What to discover the meaning of life? Two things are needed: A bong and the song “Comfortably Numb.”
I prefer the live version, btw.
Aw, heck, I’ll bite:
I have always liked “Tusk” by Fleetwood Mac.
Great Hook, and the USC Marching Band!
Wow, I like “Hotel California” far better than either of the other two. In fact, “Stairway” wouldn’t even make my Top 3 Zeppelin songs, let alone my Top 3 rock songs in general.
And as far as Floyd, I would pick “Time” over “Comfortably Numb” too. I would even pick “The Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall Pt. II.” Much better guitar solo, IMHO.
“I love God! He’s so deliciously evil!” - Stewie Griffin, Family Guy
'Round these parts, Stairway usually wins the phone-in polls. Songs in the top ten are usually Whole Lotta Love, Satisfaction, Won’t Get Fooled Again, Hey Jude, Let it Be, Free Bird, Hotel California, and a couple of others.
I don’t know if I can say it’s the BEST rock tune, but the absolute purest, 200 proof rock and roll song ever created by a human would have to be “Jesus Built My Hotrod” by Ministry.
If I wasn’t such a law-abiding dude I’d make an MP3 and for those unlucky enough to have never heard it. Of course that would be wrong, though.
‘When The Levee Breaks’ by Led Zep
Don’t Fear the Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult
Paint it black - Rolling Stones
All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix version
Wait, just read through the others and I can’t believe I forgot this one.
Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
I’d have to include “Dream On” by Aerosmith. in my top 10 list.
“Strawberry Fields Forever” - The Beatles
“Dancing Queen” by ABBA. (Mua ha ha ha ha!)
Damn your eyes, tracer. Now I’m going to have to listen to a pig being slaughtered to drive that “song” out of my head.
My personal fave is Elton John’s “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.” Fortunately I don’t hear it on the radio often or I’d get burnt on it really quick.
I’m quite partial to quite a few Aerosmith tunes, meself:
Crazy, Walk this Way, Janie’s Got a Gun
Gotta love Bohemian Rhapsody, too.
JMcC, San Francisco
http://members.tripod.com/~weirdstuff/index.html
“Hear the voices in my head, I swear to God it sounds like they’re snoring”
I refuse to pick “bests” for a lot of reasons, but among the best-and-neglected I would put Jessica by the Allman Brothers (which, oddly, is one of the few AB tunes I even like).
Won’t Get Fooled Again goes into the list of best-but-not-neglected (and nothing is better for tunneling down a 2-lane road alone at 3:00 a.m. than I can see For Miles).
For songs with similar set-ups, I prefer Green Grass and High Tides Forever to Freebird.
Tom~
My opinion would be that rock’n’roll is a music that embodies rebellion, so a song chosen to represent rock’n’roll should be in that vein, besides being a good song to listen to. When I think of Rock’N’Roll, I think of youth, drugs, the 60’s love/peace movement, and resistance to authority.
So I would nominate one of the following:
The Beatles - Revolution or Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction or Sympathy for the Devil
The Who - My Generation
The Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK
The Clash - Clampdown
Jacques Kilchoer
Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains.
Besides, “Comfortably Numb” and “Dream On”,I’d have to include “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” by Elton John, “My Hometown” by Springsteen, “Behind Blue Eyes” by the Who, and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” by Meat Loaf. And while I know the purists will hate me for admitting it, I really like “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger.
As far as women artists, I like Melissa Etheridge’s “I’m the Only One”, Bonnie Raitt’s “Have a Heart” and Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason.” though these seem more like pop than rock…
Hey, I’ll throw in a second for “Jessica”. It’s one of the few rock tunes that I can listen to hundreds of times and still enjoy. It ranks up there as maybe the best rock instrumental song, IMO.
De gustibus non disputantum est.
Phaedrus:
Good point.