A 1967 single that John Lennon considered one of his best songs, 'Strawberry Fields Forever' is emblematic of the dexterity of the Beatles, folding a carnivalesque Mellotron keyboard, the hazy, psychedelic strums of a swarmandal, and Lennon's strangely ominous lyrics ( 'nothing is real…') into what is ostensibly a pop song. Really, were it by almost any other band, it'd easily be their most impressive hit. Now, I'm not saying 'Strawberry Fields Forever' is bad.

No longer is 'Hey Jude' the top-ranking Beatles song in the list's #8 spot, as it was in 2004 now 'Strawberry Fields Forever' is their highest-ranked track at #7, trailed in the top 50 by 'A Day in the Life' at #24 and 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' at #15 - both of which are way, way better songs. Public Enemy's 1989 hip hop track 'Fight the Power,' for example, didn't make it on the 2004 list, but debuted in the #2 spot in the 2021 ranking in doing so, it knocked The Rolling Stones' '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' from the second spot back to the 31st.Īnd then there are the fab four. The 20 lists are dramatically different, with the latter skewing noticeably younger and more adventurous. Some important background: Rolling Stone first published its list of the '500 Greatest Songs of All Time' in 2004, when it was perhaps a little biasedly topped by Bob Dylan's 'Like a Rolling Stone.' But since the times, they are a'changin', RS decided to reevaluate the musical landscape, and it published its new list this week. On the other hand, who's really going to argue that Aretha Franklin's 'Respect,' in the list's #1 spot, doesn't have a case for being the best song of all time?Įven knowing that Rolling Stone's rejiggering of the '500 greatest' list is all just a ploy to get people talking, though, I absolutely cannot let it slide that the writers' ranked 'Strawberry Fields Forever' as the Beatles' best song. It mostly worked: Miles Davis' 'So What?' ranks behind Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road,' and K-pop boy band BTS' 2020 hit ' Dynamite' is deemed 'greater' than Prince's 'Little Red Corvette,' Bill Withers' 'Lovely Day,' and Bon Jovi's 'Living on a Prayer' (okay, admittedly RS might be onto something with that last one).

This week, Rolling Stone published its reranking of the ' 500 Greatest Songs of All Time' in a transparent effort to rile up Boomers.

Forever young song