100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs-Schbopo style

I love REM. But they are far from being a hard rock band. More like alternative rock.


Very good band though, so I commend your choice nonetheless.

Yeah, weird choice with REM there Shamu.

BTW Schlomo,

Why didn't you tell OCI and I we were screwin' up yer thread?

[quote="Fat Freddy"]

Schbopo wrote:

97. Aldo Nova-Fantasy

Schbopo wrote:

96. REM-What's The Frequency Kenneth?
REM got famous for being geeky and weird, but on the "Monster" album, they proved that being geeky and weird could rock, and it never rocked harder than the opening track "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" The guitar riffs and arrangements are a clear throwback to 80's glam rock, but somehow it's still got that bizarre cheekiness that REM latches onto so much. I don't know, it's just simultaneously hard and mellow, geeky and cool, and simple yet complex. I like it.

...plus, a few years back a crazed street person assaulted news anchor Dan Rather after asking him, "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" which automatically upped the song's awesome quotient for me. I never did like Dan Rather.

LOL! I remember that! I don't like Rather either. Typical bias newscaster, except he got caught in a BIG way with his George Bush story that proved to be false that he was using to influence people to vote for Al 'I Invented The Internet' 'I Fly in a private jet to talk about man's part in global warming' Gore.

I didn't screw thread up...


I saved it..... from not including 'Deliverance'..

94. Blue Cheer-Summertime Blues
Armed with a classic blues tune and as much talent as a paper clip, Blue Cheer made "Summertime Blues" an acid-rock standard and set the framework for heavy metal to come. Sure the production is terrible and sure the one-note-at-a-time full octave guitar climb to the last verse is a chore to sit through, but c'mon, it's only a rock n' roll song, and a darn good one at that.

93. Nitro-Freight Train
Hair metal never reached lower heights then it did with Nitro, who came at the very last wave of the genre. They took literally every cliche in the genre and exploited it to their advantage. Their hair touched the sky, Jim Gillette's vocals were higher than a kite, and Michael Angelo's "speed is everything" approach to guitar playing makes this song absolutely hilarious, sounding more like a satire of the whole style, but no, these guys meant business....and there's something admirable about that.

92. Andrew WK-Party Hard
The first overlap with the VH1 list, but it's a good one. AWK has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid (I'm even willing to overlook the fact that he works for Cartoon Network now), and "Party Hard" still stands as a first rate rock song. Everything about it is just huge. The guitars, the anthemic chorus, and especially that cool little robot voice at the beginning just make you want to...well, party hard!

Quote :

93. Nitro-Freight Train
Hair metal never reached lower heights then it did with Nitro, who came at the very last wave of the genre. They took literally every cliche in the genre and exploited it to their advantage. Their hair touched the sky, Jim Gillette's vocals were higher than a kite, and Michael Angelo's "speed is everything" approach to guitar playing makes this song absolutely hilarious, sounding more like a satire of the whole style, but no, these guys meant business....and there's something admirable about that.

Fantastic pick there dude! I always loved Nitro. To this day, they are one of my fave glam metal bands!

Metallic Blaze wrote:

I love REM. But they are far from being a hard rock band. More like alternative rock.

It's a hard rock song!

Great R.E.M. song, and has a great line in the song:

" Withdrawal in disgust is not apathy"

I am a Blue Cheer fan and love their version of the song,.

I hate Nitro then and hate them even more now.

Andrew W.K. goofy ass take on don't bore us get to the chrous songwriting is what rock music is meant to be fun.

91. Sammy Hagar-Heavy Metal
With the help of Jim Peterik from Survivor, Sammy Hagar created one of the best heavy metal anthems of all time. It's got a guitar riff in the verse that's as iconic as any in rock, and a chorus that you can't believe you're headbanging to. Heck, Sammy even shows that he's actually a decent guitarist in a fiery solo! When people diss on Hagar, whip out this tune to shut em' up. It's just a stinkin' heavy call to arms for metalheads around the world, and really, what's more metal than that?

90. Lenny Kravitz-Are You Gonna Go My Way?
Lenny is often called 'retro', or at least he was when he was rockin' his dreads and a distinctly 70's sound in the depressing 90's, most evident on his first hit "Are You Gonna Go My Way?". It took the characteristics of old, classic rock and transported it into an era that desperately needed those characteristics. Lenny made it cool for black guys to play guitar again with the scorching blues riff here, and those sexy dreadlocks fused with his soulful moaning made this song so insanely awesome, and one of the finest hard rock songs of the decade.

manny wrote:

I am not huge Aldo Nova fan but you cannot deny how catchy that song and riff is, and BTW so far your list kicks VH1's list ass.

...and the kid is only four songs in! I'll be following this thread schmoop! It's nice to see someone under, say 30, appreciate the classics!

Okay, so by the time I joined up it was ten songs, but manny's comment came four songs in...

89. Status Quo-Caroline
Status Quo are one of those bands that never really get the credit they deserve. I hear they're huge internationally, but here in the states they're virtually unknown. It's a shame too, because for simple 3-chord boogie rock, they're hard to beat. At the center of the band is the dual guitar partnership of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, especially evident in "Caroline". The pummeling groove just sounds like a pumped up version of something out of the 1950's, like Chuck Berry on speed. I think I prefer the more energetic, live version of this song, but the studio track is also noteworthy. Either way, it just flat out rocks.

