As recently noted by Yahoo, only 10 of the top 200 paid downloads are songs from the 20th century. We're not sure whether this is a worrying statement on the downloading world's lack of historical perspective, or an encouraging sign that the classic rock we grew up snoring at will one day finally go the way of the dodo and the two-dollar pizza slice.
There are a couple of surprises among those 10 tunes, like the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" (really?!?!) and the late Hawaiian crooner Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World," but otherwise it's mostly classic-rock business as usual, with all the songs that have been burned into the brainpan of anyone within spitting distance of a radio in the last 30 years.
Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" tops the list, but one has to assume that's got a lot to do with its placement in the final Sopranos episode. "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Eye of the Tiger," is it really possible that there are that many people who A) continue who continue to have an unquenchable thirst for these songs and B) don't already have them? Has the classic-rock radio playlist of yesteryear become the musical equivalent of the McDonald's sign, which used to get updated after each million people served until they finally got to the point where they just left it at "billions and billions?"
1. Journey - "Don't Stop Believin'"
2. Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody"
3. Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Sweet Home Alabama"
4. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"
5. Guns N' Roses - "Sweet Child O' Mine"
6. Survivor - "Eye of the Tiger"
7. Green Day - "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
8. Queen - "We Will Rock You"
9. Guns N' Roses - "Welcome to the Jungle"
10. Goo Goo Dolls - "Iris"

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