METALLICA, RUSH, SCORPIONS, IRON MAIDEN Tracks Among 'Greatest Conservative Rock Songs'

June 8, 2006

Tracks by METALLICA, RUSH, SCORPIONS, IRON MAIDEN, LED ZEPPELIN and AEROSMITH have made National Review's Top 50 list of "greatest conservative rock songs."

According to National Review political reporter John J. Miller, the following ingredients are required to make a great conservative rock song: "The lyrics must convey a conservative idea or sentiment, such as skepticism of government or support for traditional values. And, to be sure, it must be a great rock song."

With regards to the song selection process, Miller says, "We're biased in favor of songs that are already popular, but have tossed in a few little-known gems. In several cases, the musicians are outspoken liberals. Others are notorious libertines. For the purposes of this list, however, we don't hold any of this against them. Finally, it would have been easy to include half a dozen songs by both the KINKS and RUSH, but we've made an effort to cast a wide net. Who ever said diversity isn't a conservative principle?"

01. "Won't Get Fooled Again", by THE WHO
02. "Taxman", by THE BEATLES
03. "Sympathy for the Devil", by THE ROLLING STONES
04. "Sweet Home Alabama", by LYNYRD SKYNYRD
05. "Wouldn't It Be Nice", by THE BEACH BOYS
06. "Gloria", by U2
07. "Revolution", by THE BEATLES
08. "Bodies", by THE SEX PISTOLS
09. "Don't Tread on Me", by METALLICA
10. "20th Century Man", by THE KINKS
11. "The Trees", by RUSH
12. "Neighborhood Bully", by BOB DYLAN
13. "My City Was Gone", by THE PRETENDERS
14. "Right Here, Right Now", by JESUS JONES
15. "I Fought the Law", by THE CRICKETS
16. "Get Over It", by THE EAGLES
17. "Stay Together for the Kids", by BLINK 182
18. "Cult of Personality", by LIVING COLOUR
19. "Kicks", by PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS
20. "Rock the Casbah", by THE CLASH
21. "Heroes", by DAVID BOWIE
22. "Red Barchetta", by RUSH
23. "Brick", by BEN FOLDS FIVE
24. "Der Kommissar", by AFTER THE FIRE
25. "The Battle of Evermore", by LED ZEPPELIN
26. "Capitalism", by OINGO BOINGO
27. "Obvious Song", by JOE JACKSON
28. "Janie's Got a Gun", by AEROSMITH
29. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", by IRON MAIDEN
30. "You Can't Be Too Strong", by GRAHAM PARKER
31. "Small Town", by JOHN MELLENCAMP
32. "Keep Your Hands to Yourself", by THE GEORGIA SATELLITES
33. "You Can't Always Get What You Want", by THE ROLLING STONES
34. "Godzilla", by BLUE ÖYSTER CULT
35. "Who'll Stop the Rain", by CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
36. "Government Cheese", by THE RAINMAKERS
37. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", by THE BAND
38. "I Can't Drive 55", by SAMMY HAGAR
39. "Property Line", by THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND
40. "Wake Up Little Susie", by THE EVERLY BROTHERS
41. "The Icicle Melts", by THE CRANBERRIES
42. "Everybody's a Victim", by THE PROCLAIMERS
43. "Wonderful", by EVERCLEAR
44. "Two Sisters", by THE KINKS
45. "Taxman, Mr. Thief", by CHEAP TRICK
46. "Wind of Change", by SCORPIONS
47. "One", by CREED
48. "Why Don't You Get a Job", by THE OFFSPRING
49. "Abortion", by KID ROCK
50. "Stand by Your Man", by TAMMY WYNETTE

Read the entire article at this location.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).