What do you feel the qualifications are for what defines a song being a classic?
I don't feel it should be the quality of the song because that's a more subjective matter that varies according to somebody's personal taste. But then I guess each individual could have their own personal list of classics.
What I'm looking for is what qualifications should a song possess to be considered a genuine overall classic? Definitely shouldn't be based on chart position as some songs that charted pretty high have been long forgotten and some songs that didn't do to well on the charts have since grown in popularity years after their release.
My theory is that a song has to be a certain age before it should be considered a classic. But how old?
Should we go by when the scope of the music industry changes say from the disco era to the new wave & punk era that the disco songs are now classics? Maybe not too bad but the music industry can change damn near overnight so some of the songs would be too current to be considered a classic.
I guess in short I feel that ten years is a good time frame. If a song comes out when you're 15 I feel that when you're 25 that song is now classic material.
Other opinions? Is 10 years the right amount of time? Could it be less years say 5-7 years old? 20 Years?
Posted by 80'sRocked (Member # 6979) on :
That is a good and very tough question. Most radio stations consider a song a classic after 15 years. I think it really is an individual thing. A classic for one person or their generation may not be for another. Tough indeed Sam.
Posted by Devolution (Member # 1731) on :
Devolution here,
Sam... Agreed. I think a song is a classic the second that a the current generation can't appreciate how good the song is for what it did for the music industry when it came out.
Nirvana is classic, mostly because of the significance of the fact that it was the thing that killed Hairbands.
But as for a song, I think it had to receive airplay, it had to make you want to buy it, and it has to still be played.
We are DEVO
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
I think if a song came out 10, 15, 20 years ago...or more....and you still love to listen to it today....that's a classic.
Posted by pettyfan (Member # 2260) on :
I think a song has to have been out at least ten years to be considered a classic. I also agree with what you said about chart position...I could care less about chart position. When I think of classic, I think of the 90s and earlier. To me, nothing in the last eight years should be given the title of "classic."
Posted by Riptide (Member # 457) on :
Not many recent songs do I think are classic. The only few I heard would be Outkast's Hey ya, and maybe Gnarls Barkley's Crazy.
