The Most Timeless Songs of All Time

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The Most Timeless Songs of All Time, What will still be played /remembered in 2050?

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Doctor Blind View member profile	3rd September 2015, 03:47 PM Post #1
#38BBE0 otherwise known as 'sky blue' Joined: 27 October 2008 Posts: 16,170 User: 7,561	> The Most Timeless Songs of All-Time < See link above for a project by Polygraph, which uses the most streamed tracks on Spotify to determine 'the most timeless songs in music history.' The methodology is a little bit loose because the total playcounts include people of all ages whereas ideally it should really only include the youngest possible sample. As they say on their front page 'Technically, we should normalise the data with Spotify users only born after 1995. They're the incoming generation with little bias towards the music (they didn't grow up with it), and they'll influence whomever is around in 2050. Spotify's user base already skews young, and the data more-or-less represents a generation in their mid-20s.' “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is at #2 as the most 'timeless' song of the 1990s behind Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Interesting nonetheless - would be great if the OCC could publish the most downloaded tracks (released pre-2004 and iTunes), I'm sure it would tally well to show us what could survive being remembered in 2050. Anyway loads of fantastic stats etc. which just goes to show how downloading/streaming will more accurately represent how timeless a song is compared to the old physical and limited sale era.


AcerBen View member profile	3rd September 2015, 05:21 PM Post #2
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 3,628 User: 3,429	This looks interesting, thanks. I'm not surprised at Get Lucky - it came up on Shuffle for me the other day and I realised I'd heard it so little since it left the charts that I barely recognised it, and found it annoying.


Jessie Where View member profile	3rd September 2015, 05:32 PM Post #3
Break the tension Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 88,970 User: 51	It's interesting, but this thing is only US-specific.


Dircadirca View member profile	3rd September 2015, 06:30 PM Post #4
BuzzJack Platinum Member Pronouns: He/Him Joined: 28 July 2013 Posts: 5,076 User: 19,614	That's a good and interesting read. I do think it's crucial to note in those short term examples that something like "Get Lucky" was an instant hit everywhere which is why it has such an abnormally steep graph. I also wonder to see what sort of gradual effect tastemakers/critics/etc will cause when everyone starts making 2010s decade best of lists. I imagine a vanilla sort of band like OneRepublic might not get much of a look in, though I suppose they'll end up a light radio staple so they've got that going for them. But I was reading something on this recently and the main thing that's observed is that use in media is the biggest way to make a song endure. It's certainly worked for "Don't Stop Believin'", though it may be curious to see if that too fades out along with the memories of all the TV shows & films it's associated with. Meanwhile, perhaps 20 years down the track, someone will make everyone remember something ridiculous like "The Fox" and that'll be one of the biggest songs of 2013


Doctor Blind View member profile	3rd September 2015, 06:43 PM Post #5
#38BBE0 otherwise known as 'sky blue' Joined: 27 October 2008 Posts: 16,170 User: 7,561	QUOTE(mr_pmt @ Sep 3 2015, 06:32 PM) It's interesting, but this thing is only US-specific. True, although since the arrival of the internet I'd say the UK/US charts and our tastes are becoming similar.


AcerBen View member profile	3rd September 2015, 07:17 PM Post #6
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 3,628 User: 3,429	Are the plays worldwide plays though?


SLlewellyn View member profile	3rd September 2015, 10:08 PM Post #7
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 4 March 2011 Posts: 5,262 User: 13,126	Interesting topic of discussion, certainly. I agree that "Get Lucky" isn't half as overplayed now as I thought it would be back in 2013. I'd say "Blurred Lines" and "Wake Me Up" are still very much 'around', but thankfully Daft Punk's has gone from great to overplayed back to great again.


Robbie View member profile	4th September 2015, 09:11 AM Post #8
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 4 April 2006 Posts: 3,445 User: 366	'Get Lucky' is still in the lower reaches of the Airplay chart (at number 165 on its 123rd week on the larger Top 200 list) but while it was played 835 times last week its audience was only just over 5 million which suggests it is mainly getting plays on smaller stations with low listening figures.