Carole King "You've Got a Friend"
The greatest Pop song yet written and recorded.
This thread is an offshoot and was inspired by @mahgister’s wonderful thread "Interesting videos about sounds and music." I made a couple of contributions to that thread, recommending a video recorded quite a few years ago by (I believe) a music teacher, who sits at his keyboard while explaining and demonstrating the construction of the utterly majestic "God Only Knows", written by Brian Wilson (music) and Tony Asher (lyrics), recorded by The Beach Boys (vocals) and the L.A. studio musicians who comprised the legendary Wrecking Crew (instruments), the song found on the Pet Sounds album.
In my posts, I made the case for the highly sophisticated and incredibly brilliant chord progressions, modulations (key changes), and use of inversion (playing a bass note below the tonic of the chord being played on the piano) in the song’s composition. So when the video below appeared when I just jumped onto YouTube, it’s title really caught my eye. It is entitled "Exploring The Mythical Chords Of "God Only Knows"." Brian is well known for his harmony vocal arrangements, but that’s just the icing on the cake; the song itself is in it’s chords and melody. Some of the chord sequences in "God Only Knows" bring me to tears. Add to that the vocal harmonies---many sung in counterpoint---and Carl Wilson's angelic singing of the melody, and you have an absolute masterpiece of a song.
I have long considered "God Only Knows" my favorite song, and imo the "best" song ever written. I’m not alone in that; Paul McCartney has stated he feels the same. I could have added this video to @mahgister’s thread, but I believe the song and it’s appreciation warrant it’s own thread. Watch and listen to this video (and the one I posted in mahgister’s thread), give the song a new listen, and see if you don’t agree with Paul and I. 😉
https://youtu.be/I2PHOt9_fGc?si=7NVfhFUBn4aw_GGo
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In the words of the Highlander "There can be only one". Written by Mick at the tender age of 25, the song is as powerful today as ever. There are plenty of pretty pop songs, and then there is the one that towers above them all IMHO 🤣 Please allow me to introduce myself And I was 'round when Jesus Christ Pleased to meet you Stuck around St. Petersburg I rode a tank Pleased to meet you I watched with glee I shouted out Let me please introduce myself Pleased to meet you Pleased to meet you Just as every cop is a criminal So if you meet me Pleased to meet you Woo, who Tell me baby, what's my name? What's my name |
I have to ask you this What is a Pop song ? I'm seeing all kinds of music being listed as Pop songs , I wouldn't consider the Beach Boys " Only God Knows " as Pop or John Lennon's " Imagine " or Jefferson Airplane's " Comin Back to Me " , but " Walk Away Renee " ( I like Rickie Lee Jones version ) maybe all of what ABBA did or Diana Ross and the Supremes or all the Beach Boys surfer songs or all the Beatles up to Revolver is the type of music that I would think of as Pop . Am I way off base with my categorization ?
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@vair68robert - Good question - I think your categorization is perfectly correct for you - take a category and put in what you think belongs there, and nobody should tell you you are wrong. 'Pop' is just short for 'Popular' and all kinds of music can be so considered by somebody. That's why I think the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame', if such a thing should even exist, with everything that is in it, should be renamed the 'Pop Music Hall of Fame' - that would cover it all, I should think. |
vair68robert, I used to consider everything I listened to as "rock," which was where it was located in the record store bins. Along came the internet, and the Steve Hoffman forum, where I was informed that most of my favorites (the Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Motown, the girl groups) were actually considered "pop." I was alright with that, as I’d never listened much to the one-word-name groups, or any hair metal, or hard metal, or John Mayall, or pre-Lindsey and Stevie FM. Except for Satanic Majesties and Let It Bleed, I don’t even like post-Between the Buttons Stones. So I’ve continued to hie to that definition, as long as we’re talking about the pop music of our generation. (Begone, Shawn Mendes, Barefoots, Britney, Taylor Swift, etc.) But if you want to go back to calling it all "rock," I have no problem with that. P.S. The only version of "Walk Away, Renee" I like is the original. |
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