Rolling Stone magazine recently published an article titled “The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far,” which lists, as the name suggests, their ranking of the top songs released since 2000. Rolling Stone is famous for these types of lists, such as “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” and so on. Naming the greatest anything of all time is a big task, especially considering music is a subjective art, and after listening to the playlist, there are a few common themes across these “greats” that speak volumes about what Rolling Stone values in music.
When I was listening to the playlist, I was interested in finding out what made these songs so special and why Rolling Stone felt they deserved to be on their list. The songs weren’t named the most nostalgic, iconic, or genre-breaking, but the “greatest.” It’s a very big claim, and I still have a hard time wrapping my head around how this list was constructed or how one song beats out another, even by one position. The list itself is ranked from 1 to 250, and each song has a small description of the magazine’s argument on what makes the song special. Rolling Stone named Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On,” the greatest song, followed by Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” and BeyoncĂ©’s “Crazy in Love” feat. Jay Z (which I have to agree is an amazing song).
It is important to mention the genres or types of music that the list mostly comprises. It is very noticeably focused on English-speaking songs and genres, and rarely ventures to other languages or music not from Western entertainment. The list mostly comprises pop, R&B, rap, and indie music, with some hints of country, heavy metal, and EDM. There are a handful of Spanish-speaking songs, and barely any K-pop or other nations’ musical styles in the mix. So while there is some variety, for a list that claims to name the greatest songs of all time, this is a major oversight.
I decided to listen to the list from back to front, starting at Train’s “Drops of Jupiter,” ranked at spot 250. From the start, this experience was a wild ride of nostalgia, throwbacks I rarely think of, songs I listened to daily, and tracks that were completely not for me. With a list this long, there were bound to be a few songs I skipped. When it came to a song that wasn’t my favorite, I tried to keep an open mind and understand what Rolling Stone thinks made the song “great”, but despite this, there were some tracks I don’t think deserved a spot on this list. Music is subjective, and I am definitely not a music expert, but there are only so many heavy metal songs I can listen to before questioning the integrity of the list as a whole. But overall, I found this experience to be a fun experiment that challenged my ideas on what makes a song worth listening to.
So what does this list say about great music? Despite the changes in genres, decades, and meanings, I think that the main thing Rolling Stone values in a song is the execution of an idea. Good lyricism was not key to a great song, as many songs had very simple or often-repeated lyrics. Many times, the vocals themselves weren’t perfect or chill-inducing either, but they contributed to the storytelling of the song. Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker” was recorded right before his death, and encapsulates the ominous feeling of the end of life through Cohen’s deep vocals and haunting production. It’s a song that feels raw, but it works at all angles to contribute to the concept of the song. This same tactic was used for party songs, alt songs, and even songs I found outright weird. It wasn’t about the emotion of the piece, but about its performance. Of course, there are exceptions to my theory, and it’s hard to standardize a meaning across 250 vastly different songs, but if I had to guess what Rolling Stone valued when making this list, it would be emotion, production, and concept over lyrics.
Rolling Stone had a big task when making this list, but it’s important to question their authority in compiling it. When I see awards or rankings like this, I think about Lin-Manuel Miranda’s opinion on EGOTs when he was questioned about whether he wanted the distinction in a Deadline interview. Interviewer Hannah Abraham said Miranda “agrees that the EGOT club is small and iconic, but adds that it’s ‘also made up. Nobody gave a sh*t about it until about 20 years ago when there was a 30 Rock episode about it.’ ” When I first heard this, it made me laugh, but it also rings true. This distinction is cool to receive, but it’s a fairly new ranking system that doesn’t hold much weight outside of Rolling Stone’s opinion, and doesn’t truly award the musician anything. Although I’m not an artist, I can imagine the pressure to produce a piece for a specific distinction or award might hinder the strength of your art, so is it even worth it to focus on these awards in the first place?
Like the Rolling Stone title says, this list covers only the greatest songs of the century “so far”, and it’s exciting to imagine what new music is going to be made, and what might be a new “great.” And although being a Rolling Stone “great” might not actually mean anything, listening to their playlist is good practice for hearing art and music outside of your comfort zone, so check out the link to the playlist, and see what you think of these “greats”!