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Notes -
I mean, the point of the rubric is to provide ground rules and an Overton Window for the discussion. Without making it clear what’s included in the category under discussion, what’s stopping someone from arguing that Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is a rock song? (It’s in 4/4 time, it includes vocals, it’s soaring and anthemic, etc.) Certainly “Stairway To Heaven” is much closer to the genre than Beethoven is, and I agree that it’s coherent to speak of it as a rock song in the sense that the final 20% of the song is recognizably hard rock. Still, I think that if there are ground rules for defining the genre, “Stairway” is missing some important elements that are shared by more central examples of the genre. I definitely don’t think Chuck Berry would call it a rock and roll song.
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