That all-time Festive 50 again

[Andy Smith]

I've no objection to the Beatles being on the F50, I may even have voted
for one of their tracks (ahem) although my vote was a bit ill-thought-out
and I thought of loads of better choices as soon as I heard PJ Harvey in
the first set. But, listening back to 45-41 last night it occurred to me 
that if there's a pretty obscure (to me at least) Dylan track in the 
lower reaches we could have a lot more to come. Frightening. And I can't 
be doing with Nick Drake. I tried to convince my girlfriend it was Belle 
and Sebastian but she reckoned it was someone doing a third-rate copy.
I can see why the Velvet Underground are there, and I'm sure Heroin was a 
very ground-breaking track at the time but to me it means not much. We've
heard so much of that sort of thing since, and really it's not much cop as
a song, is it? The Beach Boys track at 41 was a real surprise. 

Still, we can't moan about stuff from the 60's getting in. Give that we 
voted in 1999 surely it'd be an equal sin if God Save The Queen was in 
there? (Despite 1977 forming the basic template for most of today's safe
Evening Session-friendly indie rock).

Andy