an additional two other new songs on the list, "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé, and "Umbrella" by Rihanna:

"Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (#100)
"Crazy in Love" by Beyonce featuring Jay-Z (#118)
"Moment of Surrender" by U2 (#160)
"99 Problems" by Jay-Z (#172)
"Rehab" by Amy Winehouse (#194)
"Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (#236)
"Mississippi" by Bob Dylan (#260)
"Jesus Walks" by Kanye West (#273)
"Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes (#286)
"One More Time" by Daft Punk (#307)
"Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand (#327)
"Beautiful Day" by U2 (#345)
"Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (#386)
"Umbrella" by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z (#412)
"Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G. (#424)
"American Idiot" by Green Day (#432)
"In da Club" by 50 Cent (#448)
"Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott (#466)
"Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z featuring UGK (#467)
"Last Nite" by The Strokes (#478)
"Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson (#482)
"Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake (#484)
"Clocks" by Coldplay (#490)
"Time to Pretend" by MGMT (#493)
"Ignition (Remix)" by R. Kelly (#494)
"The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen (#497)

The songs dropped from the list in the update are as follows. The Crystals are the only artist to have had two songs dropped from the list:

"Da Doo Ron Ron" by The Crystals (#114)
"Lose Yourself" by Eminem (#166)
"Sh-Boom" by The Chords (#215)
"Band of Gold" by Freda Payne (#391)
"Kicks" by Paul Revere & the Raiders (#400)
"I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly (#406)
"Crossroads" by Cream (#409)
"Lola" by The Kinks (#422)
"Devil With A Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly" by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels (#428)
"Keep A-Knockin'" by Little Richard (#442)
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" by Glen Campbell (#450)
"Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price (#456)
"One Fine Day" by The Chiffons (#460)
"Search and Destroy" by The Stooges (#468)
"It's Too Late" by Carole King (#469)
"Free Man in Paris" by Joni Mitchell (#470)
"On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson (#471)
"One Nation Under a Groove" by Funkadelic (#474)
"Graceland" by Paul Simon (#485)
"Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac (#488)
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield (#491)
"Then He Kissed Me" by The Crystals (#493)
"Desperado" by Eagles (#494)
"Rainy Night in Georgia" by Brook Benton (#498)
"The Boys Are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy (#499)
"More Than a Feeling" by Boston (#500)

:lol: I agree with this statement wholeheartedly - but at the same time I think Umbrella is a great, great song - definitely worthy of a 'top 500 of all time' list.

I agree too! :eek: Oh my Gawd................not Rhiannon..................going to have to protest this one! :mad:

I must be getting OLD at 31. I would take the DUMPED list of the additions ANY day!

Whatever, it doesn't matter. It's just an editor's list. They have to adjust it to make room for some more current songs. I don't half of them.

As much as I agree with some of the songs being added to the list I don't think that the as many songs that were dumped needed to be dumped! I agree with Penguinhead that they are just trying to be more current to appeal to more veiwers. I'm upset about Rhiannon though as I think that is one of my favorite songs of all time!! I don't get it :distress:

They are probably just as sick of it as we are.;)

oh Curt! you're too much!! :p

Call me what you will......but i did a little happy dance knowing Rhiannon is Finally dumped from something:lol::sorry:

Mick

Blasphemy!

I'm actually not sure it's so much about current appeal as it is the need to drum up interest with more drastic cuts. Really, no one is going to get excited about "Revised Greatest 500 Songs!" if only 3-5 songs trickle on and off annually. Clearly it wouldn't make much sense to add bunches of old songs: if Jessie's Girl wasn't one of the greatest 500 last year, why would it be markedly greater now? They need to sell copy and a flood of new songs certainly makes sense, but I am still livid that they sliced my beloved Rhiannon:distress:

*LOOKS UP* God please help this chile.

Rhiannon bowed out some really great songs. I don't feel all that bad about it.

I think it's too early to consider any of these as among the "500 Best Songs". That kind of list requires time to pass.

That does make a lot of sense. I just feel that not all of the new songs added deserved to be on the list. Some of the songs they took off were downright classics! And "Rhiannon" could have probably remained on the list. I guess I'm just fiercely protective over FM/Stevie songs and want them to get the most recognition possible :nod:.

What Fleetwood Mac made the list? Obviously the list is flawed. Rap sucks. No way any rap song, and song is used loosely there is better than Rhainnon or any other Fleetwood Mac song.

I think "Go Your Own Way" is the only FM on the list, which is strange considering Blondie has three tracks in the top 300.

It's obvious that publisher Jann Wenner's favorites dominate the list, which is only published to generate conversation/arguments which lead to traffic on the website.

But, they did cover Stevie's birthday show, so I'm not ready to dismiss RS entirely.

Jann Wenner wouldn't know good music if it bit his whiny little ass.

There are only two songs in that batch of "new" ones that I would even SLIGHTLY consider owning.

I pretty much own about 80% of the ones that got replaced.

