What is the perfect pop song?

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  • @jonah

    mention the name of that scourge-band again and you will be sent to your room with no supper.

    (per innernet rules established well before al galore made 'em popular)

    George Harrsion and the Beatles? I would've thought you were a fan.
    I know you don't mean Tears for Fears, but if the answer to that is an affirmative, I'm gonna escort you to a far corner of fight club and give you the thrashing you so richly deserve.
    Perhaps you mean SPIN DOCTORS. SSSPPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN DOOOOOOOOCTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSS. If that's who you're talking about, well, let me also nominate a few other tunes from that underrated little pop album for best pop song ever...

    First of all, I got the name wrong on the song; I called it "Three Kings" (which was a Clooney movie); It's "Two Princes" and here they are performing it on Sesame Street...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC-KaKAmmEY

    Jimmy Olsen's Blues...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9wI0T-lm98

    And their myspace to complete your fix...

    http://www.myspace.com/spindoctors
  • I thought this question had been settled once and for all decades ago.
  • "One, Two! Princes kneel before you,
    how 'bout that now,
    Princes, princes who adore you,
    just go ahead now."

    Craig
  • Perfect pop song, plus style points.
  • important redacted facts

    as jonah pointed out, (parenthically i must point out my refusal to launch the link out of sheer terror) The redacted made an appearance on Sesame Street, singing a modified version of "Two Princes" that emphasized the importance of sharing

    Recently their song "Two Princes" was featured on the television show "The Sarah Silverman Program", where comedian Brian Posehn's character, Brian Spukowski, has a five-year-old iPod with only that song on it, which he listens to repeatedly whilst claiming to be an enthusiastic metalhead.
  • I think I'm comfortable with the objective criteria of hooking up (EEG or MRI, whatever works) a thousand randomly sampled individuals (from a western culture), and measuring the cumulative pleasure hearing candidate songs induces. The winner would have a defensible claim to the question, I think.

    Then we'd see my candidate would win. :)
  • I'm with kargatron as far as testing modalities go, however, the winner would be this song

    Also, since brittleblood is a thousand times more random than the average person, we can just hook him up and start spinning tracks.
  • Dr. Mutex, I said "randomly sampled", not "AARP-sampled"!
  • The ARP is an analog synthesizer, not a sampler. Perhaps you were thinking of the Fairlight CMI?
  • edited January 2010
    I think I'm comfortable with the objective criteria of hooking up (EEG or MRI, whatever works) a thousand randomly sampled individuals (from a western culture), and measuring the cumulative pleasure hearing candidate songs induces. The winner would have a defensible claim to the question, I think.

    Seems to be what they did to make this. Available here.

    I've never listened to either song though, I suppose out of an irrational fear that I would like the most wanted and hate the least wanted, just like everybody else.
  • @brighter: i'm partial to "milord"...

    but it could be attributed to all the spinning.
  • That "most wanted" song by Komar and Melamid is a riot. I remember voting on that one! Sounds like it would be perfectly at home on any smooth jazz radio station.

    Here is there "most wanted" painting (for the US):

    large_komar.jpg

    Least wanted:
    least.jpg
  • edited January 2010
    I find the least-wanted painting far more palatable, though the Washington figure in the most-wanted is a good laugh. Anyway, that Dave Soldier thing is a riot - hear them in full at lala. Most unwanted song is really really funny, and moderately inventive. Dave Soldier's probably one of the few that could implement that.

    Though since it's art/music created by survey, it's not very close to my idea, which indeed could be done, I think - I think they have a pretty good idea on legitimately measuring simple pleasure responses in the brain. Would most of you keep your nominations with that context (not saying you have to agree it's a good context, but I am curious)?
  • The most wanted painting would be better if Elvis was chatting with George Washington.

    As for the least wanted:

    arnold2.jpg

    Shapes!

    Craig
  • hmmm...what about the four dogs playing poker painting???

    or for you more multi-media inclined, what about the singing mounted bass???
  • give me back that filet o' fish.
  • edited January 2010
    karg, those brain stimuli results might be more subjective than you think! I personally have an off-the-charts emotional response to any vocal version of "Waltz for Debby," because I happen to have a little girl who is not so little anymore. Also, when she was little and we were watching Disney movies, I found that all the songs triggered a flood of memories and associations, because I had Disney records when I was a kid.

    Speaking of "Waltz for Debby," here's a pretty amazing video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tp-nbchmHU. Safe for me to watch, because the lyrics are in Swedish!

    PS: totally different set of lyrics in English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltz_for_Debby_(song)
  • Of course they'll be highly subjective, but that's not relevant to the assumptions of my test: that (simple) "pleasure" is decently measurable by this time with the right equipment, and a statistically significant sample (1000-1500 is a typical political poll size), and also perhaps a committee pre-selected candidate list (though you could go the objective chart-based route, or do some smaller-sample iterations).
  • edited January 2010
    Doofy...
    Monica Zetterlund !
    She's just so charming on this video, the cameras and the microphone makes this video even more charming.
    This was recorded just before the amazing Alex Riel became a hippie and and joined Savage Rose
  • This one would definitely be in the running.
  • edited January 2010
    This on too, would make my short list.
  • edited January 2010
    If I have to name one, I'll go with the late John Peel -the Undertones and Teenage Kicks
  • If I have to name one, I'll go with the late John Peel -the Undertones and Teenage Kicks

    Very good call. Now, see, that's what I call a 'pop song'. You can tap your foot to death to that song. Don't get me wrong about "When Doves Cry"; I love that whole album, but there's no way that's a pop song (based on how I define a pop song).
    Along the same lines, "Needles and Pins" by the Ramones could fit that bill.
  • edited January 2010
    perhaps it is the song by the band that spends the last penny in their heart and soul on those few minutes of
    a fleeting creative peak that truly comes closest to pop perfection.
    to be remembered, years later, for one song.....




    edit: change of angle
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