Perfect songs are hard to poll; here are 12 to start with.

"Never Going Back Again" isn't even the best song on that album.

x-p
i don't know most of these. if there had been spinning away from that same eno-cale collaboration i would have known what to vote for.

neither is "lay my love" xp

On the premise we're going for "perfect songs"... I went with the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back". It was realistically a toss up between "I Want You Back" and Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". All of the rest I just looked at thought 'yeah right, on your planet, maybe...'

'Never Going Back Again' is one of my favorite FM songs. I also think it's perfect.

Only two songs in this list I don't particulary agree with are: '94 the long way' (way too long and meandering for my taste) and 'lay my love' (not really a fan of the eno/cale collaboration and there are better ones in the album).

xpost: in the article he states that the criterion he used was simply 'songs which he thinks can't be improved upon'.

Really surprised there wasn't any Oval on this dude's list. ^___^

voting "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"

I'm torn between aphex twin, dwight twilley, herbert, nina simone and the shondells.

prince

my favorite prince song

"Crimson & Clover" tough to beat imo.

a vote for crimson and clover

jackson: don't stop

hey, let's make another poll about a random list with a few random unrelated tunes by some random dude on the net. btw o'rourke, aphex and herbert don't belong here at all (they're too minor league in terms of songrwiting for such a prospect). i'm fine with the rest.

voting eno/cale. used to love wrong way up tho i agree there's better songs on that record. footsteps & in the backroom are the ones i recall now.

songWriting

He picked a Dwight Twilley song that isn't "I'm on Fire"????

wrong crimson and clover

PF must have an automated generator to come up with these lists by this point.

lol you can argue that there's better songs than "lay my love" on the eno/cale record but there's no way in hell "in the backroom" is one of 'em

guess you could say cordoba or spinning away are prob more reasonable picks. i still dig in the backroom's super deadpan vocals tho (by eno i think? cannot recall) and the melody sticks out for some reason. don't know, pick your faves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJas7Q_yXXY

this guy doesn't even understand what the word song means

Crimson and Clover

ex post the syd Barrett song?

blummin touchpad spelling corrector!

hey, let's make another poll about a random list with a few random unrelated tunes by some random dude on the net. btw o'rourke, aphex and herbert don't belong here at all (they're too minor league in terms of songrwiting for such a prospect). i'm fine with the rest.

― cock chirea

Jealous much? It's a good list by a good critic on one of the most (if not the most) popular ezines in the world. I can poll whatever the fuck I want, if you don't like there's an option to ignore polls on ilxor and there's one to keep your mouth shut and comment on threads you actually care about.

ps: aphex twin and herbert RULE.

i am going for the jim o'rourke. nothing really thrilling - john fahey has done this kind of thing for most of his life - but there is not a lot for me to love here.

actually i think i don't like perfection. neither in life nor in music. it's a concept for computers and robots but not for humans.

J5

On the premise we're going for "perfect songs"... I went with the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back". It was realistically a toss up between "I Want You Back" and Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". All of the rest I just looked at thought 'yeah right, on your planet, maybe...'

Those were the two I had to go back and forth on, very tough. MJ has quite a few of these ("Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", "Shake Your Body Down to the Ground", "Human Nature", and of course "ABC" are good candidates)

As for the Eno/Cale one, it could be improved with better production!! That whole album is horribly produced given that it came from two guys famous for production work.

Don't rip on Mark Richardson - he's the only real good thing Pitchfork has going for it

Interesting list, since it highlights several acts who have written songs that I consider perfect, just not the longs listed. Like, sub "When Doves Cry" for "...Lover," "I Think We're Alone Now" for "Crimson & Clover," "St. Elmo's Fire" for "Lay My Love" ...

Don't rip on Mark Richardson - he's the only real good thing Pitchfork has going for it

Mark is/was one of us, any ripping is affectionate

xpost: St. Elmo's Fire was greatly improved by Uilab so that rules it out as perfect. Unless you were talking about Uilab's version in which case I agree.

Greatly improved? Assuming you think it ... improved, greatly improved? Really? Scoff.

(Moka, are you S F-J?)

ha that would be something wouldn't it? But no, I'm just as much a Stereolab stan as him.

By the way Mark Richardson dropped the ball by not including "Tunak Tunak Tun" on the list. Completely unfuckwithable.

"Let's Hear It For The Boy" is like my theme song. Fuck Mark Richardson.

I didn't think "I Wanna Be Your Lover" could be improved until I heard Dimitri From Paris' edit of the live version; now the original seems to be lacking a bit of disco oomph.

"Crimson & Clover" tough to beat imo.

