For admirers of classic pop song construction, production, and performance, Noah's Dove is jaw-dropping in its perfection. The subtle piano hook, deep and dark chord changes, and the warm, dry-eyed, heartbreakingly acute singing grab your ears, while the lyrics (an unhurried, unsparing epitaph to a relationship with a cheating scumbag) clench your heart. The best part may be that it introduces Our Time In Eden, a collection of finely-crafted folk-pop songs that served as a worthy finale for the Maniacs.

The sound is just perfect. The piano part has been stuck in my head for years. Its another one of those rainy day songs that kind of make you stop everything you're doing and just sit there and listen.

The guitar is amazing. It flows so perfectly.

a beautiful, haunting, disturbing song. maynard's voice just does something that twists up my heart every time i hear the song. this is one of the songs i can put on repeat and just completely let swallow me whole. it's perfect for a dark mood.

This song is simply unreal. It starts out in a kind of 4/4 samba groove with a highly prominent cuica and a funky strummed acoustic guitar chord progression before the super-catchy pizzicato-violins riff comes in, and Abilio's mellow voice singing the melody. It's sunshiney and catchy, with a bit of a haunting aftertaste, very Brazilian. I can never hear this song enough times!! Abilio Manoel is a Sao Paulo-based singer-songwriter from the late-60s-70s (still active) who wrote a few moderate hits without attaining even a Marcos Valle level of popularity. Good for Marcos, since Abilio's work would have caused me a few sleepless nights if I were him. And both on the same label, too! Abilio's stuff is hard to find, but very worth the effort.....I've already given Dusty Groove the heads-up about the CD....

The opening track from Acid House Kings' latest record "Mondays Are Like Tuesdays and Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays". For me the song captures perfectly what a sunday morning should feel like : it�s gentle, light, clear blue sky, sun-drenched yet with a light breeze, a certain freshness. The song represents all that with a very light, transparent, mostly accoustic arrangement, enriched with some synth strings and guitar and with the charming voice of Julia Lannerheim including some nice ba-ba-ba's. The whole album is excellent and highly recommended.

uplifting, string-laden, lyrically abstract modern indie-pop. i think adam green`s strenght as a songwriter lies in his ability to combine bizarre random lines of text and catchy, but sophisticated melodies to something that`s bigger than the sum of its parts. that`s why i prefer his latest work to what he did back in the moldy peaches, the more well-produced sound really helps to balance out things. the strings on this song, for instance, is what makes it a slice of near-perfect sunshine pop. i really need to get around to actually buying this album soon..

To me, this one of the most perfect songs released in recent years. It's hard to pin down what makes this track so affecting - the instrumentation is mostly synth; there is also an understated, slightly Bowie-style vocal. Overall I think it is the music itself - the fragile chord sequence and instrumentation evoke a strange sense of lost summer memories.

I had forgotten quite how brilliant this track is until it strangely popped into my head yesterday. It was originally available on Al's superb 'Sounds for Spies and Private Eyes' album, as well as volume 2 of the 'Music to Read James Bond By' series on United Artists records. It's very obviously James Bond rip-off music, but it's so perfectly executed, with cool percussive brass and Al's reverb-laden guitar nicely complemented by a swinging organ, that you can't help but love it.

This track by british session musician and library composer Alan Hawkshaw is the just the perfect soundtrack to cruise along a coast highway and, as the title suggests, you might want to do this in a sportscar (if available) for maximum enjoyment. Featuring incredibly lush strings and an Alpert-esque trumpet playing the melody it's not unlike "Pacific Coast Highway" by Burt Bacharach in mood and feel.

I heard this, weirdly enough, at some random film festival in Rotterdam? In a short film, at that! Pretentious! Luckily I remembered to memorize some lyrics so I could search for them when I got back to the USA and my computer. This song is perfect for listening to while strolling an English park, preferably with an umbrella that is subbing as your walking stick (because you're the kind of person who needs one). You're just checking out a park that you've never been to before. If you then come home and eat some yogurt for lunch...I think you know what I'm talking about here: mood.

the exellent title track from reggae ladies althea and donna's 1978 effort, uptown top ranking. don't know too much about them, except that this is a nigh-on perfect album. short and sweet (about 35 minutes), but without a single skippable track. great arrangements and vocals, though the lyrics seem to borderline between daft and genius in places. still, this is top class, and absolutely essential party music.

A perfectly distilled instrumental which seems to capture everything poignant and affecting about Badalamenti's soundtrack work. 'Perdita' opens with a faint piano, being played seemingly with one finger, which gets louder and is joined gradually by a rich string section. Rather like some of Ennio Morricone's best themes, this is very simple, but so beautiful that it doesn't end up sounding obvious or clich�d. On the other hand, perhaps I'm just being nostalgic about being 16 again.

a perfect song that makes you love it since the moment you heard it!

I'm really blown away by this song (and this entire album), it's simply a masterpiece to my ears. A possible comparison might be to Oba, La Vem Ela by Jorge Ben (who Verocai arranged for), as the guitar chords and lush, cool tones are quite similar. This song however moves with a much greater sense of urgency, and right from the start, it a spills out like a mournful plea. As a listener, the attention to detail in the arrangement and instrumentation is obvious. The song is packed densely with sound and great short soloing, all played skillfully by a large band of famous contemporaries, whom Verocai personally recruited. There's something very magical about how the vocals and instruments combine, and how the song plays out. It feels as though you are witness to a uniquely perfect and possessed performance that would be impossible to reproduce. A beautifully moving and perfect song that leaves you craving more.

This exceptionally haunting and lyrical song by Quincy Jones has received its definitive interpretion by Astrud Gilberto with arrangement and accompaniment by the Brazilian organist Walter Wanderley. The melancholy urgency of the piece resonates well with the dark/sad tonality that pervades so much of Bossa Nova music, though its character is also reminiscent of certain otherwise very different pieces from the bebop era, which had a formative influence on Quincy Jones' music. There is definitely the remote influence of Charlie Parker and especially Dizzy Gillespie. It's truly a completely unique piece. The drifting melody which seems to skirt over the chord changes has a beautiful inevitability. Only a very gifted and skilled musician could have contrived such a beautiful work. So Quincy Jones deserves especial credit for crafting this song from the film "The Deadly Affair."

Astrud's delivery, so typically limpid and restrained, only serves to heighten the intensity of this darkly passionate song. The subtle but somehow fierce organ playing of Walter Wanderley acheives a sizzling romanticism that perfectly complements the reading of Astrud's apparently detached fatalism.

In my opinion, this track is a true musical masterpiece. Its remarkable economy of means is a testament to the skill of the composer as well as the artistry of the performers. In fact, it's a nearly perfect combination of expressive means and poetic intent. The beautiful resolution, with Astrud's perfect striking of the high B-flat over the half-diminished F-minor seventh, is a moment of sublime dramatic intensity, though profoundly understated, as is typical of her finest artistic moments. One is reminded of Miles Davis. Her poetic skill is rooted in subtlety.

I have listened to this extraordinary track hundreds of times, and always experienced chills rising up on the back of my neck. How amazing that this incredible musical gem was omitted from the original album A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness. Perhaps it was too intense, too heavy; whatever the case, it's a truly remarkable piece of music.

I'm truly grateful to have discovered this great albeit minor musical masterpiece. There's really nothing else quite like it! The sizzling but subtle sensitivity of the rhythm section (Claudio Slon on drums, possibly Joao Gilberto on guitar and Jose Marino on bass) adds an intensity to the piece which helps project the almost existential tone of the song.

I'm really swept away by this obscure and neglected work, which attains -- for me at least -- to a peak of poetic intensity really rare in music. As is usual with Astrud at her best, it accomplishes its artistic ends with what seems like the most minimal of means. But subtlety is always the avenue to the most profound of artistic experiences. I think this is a remarkable example -- one of the greatest -- of the wedding of popular music and high art. It is a truly perfect performance. In my opinion, its greatness increases rather than diminshes with repeated listenings. There is only one word for that -- it's magic!

Back in the mid 90's, my booty was real far into the UK underground indie scene. For a short time, I was buying virtually all the 45's from a small coterie of labels and, of course, making sure I kept the inserts intact.

The Slampt Underground Organisation were, for a time, the UK's most uncompromisingly independent label. Their hearts were in the right place and their principles tight - against 'selling out', and for 'making music in your bedroom'. There was a real affinity with the riot grrrl / Olympia scene in the US, and Slampt had a way of looking at things not unlike Calvin Johnson and K records.

Avocado Baby were Pete and Rachel, the founders and organisers of Slampt. They released a handful of tapes and 45s on their own and other tiny record labels.

Steal Yo Sixes is about playing ludo. It's pretty daft, and the lowest lo-fi imaginable with a toy horn, xylophone and tape hiss being the only instruments. Still, it has an undeniable childlike charm, and due to its obscurity and short length, makes perfect mix tape / CD-r fodder.

There a line, "When we play ludo, why do I always lose-o?" that gets across the feel perfectly.

Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink's voices blend in perfectly, in an almost ethereal way. This song lulls you to a hazy state of mind, almost like their voices cast a spell on you. It's beautiful.

It's a sad fact that the Bee Gees are a group primarily remembered for only one thing. If this were a perfect world, people would realize what an jaw-droppingly amazing group they once were. To me, their first LP is an orchestral psychedelic pop masterpiece easily the equal of the Kinks' "Village Green" or Billy Nicholls' "Would You Believe", and also just about as close at Britain ever got to replicating "Pet Sounds". On this track, listen for the insane rubber-band bassline, the staccato organ fills, the odd timbre of the voices or the occassional flute bit. It's a song bursting with an enthusiam the likes of which people only had during the middle 60s.

i once met these guys at a festival. we discussed belle & sebastian and they went 'let stuart sing his songs and kick the looper-man out of the group as well as that gentle waves-chick' i don't remember my reply... legal man is a perfect example of belle & sebastian as a group i think. the fact that i like sitar and the tempo makes me like it even more.

