Is it not a little bit odd to hear a rock song you grew up with to be referred to as “Classic Rock” by Radio DJs?
At what point do we consider things “Classic Rock” or “Oldies”? It can be a tad bit daunting to feel yourself drift away from the here and now in terms of modern music. Some of our favorite music is strongly tied to a specific event, or time in our life. Wether happy times or sad, that music we listen to during these periods in our life sticks with us. Thats why those nostalgic songs on the radio can choke you up on your drive to work, or have you grinning ear to ear almost unexplainably.
Can you remember what music meant the most to you from 2001 onwards? These are the songs most played in Canada since the new millennium. Take a look! Some of them might surprise you!
Nostalgia is one main reason every city still has a classic rock station, which regularly plays bands like Rush, the Tragically Hip, Bryan Adams, Kim Mitchell, Alannah Myles and so on. But what is the new classic rock? As rock from the ’70s, ’80s and even ’90s slowly changes from classic to, for lack of a better word, oldies, what music will rise to stake a claim on nostalgia?
It will be the music of the new millennium, and to find out what that will sound like, we asked Neilsen Soundscan, which tracks the amount of radio plays each and every song gets across the country. Nielsen compiled the Canadian songs that have received the most radio rotations in the new millennium, which began on Jan. 1, 2001. The result: this list of the 100 most popular songs, from 2001 to present.
While we think you’ll be really surprised by the number one song, there are a few trends worth noting. First off, if you’re wondering what classic rock stations will sound like in 10, 20 years, the answer is Nickelback and Hedley. The B.C.-based groups both have seven songs in the top 100, and Chad Kroeger has two as a solo musician, statistically making Nickelback the most played Canadian band of the new millennium. After that, female musicians takeover, with Shania Twain, Nelly Furtado and Avril Lavigne landing 15 songs, combined, on the list.
But there were also a few surprises. Drake, for all his pop culture ubiquity, is only on there once, and it’s for a song that contains no rap. In fact, there’s very little rap in the top 100, period, which either says something about the quality of rap in Canada, or radio’s willingness to play it (we suspect it’s the latter).
There’s also very little music from before 2000, with only five songs from the ’90s and just one from the ’80s (can you guess which one?). It shows that radio stations are eager to stay current and support new artists instead of leaning too heavily on the Cancon canon.
And as for that canon? With so many songs from the last few years placing fairly high on this list, we’re getting a clear picture of which artists today will likely be celebrated, and played ad infinitum, tomorrow.
500 Greatest Songs of All Time | Rolling Stone
By Jay-Z A great song doesn’t attempt to be anything it just is. When you hear a great song, you can think of where you were when you first heard it, the sounds, the smells. A great song has all the key elements melody; emotion; a strong statement that becomes part of the lexicon; and great production. Via rollingstone.com
100 greatest songs of all time – Telegraph
10 greatest American rock bands of all time 100: Space Oddity David Bowie (1969) Starting as I intend to finish, with sci-fi strangeness from pops resident spaceman a weightless masterpiece of alienation. Super-smart dance song you can sing in the shower. 89: Run Snow Patrol (2003) An anthem for our age: apocalyptic verses surrender to a sweeping chorus with the promise that a departed lover will always be present. Via telegraph.co.uk
