Perfect songs.

[philodox]

Now, Renato is going to think I am drunk... and he is somewhat correct, but I just had an epiphany of sorts and decided to start this thread. If there is already a similar thread on the go, I'm sorry, but I'm not searching for shit at this point.

Just doing a little spring cleaning and spinning some vinyl and I was struck by the perfect beauty of Stevie Wonder's 'Ordinary Pain'. Any other songs that you think are perfect?

[GPH]

Genesis - The Cinema Show: for a Genesis fan, this song has got it all: pastoral 12-strings guitar intro, weird Gabriel lyrics, flute, lots of mellotron and bass pedals and a keyboard solo to die for

Harmonium - Le Premier Ciel: I'd be very surprised if anyone here know this one, but for me it represents the apogee of progressive rock from Quebec. Beautiful lyrics, great blend of rock and symphonic instrumentation, simply epic.

[philodox]

I'm not a genesis fan, but I've been curious based on some peoples attachment to them here [postjack], so I'll definitely check that out. I recognize the name 'harmonium', but I'm not sure if I've heard that specific track. Will have to look it up.

[guzziguy]

Don McLean - American Pie. Too bad he was a two hit wonder.

[jinp6301]

Todd Rundgren - I Saw The Light

I could listen to that song all day. (Which I have done multiple times)

[Fungi]

King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man

Needs no explanation.

[morphsci]

Townes van Zandt - Pancho and Lefty

Guy Clark - The Cape

[deepak]

Porcupine Tree - Trains

David Bowie - The Supermen

Scott Walker - Clara

Edited August 19, 2009 by deepak

[Asr]

Alison Krauss & Union Station - "A Living Prayer"

Massive Attack - "Inertia Creeps"

I also find both to be surreal and unnervingly haunting in very different ways.

[xand1x]

Katatonia - In The White

Edge of Sanity - Crimson II (40+ minute song!)

Opeth - Bleak

[CarlSeibert]

Townes van Zandt - Pancho and Lefty

I'll vote for that.

In that vein, I'll add maybe Leonard Cohen's 'Famous Blue Raincoat'. Or Cowboy Junkies' 'Horse in the Country'

[Dusty Chalk]

I love Katatonia, they have quite a few what I would consider perfect songs.

Too many to list, a few that come to mind:

King Crimson, "Starless" -- even the slightly sour notes hit by John Wetton (vocals), all the way to the slow progression of one-note solos, then a two-note solos, then autobahn speeds...

Talk Talk, "The Party's Over" -- starts off slowly, not even hinting at the epic build-up, and this is synthpop?

Joseph Arthur, "All Of Our Hands" -- just sublime for a protest song

David Gilmour, "There's No Way Out Of Here"

Peace Love & Pitbulls, "Youth" -- yeah, it's industrial, but for some reason, my CD player keeps going back to the beginning of this track every time it gets towards the end

Rotersand, "Exterminate Annihilate Destroy"

Gary Numan, "Absolution"

Curve, "Unreadable Communication" -- auralgasm starting at about 2:19

Slowdive, "Catch the Breeze"

New Model Army, "Lullaby"

Portishead, "Roads"

Edited August 19, 2009 by Dusty Chalk

[catscratch]

Man, there are too many pieces of music that are perfect. Like all of Bach's Well Tempered Klavier (played a lot of it actually). Or Stravinsky's Petrushka in which I wouldn't change one note. Or nearly everything Rachmaninoff ever wrote, ever.

A few of my favorite non-classical perfect tracks, though:

Shpongle - "Shpongle Falls"

Shpongle - "Divine Moments of Truth"

Shpongle - "Once Upon the Sea of Blissful Awareness"

Shulman - "Retroscape"

Shulman - "Invention"

Maneesh de Moor - "Raindance"

Maneesh de Moor - "Namaste"

Amethystium - "Shadow to Light"

Porcupine Tree - "Radioactive Toy"

Porcupine Tree - "Nine Cats"

Porcupine Tree - "Lightbulb Sun"

Radiohead - "Subterranean Homesick Alien"

Pink Floyd - "Money"

Buddy Guy - "I Smell a Rat"

Bruce Dickinson - "Jerusalem"

King Crimson - "Frame by Frame"

There's too much too list. I could be here all day.