This song is one of the best songs I have ever heard...actually the whole album is great! Its Ben and his keys and a background orchestra in this song. Anyways, I believe the song is about how he knows he is the luckiest because he knows how perfect him and his wife belong together.

I've been absolutly crazy about this song ever since I first heard it on the radio. It's from the great Lady in satin album. A very sad song, some of the last she recorded, and many people said that she couldn't sing anymore. Her broken voice is perfect for this song

Early urban blues from the master of all that is politically incorrect (listen to his lyrics on most tracks regarding women). Recorded as a tribute to a friend, full recording has a 3 minute rant by Blind Willie recounting the story of writing this, andsinging it at a friend's funeral. The finest early urban blues track - playful chord progression and a perfectly sophisticated urban take on his normal country blues output. Sharp lyrics are a joy to listen to.

A very ethereal song that is perfect for the lilting girlish voice of Blossom Dearie. She is also an accomplished pianist and plays on every song she sings. She is backed by a standard jazz trio on this track and they play in a wonderfully subdued manor that allows her voice and the words to be the focal point of this song. Originally written by a french songwriter, Blossom Dearie heard the song while living and performing in France in the mid-1950's. Upon her return to the United States, she asked her friend, songwriter Johnny Mercer, to write english lyrics to the wonderful melody. The words he wrote tell a beautiful story of love lost, but fondly remembered thru a familiar smell or sound. A standout track from the marvelous LP of the same name. Give it a listen the next time you go to your local music store.

A great track by a true american treasure. Blossom Dearie's one-of-a-kind voice is perfectly suited for this song. You can hear the vixen just below the sweet innocent exterior as she demurely praises the object of her affection with a raised eyebrow and knowing look. She knows that she is going to get her way, but decides to throw in a little flattery to ensure that her intended shows no resistence to her plan.
This song is only available on the criminally unavailable album 'My gentleman Friend'. You may occasionally find a copy for sale on Ebay (like I did) or shell out about $35 for a japanese import CD.

I cannot say enough good things about Blossom Dearie! She is truly one of those performers that everyone should have in their collection. This song is perfect for her singing style and she runs with it. You can almost envision her throwing her arms up in resignation to the fact that love is a pain but none of us can live without it.
This track is pulled from Blossom's only album for Capital Records. She is backed by an orchestra rather than the usual small jazz combo which better suits her intimate style, but she shines nonetheless.

Blossom bounces her way thru this happy song about perfect love that has arrived just at the moment the end of the rope had been reached. She sings with a sense of joy and relief and you can't help but feel that things are going to be better going forward. Blossom's years of cabaret performing have given her a perfect piano playing style that accompanies her voice to a perfect fit. Kudos to Verve for dusting off this great recording, shining it up and putting out in a deluxe CD package!!

Another great performance by the woman I am in constant awe of. The great people at Fontana saw fit to record one of her live shows at the legendary London jazz club, Ronnie Scott's and it's truly a great thing because Blossom is in perfect form and truly pours her heart and soul into her set. The audience sits in reverant silence during this track and witnesses the great Ms. Dearie's intimate recital of this great song right up until the last word is sung and they can no longer contain their need to applaud and cheer. Much to my dismay, this is just about the only recording that is currently available from her years with Fontana in the UK, and the others remain hard to find if not completely out of reach.

A cute and amusing song from the 1948 musical, 'Inside USA', this song is perfect for Ms. Dearie's adorable voice. She swings thru a state-by-state list, hilighting what each state is famous for, at first on a factual basis, then going off in a whimsical frenzy with such phrases as, "Pencils, come from Pencil-vania, vests from Vest Virginia, and tents from Tent-essee, they know mink where they grow mink, in Wyomink, a camp chair in New Hampchair, that's for me!" I'm amazed that the Farelly Brothers haven't gotten this one to use in one of their films yet!

When it seems like The Free Design finally have got the attention they so well deserve, I would like to recommend something that is very close in my opinion... Bobby and I! 5:09 fits in perfectly between Love so fine (Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends) and 2002-A Hit Song (The Free Design). The arrangment is incredible, there's a unique singer-singer magnetism on the top and the drums and bass makes me wanna dance the days away. Jim Gordon play drums (how many records has he done?) and the bass player, Rod Ellicott, is brilliant. Of course they added the song with string, horns & flutes... It's sunshine all over! I don't know anything about them, I only have this fine record, so if you know anything feel free to send me an email.

This album has been so amazing to listen to lately. From the beginning riff that is looped and over and over and enventually shifted around 360 degrees with a simple delay into a beautiful guitar arrangement and of course Boris' most notable feedback/fuzz perfection. Much like the new album, this arrangement reminds me of the type of music Godspeed You Black Emperor might make if they were a little darker, a little heavier, and a lot more Japanese. From the solos to the repetition of drums and sludge, I can always throw this on riding the train home and forget about all the ugly bullshit I had to put up with during the day.

Picture yourself in a boat on a river.

Actually, in this case it happens to be the middle of the ocean. Just drifting any direction. No land in sight, nothing else on the water, not even any clouds. No distractions. Just you, the boat, and the water.

Oh, and Julie -- she's there -- with her open blouse, gazing up into the empty sky.

What's so powerful about Eno's "Julie With..." (and this is perhaps representative of his entire career) is that he gives you an experience in perfect detail, as if reading a book.

Even if you discount the lyrics, which, although not exactly Shakespearian, are clear and unambiguous, there is no escaping the image that Eno is presenting.

Casting aside any overanalysis, what we're left with is an outstanding bit of relaxing, but emotionally evocative chillout music. Completely beatles, the instrumentation is typical Eno: pad synthesizers, minimoog and guitar with heavy chorus. Not something you'd throw on at an afterparty, but great for a sunset in solitude.

This song is the perfect song for anybody who is angry with love, or coming off a bad relationship. Connor Oberst is a great lyricist and this song captures that feeling of just wanting somebody, anybody so bad, and not caring who it is.

A song from the younger days of Conor Oberst. The lyrics are amazing, and he may not be the greatest singer we've ever heard, but he sings it with such intensity it gives you the chills.

Broadcast are the perfect retro-futuristic band. They make space age pop like no one else today. Haunting Moogs, fuzzy, reverb-laden guitars and tight bass and drums. Trish Keenan's voice sounds like an understatement with its simple, effortless tone. For lovers of Morricone, United States Of America and Stereolab.

its so lonely and perfect.

Although Buck's "ragged old man" routine can be charming, it usually comes off feeling more like a Tom Waits rip-off than a Tom Waits homage. "Sore" is my favorite track on "Talkin' Honky Blues" because it does away with the overly-cute oddball beat poetry that Buck often indugles in and offers a more sincere and unaffected portrayal of the wayfaring nomad / poor white trucker.

Buck's in a one horse town with a broken down pick-up, left to set up shop in a shoddy motel and reflect on his life. The lyrics are country gold all rapped up pretty: "I'm drawn to familiar environments and dangers / I look in my photo albums and all I see is strangers / What is my problem?"

I'm a sucker for good desolation-hop (unfortunately for me, there isn't much out there), and "Sore" fits the bill perfectly.

perfect hangover listening. just as the piercing headache eases off and the sadness and self-loathing set in, " I'm gonna leave out Babylon, gonna make the change"...

Just a perfect, perfect pop song. Makes you wanna dance and groove along, but at the same time it's soo unbelievably sweet and a just a liitle melancholy. It starts with a drum beat, and then there's this bass-and-drums groove for a few seconds. Then a little sweet electric piano line enters, just before the voice begins singing the melody: "I'm drinking stars up in the sky, you know where you are / I'm driving cars around your house, it seems so fun". When it's time for the chorus ("So listen to my bubble go pop / I'm coming in, I'm coming over the top"), the main voice sings over a backing vocal doing an "ooh" harmony, and then there's absolute genius backing vocal, where the word "pop" becomes "papapapa". After that, a little guitar riff/solo, along with a very cool electric piano line. Then it just repeats everything all over again one more time, for infinite happiness. The time for a middle break has arrived. A new funky bass groove with lots of different "papapa"s harmonizing together. Now, go back to the first bass-and-drums groove, with a jazzy, relaxed guitar solo, and then it's just grooves and grooves and heavenly harmonies, "Blowin' bubbles".

Do you like soft rock? Belle & Sebastien? 60's pop?

If you answered yes to the above, this song (and the whole album) is a must listen. Twee vocals, cheeky lyrics, delicate harmonies and the occasional trumpet solo fill out a song about a schoolgirl crush gone wrong.

Quite simply a perfect song for lying in a grassy field watching the sun set.

The balance of beautiful, introspective lyrics (which are mostly spoken rather than sung), and lonely instrumentation combine to create a top-notch stunner. As a whole the album Dinner Music is a very eclectic and interesting assortment of songs. I wish "the lights wouldn't turn low and it wouldn't be time to go", but the way this song captures the feeling of yearning and melancholy is absolutely perfect.

Does anyone NOT like this song?!! A great nostalgic feel and that glorious voice... A perfect moment in music history!

nice one! i discovered chris montez lately and i like what he has done.
this song is a cover of astrud gilbertos song from the album "beach samba" (which i didn't recognize until reading it at allmusic.com) and begins with a nice organ-melody as an intro. i especially like the sound of that organ, it's a very sweet and not to heavy one. so that it fits perfect into the mood of this song and giving it a little more sweetness.
as always chris montez sings like a woman and if one doesn't know this it wouldn't be necessarily clear to one. (correct english....?)
while searching for chris montez stuff i came across "the more i see you" performed by montez which was covered last year by a onehitwonderband here in germany and you couldn't escape to hear it at least twice a day no matter where you were leaving and going. the cover was very strict arranged along montez' version. i wonder how i would think of the montez original if this onehitwonder band wouldn't have done this cruelty?!
anyway, last years summer was great anyway...(sex every day...)
and now, you go and listen to that montez guy!!

