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It's a man's, man's world for Aussie music fans
2009-07-13
MELBOURNE (AFP) - An Australian vote for the 100 best songs of all time has shown it's a man's, man's world for music fans Down Under, with not one female artist making the list. More than 500,000 people took part in public broadcaster ABC's online poll, which showed a clear preference for classic rock anthems over pop, dance and hip hop. Seattle grunge outfit Nirvana topped the list with "Smells Like Teen Spirit," followed by Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name." The recently deceased Michael Jackson had two entries with "Thriller" at 26 and "Billie Jean" at 41 in the survey released on Sunday. But Jackson's friend Diana Ross failed to score a nomination, missing out along with Aussie pop superstar Kylie Minogue and even Madonna. The only women represented were female members of groups like The Pixies and Massive Attack. Australian rock historian Glenn A. Baker said he was stunned by the lack of female representation. "Where's Madonna, Melissa Etheridge, K.D. Lang, Carole King, the most successful female songwriter of all time?" he said. "To not have Australian artists like Missy Higgins on the list, or Kylie simply because of the scale of her popularity, is quite startling." Baker said the the anonymity of online polling may have allowed respondents to assert their preference for male rockers without fear of ridicule. Although the poll was conducted by the ABC's youth network TripleJ, it was dominated by songs from the last millennium. The highest-placed post-2000 song was a 2003 hit from Adelaide rappers Hilltop Hoods, "The Nosebleed Section," in 17th place. Cult US singer Jeff Buckley was the most represented artist, scoring two songs in the top 10 with "Hallelujah" (3) and "Last Goodbye" (7), plus placings with "Lover You Should Have Come over" (56) and "Grace" (69). Three Beatles tracks were on the list, led by "A Day in the Life" at 24, although John Lennon's "Imagine" made it to number 11. Baker also took exception to the omission of British rockers The Who, but stressed that such lists were highly subjective. "You could probably do another one next week and it would be totally different," he said. "At least it gets people talking about music." The top 10 of the ABC's 100 best songs of all time: 1. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit 2. Rage Against the Machine - Killing In The Name 3. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah 4. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart 5. Radiohead - Paranoid Android 6. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody 7. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye 8. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge 9. Foo Fighters - Everlong 10. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
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