[Large4mat]

Hooverphonic - Nr. 9

Peter Gabriel - Don't Give Up

Curve - All of One

Sky Cries Mary - Moving Like Water

The Verve - The Rolling People

U2 - Bad

Perfect Album - Vangelis "Blade Runner"

[aardvark baguette]

Don Ross - Michael, Michael, Michael

Depeche Mode - Policy Of Truth

Collective Soul - December

The Beatles - And I Love Her

Alice In Chains - No Excuses

Faith No More - Zombie Eaters

Fleet Foxes - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

Steely Dan - Home At Last

Dead Can Dance - Yulunga (Spirit Dance)

Nine Inch Nails - Closer

Megadeth - Addicted To Chaos

Iron Maiden - Still Life

Graham Parker & The Rumour - Protection

[postjack]

One of my favorite topics to discuss, this and perfect albums.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - So Tired (from a Night in Tunisia)

one of the crispest, most lovely, most simple, catchy, and oh so YES perfect songs I have ever heard.

[JimP]

Brokedown Palace - GD

Stir It Up/Sitting In Limbo - Jerry Garcia live covers

Echoes - Pink Floyd

Little Wing - SRV

Helpless - Neil Young

Train Song/Hold On/That Feel/Christmas Card From... - Tom Waits

and a few recent ones (not sure if perfect, but in constant play mode):

Picking Up The Signal - Son Volt

Spiders(Kidsmoke) - Wilco

Maze - Phish (especially Live At MSG version)

For jazz, it's more by albums (but that's not this thread)

[LFF]

Some of my fav's:

Frank Sinatra - I've Got You Under My Skin (From Songs For Swingin' Lovers)

Bing Crosby - Let It Snow!

The Drifters - White Christmas

Art Pepper - Four Brothers

John Lennon - Imagine

Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World

The Beatles - I Will

Benny Hill - My Garden Of Love

Bobby Darin - Beyond The Sea

Percy Sledge - When A Man Loves A Woman

Sam Cooke - Wonderful World

Not songs, but big favorites:

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata & Fur Elise

Mozart's Requiem

[postjack]

I second the Helpless by Neil Young. the version on The Last Waltz featuring an incredibly coked up Neil is goosebump inducing.

[en480c4]

A good sign is when you read the thread title and songs pop into your head immediately... If you have to think about it too long, then there's a chance the song isn't as perfect as you'd think.

For me?

Neko Case - "Hold On, Hold On" from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Opeth - "When" from My Arms, Your Hearse

I'm guessing there are other's I'd think are qualified, but that would take time for me to think about it, and that's something I've been short of lately.

[Dusty Chalk]

Heart, "Magic Man"

A good sign is when you read the thread title and songs pop into your head immediately... If you have to think about it too long, then there's a chance the song isn't as perfect as you'd think.

Or, as is the case with me, one's memory is shot. My personal cup runneth over.

I mean, the criteria is pretty straightforward -- is there a single thing that you would change about it? If the answer is no, then it's perfect. One can use other methods to test the theory, such as, do you find yourself listening to the song repeatedly when it comes up? (I find that particular rule to be particularly good.)

[Sherwood]

The only thing that jumps to my head is "Big Country" by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. It is completely perfect, however.

[Grahame]

John Peel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia said about Teenage Kicks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'There's nothing you could add to it or subtract from it that would improve it.'

In 1978, John Peel played the song twice in a row on his Radio 1 show. Peel often rated new bands' songs with 1 to 5 stars. He liked "Teenage Kicks" so much he awarded 28 stars.

"Teenage Kicks" was acoustically covered by Snow Patrol in tribute to John Peel, and was played at his funeral.

He wanted the lyrics on his tombstone, and his wish was granted

John Peel gets Teenage Kicks epitaph - Telegraph

[dreamwhisper]

Shpongle - The Seventh Revelation

so many good shpongle songs

Phaeleh - Fire

Phaeleh - Relfections

Shen - Embrace

Entheogenic - Invisible Landscapes

Entheogenic - Twilight Eyes

Entheogenic - Spaced

edIT - Straight Heat

[boomana]

Egad. I could list a lot, but since I'm listening to this one for the third time in a row right now, I'm going to say the live version of Little Feat's Willin'. I love that song.

EDIT: and since I have itunes on shuffle right now, I'm going to add John Prine's Angel from Montgomery, Neil Young's Old Man, Nick Cave & the Bad Seed's And No More Shall We Part, and Tom Wait's Clap Hands.

Edited August 20, 2009 by boomana