WXPN (Philly) 885 Greatest Artists of All-Time Poll

I'm a huge fan of Ben Folds, and I'm happy to see him ranked that high... but I'm not sure he belongs 9 spots ahead of Mozart. (No problem with the listing ahead of Fleetwood Mac, though.)

Starman was being generous to the Dead by putting them 20 - 30.

While it's cool to see some of my favorites ranked so high - Elvis Costello, Ben Folds, Elliott Smith - this really is a stupid list. Jeff Buckley is #73; the following 10 in the rankings inclide Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, BB King, and Willie Nelson. Buckley's album was good, but I think he must have been bumped up 400 spots on the list for drowning.

And seriously, DMB and Sting ahead of the Kinks? Phish ahead of Frank Sinatra? David Byrne ahead of Roy Orbison? Chuck Berry, CCR, Roy Orbison and Otis Redding didn't make the top 100; Sky and the Family Stone didn't make the top 275. Asinine.

 

Good God - just saw that they have the Four Tops at 407, one spot ahead of Five For Fighting.

I think this was compiled by 17 year old white girls.

 

XPN is the best radio station in the country.

 

Listener voted countdown. Listeners could vote for a Top 10, then up to 10 honorable mentions.
Keep in mind this station is the PBS version of radio broadcasting -- fund drives 4 times a year, commercial free (except for the plugs for the companies and organizations that contribute money), etc., etc.

If I heard right toward the end of the countdown, they said about 6,000 listeners voted.

 

That cracked me up.

I've always maintained that from a talent standpoint, Ben Folds would stand above Mozart, piss in his whig, smash his piano, and make Mozart his bitch.

Fuck you, 18th Century pioneer! I'm a college radio favorite!

These lists are ultra-asinine sometimes.

 

Jack Johnson slips in a 104, coming in ahead of Madonna, James Brown, Chuck Berry, The Replacements, Otis Redding, Michael Jackson and Buddy Holly.

In this world, Counting Crows are apparently also better than Fleetwood Mac.

Now, I like Counting Crows and I like Jack Johnson. But even I would have to take a lot of drugs to make either one of those arguments.

I'd like to pretend that someday all the U2 fans in the world are going to wake up and realize how average they are, but I won't hold me breath.

 

Wilco at No. 56 bothered me. I just can't stand Wilco.

And for as much as people loved Elvis, I would take Buddy Holly over him -- or least match his work against Elvis' -- anyday. Holly didn't get near enough respect at No. 136 for a career that ended far soon.

 

REM seven spots above the Clash?
Don't think so.

 

Nice to see PJ get some love at 38.

Steely Dan at 27 and DMB at 28 seem like a convergent brain fart.

 

"Before there was Elvis, there was nothing." --John Lennon

Elvis at No. 19? Welp, that poll lost all credibility.

 

If this is going to cover everything (a dodgy propositon to begin with), there's no way Miles Davis can be at 26, Frank at 57 and Louis Armstrong at 92 to name three absolute giants of American popular music in the 20th century.

Wilco, Coldplay, Beck and Lucinda Williams ahead of Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, B.B. King, the Ramones, Mozart, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie? Fucking dis-grace-ful.

 

The Ramones?