Easter weekend viewing: MAX counts down the 1000 Greatest Songs of All Time
Who doesn’t love a good countdown? Combine that with the tough choice of the greatest songs ever for a debate sure to go on when the Easter eggs are gone.
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There are marathon music countdowns — and then there is the annual 1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time hosted by MAX each Easter.
It’s a serious business, with the ranking decided with chart ratings, song popularity and feedback from industry experts.
The Foxtel music crew also polled an orchestra’s worth of artists for their nominations — and most were NOT happy to be told they had only one pick.
“If I had to pick one song, one song as the greatest of all time, which is going to be hard but I will do it … I think it would be November Rain by Guns N’ Roses,” said Amy Shark.
“I remember that video growing up, it’s an epic, epic video, that wedding dress is out of control.”
Guy Sebastian went way out there with his pick. Good song indeed but the GSOAT? I think not.
“I don’t know why it gives me so many feels, but my favourite song of all time would have to be Saltwater by Julian Lennon, the melodies are just genius, stunning,” Sebastian explained.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
But you have to give the standing ovation to the legend that is national treasure Ross Wilson who used his vote wisely. He chose his own 1971 timeless classic Eagle Rock by Daddy Cool.
“That’s the one that started it for me. Surely it has to be in the top 10!” the cheeky rocker quite rightly insisted.
The MAX countdown of the Greatest Songs Of All Time kicks off on Foxtel from noon on Friday and will conclude on Monday.
Also this weekend, Apple Music is doing an all-Aussie Top 100. More of that below – for now let’s get into the details of the GSOAT.
DECADE DOMINANCE
The much-maligned eighties remain triumphant in the 2020 Greatest Songs Of All Time countdown, with 38 per cent of the songs from that decade.
Tracks which originated in the 1990s account for about a fifth of the entries; as do songs from the seventies, up on last year’s list.
For the 21st century, the 2000s are well ahead of the 2010s with 10 per cent of the countdown.
Two artists from 2020 make the list: Tones & I’s record-breaking Dance Monkey, which became the longest-running ARIA No. 1 ever, and Lizzo’s infectious and world-dominating self-positivity anthem Good As Hell will feature in the countdown.
While these songs were released in 2019 and 2016 respectively, they consolidated their popularity in the first few months of this year.
HOW LONG IS YOUR SONG
Four songs come in under the two-minute mark, with the 1966 track Barbara Ann by The Beach Boys the shortest song at 1:14 minutes.
On the other end of the spectrum, Stevie Wright’s iconic 1979 Evie trilogy offers 12:22 minutes of listening pleasure.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller is the longest single track, at 11:42 minutes with its iconic short film music video directed by Hollywood legend John Landis. It was No. 4 in the 2019 GSOAT.
The average length of all the songs in the 2020 countdown is 4:06 minutes, which is the exact length of nine tracks to make the cut this year, including Dreams by Fleetwood Mac (1977), Blue Monday by New Order (1988), True Colours by Cyndi Lauper (1986), and The A-Team by Ed Sheeran (2011).
And for musical mathematicians, the COVID-19-apt Staying Alive by The Bee Gees, at 3:56 minutes, is the middle song of the countdown when rearranged by song length.
REELING IN THE YEARS
The oldest song belongs to the King, Elvis Presley with 1957’s Jailhouse Rock while the freshest is Dance Monkey.
The indisputable, heavyweight year of the 2020 GSOAT is 1987, with a whopping 49 entries. A fair whack of those songs came from massive albums including Jackson’s Bad, INXS’s Kick and Whitney Houston’s Whitney, U2’s The Joshua Tree and Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction.
Another watershed year by the stats is 1991, with multiple entries from blockbuster albums including U2’s Achtung Baby, Prince’s Diamond and Pearls and Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The turn of the millennium proved to be the most popular GSOAT year of the 21st century with 2000 giving us Madonna’s Music and Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP.
THE TRIVIA ON TOP
U2 has the highest number of entries in the 2020 GSOAT with 16 songs.
The Irish supergroup’s high polling makes perfect sense considering their triumphant return to Australia last November on the Joshua Tree tour.
Two Australian artists INXS and AC/DC take second place, with 14 songs each, with Madonna and Queen on 13 entries.
Only one female artist made the top 10, which is split evenly between groups and solo acts.
John is the most popular name in the countdown with 10 entries followed by six Bills, four Georges and Ricks and three Pauls. Will there be a Ringo?
Tell us your Greatest Song Of All Time: www.hibernation.news.com.au
ALL-AUSSIE COUNTDOWN
Apple Music launches an Australian takeover with its Stream Local initiative this Easter and counts down the Top 100 Streamed Australian Songs on the platform.
The top 20 is a who’s who of the artists who have bloomed as music fans switched to streaming from digital downloads including Tones and I, Dean Lewis, Vance Joy, Amy Shark, Peking Duk and Flume with double entries.
Several of those songs have collected more than one billion streams each across all streaming services.
TOP 100 SNEAK PEAK
1. Youngblood – 5 Seconds of Summer
2. Dance Monkey – Tones and I
3. Be Alright – Dean Lewis
4. I Said Hi – Amy Shark
5. Never Be Like You (feat. Kai) – Flume
6. Cheap Thrills – Sia
7. Papercuts (feat. Vera Blue) – Illy
8. Waves – Dean Lewis
9. Fire – Peking Duk
10. Never Seen the Rain – Tones and I
11. Adore – Amy Shark
12. S tranger (feat. Elliphant) – Peking Duk
13. Say It (feat. Tove Lo) – Flume
14. Healing Hands – Conrad Sewell
15. Riptide – Vance Joy
16. Waiting – KIAN
17. Chameleon – PNAU
18. Exit Sign (feat. Illy & Ecca Vandal) – Hilltop Hoods
19. Choir – Guy Sebastian
20. Fire and the Flood – Vance Joy
Apple has also ramped up its playlist action on Australian artists for the takeover which kicks off today.
Collections like The New Australia (hip hop), Heaps Indie, Essential Aussie Country and Essential Aussie Songs are aimed at boosting streaming of homegrown music.
With concerts and festivals shut down for at least six months, artists and those they employ will rely more heavily on income generated by streaming, single and album downloads and merchandise sales.
The arts community is also championing the Sound of Silence fundraising campaign for music charity Support Act which is delivering emergency relief to artists, crew and workers who have lost all their gigs for their gigs for the indefinite future.