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Summertime - lots of great versions
Take five - Brubeck
So what - Miles
The girl from ipanema - Gilberto
My favorite things - Coltrane
Speak low - Holiday
Thank you very muc! I’m not really into jazz, but even I know these songs. It just goes to show how timeless they are—and how well-known they are, even among people who don’t know the first thing about jazz.
Sixteen Tons (1946), timeless lyrics.
As relevant today as ever
Was thinking about this the other day for a modern song that has really stuck around. Not a power ballad or a big rock song by any stretch, but:
Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
Late edit: these, too:
What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright’s version of Cohen’s original
Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
Aww, that’s such a classic. It seems to me that there aren’t many new, heart-felt love songs like this one anymore - not the over the top flashy ones, but rather those with a down-to-earth, relatable charm. But maybe I’m just out of the loop :)
Beatles songs like Yesterday seem to have held up pretty well.
Tribute - Tenacious D
Sadly not as good as the original.
That is why it’s a tribute.
Let’s be real, there’s only ever gonne be one song that’s never gonna give us up, let us down or desert us.
The Times They Are A-Changin’ - Bob Dylan
Bohemian Rhapsody
To be truly timeless you need a few things. A band who knows how to name things. Bad ass drum solos. A couple of electric guitars. An accordion. A flute. Yodeling. Mouth noises. And no lyrics to get in the way.
I give you “Hocus Pocus” by Focus.
Oh damn, I was going to mention this. One of my favourites :-)
Some beautiful and sad timelessness songs:
New Order - Ceremony https://youtu.be/kkASIx9Xk6s?is=5ySoad0UUJEiL-xp
Tim Buckley - Song to the siren https://youtu.be/b6a50loAOIk?is=nsOUnfCH626-X8oh
Tuxedomoon - In a matter of speaking https://youtu.be/l6H-ESkf2bU?is=UkuZZ4jE66yukBH0
Not sure if it counts but Toto’s song Africa has an installation in Africa, powered by solar panels and batteries and it’s played on an endless loop.
I don’t care what song it is, if the place I worked at played one song on an endless loop, by the end of the day I would run screaming from the building. Think about it - you’d be hearing that song in your sleep.
Time in a bottle - jim croce
Aww, thank you very much for this comment, which not only has “time” in the title but is actually pretty timeless, beyond any meme value. Jim Croce even has several songs that have outlived his generation, such as “I Got a Name.” Those are exactly the songs I was referring to - the ones that, decades later, continue to reach new audiences through movie soundtracks and such.
Someone already mentioned Hocus Pocus by Focus, so I’m going to go with …
Heart - Crazy On You
For when the world is going to shit, so all that’s left is to get it on and fuck your woes goodbye
The Entertainer.
1902, 124 years old. Scott Joplin.
1916:
https://youtu.be/ND2rMET4MVw1974:
https://youtu.be/vsFGcPujqKEChet Atkins:
https://youtu.be/kHtwF-gplucThe Muppets:
https://youtu.be/p9gSvM4uR3s3D Printed:
https://youtube.com/shorts/SdG239y8QnkI was going to also suggest Rhapsody In Blue by George Gershwin from 1924
Off the top of my head, and of course these are completely subjective, I just think of songs that still feel relevant or still reflect a popular attitude today. Feel free to agree or not.
You’re So Vain by Carly Simon
Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels Band
Piano Man by Billy Joel
Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine
Fast Car by Tracy Chapman
