Best Amercan Song Since 1960 [Archive] - Beastie Boys Message Board

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yeahwho

10-12-2009, 10:25 AM

It's almost 2010 and I sit here thinking to myself what has been the very best American song of the past 50 years.

Who wrote the quintessential American song that best represents the past 5 decades? Which year was it produced?

Is it something obvious like Bob Dylan or is it an obscure B side by the Shirelles? Is it Hip Hop or is it Punk Rock?

What do you think is the best American song of the past 50 years?

yeahwho

10-12-2009, 10:58 AM

It's Blitzkrieg Bop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7FdJajqxmU&feature=fvst)

camo

10-12-2009, 11:23 AM

American Idiot.

jabumbo

10-12-2009, 04:37 PM

i'm gonna have to go with this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSh_Oc78A4o)

Guy Incognito

10-12-2009, 04:41 PM

probably an obvious one but "smellls like teen spirit" is first song i thought of.

Adam

10-12-2009, 04:53 PM

It's Blitzkrieg Bop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7FdJajqxmU&feature=fvst)

Reading the thread title the first thing I thought was this (y)

But thinking about it, would it have to be something about what it means to be american or the best song america (subjective) have produced over the last 50 years which is even more subjective and to taste. Too much to consider.

yeahwho

10-12-2009, 05:51 PM

It's a huge scope but here are another five I think are contenders

The Message (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4o8TeqKhgY&feature=related)

Mama Told Me Not To Come (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Va-CqCVJM)

Bastards of the Young (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=12764979)

Hurricane (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohyQblkQ8fc&feature=related)

Purple Haze (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hSW67ySCio)

I think that the ones above would at least be considered.

EN[i]GMA

10-12-2009, 06:35 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Change_Is_Gonna_Come_(song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUT1WgHat6I

Ah duh.

Documad

10-12-2009, 07:44 PM

Impossible question. I can't even name my favorite song of any genre, much less my favorite song ever.

I'm tempted to add What's Going On to your list, but I find that I'm more partial to Ball of Confusion. That song never gets old.

BTW, from about age 5 to 15, He's a Rebel was my favorite song. :)

(I remember when The Message was on all the critics' lists.)

RobMoney$

10-20-2009, 08:01 PM

The Greatest American singer/songwriter IMO is Bruce Springsteen.
And one of his greatest songs is about America.

Born in the USA. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2r-LDGT0xQ&feature=related)

Also, just saw him last week for the first time and let me tell anyone who may be a Bruce hater...
Nobody puts on a better show, sings with more emotion, and just loves performing, more than Bruce Springsteen.

3.5 hour set, something like 50 songs...Oh, and Born to Run in it's entirety thrown in for shit's & giggles.

Simply Epic.

kaiser soze

10-20-2009, 08:31 PM

I heard Bruce is awesome live - dug the song when I was young, didn't pick up on too much afterward (besides I'm on Fire)

Too many songs to choose from

Imagine by Lennon is a strong contender

RobMoney$

10-20-2009, 09:25 PM

kaiser soze

10-20-2009, 09:36 PM

oh yeah, anyways that's the song that came to mind (the lyrics mostly)

ok for American

How about Thriller

BangBangBunny

10-20-2009, 09:44 PM

Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On

Perfect tempo, perfect subject matter.

Every damn time...

Peace,
BBB

yeahwho

10-20-2009, 10:00 PM

Yeah, I've never been a huge Bruce fan either. This was the first time I've ever seen him. Went simply because he's doing a series of 4 shows over the past week (tonight is the final show) at the Spectrum in Philly, one of the first arenas he ever played and this is the final time he's playing there as they're tearing the place down.
I just felt like I needed to see what all the gushing was about.
And I saw.

Did you enjoy yourself, looked like the place was kinda empty due to the big Game last night with LAD.

I went to four Springsteen shows the past year and a half, one at Giants stadium, this current tour opener at San Jose, Seattle and LA. Both the Seattle and LA shows were in the pit (by random pick pre-show) and the Giants was 15 rows back from Jimmy Hoffa. The San Jose show was right up front sitting on a camera platform due to some nepotism within the grips at the Shark Tank.

The set list to last nights show looked great, heard he played All Shook Up and the Born to Run album in order.

I do think Springsteen probably deserves a spot in the top 5. Just not too sure about which song to pick. What a problem to have as a musician, too many iconic American songs.

yeahwho

10-20-2009, 10:03 PM

Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On

Perfect tempo, perfect subject matter.

Every damn time...

Peace,
BBB

Love the Marvin Gaye sound, love this song and video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s&feature=player_embedded) showing the great bass player James Jamerson. Marvin Gaye could easily be #1.

Lex Diamonds

10-22-2009, 08:19 AM

It's obviously this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXlaOsNBDkk).

