THE GREATEST OF ALL TUNES (G.O.A.T.) is a series of posts, producing my 100 favorite songs of all time. The master list is here, and I update it about every two weeks or when I have another 10 songs or so.
Today, song #15 is added–and the first metal song.
When I broke up with a girl in college I blasted this song, and then “What It Takes” by Aerosmith, over and over and over. I was that guy in the dorm everyone was irritated with. That breakdown at the end, “Where do we go now,” still kills me. And there’s some of Slash’s greatest work, from the opening chords to the blazing solo halfway through, introduced by Axl’s painful shrieks.
So where does it land in the countdown?
- Layla by Derek and the Dominoes (1970) (link)
- Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (1991) (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
- Be Thankful for What You’ve Got by William DeVaughn (1974)(link)
- Juicy by Notorious B.I.G. (1994) (link)
- Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello (1977) (link)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N Roses (1987)
- 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
- Alison by Elvis Costello (1977) (link)
- Grindin’ by Clipse (2002) (link)
- Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum (1969) (link)
Further listening: Welcome To The Jungle, Paradise City.
Covers: Sheryl Crow’s version won a Grammy, so let’s start with that one.
