So back in the mid 90's, my high school girlfriend Sara and I went out and bought the new double-disc CD from the Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. In the olden days, we had to listen for songs on the radio, then if we liked it, we went out and bought the album the day it came out, assuming you could find it. Anyway, so the song '1979' came on and when it was over Sara turned to me and said "that is the perfect song." (That was a great comment to make but you should note that Sara turned out to be pure evil later on in life, so it didn't work out)
So recently I heard that song and remembered that comment and thought 'she's totally right.' So what's your idea of a perfect song? Does it have to do with lyrics, music, mixing, structure, what? I suppose you don't even have to like it for it to be your idea of a perfect song. For example, Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette is very well respected for it's sound engineering. Not particularly my ball of meat, but one could have a track on there that is their perfect song. The song that carries out the idea perfectly and there is no way they could have done it better.
I have no idea. For me, context plays a big role. For example, once I was at school in the courtyard with some friends. It was an otherwise normal day. I remember the weather was good. A friend had the radio on as he was loading the kiln for a firing and over the local college radio station a Godspeed You! Black Emperor (though I think at the time, they were still Godspeed You Black Emperor!) came on. I have no idea what song it was, but what I do know is that it completely changed the quality of the scene. The sun seemed different as did the air. Everyone in the courtyard, all three of us felt it and asked each other if we'd been affected by the song and as far as we could tell, we'd all been affected in the same way. A week or so later that same DJ played the same song and that time nothing happened. But at that particular moment in the courtyard, that song was exactly what needed to happen and in that brief span of time, for me and two other people it was a perfect song.
Yes, this to me is the most correct answer. It is entirely dependent on the context of which a given song is heard. As you said, a song can take on an entirely different feeling and emotional response depending on the situation. Though, I have found that there are certain songs that continue to evoke that response even with multiple listens in different situations. For instance, Blue Thunder by Galaxie 500 almost brings me to tears everytime. Same band, different song, Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste does the same thing.
This band kind of reminds me of Mazzy Star. I like those two songs, thanks.
Mazzy Star is great as well. I'm in love with that whole late 80's/early 90's reverb and delay tinged Slowcore/Shoegaze/Lo-Fi movement. It's one of my favorite eras of music, and I've delved way too far into it.
The aforementioned Galaxie 500 and Mazzy Star. I also love Pavement, Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr., Black Tambourine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Yo La Tengo, Slowdive, Codeine...the list goes on and on...
There is a song which if I listen to at the right time in the right place completely overwhelms me with emotion. Walking along here, when the sun is on the verge of setting. With friends, or alone. If this song (or any other from the album) is playing then I get a feeling of pure bliss.
I had never heard of this band, so thanks for sharing that with me. It definitely sounds like a great song to take a walk to and that looks like a pretty great place to take a walk. Is it close to/in a town or city or is it all open space around it?
It's in the UK in between a town and the village where I live. The river near the village is usually quite busy with dog walkers, but once you cross a side river (tributary?) then there's no one about. To access it from the town you have to cross a train track which I guess puts people off too, but it's so worth it. It's such a beautiful walk and there's benches and little fishing huts which are great places for BBQs! The one downside is a nearby factory, but I think it can look quite beautiful sometimes. If you're into Toe then I'd happily recommend you some similar bands.
American Football, DARTZ!, Empire! Empire, Enemies, Fish Tank, Maybeshewill, Minus the Bear, Pele, Piglet, Renaissance Sound, The Speed of Sound in Seawater, Tangled Hair, Thieves of the American Dream, This Town Needs Guns, 3nd, 14 foot 1, 65 Days Of Static. Dorena, We All Inherit the Moon, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Oak, (The) Slowest Runner (In All The World), God is An Astronaut. I tried to choose a few and I ended up with too many, it's too hard to choose between them! The first lot are quite up-beat and most are described as math rock, I believe. The second lot are more ambient and instrumental, great for when you're working. All (or most) of them fall under the post rock genre, which if you can't tell, I love!
