I finally mustered up the courage to check out CFNY / 102.1 The Edge's "Top 200 Songs of All Time". This is the list they played last weekend.
I immediately noticed the complete absence of new rock pioneer bands like The Clash, The Ramones, The Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure and New Order. Until very recently, these bands were still receiving plenty of airplay on CFNY, and only ten years ago The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?" ranked #2 on their "Top 1002 Songs of All Time" list.
In a mere ten years, that which CFNY deems to be "the top songs of all time" has changed quite a bit, and not for the better. In addition to The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?", other songs that cracked their top 10 on New Year's Eve in 1999 but failed to crack their top 200 this past Thanksgiving weekend are "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2, "New Orleans is Sinking" by The Tragically Hip, "She Sells Sanctuary" by The Cult, and "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell. 50% of what was Top 10 a mere decade ago is no longer deemed list-worthy.
It seems that "all time" now actually means "the past twenty years". There are only four songs on this list released before the 1990s: "Sunday Bloody Sunday" in 1983, "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" in 1986, "With or Without You" in 1987 and "Blow At High Dough" in 1989.
Here's CFNY / 102.1 The Edge's "Top 200 Songs of All Time", as aired last weekend. And before you leave a comment telling me this list was chosen by Edge listeners, read about how the station chose the songs and simply had voters choose the order.
1 - Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
2 - Oasis - Wonderwall
3 - Tragically Hip - Ahead By A Century
4 - Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
5 - Nine Inch Nails - Closer
6 - Offspring - Self Esteem
7 - Sublime - What I Got
8 - Our Lady Peace - Superman's Dead
9 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge
10 - Green Day - When I Come Around
11 - Nirvana - Come As You Are
12 - Radiohead - Creep
13 - Billy Talent - Try Honesty
14 - Beck - Loser
15 - Killers - Somebody Told Me
16 - Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
17 - Sublime - Santeria
18 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away
19 - Tragically Hip - Locked In The Trunk Of A Car
20 - Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
21 - Nirvana - All Apologies
22 - Three Days Grace - I Hate Everything About You
23 - Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name
24 - Green Day - Time Of Your Life (Good Riddance)
25 - Our Lady Peace - Starseed
26 - Nirvana - Lithium
27 - White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
28 - Billy Talent - Fallen Leaves
29 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California
30 - Nirvana - In Bloom
31 - Pearl Jam - Jeremy
32 - Foo Fighters - My Hero
33 - Tragically Hip - Poets
34 - Sum 41 - Fat Lip
35 - Linkin Park - Given Up
36 - Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box
37 - Three Days Grace - Animal I Have Become
38 - Weezer - Say It Ain't So
39 - Our Lady Peace - One Man Army
40 - Green Day - Brain Stew
41 - Foo Fighters - Everlong
42 - Pearl Jam - Even Flow
43 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Tell Me Baby
44 - Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
45 - Blur - Song 2
46 - Tragically Hip - At The Hundredth Meridian
47 - Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm
48 - Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
49 - Weezer - Beverly Hills
50 - Three Days Grace - Never Too Late
51 - Green Day - Basketcase
52 - Foo Fighters - Best Of You
53 - Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right
54 - Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
55 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
56 - Our Lady Peace - Naveed
57 - Smashing Pumpkins - Today
58 - Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song
59 - Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
60 - Finger Eleven - One Thing
61 - Foo Fighters - The Pretender
62 - Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows
63 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Soul To Squeeze
64 - Tragically Hip - Courage
65 - Green Day - Longview
66 - White Stripes - Icky Thump
67 - Offspring - Hammerhead
68 - Pearl Jam - Alive
69 - Blind Melon - No Rain
70 - Our Lady Peace - Clumsy
71 - Alice In Chains - Man In The Box
72 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Around The World
73 - Green Day - American Idiot
74 - Modest Mouse - Float On
75 - Killers - Mr. Brightside
76 - Sum 41 - Still Waiting
77 - Rise Against - The Good Left Undone
78 - Tragically Hip - Looking For A Place To Happen
79 - Offspring - Come Out And Play
80 - Coldplay - Violet Hill
81 - Rise Against - Ready To Fall
82 - Linkin Park - In The End
