Song Debate #1: Stairway to Heaven

[Link | 2,714]

31 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

Or is classic rock like 90s tunes now and my classic rock is golden oldies?

From the little attention I pay to the promos, I think they haven't really changed the names of those eras. We might get "Best of the 80 90s and 2000s" now instead of 70s-90s or something. But I think "classic rock" et al still generally refer to the same years.

Edited January 13 by Link

[Estil | 1,265]

3 hours ago, Hammerfestus said:

I have to assume that classic rock radio is still the same handful songs they always played on repeat 10+ years ago.  Jesus h crist there are other Rush songs than Tom Sawyer.  Or is classic rock like 90s tunes now and my classic rock is golden oldies?

Oh I loved listening to Rush back in my college days!

Edited January 13 by Estil

[Nugfish | 652]

Stairway to Heaven is probably the sole reason I became interested in the guitar when I was in high school. Two decades and a dozen guitars later, I still think it's a great song. With that being said, I am a sucker for rock/metal songs that have both, melodic and heavy sections. 

 

 

[Tabonga | 2,324]

On 1/11/2024 at 2:08 PM, Brickman said:

8/10 for me. The over playing of it has probably worn it out a little but if I ever hear it I still like to crank it. The song is very well written and the progression is so interesting and quite different for what most were doing at the time. 

Heh - it wore out its welcome for me back in, oh say, 1971 - about a year after I graduated from high school.  Back then people listened to a lot of radio - wasn't much else to do while tooling around in your car unless you had a tape player - which was ok (if somewhat uncommon) except that you soon got sick of hearing the same tapes over and over and usually went back to the radio anyway.  They played the hell out of it and even in the college dormitory you couldn't get away from it since someone on your floor always seemed to have the platter going.  Great song but just got constantly over played.   Imagine by Lennon was a close runner up to it in terms of being everywhere.  

Daryl  in The Walking Dead got off easy - he could have had to listen to Stairway to Heaven instead of this:

 

Edited January 13 by Tabonga

[fcgamer | 4,729]

Chiptune version:

 

 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

9 hours ago, Link said:

From the little attention I pay to the promos, I think they haven't really changed the names of those eras. We might get "Best of the 80 90s and 2000s" now instead of 70s-90s or something. But I think "classic rock" et al still generally refer to the same years.

I have 6-7 classic rock stations I can pick up in my area. They have brought the 90’s and the occasional 2000’s songs from a band that was already well established, into the “classic rock” designation 

[RH | 4,921]

You all do raise a good point I’ve considered—how often have you heard a new song, it sounded awesome and you loved it but then the radio over plays it.

How should you really rate something like that?  Some people love obsessive repetition. Others can’t take the same sounds or media repeated much before anything, no matter how good, gets old and starts to become grating to the senses.

How do you rate something like that? I was born in 81 and grew up listening almost exclusively to Christian music, except every other weekend when my dad would get my brother and I.  He would listen to the classic rock station so a song like this isn’t worn out and I have fond memories of it.  It’s not my favorite from that era, but it’s a good one.

Regardless of how frequent you heard this song, it doesn’t change the competency of the musicians and it’s not their fault that the song was so likable that radio stations wore it into the ground, ruining the enjoyment for half the population.

For me, the #1 that this happened too was 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins.  I’ve admitted my love in the past for them, and 1979 was a great song, but our local, afternoon radio DJ must have really, really liked that some because it feels like it popped up every 30 minutes. I’m not sure other towns had the same radio experience with that tune but it took decades before I cared to listen to it again. I’d have a tough time rating that one.  It was good the first several dozen times I heard but after that, the enjoyment degraded, fast.

[Estil | 1,265]

4 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

I have 6-7 classic rock stations I can pick up in my area. They have brought the 90’s and the occasional 2000’s songs from a band that was already well established, into the “classic rock” designation 

Indeed; I think on the Music Choice "Classic Country" station the cutoff is 25 years and I think in KY to get a historic or antique vehicle license plate (I forget which one) 40 years is the cutoff.  I forgot to mention this but I was so thrilled in the late 90s when we got a classic country station and was exposed to a whole genre I otherwise would not have been able to experience as most country stations just play the same 40 songs over and over and over...

[JamesRobot | 5,806]

Yeah this song is overplayed, but Led Zeppelin as a whole is big 10.  And I'd wager that Stairway was the introduction to Zeppelin for 90+% of VGS.  Probably via Wayne's World. 

I have pretty solid impressions of the first time I sat down and just listened to Zeppelin IV in high school.  That album is a masterpiece, Stairway included.

[doner24 | 1,197]

I give it a 9. Incredible song even though it’s been played to death. 

[Estil | 1,265]

3 hours ago, JamesRobot said:

Yeah this song is overplayed, but Led Zeppelin as a whole is big 10.  And I'd wager that Stairway was the introduction to Zeppelin for 90+% of VGS.  Probably via Wayne's World. 

NOT!!  Heart totally blows it away (and that's with decades past her prime years!)!  I was hoping the Queen of Rock 'N Roll, Joan Jett might have also did a version of Stairway to Heaven but so far as I know, no such luck

Edited January 13 by Estil

[mbd39 | 2,025]

I voted 10 because of course it's a great song, but I personally never need to hear it again.

 

[mbd39 | 2,025]

On 1/13/2024 at 1:22 PM, Estil said:

NOT!!  Heart totally blows it away (and that's with decades past her prime years!)!  I was hoping the Queen of Rock 'N Roll, Joan Jett might have also did a version of Stairway to Heaven but so far as I know, no such luck

I don't recall ever hearing Joan Jett sing a ballad. As it is, I can't even imagine her singing Stairway. Maybe Black Dog or Rock n Roll.

 

[Tulpa | 3,516]

4 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

I don't recall ever hearing Joan Jett sing a ballad.

Closest she came was her cover of Crimson and Clover.

[mbd39 | 2,025]

1 minute ago, Tulpa said:

Closest she came was her cover of Crimson and Clover.

Oh yeah. She got away with that, but I think she'd sound ridiculous singing something like Stairway.

[Jaden | 151]

I didn't grow up listening to the radio. So, I can happily say that Stairway to Heaven wasn't ruined for me by being overplayed. Really great song, although I slightly prefer When the Levee Breaks and In My Time of Dying when it comes to Zeppelin epics.

[koifish | 556]

Sweet, an O'Jays thread.

https://iv.ggtyler.dev/watch?v=lbrp9WrljGU

[G-type | 2,483]

I really don't hear it all that often... my rock station doesn't seem do mandatory metallic or get the Led out blocks these days... they do play a ton of Bon Jovi's Living on a prayer

[Fleck586 | 301]

Great song. Not overplayed in my book. I tried to learn how to play it on my guitar. I'm not very good and that song confirmed it.

[Gentlegamer | 174]

I hope you have permission from Led Zeppelin for this thread.