Schbopo wrote:

93. Nitro-Freight Train
Hair metal never reached lower heights then it did with Nitro, who came at the very last wave of the genre. They took literally every cliche in the genre and exploited it to their advantage. Their hair touched the sky, Jim Gillette's vocals were higher than a kite, and Michael Angelo's "speed is everything" approach to guitar playing makes this song absolutely hilarious, sounding more like a satire of the whole style, but no, these guys meant business....and there's something admirable about that.

Nitro's one of those groups that was so bad it's good.

Sammy Hagar -Heavy Metal- A cool tune by Sammy Hagar, and one of the first songs I know that celebrate the power of metal.

Lenny Kravitz-I am a causal fan but I have heard this song waaaaaay too many times.

Status Quo-When I went to England in the early 90's, I saw this guys live and while I have never heard of any of their albums at the time I saw them, they were great live and til this day never saw an audience react like they did to Status Quo.

Man, I'm impressed Schpomo!

Other then the nod to psuedo, thinking man's rock with REM and the stupid party antem by the B-boys this is a great list and ups my respect for those under 25. I can forgive a lot with you including Status Quo. Salute to Sloopy.

88. David Lee Roth-Just Like Paradise
Roth's solo career was plagued by lounge tunes and bizarre cover songs, but the albums with Vai, Sheehan, and Bissonette are all gold. The second album with this lineup, "Skyscraper" contained this awesome pop-rock gem. Roth's flamboyant showmanship, the insane guitar antics of Steve Vai, that cute video with Roth rock climbing, and a chorus you'll never forget make this one of the best commercial hard rock songs of the 80's, and cemented the fact that Roth could stand on his own as a solo artist.

Great work thus far, shbopo. I am uber impressed! Not that you need them, but here's a few suggestions (some of the more obscure variety):

AC/DC: Shoot to Thrill
April Wine: Roller
Armored Saint: Reign Of Fire
Badlands: Dreams In The Dark
Bang Tango: Someone Like You
Cinderella: Nightsongs
Deep Purple: Stormbringer
Def Leppard: Lady Strange
Edguy: Dragonfly
Europe: Stormwind
Frehley, Ace: Breakout
Great White: Rock Me
HammerFall: The Dragon Lies Bleeding
Hellowen: Save Us
Icon: Danger Calling
Iron Maiden: Still Life
Judas Priest: The Sentinel
Kiss: She
LA Guns: I Wanna Be Your Man
Leatherwolf: The Calling
Lillian Axe: Ghost Of Winter
Loudness: Crazy Nights
Motley Crue: Home Sweet Home
Mother Love Bone: Stardog Champion
Mr. Big: Green Tinted Sixties Mind
Night Ranger: 7 Wishes
Ozzy: Over The Mountain
Petty, Tom: Runnin' Down A Dream
Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody
Queensryche: Queen Of The Reich
Quiet Riot: The Wild and the Young
Racer X: Heart Of A Lion
Rainbow: Stargazer
Ratt: Lay It Down
Savatage: Hall of the Mountain King
Sanctuary: Epitaph
Scorpions: The Zoo
Seger, Bob: Hollywood Nights
Silverchair: Pure Massacre
Skid Row: Slave To The Grind
Tesla: Modern Day Cowboy
Thin Lizzy: Emerald
Tora, Tora: Phantom Rider
Twisted Sister: IAm (I'm Me)
Vandenberg: Burnin' Heart
Vanhalen: Mean Streets
WASP: Headless Children
Warrant: Uncle Tom's Cabin
Y&T: Black Tiger
ZZ Top: Just Got Paid

I am a huge fan of David Lee Roth's solo albums and feel his songwriting and career is unfairly overlooked.

As Schop points out this is pop song is a gem, showing DLR ability to write a good hook and also an artists not afraid to take chances by not going ahead writing 'Eat 'Em and Smile" volume 2

87. The Stooges-No Fun
The Stooges were doing punk before there was punk. "No Fun", built off a simple guitar riff, handclaps, and Iggy Pop's nasally growl, is so mind-numbingly simplistic and repetitive that you can't help but get it stuck in your head. It might be called No Fun, but it's actually lots of fun. Ron Asheton gives a great extended guitar solo, too. The Stooges took lighthearted 60's psychadelia and fused it with the punk attitude and aggression that really shines here, and should adequately represent what a badass and influential band they were.

86. Loudness-Crazy Doctor
これぞ原点.

真剣に、この歌は全く揺すり、日本がロボットおよび寿司以外何かのためによいことを証明した.

TheNazgul wrote:

the stupid party antem by the B-boys this is a great list and ups my respect for those under 25.

Artistic intent was actually to mock '80s culture.
The irony was, of course, lost on said '80s culture.

Schbopo wrote:

86. Loudness-Crazy Doctor
これぞ原点.

真剣に、この歌は全く揺すり、日本がロボットおよび寿司以外何かのためによいことを証明した.

Eh.... ok?

kmorg wrote:

Schbopo wrote:

86. Loudness-Crazy Doctor
これぞ原点.

真剣に、この歌は全く揺すり、日本がロボットおよび寿司以外何かのためによいことを証明した.

Eh.... ok?

According to babblefish, the exact translation is:

This starting point. Seriously, it shook this song completely, it proved the fact that Japan is good some because other than the robot and the sushi

thejokeriv wrote:

According to babblefish, the exact translation is:

This starting point. Seriously, it shook this song completely, it proved the fact that Japan is good some because other than the robot and the sushi

Not quite what I had in mind...but close enough.