In the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine, they have gone over the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. There is now a new, revised list from the magazine. The first list was published in 2003. In 2012, they revised this list. We’ve now had this second revision.
I went through the whole list, praying I would see New Gold Dream (if nothing else in the Simple Minds canon) on it. Nope! Not a sausage.
I then went and looked at the original 2003 thinking they may have been on that – but no. Okay, then perhaps they made the 2012 revision. Nada!
There are albums I love on there. Several Bowie albums (though I don’t agree with their placements in the lists), my favourite Bjork albums, albums by The Police, Tracy Chapman’s debut…and many others that were worthy of their placement.
And then there are weird omissions from the revisions, strange additions and list placement reshuffles that leave me perplexed.
An example: Hole’s Live Through This from 1994. It is an album I loved at the time, and when the original “500 Greatest Albums” list was compiled in 2003, I might have agreed with its placing of number 466. But now, not really. And I am certainly perplexed by not only it still being on the list in 2020 – but its high repositioning at number 106! What the fook?!
Okay…so New Gold Dream has never been on the list. I genuinely think it’s a crime.
There were a few personal Top 10s from renowned musicians. One of them being U2’s The Edge. I gave his list a keek and … nothing! I thought, “Come on! It’s the inspiration for The Unforgettable Fire! You guys wax lyrical about it! You still play it before gigs! Why is it not in your top 10?” I am miffed!
I know music is subjective and lists mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. But I was genuinely disheartened not to see New Gold Dream even at number 500.
There’s no accounting for taste.
