Kate Bush is – for now – barely a footnote in the history of De Tijdloze. Goodfor a handful of quotations with a twentieth place for ‘Wuthering Heights’ as- again provisional – highlight. In 1998 she disappeared from the top 100. Forgood everyone thought then. But that was outside Stranger Things counted. Inthe fourth season of that Netflix hit, the song ‘Running Up That Hill’ popsup. The song is suddenly streamed en masse and rises to the top of the chartsworldwide 37 years later. A remarkable comeback that will undoubtedly benefitthe British singer in De Tijdloze.
In ‘Stranger Things’ Kate Bush’s song ‘Running Up That Hill’ pops up. The songis suddenly streamed en masse and rises to the top of the charts worldwide 37years later.Image TV Times
Not only Kate Bush benefits from her musical guest appearance StrangerThings. The gentlemen of Metallica also appeared in the series. With a suddenincrease in interest in the song ‘Master of Puppets’ as a result. In DeTijdloze that song was once number ten, but in the meantime it dropped to 25thplace. The expectations are that James Hetfield and his colleagues will alsobe able to count on a slightly higher listing this year.
Stranger Things is not the only Netflix series with musical impact. ThibaultChristiaensen, appearing in the podcast Thank you boomer about the timelesscharacter of artists bow, The Cramps also sees doing beautiful things in DeTijdloze this year. Thanks to Wednesday a new Netflix hype in which maincharacter Wednesday Addams goes crazy on the dance floor to the sounds of ‘GooGoo Muck’.
The advance of Fleetwood Mac in De Tijdloze is due to TikTok. Nathan’Doggface’ Apodaca dropped a skateboard video of himself there to the tune of’Dreams’, one of the band’s hits. The video went viral and Fleetwood Macsuddenly became hip with an audience with an average age well below that ofthe band members. With all the consequences for their Timeless ranking.
Wider look
Now De Tijdloze also had to deal with trends in the past. For example, artistswho confuse the temporary with the eternal often suddenly appear in the upperregions of the list. “A documentary or a film about a certain band or artistcan also do wonders for their position in the list,” says Stijn Van de Voorde,list fetishist and this year also presenter of De Tijdloze. “Even publishing abest of has its effect.”
But while in the past it was mainly the typical Timeless bands that benefitedfrom such trends, the view of the new generation of voters is much broader.“There are so many ways to discover music these days,” says Van de Voorde.“There is of course Spotify, but Netflix or TikTok, for example, alsohighlight certain songs. And unlike before, they are only judged on how theysound. The question of whether you can find a certain song or a certain bandokay has long since been asked.”
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Van de Voorde talks about his own sixteen-year-old daughter who sometimessings songs only to discover to her own surprise that it is an old song ofwhich her father also appears to know the lyrics. “Like many of her peers, shepicks up such songs and adds them to her playlist without knowing the contextof such a song. The only thing that matters to them is the sound.” Whichsometimes leads to strange scenes. “It is bizarre to hear sixteen andseventeen year olds singing along on Crammerock when you put on ‘Call Me’ byBlondie.”
In recent years, this open mind has been increasingly reflected in DeTijdloze, where traditional toppers such as Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin arefinding it increasingly difficult to maintain themselves in the upperechelons. “People used to compile their top three from songs that were in thelist anyway,” notes Van de Voorde. “Nowadays, that selection is viewed muchmore broadly.”
Refresh vs. status
That ensures renewal in the list. Although the size of this should not beexaggerated, says music history teacher Gert Keunen. “We still often see thesame songs popping up in De Tijdloze. Numbers that – precisely because theyhave been in that list for years – have built up a certain status and aretherefore chosen again and again. Because let’s be honest, a song like’Bohemian Rhapsody’ may already be a tradition in De Tijdloze, it’s notexactly a song that you will put on for fun on the other days of the year.”
Deep Purple has a subscription to the Timeless, the question is whether thatwill remain the case.Image Ben Houdijk
Nevertheless, those classics will also become increasingly difficult in thelong term, predicts Van de Voorde. Precisely because the new generation ofvoters is mainly guided by how a song sounds. “And with bands like Deep Purpleor Led Zeppelin, that sound is very vintage. Those songs are just not freshanymore.”
Although Van de Voorde keeps a blow to the arm. “For the same money, the soundof Deep Purple will be completely in again within twenty years. Or Netflixwill soon use ‘Child in Time’ as a soundtrack for one of their series and thesong will be at the top again next year.”
The Timeless Countdown, from 26 December on Studio Brussels
