Wuss-rock nostalgia central

VH1 has done yet another top-40 special, recruiting a bunch of comedians, musicians, and other pop-culture pundits for one of its periodic nostalgia trip. This time, it's the 40 greatest (?) soft rock songs of all time. The list is heavy on wussy '70s ballads and schmaltz and other things that make people cover their ears and say, "La la la la la la I can't hear that fucking song." Le Sweetie sat through about two or three entries before grabbing the remote control.

And now Stereogum has blogged about it. In case you missed the VH1 special (or want to avoid sitting through it, Stereogum has listed the songs. And judging from the comments section, there are some very opinionated soft rock fans who read Stereogum. (At least they seem to be fans.)

"Pina Colada" at number three...sweet.

Um, no England Dan and John Ford Coley? No Steely Dan? No "Time Passages"? No Gary Wright? Ambrosia? Gerry Rafferty? Firefall? Lobo?

This list is seriously lacking. Also, "A Horse With No Name" for America? That song is no match for the smoothness of "Sister Golden Hair" or "Ventura Highway."

No "How Long" by Ace? Bully-bully-bullshit.

They didn't even scratch the surface. I was just waiting for some Paul Davis :(

I'm filing an official protest over this list on account of its lack of "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins. Way more softsational than "One More Night."

lets not forget the most irritating song ever: "Feelings" or "Achy Breaky Heart".

Okay, why isn't "Feelings" on the list? I bet Morris Albert could kick Christopher Cross's ass.

Orleans' "Still the One" was a shoo-in for this particular list. And here, of course, is where soft rock and politics strangely intersect. For Orleans' leader, John Hall, has established a new career as a Congressman for New York's 19th District. Here is his homepage. Last year, I donated to his campaign. NY-19 is right across the river from my hometown, so I felt it was the right thing to do. For a rock musician, Mr. Hall has a relatively scandal-free past. Unless you count this:



I believe Congressman Hall is the guy in the middle. And yeah, as I donated via ActBlue, a little voice in my head kept saying, "I can't believe I'm giving money to the guy on the scary album cover!"

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