Rock and Roll -- A History

So, I was bored and had a couple hours to kill.  I made this list.  Essentially, it's a list of songs that, when listened to in order, give a pretty good musical tour through the history of rock and roll.  Some things about it:

This is in no way meant to be scholarly or professional.  I'm no music critic, I'm not trying to list the most influential songs or the most popular songs.  Most of this reflects my personal taste.

I tried to get a good mix of popular songs and deep cuts, but I erred more on the side of popular songs.

The songs are GENERALLY in chronological order.

In cases where the song is a cover, I've listed the artist that did the covering, not the original artist.

There are a few cases where I'll admit the argument can be made that the song isn't exactly "rock" or "rock and roll."  I did, however, have internal debates with myself before including each song, and I can and will defend each one as a true rock and roll song if I have to.

Rock and roll is among the most important things in my life.  It's so much more than a genre of music:  it's a culture, an attitude, a way of life, a system of beliefs, and a million other cliches that are all true.  Lately it's felt like rock's becoming less and less important, less vogue, less new and fresh (Fun is considered a rock band nowadays...and that's terrible).  Rock's in a dark age right now, but it will never truly die.  It's the best music there is, and (for me) this list exemplifies everything that I love about it.

(Final note:  there is a good chance I will come back to this and edit it as I come up with new, better ideas).

Finally...THE LIST

Maybellene – 1955, Chuck Berry

Hound Dog – Elvis, 1956

Great Balls of Fire – Jerry Lee Lewis, 1957

That'll Be the Day – Buddy Holly, 1957

La Bamba – Ritchie Valens, 1958

Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry, 1958

Shout! – The Isley Brothers, 1959

Walk, Don't Run – The Ventures, 1960 (I wanted a surf rock song, was originally going to do Misirlou; but I honestly couldn't find a good rock song for 1960.  This killed 2 birds with one stone.)

Stand By Me – Ben E. King, 1961

The Kingsmen – Louie Louie, 1963

She Loves You – The Beatles, 1963

The Ronnettes – Be My Baby, 1963

I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles, 1964

You Really Got Me – The Kinks, 1964

Twist and Shout – The Beatles, 1964

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones, 1965

Help! – The Beatles, 1965

Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan, 1965

Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers, 1965

The Sound of Silence – Simon and Garfunkel, 1965

Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles, 1966

Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix, 1967

The First Cut is the Deepest – Cat Stevens, 1967

Strawberry Fields Forever – The Beatles, 1967

What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong, 1968

Jumping Jack Flash – The Rolling Stones, 1968

Hey Jude – The Beatles, 1968

Proud Mary – Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969

Space Oddity – David Bowie, 1969

Something – The Beatles, 1969

The End – The Beatles, 1969

Let it Be – The Beatles, 1970

Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin, 1970

Imagine – John Lennon, 1971  (Dedicated to my grandfather - this was always his favorite song, and still and always one of the greatest songs of all time).

Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin, 1971 (I don't even like this song, but I wouldn't dream of making a list like this and not including it).

Iron Man – Black Sabbath, 1971

Levon – Elton John, 1971  (HEEEE SHAAAALLLL BEEEEEELIEEEEEEVEEEEE ONNNNNN)

What's Going On – Marvin Gaye, 1971

American Pie – Don McLean, 1972

Ballroom Blitz – Sweet, 1973

Dream On – Aerosmith, 1973

Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen, 1975

Stand By Me – John Lennon, 1975

Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen, 1975

Walk This Way – Aerosmith, 1975

Fame – David Bowie, 1975

Crazy on You – Heart, 1976

Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones, 1976

Black Betty – Ram Jam, 1977

Miss You – The Rolling Stones, 1978  (This song has the best bass line ever.  If you disagree, you're wrong).

I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones, 1978

Fool in the Rain – Led Zeppelin, 1979

Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) – Pink Floyd, 1979

My Sharona – The Knack, 1979  (You like this song.  Don't play that game.)

You Shook me All Night Long – AC/DC, 1980

Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio – The Ramones, 1980

I Will Follow – U2, 1980  (Watching that video, it makes total sense that U2 was huge in the gay scene around this time).

