“Excuse me while I kiss the sky” blurred psychedelia and blues, etched forever by Jimi Hendrix.
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose” distilled the spirit of a generation, sung with raw ache by Janis Joplin.
“And she’s buying a stairway to heaven” became the haunting climax of a rock epic, crafted by Led Zeppelin.
“Confusion will be my epitaph” turned existential dread into poetry, intoned by King Crimson.
“Castles made of sand fall in the sea, eventually” captured impermanence in melody, played by Jimi Hendrix.
“Ball and chain” rang out as a cry of captivity and heartbreak, howled by Janis Joplin.
“The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands” roared with mythic force, sung by Led Zeppelin.
“I talk to the wind, my words are all carried away” revealed loneliness in soft tones, performed by King Crimson.
“Manic depression is touching my soul” gave blues new weight, played by Jimi Hendrix.
“Cry baby, cry baby, cry baby” was both plea and exorcism, wailed by Janis Joplin.
“In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man” opened a thunderous legacy, blasted by Led Zeppelin.
“The wall on which the prophets wrote is cracking at the seams” carried apocalypse in progressive rock, voiced by King Crimson.
“Foxy lady” was both lust and swagger, fired out by Jimi Hendrix.
“Mercedes Benz” turned prayer into parody, sung with grit by Janis Joplin.
“Kashmir” summoned hypnotic grandeur, performed by Led Zeppelin.
“Starless and bible black” draped night in prog melancholy, whispered by King Crimson.
“Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand” turned blues tradition electric, played by Jimi Hendrix.
“Summertime, time, time” blended classic with pain, carried by Janis Joplin.
“Dazed and confused” slithered from psychedelic jam to heavy riff, performed by Led Zeppelin.
“21st Century Schizoid Man” screamed distortion and paranoia, created by King Crimson.
“Generals gathered in their masses, just like witches at black masses” painted war in grim tones, thundered by Black Sabbath.
“Fairies wear boots and you gotta believe me” spun surreal tales, bellowed by Black Sabbath.
“Sweet leaf” paid smoky tribute to inspiration, inhaled by Black Sabbath.
“Children of the grave” echoed protest and doom, delivered by Black Sabbath.
“Iron man” gave us the metallic giant, unleashed by Black Sabbath.
“Raining blood from a lacerated sky” painted thrash in apocalyptic strokes, blasted by Slayer.
“Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight” carried metal into nightmares, screamed by Metallica.
“Enter sandman” made bedtime a terror, performed by Metallica.
“Breaking the law, breaking the law” turned Judas Priest into working-class champions, sung by Judas Priest.
“You got another thing comin’” was a promise and a threat, screamed by Judas Priest.
“Running with the devil” became a hedonistic howl, unleashed by Van Halen.
“Rock you like a hurricane” announced German hard rock to the world, shouted by Scorpions.
“Highway to hell, I’m on the highway to hell” made defiance a global singalong, blasted by AC/DC.
“You shook me all night long” made innuendo into an anthem, hammered out by AC/DC.
“Sweet child o’ mine” married a riff with a love song, blasted out by Guns N’ Roses.
“Welcome to the jungle” snarled from the Sunset Strip, made immortal by Guns N’ Roses.
“November rain” draped excess in orchestral drama, played by Guns N’ Roses.
“Dream on” begged for hope in falsetto, performed by Aerosmith.
“Walk this way” swaggered funk into rock, fused by Aerosmith.
“Crazy train” screamed madness and motion, unleashed by Ozzy Osbourne.
“Rise above, we’re gonna rise above” turned punk rage into a survival chant, barked by Black Flag.
“My war, you’re one of them” cut with paranoia and fury, screamed by Black Flag.
“TV party tonight, we’ve got nothing better to do” mocked suburban life, laughed out by Black Flag.
“Six pack” turned boredom into thrashing sarcasm, yelled by Black Flag.
“Black coffee blues” screamed of breakdowns and basements, spat by Black Flag.
“I am an antichrist, I am an anarchist” set fire to polite society, screamed by The Sex Pistols.
“God save the queen, she ain’t no human being” snarled rebellion into monarchy, shouted by The Sex Pistols.
“Blitzkrieg bop, hey ho let’s go” sent punk into overdrive, shouted by The Ramones.
“I wanna be sedated” made madness catchy, howled by The Ramones.