Perky, pint-sized bossa chanteuse Claudette Soares scored big in the late 60s by following Wilson Simonal's stylistic lead into an irresistible mix of pop, samba, French ye-ye, boogaloo, soul and bossa. This is a perfect example of the strangely Isaac Hayes-influenced arrangements to be found on her 1969-70 "pop" LP trilogy, and another winner from the then-unstoppable Adolfo-Gaspar writing team.

A cool portion of that underated genre, easy soul. Bradford's vocals (a less roaring Shirley Bassey is the nearest comparison I can think of) complement the light arrangement perfectly. Fits in with that whole John Schroeder Orchestra vibe. Sometimes you just want a lovely vocalist singing a nice song.

This is one of my all-time favourite tracks - most probably in my top-5 - and is a perfect example of what I understand "jazz-funk" to be. I came across it many years ago on a compilation put out by French label "Big Cheese Records". I hunted down the album it was from (not sure if it's been re-issued - or if it has, it hadn't been then) and was pleased to find that the whole album was strong with most songs carrying a similar vibe to VJC. Those that were different, were still great.

I'm not sure what VJC stands for. I wonder if it's the initials of someone close - his mother or another familiar member perhaps? Throughout many of the tracks, he seems to be playing a character with chatter between the tracks leading one into the other leaving.

A perfect song. I love every note. The mood is desolate, yet warm and reassuring as well. The bassline and guitar playing recall some of the great early-period New Order tracks. The track fades in beautifully with bass, drums, and guitar. The drums and bass are steady, while the effects-laden guitar shimmers over the top. Liz Fraser's vocal is at first understated, until the chorus begins. Her voice soars as a simple piano sound joins the mix. The chords are simple, almost inevitable, but the instrumentation and execution are quite stunning.

Happily, you can hear this song and see the original video at the Cocteau Twins official site: http://www.cocteautwins.com/html/media/video.html.

I've been a huge fan of the UK-based "wuss-rock" band Coldplay since their debut album "Parachutes." One night, as I was watching a much-anticipated episode of my favorite TV show, "Smallville" - an episode called "Rosetta" guest-starring Christopher Reeve - I heart the heart-rendering chords of lead singer Christ Martin's piano and thought aloud "Hey, that's Coldplay!" I hadn't yet heard that song, so I surfed onto a "Smallville" fansite to check the title and found that it was called "The Scientist" from Coldplay's most recent album "A Rush of Blood to the Head."
"The Scientist" is a song that will remind you of being in love - more likely, of being in love with someone who doesn't love you back or with someone whom you pissed off and doesn't want to be around you anymore. It's basically the most perfect song about unrequieted love. It is beautiful and haunting, as many of Coldplay's songs are. Give it a listen. You won't regret it.

This song is great. It's delicate, and flowing and just beautiful. Chris Martin's voice is so great and perfect on this track. Coldplay at it's best.

Weird song. Great Song. Taylor Hollingsworth sings this one and its the perfect closure to the great album that is Outer South. It's sad and slow and yet it is able to make you smile and sing along.

This clever little gem was written by folk singer/songwriter Richard Shindell and originally appears on his 1994 Shanachie release, Blue Divide, as "The Ballad of Mary Magdalene." A perfect example of Shindell's non-confessional, often ironic, storytelling, it recounts the ill-fated love affair between the title character and JC: "Jesus loves me, this I know/ why on earth, did I ever let him go?/ He was always faithful, he was always kind/ but he walked off with this heart of mine." On this version, Shindell is joined by fellow folkies Dar Williams (lead vocal) and Lucy Kaplansky (harmony). In 1998 A.D., the three artists became incarnate as Cry Cry Cry for one album, which, if you like three-part harmony, is almost a religious experience. A good example, too, of what Shindell can do with a Martin acoustic.

Sweet,imperfect and acoustic. All of his lyrics have this nerdy common man feel to them. His music is beautiful but very tangible.

This track is so beautiful. I love songs that combine male and female voices, and this song is just so moody, and slow and perfect.

Slow and intimate song, heavenly melodies and what I think is a perfect harmony. One of the songs on the "Weeps" album from the shamefully underrated band Daryll-Ann. Just about anything from this band is great stuff, obvious references to the Byrds and other sixties' jangle-pop, but strong enough to survive.

A nasty/under appreciated gem from David Bowie's Berlin period, "Beauty and The Beast" is sheer perfection/pure malice in musical form. Ominous squibs of sound coalesce around an almost crocodilian groove and Robert Fripp's hissing, poisonous guitar line. Then Bowie makes one his most memorable vocal entrances with a sound somewhere between a croon and a scream. Things just get nastier from there - David playing the hipster, killer android on the lead vocal, while the backgrounds get all down and dirty on chorus. Then, as if he's suddenly come his senses after committing some atrocious act, Bowie howls over the break: "I want you to believe me!/I wanted to be good!/I wanted no distractions!/Like every good boy should!" - before sliding back into the sociopathic sleekness of the last verse. The genius of the tune is that it suggests all manner of violence/bad shit without actually describing any act of mayhem. Therefore the imagination runs riot. A brilliant/evil track.

Cassidy recorded this track as part of a suite of songs for his new record label in 1975. Attempting to redefine his image from teen idol to serious artist, this song was David's first new single. It is a perfect example of the west coast R&B sound popular at the time. A brilliant recording, the song was banned from radio airplay by the BBC as the title was too shocking. More likely was the fact that no-one understood who this "new" David Cassidy was. The banning of the song was solved by flipping the b-side to the a-side with the result that Cassidy's version of "I Write The Songs" became a huge hit for him internationally and later inspired the less sensitive and more commercial rendition of the song produced by Barry Manilow. David Cassidy at his best!

THE perfect popsong ? Not sure, but it comes close to it. The tune has that typical late 60s "sound". Bombastically orchestrated in the "Barry Ryan style"... it's a melodrama with lots of
catchy hooks... IF you can find it, you will love it ... I usually rate a song not higher than
8/10, but this one... well, what can I say... 11/10 !!!

There must be tons of songs that follow this format. I'll call it the 'Tequila' form. Cool instrumental punctuated by someone speaking the name of the song. There are so many songs like this I'd guess that no one could pull off this kind of tune nowadays- without it sounding hopelessly retro. But this tune does it for me. Perfect summer groover. Sound like a bedroom recording, kinda lo-fi.

From the era when it seemed every band was named after a fabric, this angular indie gem was, for my money, one of the very best singles of the nascent Britpop era. Precipitating the self-referential indulgences of later bands, but not with the aura of smugness that pervaded the Albarn-esque dahn-tha-dawgs mockernee, the legend that is no-surname Lawrence (from alternative gods Felt) spews forth a classic.

The best way to describe this is 'miserable glam' - a great Mud-style beat clashes perfectly with Lawrence's scathing vocals of how he hates everything about so-called classic rock: "Spector's wall, knock it down; Jerry Lee, run him out of town." He ends up extolling the virtues of MOR and, in a stroke of utter pop genius, segues his tune into Middle Of The Road's hit Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep as sung by the kind of girl who populated the 70's Top Of The Pops LPs.

Such a taucy tune, Diana purrs it perfectly.

A heavenly pop vocal track, one of the last tracks ever recorded by Dino, Desi and Billy. The production (by Stu Phillips, who did the Hollyridge Strings and some cool soundtracks) is dreamy and soft, perfectly matching the idealized lyrics (the world seems so wonderful...etc).

Hard. Perfect for when you're in a club and the dj has been playing house music for the last 3 hours and you need a little pick me up.

The perfect slice of disco...everything is right, the wild bassline, pounding beat, streaking violins and the re-requisit amount of donna 'ahh's' and 'ohhs'....what more can you ask you!

The perfect marriage of adult rock and blue eyed soul.A relationship viewed from the point of nostalgia ,to the male it was really something ,to the lady it barely registered.This brought Michael McDonald to prominence as a soulful frontman and if he had only ever recorded this alone that would have been enough to justify his brilliance.

I've got 5 or 6 Dot Ashby albums, and this is by far my favorite song of hers.

It's breathtaking, no mistake. The bass and drums are steeped in funk, yet keep it mellow. A flute (?) section keeps it nice and light. Its all held together by 'Dorothy's harp' her playing is perfect, sprwaling rich deep soundscapes.

I can't emphisise how perfect this song is. If you've hard any version of 'Windmills...' I'm sure you can imagine a harp suitung it well.

I belive Cadet have recently reissued the 3 albums Ashby did with them (Afro Harping, The Rubiayat of Dorothy Ashby, and Dorothy's Harp), but they can still be hard to get hold of. An excellent quality copy from an original LP can be found on Dusty Fingers Vol.1, also on vynil.

I'm not sure if this is available on CD.

This one fits well with with my previous reccomendation in the melancholy/eerie vein. I read somewhere that the song was in the African JuJu style, but discofied of course given its 1976 production. It was this song that proved to be the Dr. Buzzard . . . was not your average disco band. Cory Daye's vocals are beautiful and harken back to an earlier era of classic jazz vocals, like Ella and Billie. The children's backup vocals are what gives it the spooky quality, probably because the intrumentation is dark, like seeing those cute (but scary) kids come out of the corn fields in Children of the Corn. The last chorus just sends chills down my spine as Cory digs into the lyrics and dances around them as the everything sort or brightens up, like the sun coming out after a summer rain. This makes the title all make such perfect sense.

Cosmopolitan Disco with a warm orchestration igniting the perfect melody, Cory Daye's vocal performance can't go wrong. Dr. Buzzard's music is unlike any other music with the battered "Disco" tag. As with most of their discography, this is highly recommended! Also try "The Gigolo and I" and "Transistor Madness-Future DJ" from their wrongly criticized "Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Meets King Pennett" album.

This song has probably been done a thousand times, but this version is definitely worth listening to. To me this is pure music. Ivie Anderson's voice fits just perfectly with The Duke's music, it's as if she was meant to sing his songs.