Randetica

10-22-2009, 11:15 AM

bitch please

mickill

10-22-2009, 01:30 PM

No one does cheese and bombast like Americans, so I'm going to have to say either Livin' on a Prayer or Don't Stop Believin'.

yeahwho

10-22-2009, 06:02 PM

Cheesy is cool and Bon Jovi and Journey do cheesy like nobodies business, but as far as great American songs I like Born to be Wild or Fire and Rain better.

Still weighing in on Marvin Gaye as #1... the Whats Going On album is such an American Masterpiece.

mickill

10-22-2009, 06:43 PM

It's no Thriller, but sure.

RobMoney$

10-22-2009, 07:08 PM

Did you enjoy yourself, looked like the place was kinda empty due to the big Game last night with LAD.

I went to four Springsteen shows the past year and a half, one at Giants stadium, this current tour opener at San Jose, Seattle and LA. Both the Seattle and LA shows were in the pit (by random pick pre-show) and the Giants was 15 rows back from Jimmy Hoffa. The San Jose show was right up front sitting on a camera platform due to some nepotism within the grips at the Shark Tank.

The set list to last nights show looked great, heard he played All Shook Up and the Born to Run album in order.

I do think Springsteen probably deserves a spot in the top 5. Just not too sure about which song to pick. What a problem to have as a musician, too many iconic American songs.

I went to the show the Tues. before.
I would not have gone if it were on the night of a Phils NLCS game.
BTW, how do you know what the place looked like?

yeahwho

10-22-2009, 11:33 PM

I went to the show the Tues. before.
I would not have gone if it were on the night of a Phils NLCS game.
BTW, how do you know what the place looked like?

I gots my ways (http://twitpic.com/m6u84)

Randetica

10-25-2009, 03:22 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfgrnyv3q1g

this and nothing else.

yeahwho

10-25-2009, 08:08 PM

This song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIjUY3pjN8E) has an almost timeless American feel to it, like it could of been written in 1778.

Now, when I was just a little boy,
Standin to my daddys knee,
My poppa said, son, dont let the man get you
Do what he done to me.

John Fogerty and his band played this song as an eerie slow opener right at dusk above the Columbia River at the Gorge in Washington a few years back. PFM

yeahwho

10-27-2009, 08:53 PM

Otis Redding (http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1496) died three days after he recorded Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and six weeks before it was released.

The Man (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nA18g_PwG0)

jabumbo

10-28-2009, 10:35 AM

Cheesy is cool and Bon Jovi and Journey do cheesy like nobodies business, but as far as great American songs I like Born to be Wild or Fire and Rain better.

steppenwolf wasn't american :rolleyes:

Ghouls_Night

10-28-2009, 11:23 AM

Bottle of King Cobra and this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwmtbLJdKvI

Ghouls_Night

10-28-2009, 11:38 AM

Or Buffalo Springfield "For What It's worth".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5M_Ttstbgs

paul jones

10-28-2009, 01:08 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crJlogkdjB8&feature=fvw

yeahwho

10-28-2009, 06:03 PM

steppenwolf wasn't american :rolleyes:

You're right German/Canadian or something like that, Easy Rider messed me up, not the best song of the past 50 years by any stretch anyway. Just better than Journey or Bon Jovi, by lets say a million trillion miles.

yeahwho

10-28-2009, 06:12 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crJlogkdjB8&feature=fvw

I like the guy probably as much as anybody could, but the all time Daniel Johnston song has to be his Mountain Dew theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmCh_0AsEyk), which the folks down at Mountain Dew ignored... because just to be completely honest, they are capitalist dicks not the fake hipsters they portray.

Or Buffalo Springfield "For What It's worth".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5M_Ttstbgs

It is American

Bottle of King Cobra and this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwmtbLJdKvI

I'm really amazed, if the category were Best Universal Song Since Like Forever, then perhaps.

BangkokB

10-31-2009, 02:42 PM

The Day the Music Died will always be a classic.

When we were on our flight back to BKK from HK last month that played in the taxi on the way to the airport. I'm not a good flight passenger and that's even after adding pills and alcohol into the equation but that song played on our way to the airport and I told the better half what it was about and that was probably the worst song to hear bf getting on a flight.

Really dark surreal lyrics. "I saw Satan larf w/ Delight" I mean that sounds like some of the lyrics from some of my thrash LP's. Really weird to hear that acoustically.

I really like that 10 Years After song "I'd Love to Change the World" Great Lyrics telling people to get off their ass and do something instead of being apathetic. Didn't change anything but great lyrics.

Bob Dylan's "The Times are a Changing" Classic

yeahwho

11-01-2009, 05:03 PM

The Day the Music Died will always be a classic.

Really dark surreal lyrics. "I saw Satan larf w/ Delight" I mean that sounds like some of the lyrics from some of my thrash LP's. Really weird to hear that acoustically.

"I'd Love to Change the World"

Bob Dylan's "The Times are a Changing" Classic

Three great songs which reminds of Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi and Woodstock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6IDoxi9QsE).

mate_spawn_die

11-04-2009, 01:38 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN9UT2zF8c8