100 Greatest Guitar Songs (according to Rolling Stone)

[collinsman]

I'm surprised at how few ' Beatles' songs made the list..

[teledude66]

Originally Posted by Chrismeyer

I hate RS and I wouldn't pick it up if I had to sh*& in the woods and it was between a copy of RS and a wholelotta poison ivy leaves.My ass would just HAVE to itch.

Wouldn't matter anyway the paper is too slick to take anything off...

[teledude66]

Originally Posted by harry the filter

My second question: Who reads or cares about anything in Rolling Stone magazine anymore anyway? Has it been any more relevant since the '70's than say Leisure Suits and Pet Rocks?

To them I say: "Go away, or I will insult you a second time."

The bass player and I noticed we started getting RS delivered to our houses. No way I would've ever subscribed, but we couldn't figure out why we were getting it. I'd get it give it a pic run through, and toss it. About 6 issues later we both started getting hate mail about sending in the money for our subs, and how they were turning it over to a collection agency. He jumped through hoops to get it discontinued, I just let it go away, but I bet they made a ton of money off people by that trickery.

[jazztele]

normally, i wouldn't even let a list like this bother me but...

where's 25 or 6 to 4? and kid charlemagne is their dan pick?

[earl diltz]

No sweet little Lisa by Nick Lowe? That has to be a top ten!

[mickeydean]

Baby's On Fire - Eno

i don't even like robert fripp, but that's a GREAT solo.

[TelZilla]

Originally Posted by Fendrcaster

I don't know why they (or anyone) bothers with these silly lists.

It sells magazines.

[freshmattyp]

Originally Posted by TelZilla

It sells magazines.

And causes threads on discussion boards.

I'd say mission accomplished.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by TelZilla

It sells magazines.

yep, and it generates press -- when i worked for a daily newspaper, the latest off-key RS list, no matter how ludicrous, always found its way into the entertainment section as filler.

[eggman]

Howdy,

I'm a huge 'Stones fan, but "Memo from Turner? No "The Last Time" , "Start Me Up", or did I miss it?
Also, what about "Amos Moses", "Day Tripper" and "I Feel Fine"? I stopped being interested in Rolling Stone ages ago, anyway. YMMV.

Eggman

[Unseen]

...to know the list sucked.

Chuck was okay and that song was one I played a lot as a kid. But PLEASE...at the top of the list? Give me a major break!

I pretty much stopped looking at that point.

Chuck was just a rock-n-roller, not really much of an innovator. Bo Diddley, a less skilled picker actually contributed more to the music with "the Bo Diddley beat" (and, yeah, I know he didn't invent it, but just mainstreamed it).

Stupid list from top to bottom.

I think it should have been all instrumentals anyway.

[tiktok]

Originally Posted by harry the filter

My second question: Who reads or cares about anything in Rolling Stone magazine anymore anyway? Has it been any more relevant since the '70's than say Leisure Suits and Pet Rocks?

Put it this way: we could make a "100 Greatest Guitar Songs" list tomorrow.

You think they're going to discuss it in Rolling Stone?

Every English-language music discussion board or list has a thread about the RS article.

[Skrik]

Originally Posted by Unseen

Chuck was just a rock-n-roller, not really much of an innovator. Bo Diddley, a less skilled picker actually contributed more to the music with "the Bo Diddley beat" (and, yeah, I know he didn't invent it, but just mainstreamed it).

It's OK to give Bo his due without trashing Chuck, you know. Back in 1955, there was no rock & roll. Then Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley happened.

[Frank B]

I wonder who does those lists... Votes ? Some guy ? I dunno. I'll agree with alot of them.
But I'm surprised not to see more Pink Floyd songs and surpised not to see "reeling in the years" from Steely Dan instead of "Kid Charlemagne"; don't get me wrong, its a great song with a fantastic solo but to me reelin' is a guitar anthem.

Two of those those types of lists that I've recently seen don't have Led Zep's "Black Dog". Almost everybody's given it a shot and most guitarists I've met in my lifetime also see it as one of the greatest guitar anthems...
I'm starting to think that almost everybody I've met in my 20 years of playing were wrong including me.

[tiktok]

Originally Posted by Frank B

Two of those those types of lists that I've recently seen don't have Led Zep's "Black Dog". Almost everybody's given it a shot and most guitarists I've met in my lifetime also see it as one of the greatest guitar anthems...
I'm starting to think that almost everybody I've met in my 20 years of playing were wrong including me.

Guitarists are always going to have a different perspective on "great guitar songs" compared to regular listeners.

Somewhere out there are a bunch of fusion guys wondering why the top 10 guitar songs aren't made up of eight Allan Holdsworth tracks and two Shawn Lane....

[harry the filter]

Originally Posted by tiktok

Put it this way: we could make a "100 Greatest Guitar Songs" list tomorrow.

You think they're going to discuss it in Rolling Stone?

Every English-language music discussion board or list has a thread about the RS article.

Ok, now we're getting existential. You say that opinions have relevance if they are discussion-worthy. If nobody had bothered to report this list to this forum, then I guess it would be irrelevant.

Or to quote Rene DeCartes younger brother Carl, "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

I say you've got your list, I've got mine.

[tiktok]

Originally Posted by harry the filter

Ok, now we're getting existential. You say that opinions have relevance if they are discussion-worthy. If nobody had bothered to report this list to this forum, then I guess it would be irrelevant.

No, if the RS list had never been mentioned here then its relevance would be largely unaffected. There's a lot of people in the world, and most of them have never heard of the TDPRI. RS on the other hand, is very well known throughout (at least) the English-speaking world. "Relevance" is a personal thing--how knowledgeable is the author? How well-defined are the criteria? How closely does it match my own tastes and prejudice?

For better or worse, the RS name still carries some weight in the world at large. The list was compiled by a staff of professional music critics, some of whom have decades of experience listening to, thinking about, and writing about music. All of that combines to make the RS "relevant" in some sense, to the world at large. Also, recall that RS has a big say in who gets into the RnR Hall of Fame. It's said that history is written by the victors, and it can also be said that history is written by...the writers. Twenty years down the road, people are going to look to the archives of RS, Pitchfork, No Depression, Mojo, NME and even Wikipedia for a take on what "matters" and what "mattered".

When it comes to music journalism, the decline of RS is well documented, and the RnR HoF is as silly a popularity contest as the Grammies or the Oscars, but the fact is, those things end up mattering to a not insignificant degree to millions of people, even if you or I don't agree with that critical consensus. If "Bob from Boise" posts his Top 100 Guitar Songs list on his blog, it doesn't matter how well-informed his opinion is if no-one's heard of him and no-one reads the article. Even a completely "wrong" list "matters" if enough people discuss it.

[Frank B]

An air guitar contest or a guitar hero night at some bar might be considered more relevant in defining a list of great guitar songs.
Maybe someone at RS should've went to some venue holding one and made sure they had a notepad.