Music

Thomas Inskeep complains that the recently published Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is too stodgy, the top 15 spots being occupied by works at least 20 years old. I agree that it's possible the RS staff is prejudiced in favor of classic rock, but neither am I opposed in principle to the idea that rock music has irrevocably passed its golden age, as happened to jazz in the 1960s. Not knowing much about 90s music, I can't judge, but I would be genuinely curious to know what contemporary albums Inskeep would compare with Highway 61 Revisited or Pet Sounds.

Of course I have my gripes about the list, which is after all one of the things that makes such rankings perenially amusing. Prog rock is, as usual, unjustly disregarded. The inclusion of a few token jazz masterpieces doesn't make sense--if the list isn't restricted to rock music, why aren't any country, folk, or world music albums mentioned? I won't detail all the minor quibbles I have with individual rankings, like putting Joni Mitchell's Blue above her Court and Spark. All that said, I think these lists give rock nerds something to talk about and educate younger fans about some classics they may not be aware of.

My dad urged me once when I was in high school, "You and your friends need to stop talking about albums and get girlfriends." Some things never change.