there are only fifteen perfect songs in the world

frank black- speedy marie & daniel johnston- speeding motercycle for that matter

sonic youth- first track off SYR#1 anagrama

i like ethan's list but think the batman theme song should be there too.

dang, this was hard...but a nice mental exercise.

i tried to talk ethan into "don't you want me?" when we were shortlisting, but he apparently hasnt heard it. ethan, you see, lives on mars.

1. De La Soul - Eye Know
2. Beat Happening - Ponytail
3. Boo Radleys - Lazy Day
4. Aphex Twin - 4
5. Prefuse 73 - Blacklist
6. Trashcan Sinatras - Hayfever
7. Sam Cooke - You Send Me
8. Stereolab - Crest
9. Tricky - Bad Dream
10. Red House Painters - Grace Cathedral Park

And NO Paul Anka-penned song deserves to be on that list. Fucking "My Way" my ass. Limp Bizkit's "version" deserves a spot before that pompous turd.

1) the turtles - 'happy together' Agreed. Taken on its own terms, it's very difficult to find anything less-than-wonderful about this song. 2) kid 606 - 'straight outta compton' Disagreed. I find it hard to think of an endeavour of this nature as "perfect," given that its point is deconstructive. 3) styx - 'sail away' Agreed. No matter how many criticisms one can make about what this song does, there is little doubt that it does it with grace, humility, and perfection. I am infinitely skeptical of anyone who pledges loyalty to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and yet disses this masterpiece. But I am from the Midwest, so... 4) frank sinatra - 'my way' Sorry, no. Too fulsome, an apotheosis of self of staggering and embarrassing magnitude. A song for Napoleon to sing. 5) boards of canada - 'roygbiv' Sure. 6) gravediggaz - 'diary of a madman' I'm not going to be much help with the hip- hop, as I'm sure you've already guessed. 7) simple minds - 'don't you (forget about me)' This track is structurally amazing -- such perfect dynamic and tonal shifts from segment to segment -- and as such I agree. (Although I do think the Human League complaints, above, have some validity: "Fascination!") 8) dr.dre f/ xzibit and eminem - 'what's the difference' See above. 9) the beach boys - 'good vibrations' Yes, sir, although I'd point out that it's lost whatever small emotional tug it may have originally had, and is now amazing on a more sonic level -- time to start haggling over the definition of "perfect." 10) isaac hayes - 'walk on by' Don't know it. 11) the animals - 'house of the risin sun' I have always despised this song, but have never developed a coherent argument to support that position. I think it comes off a bit too strongly; a blues singer would keep a sort of ominous reserve through the early portion, whereas Burdon seems to be trying to prove himself. This is very much like my complaint about Ja Rule. 12) incredible bongo band - 'apache' Dunno. 13) depeche mode - 'enjoy the silence' Agreed to epic proportions, and I think this is backed up by the fact that the single became a hit far beyond its intended audience, based on the sheer perfection of its assembly. It both summarizes and exceeds New Order's entire career in under four minutes. 14) jay-z - 'change the game' Dunno. 15) stevie wonder - 'superstition' I'm inclined to agree, except that I've always valued Wonder more for his soul than his funk, and as such feel like there must be something in his catalog that tops this for me. But we are, after all, talking about individual song perfection, and I must admit that there's very little more you could ask of this track.

I could never agree about Simple Minds. I just think that song is really annoying and whiney. I'm totally with you on My Way, even though I think everything else (most of it) that Sinatra did is complete wank. But I mean is there any song as subtly punk as My Way really? (er.....and I don't mean the punk version)

The Animals is also spot on, admittedly I wasn't alive when it was released but I can't think of many songs from that time that are so completely raw.

I'm not really sure about Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys have only ever appealed to me in a sort of "oh that's nice" throwaway kind of way. I've not listened to them enough to really say any more. I quite like Kid 606 straight out of compton, despite my dislike for glitch in general, I guess the reason I like it is based on my liking for the original, which is kind of silly perhaps.

Walk On By is a fantastic song.

Er I'm probably really annoying everyone by jumping around the list.

Ethan you need to stick that Chems and Beth Orton song from dig your own hole in there aswell. The moment where it kicks in is one of the musical highlights of the 90s.

Styx, hell yeah. I grew up in Michigan in the late 70s, which is about all you need to know about that.