“Somebody put something in my drink, somebody” turned paranoia into anthem, shouted by The Ramones.
“Holiday in Cambodia, it’s tough kid but it’s life” dripped with satire and rage, delivered by Dead Kennedys.
“Too drunk to f***” shocked dance floors into laughter, shouted by Dead Kennedys.
“Kill the poor” attacked politics with razor wit, performed by Dead Kennedys.
“Kick out the jams, brothers and sisters!” tore down the walls of Detroit clubs, shouted by MC5.
“Search and destroy, I’m a street-walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm” lit the fuse of proto-punk, howled by The Stooges.
“Gimme danger, little stranger” warned of chaos, howled by The Stooges.
“Fifteen years old with a chip on your shoulder” shouted urgency into youth, roared by Minor Threat.
“Out of step with the world” made straight-edge a creed, shouted by Minor Threat.
“Mommy, can I go out and kill tonight?” boiled boredom into menace, shrieked by The Misfits.
“Where eagles dare” sneered profanity into singalongs, sung by The Misfits.
“Hot tramp, I love you so” blended swagger and strangeness, proclaimed by David Bowie.
“Ch-ch-ch-changes, turn and face the strange” made reinvention sound inevitable, sung by David Bowie.
“Oh, no, not me, I never lost control” gave fame a sinister mirror, voiced by David Bowie.
“Rebel rebel, your face is a mess” made misfit beauty iconic, shouted by David Bowie.
“The man who sold the world” questioned identity and alienation, revealed by David Bowie.
“Life on Mars?” turned soap operas into cosmic questions, sung by David Bowie.
“Heroes” imagined two lovers standing by the wall, immortalized by David Bowie.
“Lady Stardust sang his songs of darkness and disgrace” made glam celestial, conjured by David Bowie.
“Moonage daydream, I’m an alligator” turned sci-fi into glam prophecy, sung by David Bowie.
“Scary monsters, super creeps, keep me running, running scared” froze alienation into rhythm, sung by David Bowie.
“Love will tear us apart again” draped tragedy in beauty, sung by Joy Division.
“Transmission, dance to the radio” turned alienation into pulse, shouted by Joy Division.
“Bela Lugosi’s dead” stretched atmosphere into eternity, performed by Bauhaus.
“The killing moon” prophesied fate, sung by Echo and the Bunnymen.
“A forest” made shadows musical, released by The Cure.
“Just like heaven” made romance float, sung by The Cure.
“Mirror in the bathroom” funked paranoia, released by The Beat.
“Ghost town” made ska apocalyptic, sung by The Specials.
“Marquee moon” stretched guitars into infinity, played by Television.
“White light, white heat” pulsed underground rebellion, performed by The Velvet Underground.
“Pepper” blurred menace and comedy in psychedelic chaos, written by Butthole Surfers.
“Who was in my room last night?” pushed paranoia into psychedelic overdrive, shrieked by Butthole Surfers.
“Human cannonball” exploded absurd punk experimentation, launched by Butthole Surfers.
“Moving to Florida” painted chaos with noise and satire, delivered by Butthole Surfers.
“Creep, I’m a weirdo” turned alienation into anthem, sung by Radiohead.
“Paranoid android” stitched despair into digital dread, crafted by Radiohead.
“Black hole sun” drenched grunge in surrealism, released by Soundgarden.
“Alive” made survival a scream, sung by Pearl Jam.
“Would?” echoed grief into grunge, sung by Alice in Chains.
“Killing in the name” turned rebellion into a mantra, roared by Rage Against the Machine.
“Bulls on parade” blasted politics into riff, shouted by Rage Against the Machine.
“Debaser” tore cinema into distortion, sung by Pixies.
“Monkey gone to heaven” turned absurdity into prophecy, sung by Pixies.
“Gigantic” made basslines sing, performed by Pixies.
“Touch me I’m sick” screamed sickness into swagger, performed by Mudhoney.
“Teen age riot” dreamed revolution into guitar sprawl, sung by Sonic Youth.
“Kool thing” brought irony into grunge, sung by Sonic Youth.
“Personality crisis” made sleaze celebratory, blasted by New York Dolls.
“Holiday in the sun” spat boredom into fury, sung by The Sex Pistols.
“Rise” turned politics into poetry, released by Public Image Ltd.