Beneath the avant-garde lyrics and futuristic synth textures, there was always a pulsing dance music quality that drove the classic Duran Duran sound. As they progressed into the late '80s, they allowed that dance element to move up front and dominate their style. A good example of this tactic is "Skin Trade," a hit whose silky and funky style led to it being mistaken for a Prince song. The lyrics have a surprisingly direct, soul-searching feel to them as they lay out scenarios of people shortchanging their dreams to make money. These moments are followed with the dramatic proclamation that makes up the chorus: "Will someone please explain/The reasons for this strange behavior?/In exploitation's name/We must be working for the skin trade." The music lends contrast to the angry tone of the lyrics by creating a sultry, mellow melody that juxtaposes verses with a soft, hypnotic ebb and flow with an ever-ascending chorus that revs up the song's inherent drama. Duran Duran's recording is fuelled by funky but gently layered guitar textures and subtle drum work that push its groove along, plus some atmospheric synth textures on the chorus. Interestingly, Simon LeBon uses his normal tenor voice for the choruses but sings much of the verses in a lush, soulful falsetto that led many pop fans to initially mistake "Skin Trade" for a Prince ballad. The result was a perfect blend of slow-dance textures and adult social critique. It didn't do as well as "Notorious," just barely making the Top 40 in the U.S., but it got plenty of radio airplay and is fondly remembered by the group's fans as one of Duran Duran's most mature achievements of the late '80s.
(AMG)

This song is a little more....soulful.. than lots of the stuff I listen to. I find it utterly charming though. Dusty was a goddess, and singing this lovely, simple Goffin/King song she completely slays me. It's a slow arrangement in which Dusty is accompanied by piano, light, gospel-style backing vocals and unobtrusive strings. There's nothing complex or especially clever here; just beautifully executed and perfectly distilled pop.

The lady may have left the stage, but her spirit lives on in her recordings, and this is among her finest!! Sadly unreleased in the US for 28 years, this gloriously somber song was included in the 1995 anthology box set. Dusty sings with a sadness in her voice as she vocally paints a picture of a dreary day. While the overcast sky fails to crush her spirit, it does provide an opportunity for introspection and reflection. She is accompanied only by piano and orchestral strings which give this song a beautifully sad sound that make it perfect for playing on a rainy day.

One of Dusty's best tracks ever. There isn't much that she isn't willing to endure just to hold on to the one she loves. Dusty's perfect voice is wonderfully supported by great orchestration and powerful backing chorus that bring out the emotions and make this one of the most outstanding performances of the twentieth century!

Dusty's intimate reading of this song is pin point perfect (no surprise!). Starting out in low quiet tones, the song crescendos as she promises anything to make her love stay with her for just a few minutes more. Heartbreakingly beautiful!!

I didn't entirely get Ed Motta until I listened to this album. For me this is his perfect mix of sacred and profane styles, his soul and his jazz. Only his third album and his first two employ retro styled instrumentation, it sounds like a 1970s session from Luther Vandross without the glitzy disco production. Ed's voice sounds so great paired with the Fender Rhodes which dominates this album. The arrangements are complicated, unpredicatble but entirely accessible. Entre e Ouca, which means "Enter and Listen," has a mid-tempo disco feel with a bouncing bass line, sharp guitar lines and that rhodes. I like his newer, more challenging albums as well, but this sound immediatly speaks to me like the best crafted pop songs.

The opening track of Edwyn's usually-overlooked follow-up to 1994's "Gorgeous George", this song is a perfect example of what orchestral pop should be.

This song is great! "Fire in the Disco/Fire in the Taco Bell" It's so cheesy, but so perfect. Plus, Jack White's vocals are always slightly off-kilter. A great, great track.

A slice of unbelievably sweet, lush electronica from Elegia. An insistent, original, clattery percussive line and the most enormous heart-rattling sub underlie a sparingly used, sweeping string riff and a vocal which you can't quite make out--I think that's to the good in this song, since Elegia are no Paul Simon--except in fragments. It's sung with strength and melancholy, perfectly structured and as moving as any six minutes I know.

Ely Arcoverde is a Brazilian organist. His sound is similar to Ze Maria but not as chime-like and almost even a church-organ sound at times. I love this LP because it has a real low meditative sound. It is a quality I find in much of the music from Bahia as opposed to that from the south. The quarteto inludes organ, drums, bass and - a quality that I love alongside the organ - an accoustic guitar. It is mostly instrumental with some vocals similar to the way Jorge Ben would just make repetetive humming and moaning noises in his early LPs. The whole record has a very dark and mysterious feel - sad and lonely the perfect LP for the dark just the light from the stereo tubes flickering. It is available on ebay a lot, it is Ely's most popular LP and it should run you about $50 - 75.

Though this song may be described as a tear-jerker, it is perfect in its genre. The lyrics are heartbreaking, and the setup of the song is simple and effective. Three sad verses, about what would happen 'if you would go away', are followed by what wonderful things would happen if you wouldn't, accompanied by a melody of heavenly beauty...

Thanks are due to bobbyspacetroup for bringing my attention to this track. I foolishly thought I must have heard all the brilliant Morricone in existence. I was wrong. This is an incredibly perfect track, slightly reminiscent of the track 'Jet Society' by the Cordara Orchestra. It has lush strings, and a melody that is typical of Morricone - simple, obvious even, but very effective, with great instrumentation (in this case, harpsichord and later brass).

There's already an entry for this album, but I felt like I had to note it with an mp3. Ditto to everything that m_thom said, this song is what pushed me over the edge, that perfect heroine high that no other piece of music has given in me since, but it created in me a desire for beautiful music, and that's what brings me here today. If anybody has a copy of the film, I'd pretty much do anything for it.

Ahh, how much I love Eternity's Children's sounds...
A week ago, I bought their CD where 25 songs in, as my bootleg's mix was terrible and no main vocal on Lifetime Day! Anyway, now I enjoy its perfect tracks, especially Lifetime Day, Your World and this song Sunshine Among Us. I do love Sunshine..'s catchy melody, beautifully thick effected harmonies and groovy backing rythm section including keyboards.
By the way, the liner notes says " However, each year, on the day before Thanksgiving, Bruce Blackman leads members of various Eternity's Children lineups at a benefit in Greenville, Mississippi featuring reunions of the area's best-loved acts" wow...this year also?!?!...I really wanna join the event!!

this song, made by the zappa-esque belgian band, the evil superstars, is more zappa-esque then zappa would ever get.

it feels like a huge record store collapsing and, in the process, blending all kinds of style elements in a composition of pure pop-mayhem. the song sums up a dozen of genres at supersonic rate (such as death metal, rock, crooning and even jazz) but never falls apart.
the music is perfect, played by talented musicians who try to sound like it's their first time handling a guitar or drum kit.
but, the one thing that makes this whole thing sound like it does are the vocals and absurd (or cheezy?) lyrics by the lead singer mauro pawlowski, for example:
"HE IS SOMEKIND OF A BAD GUY BUT WHEN HE READS THE PAPERS NOWADAYS HE HAS TO HOLD BACK THE KEROSINE IN HIS EYES SOMEWHERE IN A FORTRESS HE HIDES HIS MISTRESS I'M TALKING 'BOUT A PLANKTON EATING ROBOTCOW IN A CARDBOARD DRESS"----need i say more?
if you want to hear free jazz going pop, then check out this one!
nice introduction link: http://www.deadbeattown.com/bands/superstars.htm

An old Lotte chocolate commercial song turned into an infectious disco-ish club track.
The song starts with a loop of the famous "we like music, we like the disco sound" sample and with social dance instructions in Japanese, and then turns into disco with a groovy bass line and wah-wah guitar, to then apply the commercial song's vocals perfectly.

great song. uplifting and catchy. the intro itself is sheer new wave goodness. makes you happy, makes you dance. one perfect 80s tune.

The arrangement in this song is perfection. Everything fits together so well but it all stands out in its own turn. Also, the lyrics are superb:

I was raised up believing I was somehow unique/
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes; unique in each way you can see/
And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be/
a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me

Today on my way out from my favourite store I saw a bargain bin that had the lp 'In and out of Focus' (by Dutch band Focus). Anonymus is the B-side opener with magic interplay between flute and guitar (Jan Akkerman vs Thijs van Leer). Dutch progjazzfunkystuff all the way. For 50cents it's a perfect buy; I never bothered to pick it up along the way during many visiys. Essential listening!

An incredibly perfect easy listening piece, this opens with an other-worldly, John-Barry-ish synth sound, and then leads into a groovy, lightly funky piano riff, with shimmering strings. Francis Lai's signature organ sound carries the tune as the song builds into a dramatic orchestral pop masterpiece. A standout track, with superb wistful, lazy, summer day feel, rather like some of the best tracks on the 'Sound Gallery' compilation of a few years ago.

Fran�oise Hardy at the beginning of the seventies had gained the right to be seen as something different than simply a part of the y� y� movement of the sixties. In 1971 with the help of a brazilian guitarist named Tuca she was about to make what is considered by many (and by me) as her best album. "La question" has a perfect instrumentation (strings, guitar and bass) and stunning arrangements. I dare you not to fall in love with the first 30 seconds of "Oui je dis adieu", in a way it reminds me of Scott Walker's "Plastic palace people" it has the same circular construction.

I adore Francoise Hardy. Her music may be a bit too sweet for some, but this song is a favourite of mine. It's nostalgic and melancholy, and strangely comforting. My French isn't perfect, but I believe the song is about the loss of innocence and youth.

A short instrumental featuring dozens of musicians playing sumptuous melodies, this perfect fusion of rock and 'classical' forms might just be the most authentically radical record I own.

Near perfect parody of Je t'aime... moi non plus by Serge Gainsbourg. All the moaing plus Frankie Howerd snoring and then going on about how he's not in the mood. "Not again..." "cut your toenails, woman!" From a 45rpm single.

