Music Monday – These Are the Songs We’ll Remember??

Slate, the daily web magazine, recently asked critics, musicians, and industry professionals to predict which tracks from the past 25 years we’ll still be dancing and singing along to for the next 100 years.

When I first saw the headline for the results of the Slate survey, I started thinking of some songs I thought would be on there. I just assumed there would be a Springsteen song, an Ingrid Michaelson song, or a Colbie Caillat song. And if not, then I thought I would at least know most of the songs on the list since they are the ones that are considered the most likely to endure.

Well, I should have realized right from the start that my failure to keep up with music from the past 25 years would result in me not being very familiar at all with the top 30 songs that came out of the survey.

The editors point out that the results are not a list of the best songs of the past quarter-century, although many of these tracks would make that list, too. These are the most durable songs.

Here is the list, in reverse order. I’ve bolded the songs I’ve actually heard of:

• 30. Idina Menzel – “Let It Go”
• 29. Liz Phair – “F&*# and Run”
• 28. Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers – “Get Lucky”
• 27. Alanis Morissette – “You Oughta Know”
• 26. Old Crow Medicine Show – “Wagon Wheel”
• 25. Destiny’s Child – “Say My Name”
• 24. Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World”
• 23. Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z – “Crazy in Love”
• 22. Nine Inch Nails – “Hurt”
• 21. 50 Cent – “In Da Club”
• 20. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
• 19. Oasis – “Wonderwall”
• 18. Backstreet Boys – “I Want It That Way”
• 17. Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – “We Found Love”
• 16. The Killers – “Mr. Brightside”
• 15. Céline Dion – “My Heart Will Go On”
• 14. Santana ft. Rob Thomas – “Smooth”
• 13. Lauryn Hill – “Doo Wop (That Thing)”
• 12. Drake – “Hotline Bling”
• 11. Eminem – “Lose Yourself”
• 10. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe”
• 9. TLC – “Waterfalls”
• 8. The White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army”
• 7. Mariah Carey – “All I Want for Christmas Is You”
• 6. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
• 5. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Juicy”
• 4. Kelly Clarkson – “Since U Been Gone”
• 3. Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
• 2. Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
• 1. Outkast – “Hey Ya”

The bolded songs, representing the ones I am familiar with, represent 30% of the songs on the list. That’s actually higher than I would have predicted, but still pretty bad.

If I were to pick my favorite song on the list it would have to be number 24, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.

I think the best thing about the list is that it gives me a quick way to get caught up with the music of the past 25 years so that I don’t come across as too culturally illiterate. I’m also guessing that there will be a couple songs that I have not bolded that I actually do know, I just don’t know the name of the song.

Who knows, I may be soon walking around my house singing “Hey Ya” before I know what hit me.

In the meantime, here’s the great IZ song: