Decade Defining Rock Songs?

[buckchuckler]

Well crap this would be easier if you would just let us know where your arbitrary lines are.

Those are clearly not even close to any sort of rock at all. 

[reinko]

Trying to help with the post 2010:

Satellite - Rise Against
Burn it Down - Linkin Park
Waiting for the End - Linkin Park
Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
Come with Me Now - Kongos
Country Song - Seether
Sail - AWOLnation
Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds to Mars

That's all I got. Hasn't be a strong decade for rock honestly.

For the 2010s, just use the whole Japandroids, Celebration Rock album, and call it a day.  If I had to pick one off that record, would have to go with The House That Heaven Built followed by Continuous Thunder

[Galway Eagle]

For the 2010s, just use the whole Japandroids, Celebration Rock album, and call it a day.  If I had to pick one off that record, would have to go with The House That Heaven Built followed by Continuous Thunder

Phenomenal song

For the 2010s I'd go black keys Brothers. Thought it was a 2000s album but it's 2010

[mu03eng]

Well crap this would be easier if you would just let us know where your arbitrary lines are.

Well if his lines are arbitrary, they are pretty consistent with most folks.

A lot of current rock(2010s) has re-emerged within the Country genre. I'd argue some of Chris Stapleton's work (see Tennessee Whiskey, etc) could fall within a rock classification.

[mu03eng]

1990s rock has to include bands like Seven Mary Three, Tonic, Candlebox, Local H, Fuel, Eve 6, Better Than Ezra, and Everclear(especially their first 3 albums World of Noise, Sparkle and Fade, and So Much for the Afterglow).

2000s rick has to include bands like Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown, Trapt, Chevelle, and probably Staind(though they bridge 1990s to early 2000s)

[BrewCity83]

For women, Pat Benatar's signature song has gotta be "Heartbreaker" and for Heart "Crazy on You".

If you're going back to the '60s and have room for anything besides the Stones and Beatles, don't forget the Kinks (All Day and All of the Night and You Really Got Me), and especially Dick Dale's "Miserlou".

'70s:
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
CCR - Down on the Corner, and Bad Moon Rising
Boston - Long Time, and Don't Look Back
Badfinger - Baby Blue
AC/DC - Shook Me All Night Long, Back in Black, and Highway to Hell
The Knack - My Sharona (summer of 1979)
Steve Miller Band - Take the Money and Run
The Cars - Just What I Needed
REO Speedwagon - Ridin the Storm Out
Kansas - Carry On (my Wayward Son)
Cheap Trick - Surrender, and I Want You to Want Me
The Sweet - Little Willy, and Ballroom Blitz
Thin Lizzy - Boys are Back in Town
ZZ Top - Tush, and La Grange
War - Low Rider
Ram Jam - Black Betty
Queen - Fat Bottomed Girls
The Police - Roxanne
T-Rex - Get It On (Bang a Gong)

'80s:
The Romantics - What I Like About You
The Cure - Just Like Heaven
Modern English - I Melt With You
Echo & the Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar
New Order - Blue Monday
Psychedelic Furs - Pretty in Pink
Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun, Add It Up, and Kiss Off
Prince - Controversy
Gary Numan - Cars
Tommy Tutone - Jenny (867-5309)
Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
Guns n Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine

You guys pretty much have the '90s covered, and you younger guys can fill in the 21st Century stuff better than I can, but I'd say for the 2010s you should be looking at Tame Impala, Muse, Cage the Elephant, Fall Out Boy, Bastille, Imagine Dragons, the Black Keys, Robert Delong ("Global Concepts"), the Heavy ("How You Like Me Now"), Linkin Park, and Twenty-One Pilots. 

[Dr. Blackheart]

What is a seminal song by any of these three?  Others made good calls on Janis Joplin (Me and Bobby McGee) and Heart (Barracuda which someone else mentioned).  I liked Pat Benetar (her live in her prime and she was great) and Natalie Merchant, too, but none of their songs scream essential song of any decade to me.

I didn't go past the eighties but P!nk has a lot of good stuff and belongs somewhere on a list.

If the criteria is "defining" then that means history changing to me

Heartbreaker--female heavy rocker

These Are the Days:  Athens GA scene, alt rock (maybe give it to REM), MTV Unplugged.

[Pakuni]

Rock has largely been dead in the current decade, but some obvious choices include:

"These Days" and "Congregation" by Foo Fighters
"I Was a Teenage Anarchist" by Against Me!
"Gold on the Ceiling" by The Black Keys
"Call the Police" by LCD Soundsystem
"Queen" by Perfume Genius
"First" by Cold War Kids
"Victorious" by Wolfmother
"Dog Days are Over" by Florence + The Machine

[Celtic Truth]

He’s my take on the 2010’s. Traditional rock hasn’t really been a thing this decade. Country has overtaken rock in the past ten years and you could argue country is the new rock. This list is pretty weak, and I don’t think many of these songs will have staying power in the future.

2010s rock music

The Boys are back - dropkick murphys
I will wait - Mumford and sons
Foo fighters - these days, walk
Avett brothers  - their best songs are I and love and you and head full of doubt that came out in 2009 but they have some good ones this decade
Take me to church - hozier
The sound of silence - disturbed
One more light - linkin park
Coldplay - a sky full of stars, paradise
Imagine dragons - radioactive, thunder, demons, believer, whatever it takes
Best day of my life - American authors
Let her go - passenger
We are young - fun
Castle on the hill - Ed sheeran
Wake me up - Avicii (not really a rock song but threw it in) 

Country songs:

Cruise - Florida Georgia line
Wagon wheel - Darius Rucker
Barefoot blue jean night - Jake Owen
Springsteen - Eric church
Chicken fried - Zac Brown band
House party - Sam hunt
Beachin - Jake Owen
Colder weather - zac Brown band
American kids - Kenny chesney
Many more....


The 2010s have been strong when it comes to country and EDM music taking off. But the rap and rock was much better in the 2000s imo.

[Jockey]

He’s my take on the 2010’s. Traditional rock hasn’t really been a thing this decade. Country has overtaken rock in the past ten years and you could argue country is the new rock. This list is pretty weak, and I don’t think many of these songs will have staying power in the future.

Country is country. Not the new rock

[buckchuckler]

There are some good bands going right now, more in the vein of like a Black Crowes style Rock and Roll, I'd say the Record Company and The Wild Feathers are pretty solid. 

And just to mention a couple that haven't been, Joe Bonamossa is fantastic, more bluesy, but definitely blues rock, and Warren Haynes/ Gov't Mule are a little on the blues/jam band side but just fantastic. 

Also, Iron Maiden.  They killed the 80's/ 90's.  Almost too many songs to mention, but a couple favorites are Fear of the Dark, The Trooper, The Evil That Men Do and Aces High.  Freaking awesome.

Edit: and if you pay guitar, there is nothing more fun to play than Maiden.

[Jockey]

I see two big omissions from bands that have to be included on a list like this from the 60s or 70s (since the bands covered both decades).

Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple
Proud Mary by Credence


My personal favorites for both bands would be different, but I see no way they should not be referenced.

[Billy Hoyle]

Decade changing and only two women mentions and one is Taylor Swift?  Let's start with Janis.

Does Alanis count? If so, You Outta Know definitely blew the doors off of pop/rock in 1996.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Does Alanis count? If so, You Outta Know definitely blew the doors off of pop/rock in 1996.

I think so.

[mu03eng]

Does Alanis count? If so, You Outta Know definitely blew the doors off of pop/rock in 1996.

Alanis is NOT rock, she is 100% pop.

[Billy Hoyle]

Alanis is NOT rock, she is 100% pop.

99% of her stuff is, but You Outta Know kind of blurs the line, IMO.

[MU82]

Well crap this would be easier if you would just let us know where your arbitrary lines are.

And therein lies the "problem" with this kind of thing. (Obviously, not a real problem. as it's just a bunch of folks chatting on the interwebs about nothing.)

What is rock? Were Simon and Garfunkle rock? How about the Moody Blues? How about Neil Young when he was feelin' especially country? How about a whole crap-ton of Dylan? How about "Some Girls"? (If disco wasn't rock, and it might not have been, then that Stones album wasn't.) Etc, etc, etc.

Fun subject, though.

And BTW, back in the '70s, I had more hair than any of the BeeGees. Now, I have less than Billy Corgan.

[Galway Eagle]

And therein lies the "problem" with this kind of thing. (Obviously, not a real problem. as it's just a bunch of folks chatting on the interwebs about nothing.)

What is rock? Were Simon and Garfunkle rock? How about the Moody Blues? How about Neil Young when he was feelin' especially country? How about a whole crap-ton of Dylan? How about "Some Girls"? (If disco wasn't rock, and it might not have been, then that Stones album wasn't.) Etc, etc, etc.

Fun subject, though.

And BTW, back in the '70s, I had more hair than any of the BeeGees. Now, I have less than Billy Corgan.

Do you only remember Miss You off that album? Because beyond that there isn't a disco song on Some Girls.

[BrewCity83]

Do you only remember Miss You off that album? Because beyond that there isn't a disco song on Some Girls.

Beast of Burden and Shattered are two of their all-time greats!

[StillAWarrior]

Here's a few bands/artists that haven't been mentioned that I think are missing:

70s

• KISS - Rock and Roll All Nite.  Beth is the most memorable to me, but obviously more of a ballad than a rock song
• Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever

80s

• Motley Crue -  Shout at the Devil.  How has Motley Crue not been mentioned yet? I don't think you can have a conversation about defining 80s rock without mentioning them.
• Quiot Riot - Metal Health.  They were a flash in the pan, but the Metal Health album was huge...at least where I lived.
• INXS - Probably Need You Tonight was biggest, but they had a pretty good string of songs in the late 80s.
• Poison - Talk Dirty to Me.  Motley Crue light.  I like their ballads better than most of their faster pace songs.
• Ratt - Round and Round.  OK, not a defining band or song.  More like a guilty pleasure that I'm a little embarrassed to admit I enjoy.
• BoDeans - She's a Runaway. Come on, late 80s/early 90s Marquette alums.  Honestly, based upon my time at Marquette and everything that was going on for me, BoDeans is one of the more defining rock bands in my life.  Obviously, that's not what this thread is about, though. Man, I gotta go listen to Joe Dirt Car.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

No one should complain about "Stayin' Alive" as a decade defining rock song if someone seriously suggests a song by Poison.

The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Poison only gets there when they pay admission.

[Dr. Blackheart]

I thought maybe that we could narrow the defining rock songs by genres. Wiki literally lists scores of genres, however. Note: Disco is not one of them.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rock_genres

[Galway Eagle]

No one should complain about "Stayin' Alive" as a decade defining rock song if someone seriously suggests a song by Poison.

The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Poison only gets there when they pay admission.

Prior to Stayin Alive they had numerous hits and were the biggest band in Australia. Often compared to the Beatles.

[BrewCity83]

Here's a few bands/artists that haven't been mentioned that I think are missing:

70s

• KISS - Rock and Roll All Nite.  Beth is the most memorable to me, but obviously more of a ballad than a rock song
• Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever

80s

• Motley Crue -  Shout at the Devil.  How has Motley Crue not been mentioned yet? I don't think you can have a conversation about defining 80s rock without mentioning them.
• Quiot Riot - Metal Health.  They were a flash in the pan, but the Metal Health album was huge...at least where I lived.
• INXS - Probably Need You Tonight was biggest, but they had a pretty good string of songs in the late 80s.
• Poison - Talk Dirty to Me.  Motley Crue light.  I like their ballads better than most of their faster pace songs.
• Ratt - Round and Round.  OK, not a defining band or song.  More like a guilty pleasure that I'm a little embarrassed to admit I enjoy.
• BoDeans - She's a Runaway. Come on, late 80s/early 90s Marquette alums.  Honestly, based upon my time at Marquette and everything that was going on for me, BoDeans is one of the more defining rock bands in my life.  Obviously, that's not what this thread is about, though. Man, I gotta go listen to Joe Dirt Car.

These are good. 

I don't know why, but this reminded me of Lynyrd Skynyrd "Sweet Home Alabama" and of course "Free Bird".

INXS "What You Need" and
BoDeans "Fadeaway" would be my picks for those bands

[StillAWarrior]

No one should complain about "Stayin' Alive" as a decade defining rock song if someone seriously suggests a song by Poison.

That's fair.  My last post reached way, way lower than "decade defining" rock songs.  Guilty as charged.

That said, I think the objection to the BeeGees focused more on the "rock song" part of the topic, not the "decade defining" part.