THE GREATEST OF ALL TUNES (G.O.A.T.) is a salute to the greatest songs of all time. I’m going until I hit 100, and I’m adding songs as I hear them throughout my life and think–“Hey! That’s one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard!”
Here’s where we are so far:
- Layla by Derek and the Dominoes (1970) (link)
- Surrender by Cheap Trick (1978) (link)
- Better Things by The Kinks (1981) (link); and: Covers of the top 30 Kinks songs here and here
- Ironic by Alanis Morissette (1995) (link)
- Somebody Told Me by The Killers (2004)(link)
- Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Richard Hawley (2007) (link)
- Misfits by the Kinks (1978) (link); and: Covers of the top 30 Kinks songs here and here
- Grindin’ by Clipse (2002) (link)
- Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum (1969) (link)
Nirvana’s Teen Spirit is arguably the most important song of the thirty years, so including this one is a no-brainer. And entire books have been written about it, so I can’t possibly say anything new here.
Further listening: The entire Nevermind album.
So what does this to my top 9 (now 10) list? Well, it’s really between this song and Layla. And I’m giving Clapton the edge for two reasons: (1) Longevity and (2) Personal sentimentality. Other than that, these are both two PERFECT songs.
Cover versions: Too many to list, and many are very good, so I’m posting a few of the more unusual ones.
