5 Songs That Need To Retire

We Just Don’t Want To Hear Them Anymore
Do you know the fastest way to hate a song? It’s hearing it on the radio as if it’s the only thing they will ever play. You may have liked them at first but over time, it gets really annoying that he first few notes alone already feels like nails on a chalkboard. It’s like eating your favorite dish every single meal straight for a week – you’ll get to the point where you just can’t take another bite anymore.
There are hundreds of great lesser-known songs from Pink Floyd to Queen and with such extensive catalog, we don’t understand why DJs pick around two or three to put on repeat. The sad part is, these tracks are stellar – mind-blowing, jaw-dropping works of musical geniuses. But playing them too many times renders them practically intolerable.
We rounded up five of the most overplayed classic rock songs that deserve a very long hiatus from the radio or anywhere else for that matter.
5. Led Zeppelin – “Stairway to Heaven”
Who would have thought the day will come when we canโt bear to listen to this epic masterpiece anymore? Itโs one of the greatest classic rock songs of all time and we understand how radio stations feel pressured to play it every now and then but letโs be honest, sometimes itโs just too much.
Like, is there some sort of mandate that DJs have to play it on an hourly basis? The thing is, we can easily name 10 tracks to put on rotation โ 10 songs which are just as great although not as often played.
โ[Stairway to Heaven] …crystallized the essence of the band. It had everything there and showed the band at its best… as a band, as a unit. Not talking about solos or anything, it had everything there.โ โ Jimmy Page
We totally agree that this is the track that best represents Led Zeppelin at the top of their game. Still, that doesnโt take away the fact that if we wonโt mind not hearing this in the next couple of years.
4. Journey – “Don’t Stop Believin'”
Journey deserves their legendary status and Steve Perry is undoubtedly one of the finest singers in the history of rock. The man could sing the yellow pages and it will still be a hit.
To be fair to these guys, โDonโt Stop Believinโโ is catchy. Itโs the kind of song thatโll get stuck in your head for days on end. You can literally hear this everywhere โ films, commercials, sports events. Itโs a staple even during karaoke sessions so really, classic rock radio stations should just go ahead and pick another track from the bandโs catalog โ weโre pretty sure they can find more than five which are worthy replacements.
Fun Fact: โDonโt Stop Believinโโ is one of the most downloaded songs to date.
You see, if everyone can stop shoving this down our throats, weโd be extremely thankful. We love Steve Perry and the rest of the group but if we just stop being lazy and dig in more, we can definitely find more than a handful of musical gems in their records.
3. The Rolling Stones – “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
https://youtu.be/byn7ZUjz5DY
Not everyone likes The Rolling Stones but even if youโre not a huge fan of the band, surely you are well aware that they have more great songs that deserve some appreciation aside from โSatisfaction.โ Sometimes, you canโt help but think that some people treat it as if it’s the only track they ever released!
They have plenty of good records and we mean why-did-I-hear-this-rare-gem-just-now kind of good. Thereโs no thrill or surprise here anymore. Overtime, it only gets tedious.
โIt was the song that really made the Rolling Stones, changed us from just another band into a huge, monster band … It has a very catchy title. It has a very catchy guitar riff. It has a great guitar sound, which was original at that time. And it captures a spirit of the times, which is very important in those kinds of songs … Which was alienation.โ โ Mick Jagger
Yes Mick, we know it propelled you to international stardom but weโd love to hear more tunes like โSweet Virginia,โ โMonkey Manโ and โMoonlight Mile.โ The Stones are many things but to confine their greatness into just one song, we think itโs just not fair.
2. The Eagles – “Hotel California”
https://youtu.be/BT59rohv6jw
Again, just because we want these songs to retire doesnโt necessarily mean we hate them. We just think there are plenty of other great classics out there that DJs and radio stations have unfairly overlooked. They deserve some airplay too.
In line with that, how about playing โThe Last Resort,โ โAfter The Thrill is Gone,โ and โToo Many Handsโ instead of โHotel California?โ Those are epic tracks that prove The Eagles are not your run-off-the-mill rock band. They were the real deal.
โLyrically, the song deals with traditional or classical themes of conflict: darkness and light, good and evil, youth and age, the spiritual versus the secular. I guess you could say it’s a song about loss of innocence.โ โ Don Henley
Maybe part of the appeal had something to do with the rumors that the song talked about addiction and Satanism. But The Eagles already clarified the actual meaning of the song which is why we think this should take a back seat.
1. Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Freddie Mercury was a genius. He took risks no one else would even dare to consider. He didnโt allow himself to be confined by rules and conventions. As a singer-songwriter and performer, he always took everything to another level.
โBohemian Rhapsodyโ was unlike any other rock song at the time. And decades later, itโs still widely regarded as an incomparable track. BUT, itโs like everywhere you go someone is singing or playing it. And because of the overexposure, the rest of the songs on the monolithic record โA Night at the Operaโ are not getting the credit and recognition they so richly deserve.
โ”Bohemian Rhapsody” didn’t just come out of thin air. I did a bit of research although it was tongue-in-cheek and mock opera. Why not?โ โ Freddie Mercury
Itโs a popular song, thatโs pretty much a given. But itโs about time it should retire just to give way to some of those Queen tunes which are far more superior but have gotten less airplay.