83 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can't Stop
84 - Green Day - Holiday
85 - Billy Talent - The River Below
86 - Weezer - Buddy Holly
87 - Killers - All These Things That I've Done
88 - Bush - Glycerine
89 - Finger Eleven - Paralyzer
90 - Tragically Hip - Fifty-Mission Cap
91 - Pearl Jam - Better Man
92 - Three Days Grace - Just Like You
93 - Oasis - Champagne Supernova
94 - Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly
95 - Rise Against - Prayer Of The Refugee
96 - Tool - The Pot
97 - Nine Inch Nails - The Hand That Feeds
98 - Weezer - Undone (The Sweater Song)
99 - Green Day - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
100 - Coldplay - Speed Of Sound
101 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
102 - Tragically Hip - Blow At High Dough
103 - Pearl Jam - Black
104 - Blink-182 - All The Small Things
105 - Billy Talent - Devil In A Midnight Mass
106 - Pearl Jam - Daughter
107 - Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
108 - Finger Eleven - Good Times
109 - Bush - Comedown
110 - Radiohead - Karma Police
111 - Tragically Hip - Grace, Too
112 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way
113 - Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World
114 - Beastie Boys - Sabotage
115 - Sum 41 - In Too Deep
116 - Everlast - What It's Like
117 - Coldplay - Clocks
118 - Three Days Grace - Pain
119 - Bush - Machinehead
120 - Matthew Good Band - Load Me Up
121 - House Of Pain - Jump Around
122 - Tragically Hip - Nautical Disaster
123 - Linkin Park - Numb
124 - K-OS - Crabbuckit
125 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside
126 - Big Wreck - The Oaf
127 - Social Distortion - Far Behind
128 - Sam Roberts - Brother Down
129 - Nirvana - Rape Me
130 - Sloan - Money City Maniacs
131 - Soundgarden - Fell On Black Days
132 - Tea Party - Temptation
133 - Nirvana - About A Girl
134 - Alexisonfire - This Could Be Anywhere In The World
135 - Alice In Chains - Would?
136 - Sum 41 - Hell Song
137 - Stone Temple Pilots - Big Empty
138 - Arcade Fire - Rebellion
139 - Incubus - Pardon Me
140 - Nickelback - How Your Remind Me
141 - U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday
142 - Finger Eleven - First Time
143 - Sublime - Smoke Two Joints
144 - Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
145 - Incubus - Drive
146 - Big Wreck - That Song
147 - Metallica - Enter Sandman
148 - Tragically Hip - Bobcaygeon
149 - Stone Temple Pilots - Vasoline
150 - I Mother Earth - One More Astronaut
151 - Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight Tonight
152 - Sam Roberts - Where Have All The Good People Gone
153 - Weezer - Perfect Situation
154 - Matthew Good Band - Hello Time Bomb
155 - Audioslave - Like A Stone
156 - Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
157 - U2 - Beautiful Day
158 - Coldplay - Yellow
159 - Bedouin Soundclash - When The Night Feels My Song
160 - Beastie Boys - So What'cha Want
161 - Sam Roberts - Don't Walk Away Eileen
162 - Metallica - The Unforgiven
163 - Tragically Hip - 700 Ft. Ceiling
164 - Jane's Addiction - Jane Says
165 - Matthew Good Band - Everything Is Automatic
166 - Green Day - Welcome To Paradise
167 - Sloan - The Good In Everyone
168 - Stone Temple Pilots - Creep
169 - I Mother Earth - Used To Be Alright
170 - Bif Naked - I Love Myself Today
171 - Filter - Hey Man Nice Shot
172 - Big Wreck - Blown Wide Open
173 - Rage Against The Machine - Bulls On Parade
174 - Billy Talent - The Ex
175 - City And Colour - Save Your Scissors
176 - Offspring - Gone Away
177 - Nirvana - Polly
178 - Econoline Crush - All That You Are
179 - Soundgarden - Spoonman
180 - U2 - With Or Without You
181 - Headstones - Cubically Contained
182 - Sloan - Coax Me
183 - Alice In Chains - Rooster
184 - R.E.M. - Losing My Religion
185 - Billy Talent - Red Flag
186 - Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealing
187 - Gob - I Hear You Calling
188 - Faith No More - Epic
189 - Doughboys - Shine
190 - Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter
191 - Sam Roberts - Them Kids
192 - Sloan - Underwhelmed
193 - Killers - When You Were Young
194 - Headstones - Smile and Wave
195 - Tea Party - Heaven Coming Down
196 - Foo Fighters - Times LIke These
197 - Billy Talent - Surrender
198 - I Mother Earth - Another Sunday
199 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh)
200 - Rage Against The Machine - Guerrilla Radio
If it seems like I'm beating a dead horse, it's because I am. Hey, it's my blog, and if I want to beat dead horses, I will.
Here's some more dead horse beatings worth reading again:
- The Top 200 Songs Of The 90's According to 102.1 the Edge
- Fearless Fred Talks About Toronto Mike
- CFNY's Catch Us If You Can Contest and No Repeat Workdays
- Barry Taylor Reveals All - CFNY: Top 40 With Grunge
- The Ballad of Martin Streek and Me
- Thoughts on 102.1 Tribute to Martin Streek, Shitty Facts, Closure Sought
