The 50 Coolest Song Parts

Here’s an example of a terrific concept with nice details—i.e., song clips you can hear by clicking an icon—that’s derailed by some shockingly stupid content. The idea, conceived by Sacramento’s Robert Berry, of the otherwise nifty RetroCrush site, was to compile a list of the all-time top 50 hooks on pop records. At No. 1 is the point where the drums come in on Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” Other winners include the intro to Queen’s “Flash Gordon” theme, Lionel Richie’s faux-Swahili on “All Night Long,” and other boneheaded selections from Motley Crue, Heart, Z.Z. Top and more. Even obvious choices like the Who’s intro to “Baba O’Riley” are no-brainers. And to think Berry had help from his pals on this, which begs the question: Is this Web page deliberately ironic? If not, I shudder.