Month: June 2013

It’s

‘Unfinished Sympathy’ by Massive Attack

Awoke my interest in dance music in the early 90’s and realised that it wasn’t as narrow a genre as I imagined. The combination of natural sounding piano and strings, along with such emotive vocals has stayed with me ever since.

VERSUS

‘Walk On By’ Dionne Warwick

The perfect combination of words, melody, music, emotion, and performance. I could have picked any of a number of Bacharach and David songs, but this feels like a platonic essence.

WINNER: Massive Attack

It’s

‘Come To Daddy’ by Aphex Twin

Great singles should sound like bizarre, alien things beamed in from distant planets, outlandish artifacts that mere mortals could never concoct. This is one of those. Strange, and scary, and amazing.

VERSUS

‘God Save The Queen’ by Sex Pistols

If rock is rebellion then God Save The Queen is the greatest rock song of all time. That cover, those lyrics, that clarion call of disaffection, that ban, that boat trip, that stolen number one spot. Before it all, that slashing guitar and that incredible, still electrifying, vocal performance.

WINNER: Sex Pistols

It’s

‘God Only Knows’ by The Beach Boys

I don’t care what you think….this is simply beautiful. The loveliest song ever written. Undeniable.

VERSUS

‘Once In A Lifetime’ by Talking Heads

I’ve known this since I was a child and always found it an amazing mixture of bizarre and cool and fascinating and fun and, as I get older, and live in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife, oddly profound. How did any of us get here?

WINNER: Talking Heads

It’s

‘Wuthering Heights’ by Kate Bush

This was a debut single in 1978 by an 18 year old! Where on earth did it fit with anything else I had ever heard? I was 12 and impressionable and Kate made quite the impression. Extraordinary in so many ways. The outfit for Babooshka 2 years later, sealed the deal.

VERSUS

‘B.O.B.’ by Outkast

It’s hard to believe this is 13 years old; it still sounds like the future to me. So fast, so psychedelic, so many ideas crammed together. You think Hey Ya is the sound of Outkast at their best? That’s wrong.

WINNER: Kate Bush

It’s

‘Groove Is In the Heart’ by Deee-lite

I’ve loved this since I was dancing to it at the school youth club when I was 11 or 12 years old. I’ve exploded and explored the constituent parts, and still prefer this. Timeless, joyous, danceable pop music.

VERSUS

‘Paperback Writer’ by The Beatles

Mid-period Beatles are just impossible to fuck with; as well as the best bassline and riff, this also has the best backing vocals and best b-side of their career. Perhaps. Stupid, but brilliant.

WINNER: Deee-lite

It’s

‘I Want You Back’ by Jackson 5

The most irresistible bassline of all time? And an amazing vocal performance, too; those yelps at the end are pure catharsis. What happened, Michael? Another song I’ve loved since I was a kid.

VERSUS

‘Lola’ by The Kinks

A classic sing along with subversive elements from 1970. Let’s face it, who hasn’t known someone that has spent a night with a transvestite and not realised until the following morning? No, oh I’ll get me coat.

WINNER: Jackson 5

It’s

‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush

Interesting intro, good beat…Mia (age 11) 10 out of 10

VERSUS

‘Love and Happiness’ by Al Green

It begins like Madness which is Are House…Evie (age 7) 10 out of 10

Great beat, good instruments, good intro, good singing (the type), good tune, nice backing singing…Kit (age 8) 10 out of 10

WINNER: Kate Bush

It’s

‘Name of the Game’ by ABBA

Very good, good beat, I like the chorus….Tess (age 10) 9 outof 10

VERSUS

‘Fool’s Gold’ by Stone Roses

I have no idea how much my esteem for this song is just residual adolescent affection from 18 years ago, and how much is actual critical / aesthetic judgment. When I was 15 this sounded utterly alien to me.

WINNER: Stone Roses

It’s

‘Purple Haze’ by Jimi Hendrix

Jimi simply blew away the opposition and re-drew the lines of rock music in 1967. A riff that has been played on guitars and tennis racquets ever since. No better combination of rock/psychedelia/funk.

VERSUS

‘Freak Scene’ by Dinosaur Jr.

The best alt-rock song of the 80s, 90s, whenevers. Listen no further, Freak Scene has everything you need. Tumbling energy, carelessly gummy vocals, the two best solos AND  the two best breakdowns in rock, both containing the word ‘Fuck’.

WINNER: Jimi Hendrix

It’s

‘Senses Working Overtime’ by XTC

The perfect breath of English pastoral pop. Eccentric but utterly loveable. XTC wrote a handful of delicious singles which wove their way through my childhood radio listening. ‘Senses’ is the one I cherish the most.

VERSUS

‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ by Joy Division

Sleek, bitter, despairing, elevating, bleak and beautiful. ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ gets to the heart of what it means to be human but sounds like it was made by ghosts trapped in the studio. An eternal wonder.

WINNER: Joy Division