The final song in the album Aim and Ignite couldn't be more perfect. It is the perfectly orchestrated song on an album that transcends musical genres. Vocalist Nate Ruess (of The Format fame) shows that he may be one of the best songwriters of his generation and indeed all time. What else can I say, this song and album is beautiful and should be listened to by everyone.

I've recently decided to sell all my records, on the grounds that they are a bit 20th Century. So I went through them to see if there was anything worth replacing; and in general, the answer was no: I had several hundred records, and they were all rubbish.

However

I DID discover 2 records by Gallon Drunk which were absolutely fantastic - I can't believe that I haven't listened to them for so long. Both this album and the follow up (From the Heart of Town) are really good, very exciting and dynamic records. I picked Two Wings Mambo but almost any song of these
would do - Just One More, Jake on the Make, Arlington Road etc, they're all grrrrrrrrrrreat.

TWM has this huge introduction, beginning with the trademark super-cheap maracas sound, before all kicking in with the mambo beat. It has the sort of quiet verse/ loud chorus deal perfected by Nick Cave over the years only with a slightly funkier beat than Nick normally has. James Johnston eventually joined the Bad Seeds of course.

His singing definitely got better over the years - if I have sold this to you, I recommend that you start with From the heart of town.

A punk band that made the progress limited to just a few like the Jam and Killing Joke.This is guitar shaped power pop with a healthy slice of mod swagger and a fantastic chorus .A kind of Bowie esque tribute to wasted cool and what should have been a sure fire top tenner .This came from a buried gem of an album produced by Mott the Hooples Ian Hunter and listening now with hindsight that makes perfect sense ,the group and producer managing to crytalise glams optimism and punks negativity.

It is hard to imagine a more musically wistful verse than that of this song. The swelling chorus augments it perfectly and very dramatically. This B side from the "Duke" era is surely one of Mike Rutherford's best songs, and one of the highlights of the post-Gabriel Genesis for those who appreciate the band's slower numbers.

From a career supplying funky/hunky, cheezy/sleazy grooves to a series of late Sixties/early Seventies German soft-core flicks, Gert recently apeared on "Eurotrash"...perfect music for when you're feeling a little "saucy", in the European parlance.

To me, this track is a perfect distillation of all that is wonderful about bossa nova and the various hybrids which it inspired. Bossa nova was taken up all over the world after its rise in the late 50s and early 60s, but Italian musicians seem to have done an especially good job of absorbing its charms.

A simple instrumental, this opens with a plucked guitar and simply builds up and down, adding piano and strings and then taking them out so beautifully that it makes you shiver. Alas, the rest of the compilation this is taken from suffers from poor sound quality. If anyone comes across the original Giancarlo Gazzani album, I'd be very keen to hear it, although I fear this track may be an isolated gem.

This song epitomizes the Kansas City Sound of indy rock in the mid-90s. It's loud, but not grunge or punk. They sounded like Fugazi a little, but the sound is at a distance from you, not in-your-face. It's a perfect hard rock song; direct, knows where it's going, gets there with no fuss but with a little dessert left over at the end. The frontman later changed his stage name and now makes honky-tonk music.

An addictive and perfect track, which fuses several of my obsessions (vocal groups, Ennio Morricone-style chord sequences, Brazilian pop) with incredible power. The song is a Brazilian standard, written by Baden Powell, but this version is very different to any other I've heard. This recording opens feverishly with brass and strings, maintaining a doomy and very serious mood throughout. All the same, it manages to be extremely groovy, with rock drums and a twangy guitar accompanying the strings and harmonizing vocals. The arrangement is quite brilliant and never sounds crowded, with a stark feel produced by the different parts dropping in and out. The part of the track which to me is pure genius is the instrumental break in the middle, which sounds like it's excerpted from one of the coolest of Morricone's late 60s B-movie soundtracks - honey smooth strings, blended with some excellent drums and a cool trumpet part. The vocals are also rather gripping - always very serious sounding, and often wordlessly chanting the melody.

Goldfrapp borrows heavily from Ennio Morricone's "Invezione Per John" (from the "Gui La Testa" soundtrack) for this track and pulls it off perfectly I think. Terrific wordless vocals.

A perfect straight-forward jazzy take on the Beatles' classic. Goldie is in peak performance and reminds me of Michelle Pfeiffer in 'Fabulous Baker Boys' on this song.

Abaddon is just beautiful; the lyrics are pure poetry, GPK's voice is gorgeous and soothing, and all of the instruments fit together perfectly.

There is a significant amount of groove present in this, Green's paean to his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh. Green's guitar playing is absolutely sublime in this trio arrangement featuring the incredible Big John Patton on Hammond and Ben Dixon on drums. Green takes the lead throughout the song, and Patton provides some inspired, laid-back organ playing with a few terrific vamps thrown in and Dixon lays down a perfect rhythmic counterpoint to it all. One of those tracks that you just can't help but to bop your head to.

It's about the perfect summer day

It seems unlikely to be able to pick one song from the threepenny opera that stands out above the rest since the thing in itself is so honed to perfection (and never moreso than in the very early recordings). But as a microcosm of the whole this track (track 8) encapsulates perfectly the balance between the borrowed idiom of the popular musical style and the squalor of the lyrics. there is a jaunty middle section in which Mac recalls how he would slip out of bed to let one of the whore Jenny's clients in, mix them a drink and treat them well. Then comes a duet and they sing together of how they long to return to that whorehouse and to those happy times. At the end the music lingers with added, disconnected percussive sounds, in which time the ambivilance and ironies all resonate, creating a moment of perfection for the work as a whole, where all meaning vanishes and mere rhythm persuades.

The song is actually a show tune - originally from 'Gypsy'. The only place I know this version exists is off Harry Connick's laser disc - featuring a live performance from '91. Anyway, if you listen to Mel Torme belt out this showtune, it sounds, well, like a showtune. I'm not a big fan. It's kind of dimply cheeked-cheesy. Harry sings it like it's an absolute standard. Slows it down, gets a little soulsy and smooths it out... perfect crooner jazz. Unfortunately there is a good deal of talking and tap dancing breaking up the song.

guitar's part is simply stunning. the tone of the singer's voice is so soothing and relaxing. when i get married, this will be my wedding song, it's perfect.

Maybe the best Maiden song ever, everything is pitch perfect on this song.

Isobel Campbell was, of course, a member of Belle & Sebastian as well as the lead singer in The Gentle Waves, a disguised solo project backed by members of Belle & Sebastian. Her first "real" solo record "Amorino" was finally released in 2003. This wonderful cover version was only released on her 2004 EP "Time Is Just The Same". And while it's already great to see a Morricone cover version these days, this one is really amazing too. It just suits Mrs. Campbells airy, fairy-like voice perfectly. Compared to the Astrud Gilberto from 1971 this version feels even lighter, calmer, more stripped down since it's not orchestrated with strings.

This song is circulating on Limewire and is incomplete in any version that is downloaded, but is still incredibly representative of what was lost when Jeff Buckley died.

Mr. Buckley had a knack for a great cover song and wasn't afraid of the schmaltzy stuff, either. Jeff's version was performed solo with guitar as a live-on-air track in the mid-90s and includes a long jam-y intro with commentary. It's one of his most perfect performances, in my opinion. What a shame that it has not been released officially.

There's a great dynamics in this piece of prog-rock as it combines sharp and interesting melodies with great but simple soundscape. There's a lot of air in the record an Martin Barre's guitarplaying sounds easy on top of heavy riffing duet of bass and drums .Ian Anderson's vocals are just perfect for this song. I would not change a thing here.

A wonderful little song written by the creator of Winnie the Pooh and perfectly performed by the creator of the Muppets. It has no agenda, doesn't really have a message of any kind, it is just a straightforward sweet little song.

Found this sealed copy at a local thriftery, an artist i've never heard from a good period at Columbia. Most of the LP meanders in a poetic way, highlighting Spheeris's moody lyrics, sometimes getting a little too "drippy" at times. This track stands out like a champ from the rest, and was penned by a sideman on the LP, Lee Calvin Nicoli. It has such a great pop appeal, in a sort of Cat Stevens way, with a brilliant arrangement (by the author no doubt), that moves along bouncing and resting... A perfect song for a rainy sunday afternoon!

Seems this fellow died very young, and has quite a cult following from what i've read. Should be a nice discovery for fans of 70's folk. And singer-songwriter stuff.

Just one minute and twenty seconds long, this a perfectly distilled piece of Brazilian pop/mood music. The song consists of a simple, beautiful chord progression, which is repeated over and over. João sings a simple vocal over his guitar, and then some brass and strings come in to join him. The arrangement is stunning: sweeping and beautiful, with a delicate, sparkly sound at the beginning and end. It sounds very like the work of Claus Ogerman (who arranged the tracks on 'Amoroso', which appears on the same CD), but in fact, it's arranged by Johnny Mandel. Although this was recorded in 1980, it has a timeless feel. The entire Amoroso/Brasil CD is quite incredible. It took a few listens to really hit home, but has now become one of my 'desert island discs'.

Generally, I don't much like other peoples' versions of Dusty Springfield songs, but Joan Osbourne really makes this one work. She's got the perfect voice for it. I could listen to this on repeat for days without getting tired of it.

It's a marvelous song coming from a perfect album : " A t�bua de esmeralda" . Represents the highest level this artist achieved. It's an example of crossover mixing Samba - Soul - Psichodelia. A must for good music lovers.
A song for sophisticated ears.

this song is perfect for late nights.

For those of you out there who are still perplexed by the cult of Judy, may I suggest hardily this amazing DVD? Culled from her now legendary CBS TV series in the early 1960�s, this collection features a selection of solo performances, and �Come Rain or Come Shine� sums up things here perfectly. It is a frenzied, riveting, almost frightening reading of the song. Nick Cave or Polly Harvey wish they were this intense � or perhaps (wisely) they don�t. Judy at this point is a woman ravaged by both her life - alcohol, pills, suicide attempts, catastrophic illness and innumerable career failures and comebacks - and to a certain extent her own astonishing, almost vampryric talent. To see this frail little creature � she was in her early 40�s, but looks about 60 � totter onto this empty stage and become possessed by a song - her voice soaring, her talent surging through her like high voltage electricity - is almost too much to watch. But one has to watch her � even if only to see whether see she spontaneously combusts during the performance. (And those old time Judy-queens still amongst us � God bless them � swear this footage only hints at what it was like to see her live.) Must be seen/heard to be believed.

