The other night we watched a silly movie, "Rock of Ages" which featured several hits from the 80s (or thereabouts) and kept us entertained easily as much as when we saw the stage version of the same story. Songs from the past have been revitalized recently in TV shows ranging from Glee to the now-innumerable singing contest shows, and listening to new arrangements and recordings of them reminds me that the best of them endure and cause shivers, while the worst of them underline why they faded away.
The rock anthem has been a staple for these shows. I've heard "Born To Be Wild," "Dream On" and "Somebody To Love" on The Voice, "Can't Fight This Feeling," "Jump" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" on Glee, and "Dead Or Alive" and "Beautiful Day" on American Idol, but the one song that appears on all the lists, and sometimes over and over again, is "Don't Stop Believing."
Is this the quintessential greatest Rock Anthem ever? You could argue that there are other contenders that have been more popularly used, like the two Queen classics that have become the de facto standards for sporting events, "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions." There's something appealing about an anthem that's not too difficult to sing along with, so points go to "Born In The USA" and "Highway To Hell," but really, don't we want our rock stars to be star singers and sing something we couldn't sing ourselves? I think so.
And if you want to hear some really exceptional, effortless singing, check out Steve Perry live:
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