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What is the "quintessential" classic rock song?


Entre_Perpetuo
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I've heard 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica be played on classic rock radio.

 

I have as well. It seems in the past few years the classic rock format wants to include the rise of grunge and metal of the early 90s, if only for a few songs. Something about that has always seemed odd to me. Sure, Come Together doesn't have all that much in common with Running With The Devil, nor does Running With The Devil have much in common with I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, but somehow all of them seem a world away from Smells Like Teen Spirit and Enter Sandman to me.

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I've heard 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica be played on classic rock radio.

 

I have as well. It seems in the past few years the classic rock format wants to include the rise of grunge and metal of the early 90s, if only for a few songs. Something about that has always seemed odd to me. Sure, Come Together doesn't have all that much in common with Running With The Devil, nor does Running With The Devil have much in common with I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, but somehow all of them seem a world away from Smells Like Teen Spirit and Enter Sandman to me.

It's not really. They are simply the popular songs of their time.

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I've heard 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica be played on classic rock radio.

 

I have as well. It seems in the past few years the classic rock format wants to include the rise of grunge and metal of the early 90s, if only for a few songs. Something about that has always seemed odd to me. Sure, Come Together doesn't have all that much in common with Running With The Devil, nor does Running With The Devil have much in common with I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, but somehow all of them seem a world away from Smells Like Teen Spirit and Enter Sandman to me.

It's not really. They are simply the popular songs of their time.

 

I can't disagree with you, but I just can't perceive it that way. It's always seemed to me that everything from The Beatles through Guns N Roses was somehow part of a continuous cannon of rock and roll, and then Nirvana came along and asserted itself and its contemporaries as the new dynasty. I'm fully aware this isn't really true, but my perception will always be that Smells Like Teen Spirit doesn't really belong next to Living On A Prayer, whereas Tiny Dancer somehow does.

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I've heard 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica be played on classic rock radio.

 

I have as well. It seems in the past few years the classic rock format wants to include the rise of grunge and metal of the early 90s, if only for a few songs. Something about that has always seemed odd to me. Sure, Come Together doesn't have all that much in common with Running With The Devil, nor does Running With The Devil have much in common with I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, but somehow all of them seem a world away from Smells Like Teen Spirit and Enter Sandman to me.

It's not really. They are simply the popular songs of their time.

 

I can't disagree with you, but I just can't perceive it that way. It's always seemed to me that everything from The Beatles through Guns N Roses was somehow part of a continuous cannon of rock and roll, and then Nirvana came along and asserted itself and its contemporaries as the new dynasty. I'm fully aware this isn't really true, but my perception will always be that Smells Like Teen Spirit doesn't really belong next to Living On A Prayer, whereas Tiny Dancer somehow does.

You are simply focused on a demarcation point. We are discussing decades and generations of music, so there's bound to be points of separation of "mine and yours".

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I've heard 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica be played on classic rock radio.

 

I have as well. It seems in the past few years the classic rock format wants to include the rise of grunge and metal of the early 90s, if only for a few songs. Something about that has always seemed odd to me. Sure, Come Together doesn't have all that much in common with Running With The Devil, nor does Running With The Devil have much in common with I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, but somehow all of them seem a world away from Smells Like Teen Spirit and Enter Sandman to me.

It's not really. They are simply the popular songs of their time.

 

I can't disagree with you, but I just can't perceive it that way. It's always seemed to me that everything from The Beatles through Guns N Roses was somehow part of a continuous cannon of rock and roll, and then Nirvana came along and asserted itself and its contemporaries as the new dynasty. I'm fully aware this isn't really true, but my perception will always be that Smells Like Teen Spirit doesn't really belong next to Living On A Prayer, whereas Tiny Dancer somehow does.

 

It may not sound right hearing grunge or Enter Sandman alongside other classic rock staples but that music is now 30 years old. Shouldn't they be considered classic rock at this point? That material is older than a lot of songs were when they first started getting played on classic rock radio. They're probably just testing the waters a little bit by throwing in some popular 90s songs. They're trying to see if they can get the 40 something crowd to start listening a little bit.

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Ten years ago I would've said Old Time Rock and Roll by Bob Seger. But I fear that has slipped from Classic Rock to Oldies. Which is weird, because it's not even THAT old. I just feel like it played to an older sound than a lot of other songs in that era.

 

So now, I think I'd go with a song that's just two years newer with Don't Stop Believing by Journey. It's definitely overplayed, but almost universally one that people sing along to. It's got the easy to digest four chords of pop rock, and vocals that just pull you in as a wannabe participant. It's bright, uplifting and energetic- and I think it best defines today's view of classic rock.

 

This is very interesting to me - it was a rock song lamenting the death of good old "rock and roll"... and now it completely sounds like an old, dated rock & roll song that must be hard for anyone under 40 to remotely relate to. I kind of love that it has suffered this fate - it's such a good ole boy piece of snobbery - I'd MUCH rather hear a tango, and there are at least 20 disco songs I'd listen to in a heartbeat before this tune. There's an amusing irony that Seger is saying "today's music ain't got the same soul" when this tune is such a souless, corporate sounding piece of forced nostalgia.

 

I guess I'm not that big a fan. ;)

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