I think that as time passes, the less effective/more derivative versions of a popular sound fade away, and only the best examples of that sound stand the test of time. So when you hear only those, and they aren't surrounded by soundalikes, it's easier for the quality to stand out. We're a long way from the top 60, but there's a Kate Bush song on this list that I discovered in 2019 and has since become my most played track by any artist from any era. And it's as eighties sounding as it gets.
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Kris Kristofferson) Kristofferson is certainly a worthy songwriter to have something included in this list. One can debate if this is the song to choose (and if it is, is this the best version to have represented?) But this is a decent song. Would not make my personal list, but I have no issue with it being included here. (3.5/5) Rating the songs so far: 1. You're So Vain - Carly Simon 2. Buddy Holly-Weezer 3. Cannonball-Breeders 4. I Can't Help Myself-Four Tops 5. Oy Como Va-Santana 6. Baby Love - Supremes 7. Without You - Nilsson 8. Our Lips Are Sealed-Go Go's 9. Sunday Morning Coming Down-Kris Krisofferson 10. Cross Road Blues-Robert Johnson 11. Pancho And Lefty-Townes Van Zandt 12. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper 13. So What-Miles Davis 14. Just A Friend-Biz Markie 15. Bad Romance-Lady Gaga 16. 212-Azelia Banks 17. Cranes In The Sky -Solange 18. Where Is My Mind?-Pixies 19. Welcome To The Jungle-Guns N' Roses 20. Old Town Road-Lil Naz 21. Truth Hurts-Lizzo 22. House Of Balloons-The Weeknd 23. Stronger-Kayne West 24. Back That Azz Up-Juvenile 25. A Milli-Lil Wayne Once I get to a top 40 I'm not going to drop the bottom songs if a new song places higher. RS still hasn't included a top 500 songs from the 2000's in my opinion. Only #1-#3 are definite top 500 with 4-10 contenders were I making my own list. #15-#24 would not even be considered for my top 50,000 songs!
Rhythm Nation (Janet Jackson) This is OK dance pop. Not anything that would be in my top 500. There are better songs in this genre, but there are certainly many more that are worse. (2.5/5) Rating the songs so far: 1. You're So Vain - Carly Simon 2. Buddy Holly-Weezer 3. Cannonball-Breeders 4. I Can't Help Myself-Four Tops 5. Oy Como Va-Santana 6. Baby Love - Supremes 7. Without You - Nilsson 8. Our Lips Are Sealed-Go Go's 9. Sunday Morning Coming Down-Kris Krisofferson 10. Cross Road Blues-Robert Johnson 11. Pancho And Lefty-Townes Van Zandt 12. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper 13. So What-Miles Davis 14. Just A Friend-Biz Markie 15. Bad Romance-Lady Gaga 16. Rhythm Nation-Janet Jackson 17. 212-Azelia Banks 18. Cranes In The Sky -Solange 19. Where Is My Mind?-Pixies 20. Welcome To The Jungle-Guns N' Roses 21. Old Town Road-Lil Naz 22. Truth Hurts-Lizzo 23. House Of Balloons-The Weeknd 24. Stronger-Kayne West 25. Back That Azz Up-Juvenile 26. A Milli-Lil Wayne Once I get to a top 40 I'm not going to drop the bottom songs if a new song places higher. RS still hasn't included a top 500 songs from the 2000's in my opinion. Only #1-#3 are definite top 500 with 4-10 contenders were I making my own list. #17-#26 would not even be considered for my top 50,000 songs!
haha--I like some of his films at least. My two favorites are probably Natural Born Killers and U Turn.
I have never heard Rhythm Nation before (despite whatever great heights of popularity it may have attained, as I was never into chart stuff much after the '60s), so I'm digging in ... Unlike some other tracks on the list, I was more favourable to this one at the beginning than I was at the end. As befits its title, the rhythm is more or less impeccable. The vocals started out alright but quickly degenerated into that grating, shouty miasma that has plagued R & B / soul since the '60s ended, or more precisely, since Aretha Franklin came along and everyone wanted to copy her, but didn't have the ability to do it tastefully that she did. And I can confirm that that "vocal squeal" (as @Joy-of-radio puts it) is annoying. It's always a shame to see a good rhythm track go to waste, but there are truckloads of 'em
My music of 1989 was Poco, Jackson Browne, and Loggins & Messina. I barely had any idea what was going on in popular music. “Rhythm Nation” is something I’d hear in passing and think that I don’t identify with anything about it. I still feel that way listening to it now. It’s 17 out of 26. Despite being a “youthful” 50 (I joined SH when I was 34), I’ve been an old man in a musical sense for a long time, which is my taste, I suppose. All of these songs are driving the point home.