Got a haircut today (short, choppy, fab). Getting a haircut often makes me think of June because she did have the greatest barnet ever - that fringe!

So I've pulled out my June collection - a paltry 4 LPs but growing - and am lovin' a bit of this tonight. The instrumentation here reminds me a lot of Ella Mae Morse's corner of the market, someone I should really get around to recommending on this site.

How High The Moon opens gentle as duck down, moving into a light finger snappin' mood then onto a heavy big band scat rhythm. Christy's technique is superlative and you can almost hear her intuitively measuring the band, taking each note perfectly.

This LP is a set of re-interpretations of songs June originally sang with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Being a June novice, I'm not aware of the original version but I doubt I could like it more.

I can't find enough words to express what I think of this stunning track.

The lead vocals, harmonies and arrangements are as close as you are likely to get to perfection.

Lyrically, it is both cleverly written and emotive, and combined with the beautifully simple melody and Hayward's ethereal vocals, totally heart-rending.

Very very few songs have instantly reduced me to tears (for the right reasons at least!) but this is one of them.

cute little song about a girl stalking someone she's fallen in love with, listening to the "clip clops" of his shoes. the melody in the song is very similar to "cosmonaute" by stereo total, only more upbeat (it was written by brezel g�ring from stereo t., so i guess that's excusable). kahimi's ultra-bright voice fits this song perfectly.

(there's WAY too few sweet and uplifting songs about stalking, by the way.)

Perfect combination between a piano and Tom Chaplin's voice. Very simple song, but still wonderful.

Quite possibly the most beautiful soul ballad of the late 60s.... despite being a slow song it is incredibly uplifting.... it speaks of holding out for someone you truly love when temptation surrounds you, which fits perfectly with my mindset. "Just remember that lovers have sorrow.... just remember we'll make up tomorrow". Immensely touching, beautiful and timeless.

A huge hit in the U.K in 1985 and the debut single from a band with global potential still retaing elements of the quick fire genres that happened in those times edgy punk sentiments ,white boy funk and even the two tone /mod revival appeal ,all things to all people ,all the ingredients to make the perfect contemporary pop song,.Its rousing anthemic chorus should have been the springboard to stadium size success which somehow slipped away within a year or two,perhaps its catch all ambitions recalled the adage that you cant please all the people all the time .This one piece of brilliance still remains as a monument to all the should have beens and great white hopes.

This song grabs you and doesn't let go. Catchy, melodic and flowing... It's very hard not to listen to this song without bobbing your head along with it. The slurred southern drawl of the lead singer, and the sparkly melody really put you in a specific place and time. A very cool track, and one that's perfect for drinking to.

There are many memorable cuts on this soundtrack, and I essentially picked this because it's the longest. Anyway, Komeda's score is perfect for the film -- humorous maybe but definetly very, very creepy.

The main theme of Cul-De-Sac. Komeda's off-kilter jazz sensibility was really perfectly suited to Polanski's absurdist comedy. Like many of the best film scores, it seems absolutely essential to the film. If you like Komeda's style, this track really delivers.

The perfect theme to Roman Polanski's underrated comic horror film, The Fearless Vampire Killers. With stacked vocal harmonies, suggesting the background singers at some sort of Bulgarian black mass, floating on bat wings over a very jazzy rhythm section, this song is, at once, very creepy and very funny. I have long believed that Siouxsie and The Banshees came into existence entirely due this influence of this track. (Play it back to back with "Switch" or "Israel" or "Cascade" sometime, and you'll see what I mean.) Stereolab likewise. Broadcast or Goldfrapp could do a brilliant cover of it.

And I am not just including this because it is from Rosemary's Baby, my very favourite film of all time. Well, maybe I am a little - the opening credits where Polanski guides us over the rooftops of the Bramford while Mia murmurs her "la la la"s sets up perfectly the movie heaven that is to come.

Actors usually make a hash of singing (and, of course, vice versa - Bjork is great in Dancer In The Dark but that's all I can come up with), although I've heard that Cybil Shepherd makes a decent stab. But Mia can't fail to impress with her innocent singing voice, keeping in the character of Rosemary even though she doesn't speak a word in this song. Komeda maintains his usual atmospheric wonder, with the sort of piano based joy that gave such a fruitful relationship with Polanski's films.

Lots of others have had a pop at this, usually with some degree of success as the melody is so strong (discounting a dodgy metal version of it by some chancers whose name escapes me). My favourites are Hugo Montenegro's (on Good Vibrations) and Claudine Longet's lyric-added version, Sleep Safe And Warm.

A concert performance by Dr. L. Subramaniam on the electric violin. Mesmerising.

No one talks about this band much. Not in my experience, anyway. It's all instrumental, so I guess they're not for people who are lost without vocals and lyrics. But have a listen - to me they really seem utterly superb. I would love to see them live.

I only have a couple of albums, but they're great. This one was released in 1996 (shit - that was 9 years ago!), but recorded in 1990. Really beautiful twangy surf-pop that fits in perfectly with the whole David Lynch mood that I find so appealing. The album is an intoxicating mix of energetic surf tracks and slower, more atmospheric ones like this. Their recent 'Local Warming' album is great too. Can anyone recommend me any more of their tracks?

Leonarn Cohen has the deepest, darkest, creepiest voice ever. It's perfect for this song--a song about complete devotion. It sounds almost stalker-like. But awesome.

"I would crawl to you baby, and I'd fall at your feet, and I'd howl at your beauty like a dog in heat..."

This is one of Baxters best songs, although there are many incredible Les Baxter pieces, this one really stands out from the rest. The title 'Sunken City' is perfect, you really feel like you are floating in the bright blue ocean, searching for a lost city. The instruments Baxter chose for this song are interesting; oboes, a haunting choir along with some vibraphones and piano chords, the result is however amazing.
Listen to this song late at night with the lights dimmed.

A band who specialise in "petrochemical sounds", burning up every musical regulation on their sole album (thus far). Their sound ranges from very off-kilter semi-melodic noise, of which this song is a good example, and, well, a din. I love it all. Although I know not much about them, this is the best new-release album I have bought this year. Enough to make even the most jaded "music offers no surprises anymore" type rush back to the turntable.

I've been in love with this tune since I heard the superb instrumental version of it on 1990's 'Wild at Heart' soundtrack. I'm a big fan of Les Paul and Mary Ford's records - the combination of immaculate multitracked guitars and spooky, clear vocals is a real winner for me. I only found out about this recording quite recently. It really is stunning. It's slow, plodding along while Les's intricate but very cool guitar lines twinkle around over the top. This song makes me feel very nostalgic, although I'm not sure exactly what for. The lyrics really add something to the atmosphere - 'tell me where do they go/those smoke rings that blow each night'. Anyway, please ignore my inadequate description and listen to this exquisite, perfect recording.

perfect voice in the tradition of joni mitchell or kate bush but still something outstanding and new

This song is an intriguing one for me, I can never get enough of it! It's one of the easy listening classics from the early 70's and is one of the most perfect examples of the "Now Sound" genre, recorded by a Hawaiian bar band led by lead singer Liz Damon. Interestingly, it is a cover of a song written by Chicago soul songwriter Johnny Cameron and it was originally recorded by Betty Everett on the Uni label. I was lucky enough to find a copy of Betty's original version, but unfortunately her version has never been put on CD.

This song has a delightfully slow tempo and dreamy, romantic lyrics that somehow seem timeless. To me, the song always seemed to be in an older style than its early 70's release date would suggest. The bridge features great horn playing and a wonderful descending bass run.

The original 45 on White Whale Records had a song called "You're Falling in Love" on the flip side, and that song too is a classic, in my opinion.

"Eternal bliss, something I can show you. Spread your arms and let my wings enfold you my love, my love"

Ah! perfectly dark romance...

Incredible. Loretta Lynn's incredible and powerful voice carries over the fuzzy distortion and wailing guitars in a song that is sexy, mysterious and gorgeous. Jack White once again proves his brilliance as a guitarist, while his vocals sound perfect when put up against Loretta's. An amazing duet.

the words "i could be in love with almost every one/ and i will be alone again tonight with you" are sung in a very intimate high-register, backed by glorious acoustic guitar plucking and horn bursts. two minutes in, the song erupts into an extended horn solo! probably the most perfectly orchestrated pop song.

This is my favorite piece of classical music, so beautiful it often brings me to tears. You are strictly forbidden to go to your grave without having heard this song.

This song has a very interesting sound using steal drums among other things to create a steady and bright beat. The artist's voice is beautiful and light, combinig perfectly with the song's meaning and the instrumental parts.

The guitar is simple, yet effective and the melody is easy to get into. This is the perfect summer song for me.

The guitar is simple, yet effective and the melody is easy to get into. This is the perfect summer song for me.

condensed, funked up version of the song with a shitload of guest appearences. It all flows together pretty nicely, with fantastic beats and great, ridiculous larger-than-life aggressive tough guy/girl lyrics. Perfect tunage for sweaty parties with a few good friends and foes.

A sophisticated and understated pop bossa. This song can breeze by the first time you hear it, but the unexpected hooks and chord changes make for addictive listening. There are strings, a gentle and high male vocal and a rhythmic piano. It really is heavenly. I should add that the CD compilation this appears on, 'the essential...volume 2', is really one of the very best single-artist compilations I've ever heard. The liner notes are not perfect though - this song is erroneously listed as 'Tiao branco forte'. Great compilation though, one which showed me that Marcos really is a genius.

