MAX All Time Greatest Songs
MAX chooses "Imagine" its Greatest Song of All Time. Do you agree?
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under Subscription
I caught quite a bit of MAX’s 100 All Time Greatest Songs broadcast yesterday. It was a good way to chill out on Boxing Day.
I’m not sure how it derived the list but overall it was a pretty good mix, if largely dominated by post 1970s songs. The earliest choon I recall seeing was Unforgettable by Nat King Cole.
There were certainly some classic clips of live performances by Elvis, Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones and more. AC/DC on a flatbed truck down Bourke Street. Had almost forgotten Derryn Hinch put in an acting turn in You’re The Voice.
I started to jot down the last bunch of songs….
The Top Ten was dominated by songs from the 80s. While I confess to being a fan of the 70s, as a decade I reckon the 60s actually generated the strongest melodies (where were all the Motown songs?). Personally, I would have reversed #1 and #2.
What do you make of their list?
29. Graceland – Paul Simon
28. November Rain – Guns n Roses
27. My Generation – The Who
26. My Way – Frank Sinatra
25. Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
24. Down Under – Men at Work
23. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper
22. It’s a Long Way to the Top – AC DC
21. You’re the Voice – John Farnham
20. Dancing Queen -Abba
19. Beds Are Burning – Midnight Oil
18. Heartbreak Hotel – Elvis Presley
17. Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
16. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones
15. Khe Sanh – Cold Chisel
14. Superstition – Stevie Wonder
13. Rio – Duran Duran
12. Don’t Dream it’s Over – Crowded House
11. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
10. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2
9. Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
8. When Doves Cry – Prince & The Revolution
7. Hey Jude – The Beatles
6. Vogue – Madonna
5. Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
4. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
3. Thriller – Michael Jackson
2. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
1. Imagine – John Lennon
Share
- Tagged with 100 All Time Greatest Songs
19 Responses
Whose the fool that hasn’t heard Rio by Duran Duran?! Seriously?
@Donald – perhaps I should have put a smiley at the end so that you could tell that I was joking.
What About Me, by the legendary Shannon Noll should have been in there as well.
What!! How can this list be taken seriously when “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” doesn’t even make the top 30??
Kosmikray – it’s not hippy twaddle, it’s Marxist twaddle. The song “imagines” no religion, no state and no private property.
Secret Squirrel, Motown is a direct (not veiled) reference to a label/genre (The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, etc.), not a reference to Detroit (except that’s where the label started). Apparently David’s additional reference to the 60’s wasn’t enough of a clue to you that it had nothing to do with KISS, so I’ve now filled in the blank.
Personally I would have voted for “Dirty Epic” by Underworld or “Blood On the Motorway” by DJ Shadow but the chances of copious support is sadly minimal.
Have to say My Generation should have been closer to the top ten, song that defines a Generation better then any song out there.
These lists are always contentious. Every one of us can think of ten or more songs that are good enough to make the top 25. The difficulty is finding ten to bump out.
There are some great songs there but as others have said, if you listen to commercial FM for even a couple of hours a day (and can tolerate the “coming right at ya” banality) you’ll get jaded with hearing the same songs over and over again. Even Triple-J can be guilty of that but at least they play new and original music rather than manufactured auto-tuned tween fairy floss or “classic rock” which always seems to include something by The Eagles.
I would place both “Billy Jean” and “Beat It” above “Thriller”. “Imagine” isn’t rubbish but I wouldn’t put it in the top ten. “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Stairway to Heaven” are enduring classics but over-exposure renders them almost a cliché of themselves. Progressive Rock is not as commercially palatable but “Money” and “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd should prob be up there somewhere.
And David, your mention of “Motown” is obviously a veiled reference to one of Detroit’s greatest non-automotive exports. It’s time to come out of the closet – we all know that you’re a massive KISS fan!
I am? I don’t own one KISS CD. “(I Wanna) Rock & Roll All Nite” did make the Top 100. The list should have also been named Greatest Pop Songs, given it ignored everything pre 1950 or so…..sorry George Gershwin!
David, glad you got to see #1. On MTV Classic, their top 100 artists of all time was running late, so they stopped the broadcast after #3! All in the name of making sure their 6-hour overnight show “non stop classic” started on time. I mean, really?? Watch a top100 on telly for 4 hours only to not have #2 and #1 shown cos you don’t wanna run late? How about less ads? You know what time it’s supposed to finish by.
And the other day on STVDIO, they had a Billy Thorpe concert, and there was a song where they do that thing of just jamming for a while and each muso has a featured solo in that part of the song. Song thereby goes for about 10 minutes then of course. The channel decided to put an ad break right in the middle of this!
Starting to get really peeved with pay TV. Might give it the flick soon. If they’re gonna stop top 100 countdowns at #3, and put ads in the middle of songs…
As for the channel in this article, I really enjoyed it when Max did a top 1000 songs of all time one long weekend (I think it was Easter) – a good mix of new and old, unlike what you see on V, where “all time” means in the last 15 years.
I like John Lennon, but I certainly wouldn’t even rate it his ‘greatest’ song let alone of all time.
@Kosmikray, I was actually about to write a similar response to yours. To be fair, the paytv music stations only seem to own about 150 ‘classic’ music videos and every countdown seems to be the same songs in a slightly different order regardless of the theme.
Absolutely love Imagine – but not sure if it is the greatest song of all time!!
It is definitely/easily one of the greatest songs ever made, amongst many others.
I’ve never even heard #13… and Thriller wasn’t Michael’s best song, it’s his best music video. Billie Jean should have swapped places with it.
And Marky Mark’s Good Vibrations > Beach Boys Good Vibrations. Tee hee.
Agree with Kosmikray. This is the kind of garbage we get on the radio in Perth over and over again.
MAX used to be good but it’s become mainly a classics channel with songs even my mum hates.
Definitely a different list from Triple J’s (publicly voted) Hottest 100 of All Tine broadcast this year. Personally prefer the JJJ list.
Imagine is a classic but the fact that Vogue was before every Beatles song says it all.
That list of songs should be the all time generic pablum list.It Just confirms why I don’t watch Max or listen to FM radio. This is the crap they play?I’m missing nothing.
Imagine? That song is a load of hippy twaddle.