#474. Curtis Mayfield, “Move On Up” (1970) Written by Curtis Mayfield Wikipedia says: “Move On Up" is a song by Curtis Mayfield from his 1970 debut album Curtis. Nearly nine minutes long on the album version, it was released as a single in the United States (Curtom 1974), but failed to chart. An edited version of the song spent 10 weeks in the top 50 of the UK Singles Chart in 1971, peaking at No. 12, and it has become a soul classic over the years. In 1979, disco trio Destination recorded a medley, incorporating "Keep on Pushing", a 1964 hit by the Impressions, also written by Mayfield. Along with the tracks "Up Up Up" and "Destination's Theme", "Move On Up" hit number one on the disco chart for four weeks. It peaked at number sixty-eight on the soul singles chart. The Jam, an English rock band active in the late 1970s to the early 1980s, released a version of the song on an extended play record in 1982. Kentucky-based jam-band My Morning Jacket frequently covers the song in their live shows. Just Blaze heavily sampled the song for Kanye West's 2006 single "Touch the Sky", using a slowed-down version of the horns.
RS #474 Curtis Mayfield – “Move on Up” [from Curtis] Love, love, love this tune. It has a perfect, funky blend of jamminess and relatively “fussy” precomposition (especially re the fantastic horn chart), and Curtis’ vocals go back and forth from a lower register to his falsetto very effectively. He otherwise sometimes stayed with his falsetto too much for my tastes, because he doesn’t have a very wide falsetto range. I particularly like the 9-minute album version of the track. It also earns major nostalgia points for me. I can vividly picture riding in my mom’s Mustang through downtown Cleveland as an 8-9 year-old as this song would play on the radio. The weird thing is that I don’t like the rest of the Curtis album near as much as I like “Move on Up.” It always seems to me that I should like it more than I do—it checks a lot of the boxes for me “on paper,” and the genres it spans are among my very favorites. But it just never clicks with me as much as I want it to—I always expect that one day it will suddenly resonate with me. The album is in 3/5, maybe 3.5/5 vicinity, and given how easily I hand out 4s and 5s, that’s a bummer. “Move On Up” is very easily a 5/5 though, and definitely a top 500 song candidate. So this is a relatively rare case where the Rolling Stone song selection from the album is clearly my favorite track. Top 15 tracks we’ve covered so far: 1. “Move On Up” – Curtis Mayfield 2. "Time After Time" - Cyndi Lauper 3. “Rhythm Nation” – Janet Jackson 4. "Without You" – Nilsson 5. "You're So Vain" - Carly Simon 6. “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” – Four Tops 7. “Oye Como Va” - Santana 8. "Baby Love" – Supremes 9. “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” – Kris Kristofferson 10. “Bad Romance” – Lady Gaga 11. "So What" - Miles Davis 12. "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses 13. “Cannonball” – The Breeders 14. “Just Friends” – Biz Markie 15. “Buddy Holly” – Weezer
474. Curtis Mayfield, “Move On Up” Woah, now we're talking! This is pure magic. Everything combines to make a deliriously enjoyable track: the horns, drums, Curtis' delivery, the pure simplicity of the refrain. Does anybody NOT like this!? I'm less familiar with the extended version but it's fantastic and I could easily listen to a 16 minute version if there was one. Move on up to the top of the pile, Mr Mayfield. 1. [reserved for Talk Talk. They'll be in there, right? Right!?] 2. Move On Up 3. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga 4. So What - Miles Davis 5. You're So Vain - Carly Simon 6. Baby Love - Supremes 7. Oye Como Va - Santana 8. Cannonball - The Breeders 9. Our Lips Are Sealed- The Go-Go's 10. I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
Curtis Mayfield Move on Up Now we’re talking. Great record. Superb opening horn riff. Fantastic vocals and such a positive song.
Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up Top drawer track by one of my favorite soul/r&b artists, with humanist message. Gotta love the percussion solo in the extended album version of 'Move On Up'. 4,5 / 5 01. Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up 02. The Breeders - Cannonball 03. Carly Simon - You're So Vain 04. Azealia Banks - 212 05. Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle 06. Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself 07. The Weeknd - House Of Balloons 08. Miles Davis - So What 09. Weezer - Buddy Holly 10. Kanye West - Power
Move On Up is the best song so far, and by a wide margin IMO. I think it should be much farther up the list. Here's my top 15 so far: Curtis Mayfield "Move On Up" Miles Davis "So What" Biz Markie "Just a Friend" Santana "Oye Como Va" Weeknd "House of Balloons" Four Tops "I Can't Help Myself" Supremes "Baby Love" Lizzo "Truth Hurts" Azealia Banks "212" Juvenile "Back That Azz Up" Janet Jackson "Rhythm Nation" Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" Weezer "Buddy Holly" Solange "Cranes in the Sky" Cyndi Lauper "Time After Time"
Curtis Mayfield - Move on Up So far, there seems to be a consensus that Move on Up is the best on the list so far and should be ranked higher than where it is. I am in agreement. Great horn chart! Good melody, good vocals, good drums, and it makes me want to move. This would DEFINITELY be in my top 500 - I think perhaps top 250. I wonder if Kanye's Touch the Sky will be in the Rolling Stone list. Updated list 1. Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up 2. Go-Gos - Our Lips Are Sealed 3. Santana - Oye Cómo Va 4. Carly Simon - You're So Vain 5. Lady Gaga - Bad Romance 6. Guns N' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle 7. The Four Tops – I Can’t Help Myself 8. Pixies - Where is My Mind? 9. Robert Johnson - Cross Roads Blues 10. Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down 11. Weezer - Buddy Holly 12. Miles Davis - So What 13. Kanye West - Stronger 14. Townes Van Zandt - Pancho and Lefty 15. Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation 16. Juvenile - Back That Azz Up 17. The Breeders - Cannonball 18. Nilsson - Without You 19. Azealia Banks -212 20. Solange: Cranes In The Sky (big gap) 21. Lil Nas X - Old Town Road 22. Biz Markie - Just a Friend 23. Lil Wayne - A Milli 24. The Weeknd – House of Balloons 25. Lizzo - Truth Hurts 26. Supremes - Baby Love 27. Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
“Move On Up” 5/5 – I would have preferred to see “Freddie’s Dead” make the list (and maybe it will, I’ve resisted the urge to peek ahead too much). But “Move On Up “ is a great choice to represent Curtis Mayfield on this list. The track has energy to burn and is particularly great in its extended album form. A 70’s soul classic. Top 10: 1. Cannonball – Breeders 2. Our Lips Are Sealed – Go-Go’s 3. You're So Vain - Carly Simon 4. Move On Up – Curtis Mayfield 5. Oye Como Va - Santana 6. I Can’t Help Myself – Four Tops 7. Where Is My Mind? - Pixies 8. Baby Love - Supremes 9. Without You – Nilsson 10. Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down – Kris Kristofferson
I'm so glad to see something like "Move On Up" on this list. If you're a Curtis Mayfield fan, don't sleep on the Curtom albums he made with the Impressions before going solo. Those are wonderful records.
476: Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Mornin' Coming Down As someone who, for the most part, loves classic singer-songwriters, this should be right up my street but I struggle with Kris Kristofferson. He just seems to be a miserablist, karaoke version of Gordon Lightfoot to me. Not keen on this at all although to damn it with faint praise, it's not as dismal as the Johnny Cash cover. 1.5/5 475: Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation Not an essential track for me, by any means and it does rather outstay its welcome but I like the general Eighties pop vibe well enough. 2.5/5 474: Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up Encapsulates everything I dislike about soul music in eight & a half tedious minutes. I'm glad others are getting more out of this than I'll ever manage but I'd be happy never to hear it again. 1/5
Interesting to hear a differing opinion. Would you please share examples of Soul music that you really enjoy?
Move On Up (Curtis Mayfield) Growing up in rural New England I never heard any Curtis Mayfield outside of "Super Fly" and "Freddie's Dead" as a kid and I was lukewarm to both. Interestingly the local adult alternative station picked up on "Move On Up" as one of their regular oldies and I like it. I figured it was a hit I never heard as it seems much more like hit single material than the songs I knew, but it seems like it wasn't in the US. I will say I have only heard the shortened single version on the radio. I'm not as thrilled by this extra long version presented here, so if it is the full version we are rating, deduct half a point. Overall the songs have been getting better in this countdown. I hope that trend continues! (4/5) Rating the songs so far: 1. You're So Vain - Carly Simon 2. Buddy Holly-Weezer 3. Cannonball-Breeders 4. I Can't Help Myself-Four Tops 5. Move On Up-Curtis Mayfield 6. Oy Como Va-Santana 7. Baby Love - Supremes 8. Without You - Nilsson 9. Our Lips Are Sealed-Go Go's 10. Sunday Morning Coming Down-Kris Krisofferson 11. Cross Road Blues-Robert Johnson 12. Pancho And Lefty-Townes Van Zandt 13. Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper 14. So What-Miles Davis 15. Just A Friend-Biz Markie 16. Bad Romance-Lady Gaga 17. Rhythm Nation-Janet Jackson 18. 212-Azelia Banks 19. Cranes In The Sky -Solange 20. Where Is My Mind?-Pixies 21. Welcome To The Jungle-Guns N' Roses 22. Old Town Road-Lil Naz 23. Truth Hurts-Lizzo 24. House Of Balloons-The Weeknd 25. Stronger-Kayne West 26. Back That Azz Up-Juvenile 27. A Milli-Lil Wayne Once I get to a top 40 I'm not going to drop the bottom songs if a new song places higher. RS still hasn't included a top 500 songs from the 2000's in my opinion. Only #1-#3 are definite top 500 with 4-11 contenders were I making my own list. #18-#27 would not even be considered for my top 50,000 songs!
Would Lionel Richie count? I quite like some of his albums. Maybe a few of the more dramatic Four Tops singles (Bernadette, Reach Out etc), the odd Chaka Khan song, Shannon's Let The Music Play. Slim pickings really. When there's a little funk thrown into the mix al a Earth, Wind & Fire, Chic etc, I enjoy things a lot more.