I arbitrarily chose the title track, as this is a very flowing album that needs to be listened to in one piece. Very experimental use of Brazilian sounds. It seems like Garra is the popular Valle of the period, but I give the edge on this one and Vento Sul. His other masterpiece is "Samba '68", with the best of his early compositions arranged and produced into their perfect forms by Deodato.

i love this psyche sounding classic. the backing track vocals compliment one another perfectly. i love the strings in this song. a little poppy but rocking.

I am a connoisseur (er, fan) of Japanese pop music, not just young further-out acts/groups like Cornelius (lost w/o his tape loops) and Love Psychedelico (think Beatles Meets Velvet Underground). But also that strain of Japanese pop which draws heavily on the stylistic traditions of the usual Brill Building suspects. i.e. Solo Nihogo artists like Mariko Takeuchi, especially those tracks with arrangements by the great Tomaji Sogawa. Also Chage and Aska, Eichi Ohtaki, (sometimes called Japan's Phil Spector), Gospellers, Rag Fair and, of course, Pizzicato Five. I am especially drawn to the efforts of Tatsuro Yamashita as a solo artist, and of his tracks with his wife, Mariya Takeuchi, released under her name. On their own and as a team they have been recording since the 1980s and in (affectionately known by his fans as) Tats' case since the late seventies (his first album was co-produced and arranged in the U.S. by the 4 Seasons' Charles Callelo). There are a number of other artists like this in Japan with uncommonly lengthy---by U.S. standards---careers. And believe it or not, a hit record in Japan sells in numbers that are generally far larger than the U.S. despite a population that is roughly half as large.

One of my favorite Takeuchi - Yamashita collaborations (she writes and sings, he arranges) is "Let's Get Married," which would not be perceived as being retro or sixties or somesuch by (IMHO) the more flexible and openminded Japanese music audience. Even though, admittedly it does draw upon such musical conceits. Instead, Let's Get Married would merely be regarded as a great record, case closed.

This 1984 cut track is timelessly, and extra-territorily infectuous. But with the exception of Kyu Sakamoto in 1963 with his fluke number one single, Sukiyaki, to the best of my knowledge no Japanese artist of any musical inclination has been able to crack the U.S. charts in any significant way. General garden variety xenophobia coupled with a hard time wrapping the tongue around those hard-to-pronounce names with two many vowels and and syllables. It is doubtful that LGM, even though it is sung by Takeuchi in perfectly accented English, was ever released in the U.S.

Starting with a full blown fanfare of the Wedding March played on organ, after twenty seconds, Let's Get Married abruptly switches gears and mood and becomes an ever-ascending excercise in neo-Spectorian pop, replete with castinets, chimes, a swirling ooh-wah background chorale (courtesy of an overdubbed Yamashita), multiple drumkits, a full complement of string players and plenty of good old fashioned Gold Star Studio-style echo. A paen to the joys of marriage, my favorite moment happens at 1:42 way down in the mix right after Takeuchi sings the line "You and me with a small house and a dog," where, if you listen carefully you can hear the sound of a dog yapping for joy. Homage to the "Pet" at the end of Brian Wilson's "Caroline, No" perhaps?

Both Yamashita and Takeuchi had number one albums in Japan last year. Unlike most of their 70s and 80s U.S. rock/pop counterparts, they have not been cast aside by the bulk of Japanese record buyers, but continue to peak at the top of the charts with every new issue. A listen to this perfectly crafted, classic, three minute (well. . . 3;45 actually) track should help illustrate why this is so.

Bill Reed (new to this list)

one of my favorite songs of all time. its perfect for every occasion.

An acoustic (classical) guitar rendition played over the closing credits of the Showtime Film: "Varian's War" The vertuoso Jazz musician from Quebec has graced us with the finest performance of this much loved and performed chanson extant. It is perfection.

beautiful song from a beautiful album,to say this song is perfect is an understatement.only someone without a heart could fail to be moved by this.

While "Metti una sera a cena" has always been amongst my favourite Ennio Morricone themes this interpretation by Milva lifts the quality of the song to an even higher sphere. In fact, its hard to describe the intensity of this version : Milvas voice is perfectly suited for this piece, the arrangement is even crisper and more dynamic than the original Morricone recording, the full blown crescendo of strings and voice at the end is simply overwhelming. My only complaint is the song seems to fade out a bit too early.

"Revenge" is a catchy, electro punk song on Mindless Self Indulgence's new CD "If." Besides Jimmy Urine's (the lead singer) hallmark falsetto reeling in the chorus, this song has a certain feel that takes me back to the days of "Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy." Listen to the bridge the second time around ( a little after the two minute marker) and you will notice the detail of some perfect timed techno. The tune behind "This...is...my...re..venge..." is just hypnotic and I wish I could just isolate that part into a song of its own. The introduction is a little annoying but with the help of the "seek" button I have perfected fast forwarding it to the actual song and enjoying two minutes of pure bliss any industrial, jungle, or techno fan will simularily enjoy.

Like all perfect Mogwai's tracks, Tracy is quiet and then loud. However, the track is particularly spine-tingling. Mogwai use sustained reverb guitar and xylaphone to stunning effect. The taped argument between the band, that is added to the fade out of the song, is also cool.

A superb version. A very purely beautiful, very expressively controlled vocal. A perfectly stylish trio backing. The rest of the album also holds to a very high standard indeed - a real pleasure. I've never enjoyed vocal jazz more!

This track begins with the sounds of a bong being puffed and the clicking of a metal lighter being flicked. This album is a winner, from start to finish. If you are a fan of the Cocteau Twins, Eno, Cluster, or Bjork, give this one a try! Perfect! Ambient Rock at its best. And very warm Electronica too! So good, you may hit the repeat button on your player more then once.

This is a perfect cover in every way, arranged by Daniel Janin. The heavy, driving bass, long whine of the horns, and thick drumming make a monster instrumental. Nothing like the Bacharach version. Nancy Holloway does an outstanding rendition of the lyrics, delicate in some places, husky in others, bleeding and pleading the whole way through. The slow, pained delivery of the lyrics almost seem to be off pace with the tempo of the beat, but the horn melodies punctuate and hold this song together. There are qualities about this song that I find impossible to describe. All that's left to say is that this song is so cool and mesmerizing that it's hard not to close your eyes, and let yourself slip into the textures of this song. I never get tired of it.

Perfect poppy '60s record, both accessible and arty: Jimmy Webb collides with Brian Wilson and Bacharach, gorgeously arranged for members of the Nashville Philharmonic.

A perfect segue into a perfect album, King of the Carrot Flowers is a masterpiece. This is the way songs should be written, performed, and produced. Jeff Mangum strums the catchiest 3 chords on his acoustic guitar while his piercing vocals spill lyrics of psychedelic sophistication. I can still remember the first time I heard him sing the lyric - 'and your mom would drink until she was no longer speaking, and dad would dream of all the different ways to die, each one a little more than he would dare to try' - in a rising climax. The energy and power is then sustained into a C drone from an organ, followed by an amped acoustic guitar being plucked clumsily. And like a street preacher we again hear Jeff, he belts 'I love you Jesus Christ' while the rest of the band hit fuzzed-out power chords F and C until a storm swells with cymbals, horn, bass, guitar, Jeff's voice and another rising movement to yet another climax. Propelled by an electric frequency that chops like a helicopter blade inches over-head we are lead into Part 3, often referred to as 'Up and Over'. This last part explodes into fuzz rock in all it's garage-roots glory with lyrics like - 'I will shout until they know what I mean, I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing, in a synthetic flying machine'. As the fuzz is sustained heavily the song ends with 1 last climax; the one-note piano brings us to a close.

King of the Carrot Flowers Part 1 introduces the theme of 'loss of innocence'. The narrator, addressing his lover nostalgically, compares the emotional deterioration of the older parents with the emotional and sexual discovery of their youth - 'your mom would stick a fork right into daddy's shoulder, and dad would throw the garbage all across the floor, as we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for.' This motive returns later in the album, as does his 'Jesus Christ' theme. Jeff Mangum alerts the listener in his lyric sheet that he believes what he sings, and that this 'Christ' theme is but the spiritual light he finds within everything. The album further treats themes like the Holocaust, death of loved ones, visions of ghosts, and all the horrors of man with this light. It is a beautiful and terrifying experience unlike any rock record to date. Personally, my favorite song of all time.

I didn't know it then, but when I purchased the album 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea' my world changed. When I put the album into my CD player, I did it with a naivete of someone who thought they'd 'heard it all.' I did it clumsily, with haste, handled like a Beatles or Beach Boys album, the way I had done for years. When I listened to the album I did it with reckless abandon while driving 38 miles per hour on my lunch break, and later in the drive-through at McDonald�s. These mistakes were inherited, and I refuse blame. They were passed through the genetic make-up of our peers and born out of the music we've been given; I didn't expect this! Well, our music has changed, and it did so without our knowing and our approval. This album proved and disproved an entire treatise of critical analysis on a generation of music that I thought I had known, and it did so with a fucking velvet sledgehammer.

The lyrics: "And one day we will die and our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea, but for now we are young let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see." More lyrics: "What a beautiful face I have found in this place that is circling all around the sun, what a beautiful dream that would flash in the screen in a blink of an eye and be gone from me." The melody: A timeless, haunting thing that was metaphysically resurrected from a wiser place. The voice: Wrenched out of the jaws of a holocaust from 50 years ago, we hear a possessed Jeff Mangum invest his soul. The sound: An apocalypse that can reinvent the turntable by it�s simplistic form; with a saw, guitar, drum, bass, horns, and lord knows what else all handled with deceptive elegance of a garage mechanic constructing a supermodel. And, lastly, the spirit: A tragedy and rape of virginity known only to the persecuted and executed; the ghost of Anne Frank materializes long enough to show us her world, and in her hands we are strangely at peace.

This song is a gift very few will experience. It is endless in its reach and should be accepted like a sibling into your collection. It will one day prove itself beyond category, but for now it is a masterful novel from the hands of a mysterious songwriter who should know how sincerely I cherish his songs.