Dancing with Myself – Billy Idol/GenX, 1980  (The GenX version of this song is better.)

The Tide is High – Blondie, 1981

Under Pressure – Queen and David Bowie, 1981

The KKK Took my Baby Away – The Ramones, 1981

I Love Rock and Roll – Joan Jett, 1982

Beat It – Michael Jackson, 1982

No one Like You – Scorpions, 1982

Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2, 1983

Wrapped Around Your Finger – The Police, 1983  (I admit, there should be more Police on this list.  Hard decisions had to be made.)

Seek and Destroy – Metallica, 1983

The Unforgettable Fire – U2, 1984

Howling at the Moon – The Ramones, 1984

Once in a Lifetime – Talking Heads, 1984  (It's a live version because it's nearly impossible to get a good version of this song on youtube.  The live version is amazing anyways).

Take on Me – Aha, 1985

Bonzo goes to Bitburg – The Ramones, 1985

Inbetween Days – The Cure, 1985  (Brace yourselves...The Cure songs are coming...)

Raspberry Beret – Prince, 1985  (This needs no explanation, right?  I dunno, buy the song or something.  It's good.)

Bizarre Love Triangle – New Order, 1986

Walk This Way – Run DMC, 1986 (The greatest musical team-up since Queen and Bowie).

Smooth Criminal – Michael Jackson, 1987  (We still don't know if Annie's okay.)

With or Without You – U2, 1987  (That guitar outro is pretty much why The Edge is my favorite guitarist ever).

Just Like Heaven – The Cure, 1987  (I warned you.)

It's the End of the World As We Know it – REM, 1987

Angel of Harlem – U2, 1988

Fast Car – Tracy Chapman, 1988

Janie's Got A Gun – Aerosmith, 1989

Lovesong – The Cure, 1989  (They're still coming...)

Stand – REM, 1989

Unchained Melody -- U2, 1989

Pictures of You – The Cure, 1990  (Make it stop)

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana, 1991  (Did you know that Curt Cobain of pop group Nirvana died after injecting an entire marijuana?)

The Fly – U2, 1991  (Look up a live version of this song.  I'm partial to the Boston version, but Bono thinks the Chicago version is the best.  They're very different, and both are ridiculous.  You'll thank me).

Enter Sandman – Metallica, 1991

Jeremy – Pearl Jam, 1992

Hey Jealousy – Gin Blossoms, 1992  (I really wanted to do Found Out About You, but I guess this song was more popular, so...)

Friday I'm in Love - The Cure, 1992 (Night of the Living Cure Songs)

Two Princes – Spin Doctors, 1993 

What's Up? – 4 Non Blondes, 1993

Today – Smashing Pumpkins, 1993

Pennyroyal Tea – Nirvana, 1993  (Okay, it's the unplugged version.  Seriously, though, listen to that.)

Stay (Faraway, so Close!) – U2, 1993  (If you don't like U2, you've never heard this song.  Listen to the live version from Boston, too.  This is literally the greatest song ever written.)

Better Man – Pearl Jam, 1994

Zombie – The Cranberries, 1994

She – Green Day, 1994

High and Dry – Radiohead, 1995 (I don't like Radiohead, but The Bends is undeniable.)

Spiderwebs – No Doubt, 1995

Torn – Ednaswap, 1995  (There are two versions of this song, very different, both great.  Ednaswap are the original artists.  The other version is here.)

Free As A Bird – The Beatles, 1995

Ironic – Alanis Morissette, 1996 (Yes, yes, I know, none of that shit's actually ironic...pretty ironic, right?)

Big Me – Foo Fighters, 1996

Bullet With Butterfly Wings – Smashing Pumpkins, 1996

If it Makes You Happy – Sheryl Crow, 1996

Superman's Dead – Our Lady Peace, 1997

Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve, 1997

Song 2 – Blur, 1997  (Woo-Hoo!)

