THE FREAKY TRIGGER TOP 100 SONGS OF ALL TIME A Note on Methodology

You may be familiar with how these lists are compiled. You may not be. The theory is that people’s truest aesthetic preferences come out under the influence of some substance or other (generally alcohol). The theory is also that the essence of list making is competition as well as consensus – individuals trying to win the majority over to their view of the world. The theory is thirdly that list-making should certainly not be confined to those people who actually know about the stuff being listed.

Hence the method: you get a bunch of people in the pub. Each in turn proposes something for inclusion in the list. One other person needs to second their nomination, and then everyone gets a chance to veto. If enough people (enough = half to two-thirds) veto it, it’s out. Otherwise, it’s in. With the Top 100 songs a special rule applied, viz. if lots of people started to sing along with it, it went in whether vetoed or not. You keep up this process until you have 100 songs.

(There is also a rationale for having the last named item be No.1 rather than the first. But I forget what it is. It’s more fun that way, anyhow.)

Anyway, the Top 100 Songs of all Time – we’ll be counting these down over the next few months on NYLPM. Are they really the Top 100 Songs of all Time? Well, you might not think so – particularly after you see what No.100 is. But wait until the end of the list and we’ll ask the magic eight-ball that question again.