― Johnny Fever

Once again I'm with Johnny on this one.

pitchfork sucks

should of been an option

should have an option for "Steal My Sunshine" **ducks**

so I'm the only one going for So Weit Wie Noch Nie it seems

Crimson & Clover is the only song that makes me happy to the point of distraction when I hear it, and it also contains one of modern music's best "yeaaaah"s imo.
Also? I can take better plant pictures than the one this guy is using for his column.

A great selection. I'd be stabbing myself in the ear if I didn't vote aphex

I voted for it too boxedjoy

Voted Jacko. But don't know some of these.

"Let's Hear It For The Boy" is like my theme song. Fuck Mark Richardson.

― rustic italian flatbread, Tuesday, November 8, 2011 4:05 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

btw, this is my honest opinion of the Deniece Williams song, but not my honest opinion abot Mark Richardson, in case the right tone wasn't conveyed.

I didn't think "I Wanna Be Your Lover" could be improved until I heard Dimitri From Paris' edit of the live version; now the original seems to be lacking a bit of disco oomph.

― Tim F

Actually my favorite Prince songs are the ones with a spare, modernist sound. Few musicans can do it right and Prince is one of them... imho there's more sexual tension to be had in the music when you use an economic approach to the sounds you have instead of going the booming, maximalist pop-funk route. And Prince is al about the sexz.

Voted Herbert. So Now is one of my fav. tracks.

Actually my favorite Prince songs are the ones with a spare, modernist sound. Few musicans can do it right and Prince is one of them... imho there's more sexual tension to be had in the music when you use an economic approach to the sounds you have instead of going the booming, maximalist pop-funk route. And Prince is al about the sexz.

I would agree except that the above doesn't feel like it applies to "I Wanna Be Your Lover" much?

Another for 'So Weit Wie Noch Nie'. When I first found it I listened to it for a whole day. I love it still. Even though 'Mit Dir' is (almost) as good.

Actually my favorite Prince songs are the ones with a spare, modernist sound. Few musicans can do it right and Prince is one of them... imho there's more sexual tension to be had in the music when you use an economic approach to the sounds you have instead of going the booming, maximalist pop-funk route. And Prince is al about the sexz.

I would agree except that the above doesn't feel like it applies to "I Wanna Be Your Lover" much?

― Tim F

Well it's not as streamlined as say 'Kiss' but it's quite polished in its arrangement. Granted this is one of his first singles so he still hadn't found the perfect sound but it gets pretty close. My point was that if anything the song could use with less elements not more.

this guy doesn't even understand what the word song means

― the wheelie king (wk), Tuesday, November 8, 2011 5:18 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark

^^

My point was that if anything the song could use with less elements not more.

yeah but when I say disco oomph I don't mean more elements, I mean more propulsive - i.e. more like his later singles, not less.

imho there's more sexual tension to be had in the music when you use an economic approach to the sounds you have instead of going the booming, maximalist pop-funk route. And Prince is al about the sexz.

this is kinda cliched to me. lots of funk, soul and disco are fully packed and still ooze sex. take minnie riperton's inside my love, for instance. that's one of the most sexually loaded songs ever and i would say it's a pretty baroque tune in terms of instrumentation and arrangements. the sexual signifiers we usually get from prince probably come from his public persona (i mean, you have "prince = thee sex machine" ingrained in your brain since forever) as much as the guy's lyrics and his sultry vocal approach. it doesn't have that much to do with how his music sounds in strict terms of production, so i don't think this can be summarized to a minimalist vs maximalist thing.

This is so obviously "I Want You Back," but I'm throwing a vote to that fantastic Nina Simone song

So Weit Wie Noch Nie... Closest to perfect (i guess) on that list by my count.

"Crimson & Clover" is the best answer

After listening to all of these in the evening, I have to cast my vote to Dwight Twilley. No doubt about it, this song has the magic.

prince obv, then the jacksons

hope cock chriea is trolling on this thread cuz.. lol

Prince has many, MANY better songs than that, though. Pick one Prince song, I dare you. Name one song better than chaka Khan's cover of "I Feel for You," and I'll... well, I won't do anything. But I'll quietly think you are incorrect.

So Wiet Wie Noch Nie for me, literally my favourite song of all time.

"I Feel for You" as performed by Chaka Khan is still my favorite song. It's been that way for a very long time.

I sort of feel that I Wanna Be Your Lover could be improved, it's a glorious song but production/recording-wise as Tim says it's slightly on the flimsy side. I genuinely cannot think of any way that I Want You Back could possibly be improved.

The only way I've found that "I Want You Back" could be improved on is to have it on repeat.

yes!

I do not believe Yes would improve "I Want You Back"

They would play it in 7/8.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkFG1SYtIDE

This isn't Yes.

was curious about these results, not really surprised but glad no song got left behind with null votes.