3 Minutes of Awesome! Best rock song ever...

For a rock song to be considered the best rock song ever, at least in my book, it requires the following items:

• It must be guitar-driven. Synth rock and EDM need not apply.
• It has to have a memorable hook, something catchy and engaging without being trite.
• It must have a sense of chaos and danger. Rock was never about safe music.
• There must be a bit of snarl to it, in both attitude and voice.
• It cannot be pretentious (and there's a whole lot of pretentious rock out there).

Now there are plenty of great songs that don't satisfy these requirements. That doesn't mean they aren't exemplary in their own rights; they just can't qualify for my list of "Greatest Rock Songs of All Time." And that's okay--Steely Dan will never make the list, but I still love their music. Ditto Paul Simon.

So what's on my list? Well, for years it was just one song. I've since added a couple of runners-up, but I should probably lengthen that list. These include "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, and "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles. But the song I believe to be the Greatest Rock Song of All Time is "My Generation" by the Who. Here's why:

• Guitar-driven? Check! Pete Townshend's windmilling guitar propels the track.
• Memorable hook? Check! The background vocals "talkin' 'bout my generation" and Roger Daltrey's stuttered leads.
• Chaos and danger? Check! Keith Moon's on-the-verge-of-falling-apart drumming that sounds sloppy as all get out but never loses a beat.
• Snarl? Check! It's the classic "us vs. them" mentality, with Roger singing Pete's famous and now ironic line "hope I die before I get old."
• Pretentious? Not in the least!

Add to that a wicked bass solo by John Entwistle, a surprising modulation, and a live show that typically wound up with total destruction. Greatest. Rock. Song. Ever.