XFM's Top British Songs of All Time
XFM counted down what they considered the "definitive list" of the top British songs of all time. It's a travesty. Oasis has 9 songs on the countdown, including 4 in the top 10 and all three of the top spots. "Live Forever" is apparently the greatest British rock song of all time (it is, admittedly, a pretty good song).By comparison, the Beatles have 5 songs in the top 100 and have no song that ranks higher than 18th ("Hey Jude"), behind Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor," Muse's "Knights Of Cydonia," Pulp's "Common People," and The Jam's "A Town Called Malice." That last one stings (The Jam also have five songs on the list). Neither "Yesterday" or "Let It Be" made the list.
I know that Oasis is not just revered, but well-nigh worshipped in Britain, but... this list is just unacceptable. Muse, a very good - though not historically good - band, charts seven times ("Plug In Baby," for example, charts a few spots ahead of both "Come Together" and "Paint It Black"), while Led Zepplin charts a grand total of once (#51, 'Whole Lotta Love'). The Cure also only charts once (#79, "Close To Me,"), while The Verve and Arctic Monkey's both have two songs on the list and are both in the top ten.
How does a British radio station with some form of credibility expect to get away with this?
Labels: all time, top british songs, xfm
posted by Ben Wyman @ 1:14 PM
4 Comments:
Observation #1: The person or persons choosing this had their music-formative years in the early 90's, hence too much Oasis, Stone Roses, Manic Street Preachers. The earlier things they pick by the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks, and Who, tend not to be what anyone else would pick.
#2. By "anyone else," I mean the artists, later musicians, rock historians, or people who came of age in that era.
#3. No Cliff Richards. No Eric Clapton. No John Mayall. No Hollies. No Adam and the Ants. No Elton John. And shouldn't that Irish band, called uh, U2 or something, count as British?
It's the opposite problem of when Rolling Stone picked their "Top 100 Rock Songs Of All Time," and only one came from after 1990. It's fine to argue that rock was better before a certain period, or during a certain period, but when you aren't capable of seeing beyond your own perspective, you should get called out on it.
Were I choosing, I would pick 50, then consult with people from three other eras who had also picked 50, and we'd all whittle the list down together.
And could it be any more obvious that they didn't go that route? How is it even possible that the same band got all three top spots?
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