Everlong – Foo Fighters, 1997

Closing Time – Semisonic, 1998

Iris – Goo Goo Dolls, 1998

Jumper – Third Eye Blind, 1998

Kiss Me – Sixpence None the Richer, 1999

Bye Bye Baby – Ronnie Spector and Joey Ramone, 1999

Higher – Creed, 1999  (I will support Creed to the bitter end, but I cannot in good conscience support the music video for that song.)

Beautiful Day – U2, 2000

Californication – Red Hot Chili Peppers, 2000

Everything You Want – Vertical Horizon, 2000

Kryptonite – 3 Dooors Down, 2000

In Repair – Our Lady Peace, 2000  (Do yourself a favor and buy this entire album.)

Jaded – Aerosmith, 2001

Drops of Jupiter – Train, 2001

Hanging By A Moment – Lifehouse, 2001

Walk On – U2, 2001

Sweetness – Jimmy Eat World, 2002

Chop Suey! – System of a Down, 2002

mOBSCENE – Marilyn Manson, 2003

Bring Me To Life – Evanescence, 2003

Growing On Me – The Darkness, 2003  (That song has an amazing music video, FYI.)

Believe – Yellowcard, 2003

Times Like These – Foo Fighters, 2003

Mr. Brightside – The Killers, 2004 (I have a theory that if you take a random sampling of 100 people between the ages of 18 an 35, 98 of them will know all the words to Mr. Brightside.)

My Immortal – Evanescence, 2004

The Ghost of You – My Chemical Romance, 2004

Run – Snow Patrol, 2004

City of Blinding Lights – U2, 2004

Because of You – Kelly Clarkson, 2005

Little House – The Fray, 2005

Dance Inside – All American Rejects, 2005

This River Is Wild – The Killers, 2006

Welcome to the Black Parade – My Chemical Romance, 2006

Radio Nowhere – Bruce Springsteen, 2007

Hot – Avril Lavigne, 2007

Kreuzberg – Bloc Party, 2007

The Pretender – Foo Fighters, 2007

Here it Goes – Jimmy Eat World, 2007

Human – The Killers, 2008

Violet Hill – Coldplay, 2008

Another Heart Calls – All American Rejects, 2008

Please Don't Leave Me – Pink, 2009

Littlething – Jimmy Eat World, 2009

Party Poison – My Chemical Romance, 2010  ("Ain't no DJ gonna save my soul.  I sold it long ago to rock and roll.")

Hide – Yellowcard, 2010

Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People, 2010

Walk – Foo Fighters, 2011

Fast and Slow – All American Rejects, 2012

Runaways – The Killers, 2012

Harlem – New Politics, 2013 (This might be the catchiest song ever.)

Still Into You – Paramore, 2013

Fake Your Death – My Chemical Romance, 2014



Welp, that's my list.  I dunno...I hope at least you'll find a few songs you enjoy.

The 5 Best Albums of 2013

Since 2013 was such a good year for music, I decided to do one of these lists.  Here are the 5 best albums that I listened to this year:

5.) Lorde - Pure Heroine

I remember the first time I heard "Royals" on the radio.  I was in my car (does anyone ever listen to the radio outside of the car anymore?) stopped at the intersection of Harlem and Ogden, and the DJ on XRT (I think it was Jason Thomas, but I'm not positive) said he was gonna play a song off an album called "Pure Heroine," spelled "H-E-R-O-I-N-E," by someone named Lorde.  And she was only sixteen.  I was interested right away - XRT isn't usually the type of station to play bullshit from teen pop stars.  As soon as she sang "Every song's like gold teeth, gray goose, tripping in the bathroom," I knew I needed to get this album.  It exploded over the next few weeks, but I kept putting off getting the full album, until I heard the second single, "Team."  It takes serious balls for a sixteen-year-old girl to sing, "I'm kind of older than I was when I reveled without a care."  That song hit me even harder than Royals did, 'cuz now I knew that it wasn't just a fluke:  this girl had talent.  The rest of the album is incredibly solid, though "Team" is still my favorite song.  The minimalist style and production is an excellent change of pace from much of today's pop music, and the surprisingly deep lyrics tie everything together into a perfect little condemnation of today's pop music and the lifestyle it champions, all the while remaining accessible.  This is a record that will influence pop musicians for a generation to come, and hopefully will mark the beginning of a great deconstruction and then reconstruction of the genre.


4.)  Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2

The "sequel" to Eminem's much-lauded 2000 album does something I don't think anyone expected:  it tops the original.  While I've always generally been more of a fan of Eminem's older music, I can say unequivocally that MMLP2 is his best album in a decade and among the best rap albums of all time.  The album starts off with the seven-minute "Bad Guy," which is as angry as it is epic, and from then on Eminem favors individualistic, standout songs with the perfect balance of rock and pop influences.  Special mention goes to "Stronger Than I Was," a straight ballad that sounds unlike anything Eminem's done before (he actually sings on it, and it's not bad!) and Legacy, the production of which recalls his older song Stan.  The obligatory-feeling collaboration with Rihanna, Monster, doesn't come close to their last collaboration (Love the Way You Lie) but it's a good single that reignites the album after the mid-album lag.  Aside from a baffling collaboration with the douchebag from Fun (on "Headlights") there is literally nothing to criticize here.  Watch for the hilarious sample on "So Far...", a decision so absurd on paper that it transcends reproach.

3.) Vincent Todd - Skeletrons

You've almost certainly never heard of Vincent Todd, which is too bad, because his 2013 album Skeletrons is such a roller-coaster of genres, styles, and emotions that I couldn't help myself from including it on this list.  A departure from the straight-electronica of his previous records, Todd's songs range from lo-fi punk to rock-and-pop influenced electronica, sandwiched between two soundtrack-worthy instrumentals.  The absolute standout is the stadium-ready "Walk Into the Light," which has one of the best choruses you'll ever hear.  This is an album that needs to be listened to front-to-back for its greatness to be understood, but the experience is well worth it.  Watch for a cover of Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" that trucks the original and sprints all the way to the end zone.

Here's the best part:  you can listen to the entire album here.


2.) Jimmy Eat World - Damage

Jimmy Eat World's eighth studio album took me a few listens.  It's a loose concept album about the end of a relationship, but what makes it different from most breakup albums is the way it explores the topic from the POV of both parties.  Instead of a melodramatic high-school breakup, Damage is about the destruction of something more like a marriage and how it affects two adults who are no more emotionally prepared than if they were in high school.  Frontman Jim Adkins sings in the first track, "There's something I feel I haven't felt since, since I was a kid, you made my heart just break, it just breaks."  Damage may stand as the only album that successfully captures the trauma and heartbreak of a divorce without coming off as overly sentimental or fake.  The stripped-down closing track ends the album on a decidedly nihilistic note:  "You were good, you were good, and you were gone."

1.)  Paramore - Paramore

I never really liked Paramore, outside of a few songs.  I'm weary when members of the band quit during recording of an album, and I absolutely hate self-titled albums.  So then why was Paramore's self-titled fourth album, recorded just after co-founders Zac and Josh Farro left the band, my favorite album of 2013?  Simply put, Paramore cut the bullshit and grew up as a band.  They've tempered the worst of their lyrical faults and made an ambitious, fluid album incorporating styles you'd never think them capable of pulling off based on their earlier material, and nine times out of ten, they succeed.  The ukulele-driven interludes give the album an inexplicable sense of direction and story, and the band shows that they grew up listening to Jimmy Eat World with the nearly 8-minute closer, "Future."  Special mention goes to the album's single, "Still Into You," which sounds like an Avril Lavigne song (although it's far better than anything she's released in the past six or seven years), which after years of Hayley Williams being the "anti-Avril" was a ballsy decision on the band's part.  After this album, I'm forced to conclude that all of the awful songwriting displayed on the band's first three albums can be blamed on the Farro brothers, and with them gone, Paramore has nowhere to go but up.

Honorable mentions:  The Next Day by David Bowie, Avril Lavigne by Avril Lavigne, Yeezus by Kanye West, Lightning Bolt by Pearl Jam, Mechanical Bull by Kings of Leon.