Infinite MonkeysAt the risk of further in curring the wrath of Monkey Brad, I am still unsure what teh "perfect" song might be. Favorite, I get. Best and worst, I get. But perfect? I'm not sure I get.
Yet there are some songs that simply make me stop. Listen. Enjoy.
Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel). Take Me to the River (Talking Heads). Wondrous Stories (Yes).
Maybe "perfect" is like pornography. We may not know how to define it, but we know it when we hear it.
Posted by JamesPh. at June 3, 2006 11:35 PMMore like good sex than pornography. It takes us to a higher place without making us feel dirty. But you're on the right track.
I like all of the songs you listed very much, but for various reasons (including a heavy portion of over-exposure) I would pick the following songs from the same artists:
Peter Gabriel:
1. Family Snapshot
2. White Shadow
3. Here Comes The Flood (specifically the sparse version on Robert Fripp's "Exposure" album - Bob Ezrin's production on the first Peter Gabriel album just smothered a lot of really great songs. "Solsbury Hill" was one of the few survivors.)
4. San Jacinto
Almost Perfect Albums: Second album ("scratch" cover) and "Security"
Talking Heads:
1. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
2. Crosseyed and Painless
3. Memories Can't Wait
4. Heaven
Almost Perfect Albums: "Fear of Music" and "Remain in Light"
Yes:
1. Tempus Fugit
2. Heart of the Sunrise
3. Close To The Edge
Almost Perfect Albums: "Close to the Edge" and "Fragile"
How "Shock The Monkey" didn't make that list -- on this of all places -- I will never know.
Posted by: H.L. Monkey at June 4, 2006 05:19 PMYou ask for "PERFECT Rock Songs" and don't mention Back In Black?
You just don't get it, do you?
Posted by: Monkey Brad at June 4, 2006 10:05 PMBrad, you ignorant slut. "Back in Black" would really fall under the "Perfect Hard Rock Songs" category. That's next week. :-)
Posted by: Monkey RobbL at June 5, 2006 09:02 AMAnd you know I'm right about "This Must Be The Place."
I know H.L. had tongue at least partly in cheek there, but "Shock The Monkey" is another one of those songs that I've listened to so many times that it's lost its magic. It may be perfect, but its perfection has been obscured in my own perception.
Posted by: Monkey RobbL at June 5, 2006 09:07 AMI'd like to submit Mountain's "Mississippi Queen" (MORE COWBELL!!), Van Halen's "Everybody Wants Some", and The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter".
Posted by: Foo at June 8, 2006 06:00 AM