Factories can be really beautiful at times. I've been driving through Billings MT at night and have enjoyed the glow of lights from the mills or down-river Detroit and see the billowing smoke stacks set against a sunset. Also, inside the factories hearing the hydraulics and the grinding of metal, seeing the rainbows in the coolant, all of this can be quite beautiful.
Shouldn't the perfect song at least be auto-tuned?
For me, the first song that comes to mind as far as structure, lyrics and overall emotive qualities is In My Life by the Beatles. The older I get and the more people that have come in and out of my life, the more that song means to me. To me, it's perfect.
I ... yes. The piano is unparallelled. EDIT: For No One is a close second. The perfect song tells a story, the more evocative the better. The rest just falls into place.
For No One is perhaps one of the saddest songs there is. Maybe the perfect break up song.
I did a project on that song back in high school. Cool fact, the piano solo part was played by George Martin, who played it slower than it sounds, and then sped it up for the actual track. This is very noticeable at the end of the solo where it sounds very quick and impressively well timed.
For sure. America's 'Ventura Highway' is perfect to me. Silky smooth, great harmonies, and alligator lizards in the air. Have no idea what that means, but like, I get it.
Took me two weeks to think of it: Castevet - Chilsen . It starts off so quiet and builds into a absolutely massive climax in less than 3 minutes. Just stunning.
One of these: Marillion - The Last Straw MitiS - Life of Sin It is hard to tell which one is best, because of the genre difference. (Now back to lurking)
Classical music - http://www.youtube.com/embed/MsoUIBcl7iw Post-rock - http://www.youtube.com/embed/3wDFPvh9Qkc
Dot-Dash by Wire the perfect balance of the tense and the transcendent.
Funny, I asked my wife the "perfect song" question and she also came up with a Smashing Pumpkins song. She said Today. She said it was one of those songs that she's always happy to hear. I agree.
John Peel would have said it's "Teenage Kicks" by the Undertones I'll never have a perfect & honest answer to this impossible question so I'm going with "Duelist" by True Widow, a perfect song for me over the past week or more.
So back in the mid 90's...the olden days
ha ha, olden days. Let's visit 1966. For reasons having to do with the brilliant vocal harmonies and the use of a theremin, the first song that came to mind in answer to your question was "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys. There are several versions on YouTube, but this one seems particularly interesting.
That's a really good answer, but I wonder if it's such a good answer (let's say great - it's a great answer, honestly) because they got to be "first" - they set the template for perfect songs of that order? It's something I struggle with when thinking about music.
Again, the perfect song tells a story, the more evocative the better. The instruments and melody are secondary, as long as they complement the lyrics and mood. Just my opinion.
This one I disagree with if only because classical music and post-rock are a thing. For centuries people were telling stories through music without vocals, and continue to do so today. But as you said, it's just your opinion. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.
That's fair! As far as post-rock goes, I've never found it "perfect." It's certainly very expressive -- EitS, GY!BE, Steven Wilson, etc -- but I don't think perfection is the right word (nor do I think post-rockers would exactly want their music called perfect, but that's a separate issue). Further, alyrical music can tell a story just as well as lyrical, if you listen hard enough. I was ignoring classical for the sake of the post. Beethoven's Ninth is the pinnacle, it really is, but it's not what I'd call a song per se.
With that being said, there's a few songs I hold dear that are that way. I hear them, and couldn't possibly imagine them being any better, no matter how much work went in to them. A couple of them for me are from The Replacements. Paul Westerberg is a genius, and his songwriting is amazing. They aren't even a band I would call "my favorite", but their songs played anytime, anywhere, are always welcomed. Living in Minnesota these songs get covered quite a bit, especially the first one I link. The song Can't Hardly Wait for Them is simply amazing and perfect in every single way. This song also inspired the movie Can't Hardly Wait, and plays at the end credits. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcdSdTBs3l4 Also Androgynous by The Replacements. Totally perfect, and the message of the song was ahead of it's time. But for me, I can't even really relate to the lyrics, but I LOVE the piano and the vocals.The song that carries out the idea perfectly and there is no way they could have done it better.