one band one song

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If you had to condense an artist into one song which one would you choose? I like this question as it forces me to concentrate which is not one of my strengths. The song does not have to be your favourite by said band. It should be the song which represents best the total output of the band. For Led Zeppelin I doubt it would be "Stairways to Heaven" as it is not typical for the band. I'd be especially interested in the following bands/artists but others would be welcome too:
Beatles, Beck, Blur, Buzzcocks, Cocteau Twins, Cure, Doors, Bob Dylan, Brian Eno, Fall, Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine, New Order, Nirvana, REM, Rolling Stones, Roxy Music, Patti Smith, Smiths, Sonic Youth, Talking Heads, U2, Velvet Underground.

― alex in mainhattan, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Cocteau Twins - spanglemaker
Fall - winter (hostel maxi)
Rolling Stones - lets spend the night together
Smiths - suffer little children
Sonic Youth - teenage riot
Velvet Underground - what goes on

― gareth, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

damn, i'm afraid i picked my favourites rather than most representative. i'd swap suffer little children for there is a light that never goes out in that case. the rest can stay though

― gareth, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Smiths - Stretch out and Wait

Cure - Caterpillar

― Poops Mcgee, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Beatles - Rain
Buzzcocks - Airwaves Dream
Fall - How I Wrote Elastic Man
Joy Division - She Lost Control
My Bloody Valentine - Honey Power
Rolling Stones - Back Street Girl
Sonic Youth - Expressway to Yr Skull
Velvet Underground - This is pretty hard, but I guess Lady Godiva's Operation and for three of my own Coil - The First Five Minutes After Death
Aaliyah - I Don't Wanna (charts rule! teeheehee)
Techno Animal - Dead Man's Curse

― Alex in SF, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Joy Division - Komakino
Smiths - How Soon Is Now?
Buzzcocks - Promises
Blur - Tracy Jacks (that period anyway
Velvet Underground - Sister Ray

― DG, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Beatles-Norwegain wood
Beck- Nicotine and Gravy
Blur-Country House
Doors- five to one
Bob Dylan-Sad Eyed LAdy of the Lowlands
Nirvana-Lithium
REM-Losing my Religion
Rolling Stones-Cocksuckers Blues
Smiths-The Boy with a thorne in his side
Sonic Youth- Bull in the HEather
U2- Either Ground beneath her feet or ill be watching you Velvet Underground either all tomorrows parties or shiny boots of leather
Momus- My Handhelf Electronic Device or The Homosexual
Lou Reed-Kill your sons
Buffy St. Marie - Bury my heart at wounded knee
Hank Williams -Whipper-will
Sex Pistols-Bodies
Patsy Cline-I fall to peices
Frank Zappa-Jewish Girls

― anthony, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Talking Heads: Don't Worry About The Government seems to sum up the essence of (what I like about) the band. 77 is such a gorgeous album that I'd pick the lot if I could, but narrowed down to one song, give me this one.

― Daniel, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You made me realise. My Bloody valentine. Fortress/Deer park. The Fall. How soon is now. The Smiths. Miss you. The Rolling stones. Here there and everywhere. Beatles. Teenage riot. Sonic youth. Taste of cindy. Jesus and mary chain. Seven and seven is. Love. Bat out of hell. Meatloaf.

Only joking about the last one (It's paradise by the dashboard light obviously!)

― Kris England, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Beatles - "Tomorrow Never Knows" Beck - "Where It's At" Blur - "Coping" Buzzcocks - "Nostalgia (for an age yet to come)" Cocteau Twins - "Hitherto" Cure - "Pictures of You" Doors - "The End" Bob Dylan - "Subterreanan Homesick Blues" Brian Eno - "Backwater" Fall - "Cruiser's Creek" Joy Division - "24 Hours" My Bloody Valentine - "Only Shallow" New Order - "Age of Consent" Nirvana - "Territorial Pissings" REM - "Carnival of Sorts" Rolling Stones - "Bitch" Roxy Music - "Virginia Plain" Patti Smith - "Rockn'Roll Nigger" Smiths - "The Queen is Dead" Sonic Youth - "Death Valley `69" Talking Heads - "Crosseyed & Painless" U2 - "Two Hearts Beat as One" Velvet Underground - "White Light White Heat"

― Alex in NYC, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think you're on dangerous ground here to be honest, especially for the artists with extensive back catalogues that've accumulated over several decades; Dylan being the obvious one I think, not just because he has written so many great songs but also because despite him maintaining a fairly consistent style and sound throughout his career (now I'm on dangerous ground), but because of the breadth of his subject matter and themes etc. Do you go for the druggy hipster Dylan as in 'Visions of Johanna', protest singer Dylan as in 'The Times They Are A-changing' Storytelling type Dylan as in 'Lilly, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts' etc etc...? I don't think it really works. Similarly for someone who frequently jumps genres like Beck, it's difficult to pick just one song that represents everything that Beck represents, and I have a feeling Beck himself likes it that way, being difficult to pin down is his schtick. Nonetheless, I'll have a go... though I might suggest a couple of songs for each artist/band to give a fairer impression.

