ew. Please, no "Four Little Diamonds"
ew. Please, no "Four Little Diamonds"
Good choice! I dig ELO, particularly the song Don't Bring Me Down. That's one of the best things to come out of the 80s pop scene.
:evil:Quoting Ezee E (view post)
If the law don't get you, then I will.
Rep for you!
Everything Jeff Lynn touched in the 80s turned to gold. Another favorite pop song of that era is Dave Edmunds' Slippin' Away, which Jeff Lynn wrote and produced. Hell, that song is not so much a Dave Edmunds song as it is an ELO song with Edmunds on the vocals. Either way, I love it.
Heh. Yeah. That sounds like every track on ELO's Secret Messages and Balance of Power albums. Not really quite my favorite era of theirs, but holy cow, do I still love it so. To me, nothing beats the New World Record/Out of the Blue/Discovery Trifecta.
I never get tired of spinning this album (and this song, in particular, and the one that follows it "Sweet Is the Night"). And I have you to thank for turning me on to them. I still can't believe i haven't picked up any other albums. One of these days...
I've actually got an idea in mind for a media project that I might attempt sometime in the near future that incorporates Sweet is the Night. It will be awesome if done. I should probably do it.
I never get tired of spinning this album (and this song, in particular, and the one that follows it "Sweet Is the Night"). And I have you to thank for turning me on to them. I still can't believe i haven't picked up any other albums. One of these days...
#4 - Young-Holt Unlimited - Soulful Strut
Please don't watch the video. Just listen to the sweet, sweet musics.
Forget Stayin' Alive... this is the real soulful strut. If you can't feel this song, you are dead to happiness and everything wonderful in the world. You should seek help and medication.
That's all there is to say.
ELO is tied with Queen as my favorite band of all time. Excellent song, excellent band.
Last Five Films I've Seen (Out of 5)
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse (Mackesy, 2022) 4.5
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (Crawford, 2022) 4
Confess, Fletch (Mottola, 2022) 3.5
M3GAN (Johnstone, 2023) 3.5
Turning Red (Shi, 2022) 4.5
Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953) 5
615 Film
Letterboxd
#3 - Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
Sans Young
Of all the songs on this list, including numbers 1 and 2, this is the only one that I would feel comfortable calling "a masterpiece". It's so wonderful, so personal, so many great harmonies and melodies and bass lines and guitar riffs and that echoing percussion... so many different sounds converge into one voice and it's unparalleled in beauty. Many CSN songs are as lovely, but none ever reach the perfection, in spirit and production, of this first track of their first album.
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes is an excellent choice.
#2 - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - Tears of a Clown
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah...
I can't quite explain the profundity that I hear and feel in this song. I mean, yeah, sure, he's singing about feeling sad inside, masking it with a facade of good cheer. Nothing too deep. But something about the upbeat percussion and driven progression of chords and Smokey's near-falsetto conviction... it all equates to something so soulful that I can hardly contain myself when I listen to it. Including this one makes me wanna redo the list to include more 60s soul (think Otis, Marvin, Curtis). Oh well. The list isn't comprehensive. And none of those guys ever cut a record that struck me to the bone like this one.
Sweeeet.
AMEN!
And now, the song that I frequently hold to be the greatest pop song, like, pretty much ever, depending on my mood and likely the weather:
#1 - Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
The force makes me feel like WHOOOOOOOO!
There was a time when one could say, without irony, that Michael Jackson deserves his status as The King of Pop. I long for those days. Those Off the Wall days, those Thriller nights. This song is absolutely representative of my feelings about Jackson, about music, about life and its innumerous pleasures. Like More, More, More, this song taps into reserves of the soul forever unsatiated, however eternally fed by rhythm and dance. Its an infinite well of pleasure, music, and even though MJ implies that eventually one can have enough, take heed in his words calling for steadfast proactivity, never idle, ever true. Nothing should keep us from feeling those beats, sadness and happiness are cursory, temporal--all that's left is the rhythm. I love the way MJ spits out random "ugh!"s and "hah!"s, as though his body is incapable of retaining all the musical pressure within. All those tight little breaths, releasing the steam of pent-up excitement at the prospect of music's perpetually building energy...
... this song is simply the best. Of course, I could say that about every song on this list. And I frequently do. What's the point of ranking? Music is the most democratic of all expressive forms.
All rhythms are created equal.
Easily the best song Jack-o ever made. Great way to cap off a fantastic list. I commend you sir!
Thanks! It was fun for me too.
And I'd like to pat myself on the back for creating one of the handful of lists that ran its full course on this here site of ours. And with relative speed and expediency, too.
I concur. This is the only Michael Jackson song on my iTunes, tho I really dig his other big pre-Thriller hit, Rock With You quite a bit too.
"Tears of a Clown" is perfection.
When I do my best songs list, there will be a 0% overlap with this list.
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
If I were to make a list of what I thought were the actual best songs, hardly any of these would make it as well. I was doing a list of the songs that justify the existence of pop--good examples of songs that exist in all of our consciousness, radio staples, songs frequently featured in ads or movies. My list of best songs ever would be very different.When I do my best songs list, there will be a 0% overlap with this list.
That said, it would still have a 0% overlap with your list.
Yeah, these are both great.
Good list man, you've got some great pop songs here, no doubt!
i was rolling my eyes while reading this list. then with the last three entries you completely won me over.
keep on! with the force don't stop! don't stop til you get enough!
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