"Technique" is widely regarded as New Orders best album and i surely second that opinion: No fillers, all killers and the balance between "live" sounding songs and balearic, synthesized songs is just perfect. "Round & Round" falls in the latter category: Energetic, multi-layered, sequenced synth stuff going on, with some guitar by Sumner and, for me most importantly probably, Peter Hook's distinctive, emotional bass sound. I guess it's Hook's hooks i dig the most in the New Order soundscape, always delivering a consistency in their sound over many musical changes during the years. It's unmatched for me how that man evokes such emotions and melody out of a bass guitar.

Just by saying the name of the band some bells should ring. I really like the song, has a very catchy beat and some good lyrics as well. Should wacth the performance of the song in Glasgow so you know what I mean.

A lush orchestrated pop song that carries the sadness of autumn and the hope of spring in its stunning almost visual arrangement ,piano ,acoustic guitar and strings weave in and around a deceptively simple song whose chorus will stay with you long after music ends.Very close to perfect pop ,if such a thing exists,thoughtful ,intelligent ,sensitive and humourous .

Doesn't everybody love a good collaboration? It turns out Noah Lennox's beachboy-inspired vocals fit in nicely with the sound-collage electronica of Bradford Cox's offbeat side-project, Atlas Sound. The tight vocal harmonies, and childlike sampled groove compliment each other perfectly.

Nothing too deep in terms of vocal content. It's one of those songs where the chorus is repeated about 800 times, but you can never remember the words.

Instead, this song is all about atmosphere. I'm a sucker for that bleached-out, 70's technicolor vibe lately, and this song captures it more effectively than most. The lo-fi skuzziness, however, only enhances its pop-perfection.

Enjoy before summer ends! This is the perfect doobed-up jam for driving to the beach on a day where you can see the heat. Happy listening.

This band is one of the tightest, most aggressive and imaginative 'hardcore' acts in modern music today.

This track would be a perfect introduction to NMN for the uninitiated listener.
If you like this one, you have about a dozen albums' worth of catching up to do.

Just marvel at the uninhibited pounding and tightly-woven rhythmic tapestries unleashed by bassist/ vocalist Rob Wright on 'Victim's Choice'.

NoMeansNo's style here can possibly be described as
'Devo Meets The Dead Kennedys'
...if one was so inclined to describe things.

This band just constantly and consistently manages to pour it on extra-tight, extra-heavy, and maniacally complex within the usually confining genre of 'Hardcore'.
(call it what you want, I am just attempting to simplify things here)

So don't be shy! This band will please a wide variety of listeners, from Jazz-Heads to Metal-Heads and many of the in-between-heads alike.

Band Website:
NoMeansNo

The introduction immediately throws you into knowing this is a different song. The guitar thrums and sings to you. The voices perfectly harmonized. Soulful.

'The Events Leading up to the Collapse of Detective Dullight' is not a song but a narrative story, and it’s funny as hell. The off-kilter character voices of the already brilliant stream-of-consciousness plot are cartoonish enough for their own Saturday morning series. When the detectives start their investigation nothing makes sense. There’s Jell-O, serenading butterflies, file cabinets, murder, catacombs, and all the seasonings for a hilarious dream. I am usually brought to tears when Detective Slots reads from his revered exercise in free verse titled ‘The Cause of Gauze’. I will supply you with a sample:
"Oh, the cause of gauze. The Manuels have fondled many memories from my lap though each memory has its own lap and swimmers swim laps. Even swimmers have laps however and while in that condition many require a delicate gauze."
If you hear this without purchasing the actual album, 'Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimisical Verse,' then you are being cheated. The dreams of this band are as colorful as the illustrations they provide us in their album sleeves. The 'Where's Waldo' pictorial representations enrich the listening experience by engaging us in a journey deep into the frying-pan brains of these madmen. In fact, this is a perfect introduction into a very strange world of psychedelicado. Think the Beach Boy's 'Smile.' The reaction of my friends after hearing this have been harmoniously the same, 'they have to be on drugs.' The truth is Of Montreal are not on drugs, they are drugs.

one of a clutch of four almost perfect pop songs released by Scots indie outfit on the Postcard Records label in the early 80s. They went on to be slicker, and mostly remembered for their 1985 hit "Rip It Up". But this is them at their best.

A great take on the pop classic “sunny” - taken at a fast tempo with a bouncy piano style and a hip beat. A really great track, produced by Claus Ogerman, who really was one of the coolest arrangers; perfect for me anyway - able to perfect both lush and beat oriented 'now sound' type stuff.

Another one of my faves... grrrrrrrreat orchestration, unbelievably well produced and heavenly
vocals in perfect harmony. A song to bring me on my knees... hoping it won't stop... so sweet, yet goes very crescendo... a definite 'two thumbs up' for this one... This group never made an album. It's one of those typical 'studio groups' who produced a sound that could knock you KO (IF you like the positive sound of the late 60s). It takes a genius to arrange a song like that: 'And may my heart be cast into stone" (immediately followed by two short orchestral outbursts pa-taa pa-taa) "And may the world go deaf when I roar" (pa-taa pa-taa)... One word: d e l i g h t f u l

Memory's a funny thing. Especially romantic memory.
The first time I heard this song was two days after the first time I fell in love. Everywhere I went, I sang its earnest chorus "And you are always on my mind" in my head, thinking about the one I was in love with. In the shower staring at a bottle of hair conditioner, I sang, "You are always on my mind". On the subway, trying to ignore a potential fistfight about to break out, I sang, "You are always on my mind". In the supermarket produce section, holding the perfect shape of a lemon in my hand, I sang, "You are always on my mind". I was giddy and happy and the song understood. "Hey!" the song said, "Hey!" Will Oldman sang, "I got a new partner now!"
But jacket weather set in and things grew colder and we broke up and I was miserable and I stored the CD away on a top shelf with other memorabilia of that love who's happy power was really freakin' painful for me to think about now.
Things weren't always so bleak and I got me a new love and some years later, when I listened to the song again, I noticed something about the lyrics I hadn't before. See, in reality, the song isn't joyous at all. Will Oldman is singing about a past love, a love who is always on his mind when all the time he is seeing another girl, a different girl from the one always on his mind. He can't be with that girl. He has a new partner now. What I thought was a song about new joy was a song about nostalgic loss.
I didn't see how it was possible that I had suppressed that true meaning for as long as I had, considering how often I sang the song and how much it meant to me at the time. I knew the lyrics like the back of my hand and when I listen to music I dredge up all I can get from the lyrics like I'm a devout scribe interpreting the bible.
One of the beauties of pop songs is that they take on the flavour of your life at the time you listened to them and carry that flavour on to whenever you listen to the song again, while meanwhile you're morphing and changing and discarding what songs you don't want to remember that you loved and making mixed Cd's for long cartrips of the songs you do you do want to remember. This song is weird in that IT seemed to be the one that was morphing the next time I heard it and not me, like it was a person that had changed over time that I was encountering again.
Besides which, what a fucking lovely song it is.

Perfect American family drive around America in psychedelic bus singing their wholesome songs.Look at their teeth shine.Shirley Jones,star of musicals such as Carousel,steers her flock to stardom.The harpsichord makes this song with Lurch from the Addams Family guesting.If only.Covered by Voice of the Beehive,if you want credibility.If you hear this song on the radio(you won't)you won't be able to resist singing along(you really won't).

Digital Hardcore just sounds hopelessly dated now. Whether its the post-September 11th climate of antipathy to all things terrorist / anarchist, or those dusty 10,000bpm sounds, or Alec Empire's gradual metamorphosis into a footsoldier of nu-metal I guess we'll never know.

However, Patric C (the male half of EC8OR) escapes this near-universal damnation with his first album, probably because it was specifically retro in the first instance. The musical accompaniment to an imaginary computer game, The Horrible Plans Of Flex Busterman beeps and bursts at you like all the best simple timewasting game soundtracks did. This song, played toward the end of the album and meant to signify success at the digital challenge, is the finest of all; an inspired melody that is devilish in its simplicity and an absolutely perfect sound to come from a Commodore 64 or Amiga 500 (two of the "instruments" Patric C employed on this album).

It also retains a definite piss-taking attitude, which also stands it in good stead for longevity; the general earnestness of most Digital Hardcore is so difficult to stomach these days, and lightness of touch sets Patric C apart.

optimistic synth pop from the early eighties that is the perfect track to play directly after hearing "white car in germany" by the associates.Paul Haig made a few near perfect pop songs that got nowhere ,millions of people can be so wrong

To me this is one of the best pop songs of the last 10 years or so where just everything falls perfectly into place and couldn't be bettered in any way. It's insanely catchy without ever getting annoying, it's immaculately produced with the whole instrumentation blending together perfectly (including extremely lush synths all over the place provided by Daft Punks Thomas Bangalter) and it doesn't wear off even after listening to it for ages. I was glad to see this track finally getting some exposure on the "Lost In Translation" soundtrack recently. If only they would write more songs of that caliber, but instead both albums they released to date are rather patchy.

Basic prog-heavy-rock instrumentation backed up with synth sequencers.
A long track that kind of takes you in a trance.
Perfectly on time and well played instruments and guitar riffs together with the sequencers create a certain kind of "drive" and well constructed drums and genious drum fills keeps it interesting and alive. Steve Wilson's (not so typical for the genre) vocals bring in ghostliness and calm.

A gentle, easy-listening inspired song which is pretty much perfect so long as you can manage to avoid finding it overbearingly kitsch. The naively optimistic, yet sophisticated lyric is beautifully matched by the music and arrangement.

While I am quite fond of the original version written and recorded by Morrissey, I have to admit that I prefer the cover version that the Pretenders recorded. Chrissie Hynde's voice and style are perfectly suited to the task of singing this movingly sad song about life "in a seaside town that they forgot to close down" and the use of slide-guitar is absolutely perfect on this track.