Apache is great but not perfect; needs more drama. Just thinking about this one the other day, because I picked up the LP by Hot Butter (the novelty band that hit with "Popcorn") and they had a Moog cover of "Apache" on it.

s1ocki absolutely OTM

The Notwist - One With The Freaks

I could have easily put Pilot on my list. And that GBV song is fantastic.

10 more perfect songs:

The Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Graves (the whole album)

Love Pilot, but One With The Freaks is perfect because it is everything The Notwist do well in one (also otherwise) perfect song.

this guy^^ is OTM

...

Haha. whoops. Wrong thread. Can a mod delete the above post?

x-pst

i'm not sure they are all perfect, but they are my personal favorites nonetheless..

animal collective - winters love
beatles - here comes the sun (i think..definitely some beatles song either way..)
broken social scene - shampoo suicide
caribou - melody day
daft punk - make love
dan deacon - okie dokie
devendra banhart - lover
flaming lips - yoshimi battles the pink robots pt 1
grizzly bear - on a neck, on a spit
magnetic fields - nothing matters when we're dancing
mirah - advisory committee
neutral milk hotel - king of carrot flowers part 1
of montreal - lysergic bliss
pavement - gold soundz
peter and the wolf - the bonsai tree

oh, and i also agree with Evan that Tallest Man on Earth is pretty amazing

grizzly bear - on a neck, on a spit

I could have gone with Grizzly Bear's While You Wait For The Others, but only the version with Michael MacDonald on lead vocals. Pitchfork's track review said MacDonald's big voice "sell(s) the drama to the cheap seats." I like that.

BTW, Horace Andy's Spying Glass should have been on my list, too.

The problem is that there's more than 15 perfect songs in the world. But I like going through the exercise, anyway.

Yeah its tough to limit it.

wau price is right theme rocks

Family Feud theme pwns Price Is Right theme imo.

I had no idea that a M.M. version existed. I must find it now.

On another note, I busted out my impression of Mr. Michael McDonald on a job interview once. True story and I'll leave circumstances and reaction up to the imagination w/ that one.

x-post

What I posted above isn't the theme, fwiw. It's the showcase showdown song!

I recently downloaded a collection of Price is Right songs and it's surprisingly funky as hell!

Here it is. (xp)

I've done a (highly embarrassing) Michael McDonald impression, too.

Can we have a link to that?

Thanks.

I don't think a non-embarrassing impression of MM exists, to be honest.

x-oost

Sorry, I meant here. (on HypeMachine)

aphex twin - mookid
audio two - top billin
bunny wailer - dreamland
chaka khan - i feel for you
deee-lite - groove is in the heart
the flamingos - i only have eyes for you
the heptones - make up your mind
jackie edwards - your eyes are dreaming
james and bobby purified - i'm your puppet
johnny clarke - tears on my pillow
king nawahi's hawaiians - mauna kea
kool and the gang - summer madness
larry marshall - together now
lyn collins - think
st etienne - london belongs to me

happy to continue the Clientele love, though I am going with Saturday. So a quick 15

The Clientele - Saturday
Dionne Warwick & Issac Hayes - Walk on By
Joy Division - 24 Hours
Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number
Beach Boys - Caroline, No
Harry Nilsson - Everybody's Talkin'
Bonnie Raitt - Angel From Montgomery
Brian Eno - St. Elmo's Fire
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Massive Attack - Protection
Modern Lovers - Roadrunner
The Go-Betweens - Love Goes On!
Gram Parsons - $1000 Wedding
Joni Mitchell - Coyote
Low - Silver Rider

excluding classical and jazz

1. Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues (or any other version)
2. Donna Summer - I Feel Love
3. Company B - Fascinated
4. Dr Dre feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin)
5. Three Six Mafia feat. Young Buck and 8Ball & MJG - Stay High
6. Brian Eno - Third Uncle
7. Pere Ubu - Final Solution
8. Simply Saucer - Illegal Bodies
9. The Chameleons - View From A Hill, or Swamp Thing, or Caution, or Is It Any Wonder?, or Second Skin, or any Chameleons song
10. The Cure - Plainsong
11. Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan - Song of the 2nd Moon
12. Can - Mother Sky
13. Yoko Ono - Mindtrain
14. Tommy Johnson - Cool Drink of Water Blues
15. Hank Williams - Settin' the Woods on Fire

even though I numbered it, that list is in no particular order. although "summertime blues" probably is one of the best rock songs of all time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU5uDozoSSM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy7eWTaAjfA

hot damn 'jeepster' by t rex is a pretty fucking perfect song.

The Chameleons - Swamp Thing

Yeah, agreed.

Ok I want to change my list:

Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking
Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
Boards of Canada - Roygbiv
Can - Future Days
David Bowie - Letter to Hermione
Gang of Four - Damaged goods
Flying Lotus - Tea Leaf Dancers
Jorge Ben - Take it easy my brother Charles
Liquid Liquid - Optimo
My Bloody Valentine - Soon
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Some velvet morning
Nina Simone - See-line woman
Pixies - Hey
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle
The Undertones - Teenage kicks

'damaged goods' is a nice choice!

otm Pixies 'Hey'. Love. Gorgeous.

I will try my personal 15...perfect in my world, maybe not anyone else's.

Father and Son - Cat Stevens
Decoration Day - Drive By Truckers
Tangled up in Blue - Bob Dylan
People Get Ready - Chambers Brothers
Mountain Song - Jane's Addiction
Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix
Me and Bobby McGee - Kris Kristofferson
I've Just Seen a Face - The Beatles
Raspberry Beret - Prince
That's Entertainment - The Jam
If You Leave - OMD
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain - Willie Nelson
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash
Blue - Jayhawks

Midnight Train to Georgia so OTM, Daniel Esq.,.

Raspberry Beret - Prince

Good choice. Sly and playful and groovy and full of attitude.

Yeah Raspberry Beret is a fine choice. One of my favorite singles. Not only is the b-side great as well but it's worth if only for the wicked cover:

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/f4c3b48ec939452250ba96cd84f5f7ab/o84064.jpg

Always bothered me that she's holding an apple instead of a raspberry tho.

Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong

is another one!

Gil Scott Heron - The Revolution will not be Televised
The Specials - Ghost Town

Here's a left-field choice, but I say it's perfect: Grant Hart, You Don't Have To Tell Me Now.

xpost 'Ghost Town' otm.

Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong

is another one!

A friend once made me a best-of-Sloan mix cleverly titled "Everything They've Done Right."

Haha yeah. I haven't ever found a song they've done as "right" as that song.

Also:

Liz Phair - Glory

They hung out together in their off time too, cooking and driving around. In California they rented a convertible — “a sweet silver Sebring,” Mr. Oberst said — and cruised, blasting “Be Thankful for What You Got,” the 1970s soul hit by William DeVaughn, the only music other than their own they listened to. “It’s like the best song ever,” Mr. Oberst said. “Jim played it on repeat for about six days straight.”

Not sure I will care much for the Monsters of Folk(Conor Oberst, better known as Bright Eyes; M. Ward; Jim James; and the producer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis) but I gotta agree on this awesome song

The quote is from this Sunday NY Times article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/arts/music/20mele.html

6. Price is Right - the "Showcase 1" song, as heard here:

I am such a fan of those Edd Kalehoff queues.

my new knowledge of the existence of "the monsters of folk" makes me want to kill

das pop fool for love remix by aeroplane. makes me want to hump a pink teddy bear

First draft -

David Bowie - Life On Mars?
Massive Attack - Better Things
Liquid - Sweet Harmony
Tom Waits - Take It With Me
Portishead - Roads
Curtis Mayfield - Little Child Running Wild
Led Zeppelin - Thank You
Roots Manuva - Dreamy Days
Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Warren G - Regulate
Dexys - Geno
The Specials - Ghost Town
The House Crew - Euphoria
Mr Bungle - Pink Cigarette
Metallica - Master of Puppets

Damn, forgot '1 Thing'.

there is only one perfect song in the world, and it is the love you save by joe tex

ive gotta say 'year of the cat' by al stewart is damn perfect

1. Face to Face - Daft Punk
2. Miss You (12" Extended Mix) - The Rolling Stones
3. California Soul - Marlena Shaw
4. River Song - Dennis Wilson
5. Controversy - Prince
6. Follow the Leader - Eric B & Rakim
7. Feel Flows - Beach Boys
8. Path Through the Forest - The Factory
9. Fly - JK & Co
10. Cargo Culte - Serge Gainsbourg
11. To Love Somebody - Bee Gees
12. Africa - D'Angelo
13. War in Peace - Skip Spence
14. Relevee (Carl Craig remix) - Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom
15. She Comes in Colors - Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDB3vvwZJn0