Happy Gregorian New Year, everyone!
A short while ago, Lev and I had a discussion about perfect songs. My criteria are straightforward but exacting: everything about the song must be perfect, with nothing about it to make you wince or wish it was different. A good tip-off is that every time you hear the song, you are excited about it. The music is perfectly arranged, and evokes just the right emotion. Also, lyrics matter. There are a lot of almost-perfect songs, but if something about the lyrics rubs you the wrong way (or makes you wince or raise an eyebrow in confusion), then it’s for another list.
After thinking about it, I can only come up with a short list. I submit it here for your enjoyment. Please let us all know your contributions too!
- Service, by David Hunt
- Something to Talk about, Bonnie Raitt
- Dignificada, Lila Downs
- I Can’t Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt
5 Comments
Well, I was thinking of starting a tweet similar to the “Perfect Song” idea.
Here is my as yet unposted tweet:
music for my funeral: http://is.gd/5Ncqj (by @arrahman ) ancestral memory underground: http://is.gd/5NdXW john gorka http://is.gd/5Ngfn
The song is in Hindi and I just learned/heard it last week. (I live in South Korea.)
I have also a couple of others songs (2 instrumentals, 1 or 2 with voice) that I haven’t listened here.
Does the Perfect Song have to be one that energizes you, or totally consumes you — heart and soul, bone and fiber?
You said lyrics matter but they cannot be isolated from the total impression or effect experienced listening to the song. So, perhaps a piece of music with no lyrics (is it still a song?) wouldn’t qualify in this case.
Maybe we need 2 separate lists (voiced and voiceless?).
Oops! Sorry! It was a multilink multithematic tweet. Don’t worry about the 2nd and 3rd links. 2nd link has no music. But 3rd link is a great song about appreciating history.
“My criteria are straightforward but exacting.” Does that apply to husbands, too?
I would nominate Jeff Buckley’s cover of Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” and his cover of Henry Glover’s “Drown In My Own Tears” (popularized by Ray Charles).
These are wonderful additions! To stedawa, I think this list can encompass either songs with or without lyrics. As to your question about energizing versus consuming – I would say the perfect song accomplishes what it sets out to do. The Bonnie Raitt song “I Can’t Make You Love Me” certainly isn’t energizing but feels so thoroughly true that it’s irresistible. Thanks for pointing us towards some great new additions!
Not to be overlooked.
Thanks to Lev also for reminding us of the angelic voice of Jeff Buckley.
via facebook, Mojan Sami says:
“Ooh, ooh, I have one! ‘Crescent Moon’ by the Cowboy Junkies. And yep, ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ is one seriously-perfect song.”