The 'perfect' pop single

[McLilith]

Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode

That's not a bad song, but a bit too dreary and emotionally unfocused for my taste. I wouldn't place it at the top of any 'favorites' list.

I prefer Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus".


take care,
McLilith

[shamann]

Then He Kissed Me - The Crystals
Don't Know Much About History - Sam Cooke
Just Like Honey - Jesus and Mary Chain
Case of You - Joni Mitchell
Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
Always on My Mind - Willie Nelson
I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
Wouldn't It Be Nice - Beach Boys
Freight Train - Elizabeth Cotten
Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo`ole
Every Day - Buddy Holly and the Crickets
Be My Wife - David Bowie
A Little Lost - Arthur Russell
This Is Where I Belong - The Kinks
Cemetry Gates - Smiths
Greetings to the New Brunette - Billy Bragg
Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta - Geto Boys
Television - Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy
Silver Rocket - Sonic Youth
Atmosphere - Joy Division

I could go on forever. I can never get tired of hearing any of these songs, and I've heard them a lot over the years. That seems to me what the perfect pop song should be.

[Steven West]

The perfect 'pop' singles?

M - Pop Muzik
The Archies - Sugar, Sugar.
Neil Sedaka - Calander Girl
Barry Manilow - Copacabana
Laura Branigan - Gloria

These to me are the 5 most infectious and dangerous pop singles ever released on this planet!

[MickGael]

I saw the 1978 "Lace & Whiskey" Tour. It was on the last day of high school, and the last encore was "School's Out"!

I was just a few weeks old at that point

I guess the upside of my advanced age is that I lived through the golden age of rock and pop music not this 4th and 5th generation swill....

[Steven West]

double post

[McLilith]

I could go on forever. I can never get tired of hearing any of these songs, and I've heard them a lot over the years. That seems to me what the perfect pop song should be.

Some would say the best measure of a "pop" song (especially if it was intentionally written to be a pop song) would be the amount of record sales or radio airplay it achieved.

Which single has sold the most copies?

Which song has gotten the most airplay?

It would also be cool if we could know which song has had the most airplay, in proportion to its age. Sort of a "Plays per Year" statistic, if you know what I mean. (I bet no one has compiled and published that sort of statistic.)


take care,
McLilith

[Steven West]

Every 3 minutes around the world one can hear some version of Copacabana eminating from somewhere. Shopping malls, weddings, Club Med, cruise ships, radios... That's scary!

Paul Anka said he made $200,000 in royalties a year for just sitting back and watching Johnny come out as Doc Severinsen played his theme. One man, one show, one theme - 200G's!

[shamann]

Some would say the best measure of a "pop" song (especially if it was intentionally written to be a pop song) would be the amount of record sales or radio airplay it achieved.

Someone could, but not me. I take pop to mean 'in the popular style,' rather than 'most popular with the people.'

Just saw the first page of this thread and the debate over Smiths tunes. I perhaps now would like to change my vote to The Boy With a Thorn In His Side.

[Steven West]

The most wealthy 'pop artist'.....?

Lionel Ritchie.

Lionel and The Commodores did the cheese, but man - they could make it smell GOOD!

(Apparently Lionel supercedes Michael Jackson even!
Shocking, but when you add up Lionels tunes - it makes sense. )

[Wicker Man]

Two more pretty solid pop songs...

Making Plans for Nigel - XTC
Turning Japanese - The Vapours

I thoughth the most played song around the world was 'Yesterday' by some rock combo called The Beatles. Couple of years ago I was in Sri Lanka in an old mouldy colonnial house overlooking the fort at Galle (where the tsunami recently struck)...tuned in my radio after a scrummy curry...up pops Yesterday.

[Armadillo]

Some would say the best measure of a "pop" song (especially if it was intentionally written to be a pop song) would be the amount of record sales or radio airplay it achieved.

Someone could, but not me. I take pop to mean 'in the popular style,' rather than 'most popular with the people.'

Pop is a style in itself, just as rock, polka, techno and blues is. Therefore, Metallica is not pop, neither is U2, Eminem, Norah Jones, Beyoncee or Chemical Brothers, even though they have been no.1.

[Ian B]

Pop is a style in itself, just as rock, polka, techno and blues is. Therefore, Metallica is not pop, neither is U2, Eminem, Norah Jones, Beyoncee or Chemical Brothers, even though they have been no.1.

Thanks Armadillo that's exactly what I meant when I started this thread
I perhaps naively thought everyones definition of 'pop' music would be the same as mine.

[haydxn]

i agree with britney - toxic (perfect single! ) and also depeche mode - enjoy the silence; that is an excellent single.

still, i think busted-year3000 is also an excellent single

[shamann]

Pop is a style in itself, just as rock, polka, techno and blues is. Therefore, Metallica is not pop, neither is U2, Eminem, Norah Jones, Beyoncee or Chemical Brothers, even though they have been no.1.

You're right, but I don't think it's as sweeping as all that. Pop music has borrowed tropes from every style, I think most of what Beyoncée does, or at least Destiny's Child, is as pop as Britney. And each name you mentioned have written pop songs, even if they borrow on other styles. For instance, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2, where does that fall in the hard and fast classification? It certainly isn't just a rock song, nor just a gospel song.

Or take a song like Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake. Not purely pop, not purely R&B. And I think it falls in well to a list of perfect pop songs.

[thorsten72]

The Knack - My Sharona

A guitar based band, a simple beat, a riff (it rocks),no solo and a short song. Always puts a smile on my face when I hear it on the radio...