VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs

So this week VH1, with the help of Poison frontman (and more recently, the groanworthy man with a harem on the channel's "Rock of Love") Bret Michaels, is debuting what they are calling as the fan's list for the 100 top hard rock songs of all time. the title is confusing enough - they've already had the 100 greatest ARTISTS of hard rock, and then the 100 greatest SONGS of rock 'n' roll. what next?

the last time they had a parade of these - I saw the 100 top '80s songs of all time in hospital 2 years ago, and it was a good way to pass the time immobile in hospital bed with an IV in my arm.

I guess this particular list is for people like us who remember what amazing music sounds like, and what the music videos did for their popularity - and in most cases, why a song remains in our consciousness.

the problem with the moniker of "hard rock song" is WHAT makes a proper hard rock song? As evidenced by the first 4 hours (which started 10 PM ET on 29/12 and then each episode after painfully separated from the previous by 24 hours), anything goes. does Boston's "More Than a Feeling" really qualify as a hard rock song? not anymore than the Romantics' "What I Like About You" as a #66 on the top 500 songs on Big 100, a local radio station that *used* to play '50s and '60s oldies and now has expanded their format to include U2 *gasp* as oldies (?!?)

while VH1 should get beaten with the ugly stick for going the way of MTV and showing stupid reality shows instead of actual music videos, the list is good in that it serves to reminds us what has come before and how, as a whole, the current music scene has a lot to learn when it comes to longevity and coming up with a kiss-arse anthem for the ages.

case in point #1 - "Since You've Been Gone," Rainbow. I'd forgotten what a great song this was.

case in point #2 - "Cult of Personality," Living Colour. I heard this when I was very young, and it's still an earworm after all these years.

case in point #3 - Quiet Riot's version of "Cum On Feel the Noize" was correctly identified as a cover of the 1973 Slade original.

I was getting pretty impatient until Led Zeppelin showed up with "Kashmir" on #21. up to that point, they hadn't even been one entry of theirs. I figure they will be in the top ten, and I think I might cough up a guitar pick if a totally un-hard rock band takes the top honor.

bottom line: worth watching for the nostalgia, if nothing else.

show's main page - vh1.com - no list yet, but it will probably show up this weekend
VH1's '100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs': What's No. 1? - ew.com

random tip of the day: last week Radio2 had a Boxing Day special with Noel Gallagher answering fans and other radio presenters' questions. it was humourous when Terry Wogan asked where his mother's family was from in Ireland. but more so infinitely useful when he explained where the name for Paul Weller's band the Jam came from: apparently Paul was sat at his mum's breakfast table and was at a loss for a proper band name. she said, "well, there's a band called Bread, and there's a band called Marmalade. what about Jam?" (seeing that Noel is a good mate of Mister Weller's, this is probably fact.)

yet another reason why you should listen to your mother. because as Macca wrote, "your mother should know."

edit (03.01.09): several guitar picks came up and out past my epiglottis last night. the #1 pick was ok...but not worthy of the #1 slot, surely?