Yes Scrump, I very much think it is the resonance of those old songs that draws people to them. (Do we take them up or do they take us up?)"Dirty Old Town" is an excellent example of a song which transcends national & generational boundaries.
As for where & why the line is drawn between songs which do & do not do this I am a little uncertain myself (It's probably entirely subjective)
Universalisability is a bit of a mouthful my misspelling of it throughout my previous posting doesn't help either.