Ok. how sad.What a loss.I wonder why I dont support the music Industry.Keep producing rubbish .I wont buy.Look at the great tunes they hosed off the list to all this new crap.Nevermind we lost Rhiannon.

heres my take.on the updated list.

"Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (#100) Ok
"Crazy in Love" by Beyonce featuring Jay-Z (#118) Crap .but I do like Beyonce
"Moment of Surrender" by U2 (#160) goo.d
"99 Problems" by Jay-Z (#172) Crap
"Rehab" by Amy Winehouse (#194) dont know
"Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (#236) dont know
"Mississippi" by Bob Dylan (#260) good
"Jesus Walks" by Kanye West (#273) Crap
"Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes (#286) dont know
"One More Time" by Daft Punk (#307) dont know
"Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand (#327) dont know
"Beautiful Day" by U2 (#345) good
"Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (#386) never heard of
"Umbrella" by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z (#412) Crap
"Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G. (#424) Crap
"American Idiot" by Green Day (#432) Crap
"In da Club" by 50 Cent (#448) Crap
"Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott (#466) Crap
"Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z featuring UGK (#467) Crap
"Last Nite" by The Strokes (#478) dont know
"Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson (#482) ok
"Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake (#484) Crap
"Clocks" by Coldplay (#490) ok
"Time to Pretend" by MGMT (#493) Crap
"Ignition (Remix)" by R. Kelly (#494) Crap
"The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen (#497) good

It's actually a pretty fantastic song, and about one of the only ones in the new list I'd agree with :laugh:



Although, it's not the YYYs best song by far.

Seriously? You're really saying this?:rolleyes:

Music is incredibly subjective (...duh?), and just because you don't care for a certain genre does not means that everything in it sucks. I'm really not into rap--I own very little and really only play it when I have friends over getting ready to go out or something (they tend to react more favorably to Jeezy than The Wild Heart:shrug:). Without ever seeking it out, though, I've heard enough rap to know that some of it is pretty musically brilliant.
Take "Jesus Walks"--I'm not a fan of the message behind it and I find Kanye personally repugnant, but that song is really impressive--the rhymes are brilliant, and the sampling of spiritual music is really powerful. Again, this isn't my style and though I can appreciate it, I've probably played it less than even my least favorite Mac songs. But honestly? I think it's a lot more impressive than, say, "Empire State." But of course that's only my opinion, and entirely subjective.




Believe me, I'm pissed about Rhiannon. But this list is so, so not worth any of us getting our panties in a twist over. I love many of the cut songs, but plenty of the new songs are pretty brilliant (Maps, Rehab, Crazy, Paper Planes, Clocks, Beautiful Day...).
And at the end of the day, how many people actually go through the entire list up to 500, trying every song they've never heard? The top 100 probably counts for something, but I don't think Rhiannon was winning many new fans or great stature at #488. And Rolling Stone is not trying to destroy the music business--they're trying to sell magazines at a time when printed press and music and the music industry are both hurtling towards destruction.:shrug:

*Oh, and they're probably going mainly off of officially released versions, right? I think Rosebud Rhiannon might be the single greatest performance of any song in history, but the White album version is considerably less spectacular. Just a thought...

The Gaggle-com Tori TelferWednesday, June 26, 2013



http://the-gaggle.com/2013/06/6-song...-are-about-us/

6 Songs We Secretly Think Are About Us

3. “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac

The tasteful quote that I put at the top of my resume: rings like a bell in the night/and wouldn’t you love to love her

Stevie Nicks wrote this song about “a long, cool woman in a black dress,” which I’m pretty sure is what I look like when I put on my $12 poly-blend H&M t-shirt dress, RIGHT?! This song describes the type of haunting lover that we all want to be in our darker moods: elusive, unsurpassable, and compared to both birds and cats in the same breath.

There have been so many signs of the Apocalypse lately. :distress:

Well at least Rhiannon was near the bottom of the list, so it makes sense that it would drop off. On the other hand, with only 26 new songs added, why did the song at #114 get eliminated? I guess it got a lot less good in those few years. :shrug:

Rolling Stone sucks. Just like the Grammys. They cannot tell good music if it hit them in the face.

Given how many decades of pop music Rolling Stone (and similar publications) concerns itself with, there's bound to be a lot of great songs that won't make it. I do think distance is good for making these kinds of lists, but other than that, there'll always be disagreements. Lots of people out there (and in here :laugh:) think "Rhiannon" is crap. At least it was on for a while, it might hop back on again in the future.

I think these lists are interesting more in what they reveal about ideas of taste than anything else. Also there's that constant tension between whether opinions of an elite (ie so-called "informed" editors) or opinions of the masses matter more, or equally, or at all.

Okay, NO list that drops Graceland, Free Man in Paris, Desperado, AND Rhiannon is legit...

Well...
 

THAT magazine is only good for being a litter box liner...HOWEVER...

My cats wont crap where there is already a big pile of ca-ca :D

Yes, how could anyone with ears possibly drop Joni Mitchell or Fleetwood Mac in favor of something like Rhianna? :shrug: