All Time Top 5 Essential Songs

[jough]

The title says it all, kids.  List your top 5 ESSENTIAL songs - not your favourites, not the ones you think are cool or the ones you think people won't have heard of - just the five songs that people should know if they're to consider themselves rad.

5) Smiths "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"

I wanted to limit myself to a single Smiths song, and tried to think of one that captured the wit, melody, and singability for which the lads are known.  

In the end, I went one of the pretty ones.

4) Beatles "CUNT Fields Forever"

Let's face it: they're the fuck*ng Beatles.  And they're the Beatles for a reason.  This track is actually a bit atypical for the Fab Four, but the orchestration, courtesy of producer George Martin, is more contemporary than anything you'll hear on the radio today.

For those of you who shun the Beatles and your parents' music, just listen to that BEAT.  And try to figure out in which time measure they're playing.

3a) Beach Boys "Heroes and Villians"

Okay, I'm throwing out an obscure Beach Boys song because this one is prototypical of what made them great, and happens to be one of their most complex arrangements.  

However, I could NOT leave out another of their songs, and so number three gets a tie, but a tie by the same artist, representing completely different aspects of the group.

3b) Beach Boys "God Only Knows"

Paul McCartney referred to this as the most beautiful song ever written, and he makes a good case.  It's a love song that's not schmaltzy.  The harmonies are gorgeous, it's in a minor key, and it plays well on infinite repeat.

2) Velvet Underground "Rock and Roll"

Kicking things up a notch, the Velvets kick out the jams by rocking and still being mellow.  And it was aaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllll right.

No, listen to me now.  And it was aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal right.  C'mon now.

1) Elvis Presley "Blue Suede Shoes"

A nice boy who was good to his mama took his buddy Carl Perkins's song, played it in double-time, and the world changed.

You can read about its history here:
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/BlueSuedeShoes.html

While Perkins's song was without a doubt a hit, and while Elvis had hits prior to his recording of Blue Suede Shoes, it was this song that made an impact on the music industry, and the world.

I can't stress this point enough: Elvis's music CHANGED THE WORLD.  Everything you listen to that was written since 1955 was inspired by Elvis, directly or indirectly.

So show some fuck*ng respect.

[slink]

4) Beatles "CUNT Fields Forever"

While I try to consider mine - this is absolutely my favourite Beatles song. The chord choice/progression is sublime, and is a joy to play on guitar.
I like the Beatles, though I don't really like the songs predominantly written by McCartney (never liked his writing) like Hey Jude, Obli Di et al.
It's the Lennon stuff I really love, especially his lyrics.

[Limmo]

Alright, well, if you're going to consider yourself truly rad:

Big Star: "The Ballad of El Goodo"
Cheap Trick: "Surrender" ( from Cheap Trick at Budokan )
Jeff Buckley: "Lover, You Should Have Come Over"
John Coltrane: "My Favorite Things"
Smashing Pumpkins: "geek u.s.a."

though, now that I think about it:

Igor Stravinsky: "The Rite of Spring"
Kinks: "Waterloo Sunset"
Rolling Stones: "Paint It, Black"
Todd Rundgren and Utopia: "Crybaby"
They Might Be Giants: "Ana Ng"

no, scratch that:
Beatles: "Dear Prudence"
Charlie Christian: "Swing To Bop"
Pixies: "Here Comes Your Man"
Rush: "Limelight"
Sly and the Family Stone: "Stand!"

but wait...

Fuck it, I'll have come up with six more lists by the time I post this.  

Suffice to say, if you post on this site, you're already rad.

[slink]

OK, so, I'm just going to post one, and it won't be my definitive one, 'cause we've established how bad I am at making top 5 lists of any kind!

Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should've Come Over - (sorry Limmo - but you were right with that one!)
Tom Waits - Dirt in the Ground
Kyuss - Space Cadet
Nine Inch Nails - The Becoming
Jane's Addiction - Jane Says

Ok, so that's kind of one. I tried to pick a few that showed some different styles that have to be involved in a greats list. I could however have come up with this one:

Chris Cornell - Disappearing One (amazing song!)
Sublime - April 29, 1992 (Miami)
Mark Lanegan - Shiloh Town (or) No Easy Action
Queens of the Stone Age - Auto Pilot (or) Better Living Through Chemistry (or) In The Fade
Led Zeppelin - Battle of Evermore (or) Going to California

OK I must stop, if I were to look into my older music collection, the 70's greats and obscurities I'd be going forever... I'd be adding things like Rolling Stones - Midnight Rambler and bits of Howlin' Wolf. Let alone considering that wanting to add PJ Harvey doign Wang Dang Doodle!
And! Beethoven's 7th, and some Chopin, and possibly Pugolesi.

DAMN YOU JOUGH!!!

[andalucia]

I like jough's list...here are my top 5, I think... they're not in order, and they're pretty much off the top of my head.

1)  Skip Tracer, Sonic Youth:
The band allows their resident beatnik, Lee Ranaldo, only a song or two on each album, but they're usually the best songs, with pseudopoetic lyrics that somehow avoid sounding overly pretentious.  Plus this one launched "Hello, 20-15!" as an enigmatic catchphrase.... at least for me and one of my music-geeky friends.

2)  Ruby Tuesday/Route 66 - Rolling Stones (It's a tie)
Ruby Tuesday is associated with some of my weirdest memories, the Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack, and is just plain rad to boot.  Route 66 I somehow first came across as covered by the Cramps.  I resisted the Stones as well as the Beatles for a long time... but it couldnt last.

3)  Idiot Wind - Bob Dylan
I love Bob Dylan, and I wish I'd had a chance to see him in concert before he had commenced sucking.   A ticket to his show in Ottawa last summer was not the wisest $80 I've ever spent, but I suppose it had to be done.  

4)  Heroin - The Velvet Underground:
Most of my friends who like the Velvet Underground agree that this song would make anyone feel like they needed a fix...  It's got the screetchy John Cale viola solo, and the impassive Lou Reed diction, and it all comes together perfectly, I think.

5)  Birdhouse in Your Soul - They Might be Giants:
A band I grew up with, along with the Ramones and the Sex Pistols (had a much older punk sister), but unlike those bands, I still think TMBG are uberly swell.

[V-Adore]

Augh, this is difficult... this is my final list, about half "these songs are really rad" and about half "actually important." In no particular order.

1) The Beatles, "Yesterday"

Not my favorite Beatles song, and admittedly, it's a hard pick because they did so much that should go here... but really, this is the Beatles song. If only one of their songs survives into eternity, it will probably be this one, and I can't really say it's undeserving.

2) Raised By Wolves, "Black Hole"

No, I'm not just putting this on for the insane Indie Rock Pete value of listing a Songfight artist here -- I really think this is incredible stuff. It's like a primer on how to write very quiet, articulate broken-heartedness and rage.

3) They Might Be Giants, "Ana Ng"

Already mentioned above, but highly worthy. Just... rocking yet beautiful.

4) R.E.M., "Swan Swan H"

Another very hard pick, but ultimately, I think it has to be this one. These guys have a really incredible body of work, and this song may exemplify it: technical arrangements at their best, simple without feeling sparse, and lyrics that manage to have virtually no literal meaning while still carrying immense, visceral emotional power. A masterpiece.

5) Edvard Grieg, "In the Hall of the Mountain King"

This gets my classical/historical nod because of its immense adaptability: it can be fairly sprightly and light, or it can be the total butt-kicking rocker of the classical pantheon. That, and it remixes to techno as well as any classical composition I've ever heard.

... and if I can sneak one more in...

6) Moxy Fruvous, "Lee"

A stunningly beautiful track, almost unknown, from yet another band most famous for their gag stuff. But, even though this song may never become a part of any canon, it should be; it's the definitive track about loss in my personal collection.

[AugustWest]

Off the top of my head, at the moment:

1)  Peaches In Regalia, Frank Zappa

2)  Well You Needn't, Theolonious Monk

3)  Rock and Roll, Led Zeppelin

4)  All of "Highway 61 Revisited", Bob Dylan

5)  If 6 were 9, Jimi Hendrix

6)  Dire Wolf, Grateful Dead

[slink]

Off the top of my head, at the moment:

1)  Peaches In Regalia, Frank Zappa

2)  Well You Needn't, Theolonious Monk

3)  Rock and Roll, Led Zeppelin

4)  All of "Highway 61 Revisited", Bob Dylan

5)  If 6 were 9, Jimi Hendrix

6)  Dire Wolf, Grateful Dead

Wow. I think I could almost go with that list! Excellent choices.

[beverly]

1) Wuxiapian Fantastique
2) Wuxiapian Fantastique
3) Wuxiapian Fantastique
4) Wuxiapian Fantastique
5) Wuxiapian Fantastique

[AugustWest]

Off the top of my head, at the moment:

1)  Peaches In Regalia, Frank Zappa

2)  Well You Needn't, Theolonious Monk

3)  Rock and Roll, Led Zeppelin

4)  All of "Highway 61 Revisited", Bob Dylan

5)  If 6 were 9, Jimi Hendrix

6)  Dire Wolf, Grateful Dead

Wow. I think I could almost go with that list! Excellent choices.

Holy Crap!  I'm totally flattered!

[Nabubrush]

Why for whenever a topic like this is posted, no one ever follows the rules? Am I just anal?
"Hmm, 5 essential songs, eh? Well, I couldn't possibly limit it to 5. 6, though - 6 I could easily do."
That's insane.

So:
5) "Children Of The Grave" - Black Sabbath
4) "Bullet" - The Misfits
3) "Manic Depression" - Jimi Hendrix
2) "Let's Get It On" - Marvin Gaye
1) "Boom Boom" - John Lee Hooker

Probably everyone here knows these songs, so I guess rad-ness goes with the territory.

[Flenker]

Ok, I haven't posted for a little while, but this one brought me back...  my top 5 songs, at this very moment, are as follows, in no particular order:

My Favourite Chords by the Weakerthans
it's a simple song, acoustic, beautiful.  I was supposed to be going to Chicago to see them this weekend, but my ride fell through, so alas, no show.

A Minor Incident by Badly Drawn Boy
again, a pretty simple song, I'm a sucker for acoustic songs I guess.

One Love by Bob Marley
I don't think I need to say too much about it

The Other Side of Summer by Elvis Costello
So up-beat and catchy.  I love it

Still Fighting It by Ben Folds
This song has grown on me recently for some reason

of course, this is all subject to change at any given time, depending on moods....  if I was asked later today, I might include Outkast, Refused, They Might Be Giants, Weezer, etc.  And I didn't put the Beatles up there, I can't choose just one song, they're in my hall of fame of bands, so they're not eligible or something.

[jay-ell]

I never do these, because they require so much consideration.  But, it's Friday afternoon and I'm no good for real work at the moment.  So, here go:  

Five Songs You Must Know to Be Considered Cool (the basics)

5.  Layla (Eric Clapton)

4.  Barracuda (Heart)

3.  Everybody Wants Some (Van Halen)

2.  Bastille Day (Rush)

1.  Since I've Been Loving You (Led Zeppelin)

As you may notice, I'm a very traditional, old-fashioned girl when it comes to "the greats."  Screaming guitars + screaming vocalists = One Happy JL.  Also, it helps if the lyrics are about politics or slutty women.  FWIW, it was very, very hard to keep Mark Knopfler, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughn off of this list.  I like their works as a whole, but none of them have singles that can stand alone like these can.

[Nice Jough]

My all time favorite top five songs!

1. The Turtles "Happy Together"
2. Barry Manilow "Mandy"
3. Frank Sinatra and a Bunch of Kids "High Hopes"
4. Simon & Garfunkel "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
5. Kenny Loggins "House At Pooh Corner"

[Nabubrush]

5. Kenny Loggins "House At Pooh Corner"

Wasn't that Loggins and Messina?