Beatles - 'She Loves you' & 'I am the Walrus' Beck - 'We Live Again' & 'Mixed Bizzness' Blur - 'Coffee & TV' & 'The Universal' Buzzcocks - 'Boredom' Cocteau Twins - 'Sugar Hiccup' Cure - Dunno Doors - 'Riders on the Storm' Dylan - 'Visions of Johanna' & 'Like a Rolling Stone' Eno - 'Another Green World' Fall - 'Bingo Masters Breakout' & 'Dr Buck's Letter' Joy Division - 'She's Lost Control' & 'Atmosphere' My Blood Valentine - 'You Made Me Realise' New Order - 'Blue Monday' Nirvana - 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' REM - 'Everybody Hurts' Rolling Stones - 'Brown Sugar' Roxy Music - Dunno Patti Smith - Dunno Smiths - 'How Soon is Now?' & 'There is a Light that Never Goes Out' Sonic Youth - 'Kill Your Idols' & 'Tunic' Talking Heads - Dunno U2 - *shrug* Velvet Underground - 'Heroin' & 'White Light/White Heat'

So there you go.

― kieran, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Of course it is impossible to find the Dylan song which stands for all of them. But still I like the idea and maybe there is a song which was the catalyst for it all. Blowin' in the wind (which has been played to death admittedly) maybe? Anyways the choice of the song tells much more about the person choosing than about the bands. That was the idea really. To find out your personal approach to the bands. Which side do you find the most significant, important one.
Hold on. Did you write "Everybody Hurts"? That can't be true. You must hate REM then. That is the worst song REM ever made in their whole career. The schmaltziest ballad ever released. Except Gary Moore maybe.

― alex in mainhattan, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"That is the worst song REM ever made in their whole career"

i'm not familiar with REM's whole career, but that song is certainly the worst song of ALL SPACE AND TIME.

― paul barclay, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The second track, side one of each of their debut albums. Apart from artists beginning with the letter 'N'. Here you'd have to choose whichever of their singles sold the most copies in Switzerland. In picture sleeves.

― Dr. C, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

That's a fair answer, Dr. C and a polite way of telling me that my question is utter bollocks in your eyes. But it's the easy way out, isn't it?

― alex in mainhattan, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"You Won't See Me", "Sissyneck", "This is a Low", "What Do I Get?", "Teardrop" (sorry), "Love Song", "My Eyes Have Seen You", "Idiot Wind", theme from 'Windows', "Eat Yrself Fitter", "Transmission", "You Made Me Realise (live)", "Round and Round", "Penny Royal Tea", "So. Central Rain", "Hand of Fate", "Grey Lagoons", "Set Me Free (Privilege)", "Cemetary Gates", "Expressway to Yr Skull", "Mind", "Dirty Day", "European Son"

I know the MBV and Smiths ones are silly, sorry, and I don't know shit about the Cockatoos

― dave q, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

OK the one for Eno's crap too, sorry again. Maybe "China My China"

― dave q, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

One song which is the essence of The Cure? Damn, that's hard. The closest I can come to it is probably.. um... ARGH. It certainly isn't "The Caterpillar"... Probably the closest I'm going to get is "10:15 Saturday Night". Or maybe "High". I know that "How Soon Is Now?" is the first song that leaps to mind for The Smiths, but as far as capturing the epitome of what most of their stuff sounds like, I'd go with "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" or "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out". Other groups have certain songs indelibly etched in my mind as archetypal songs:

Doors - "Hello I Love You"
Cocteau Twins - first track on _Milk And Kisses_, what was that called...
Joy Division - "Atmosphere"
New Order - "Temptation" or "True Faith"
Talking Heads - "Burning Down The House"
Beck - "Loser"
Beatles - "The Long And Winding Road"
Rolling Stones - "Gimme Shelter"
Nirvana - "Come As You Are"
U2 - "With Or Without You"

― Dan Perry, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Forgot REM - "Superman" or "Radio Free Europe".

― Dan Perry, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Brian Eno - "Golden Hours", Smiths - "This Charming Man", Cocteau Twins - "Ivo", Sonic Youth - "Total Trash", Roxy Music - "Beauty Queen", VU - "Venus in Furs", Buzzcocks - "What Do I Get?" MBV - "When You Sleep"

― A Nairn, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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