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What are the greatest songs? It depends on who's asked, as well as who's asking. But it also depends on the definitions of "great" and "song." My latest for @ArcDigi, on the #XPN2020. https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
There was a ton of Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, and the Who in #XPN2020. But I was just as interested in all the music that was missing. And both can be explained by the same thing: who voted and who didn't. https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
#XPN2020 was dominated by music from the 1960s and '70s. 759 of the 2,020 songs came from the latter decade, 419 from the former. That's over half. What's missing? Anything from before that. https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
XPN 2020 has 1 song from the 1920s, 3 from the 1930s, 2 from the 1940s, and 39 from the 1950s. That means one appearance by Bing Crosby, and no Andrews Sisters, Patty Page, or Enrico Caruso. https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
"An actual list of the greatest songs would be full of the Great American Songbook and tunes from Broadway and Hollywood musicals. 'Ol' Man River' is more important than anything Bruce Springsteen has done, but it's nowhere near the list." https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
Not on #XPN2020: Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, and Gilbert and Sullivan. No Stephen Foster, either - or Stephen Sondheim. Gershwin and Berlin only show up once. There's one entry each from Mozart and Beethoven, and one from opera. https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
Ray Charles' rendition of "America the Beautiful" made it, but patriotic music is otherwise absent. "La Marseillaise" is a great song, right? "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," too. But who'd think to pick those? https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
Religious music was also noticeable by its near-total absence. Aretha Franklin doing "Amazing Grace" was it. No "Ave Maria," No "Onward, Christian Soldiers." No hymns. "Hallelujah"? Yes, and four times. The "Hallelujah Chorus"? Not so much. https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
Lots of instrumental pieces (including a fair bit of jazz) made the list. Clearly, the people who voted or them thought they were both great and songs. Which raises the question of just what a song is. https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
Is "Bolero" a song? "Rhapsody in Blue"? "Appalachian Spring"? The "Polonaise in A-flat major"? "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2"? "Stars and Stripes Forever"? "The Maple Leaf Rag"? "The Imperial March"? If not, why not? And if not, then what are they? https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
If you ask two people to name a great book, you're liable to get two answers. But the same person might give different answers at different times. Even if you ask a similar group of people, they'll have different ideas. So it is with music. Hence #XPN2020. https://arcdigital.media/2020-hearing-7a1af94deaf6?source=friends_link&sk=da8caf12979bddc1beb33ead54f1bedf
