Song #32 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 Greatest Song of All-Time is by the Rolling Stones called “Sympathy For The Devil.”

beats counted=720
mean time=6 minutes, 11.9 seconds
meanspeed=116.2
meanemotion=foreboding

According to meanspeed music theory, songs at the speeds of 114-118 beats per minute have a tendency to have a foreboding expression, be it overt or beneath the surface as Peter Gabriel describes Secret World’s journey into this speed.. Already on this Rolling Stone list we’ve seen “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” written and performed by a suicidally depressed man and “Layla,” a song written by Eric Clapton out of painful feelings of unfulfilled infatuation to the point of pain.

The top 32 songs of all-time by Rolling Stone rank.

The Rolling Stone top 32 songs of all-time by tempo in ascending order.

John Paul Newman
meanspeed music
September 11,  2008