Once again, a music list without one song from this century. Sad.
... and in twenty-five years, someone may well say the same thing about what you like.
Will their description of your taste as "sad" diminish the value of the music you love?
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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Two on offer… Lush Life by Billy Strayhorn. Never Gonna Let You Go. Worth watching Rick Beato take it apart. Also fun hearing how this great tune kicked the young, cocky “Jazz Guys” butt… https://youtu.be/ZnRxTW8GxT8?si=8_3g8S0wbZJp6lh4
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No one who puts their feet up on my coffee table and says, “God Only Knows” is the best pop song ever written will get a dirty look from me. A pop song that can hit a “laymen” with authority and merely sound like a “pretty, catchy song,” but which employs highly sophisticated methodology in it’s construction/execution, is, to my mind, a good measurement of a great pop song. The hazard in writing, say, “Hang On Sloopy” (a song I love) is that it may be perceived as “too simple.” The hazard in writing, say, “Aja,” is that it may be perceived as, “obtuse, ponderous, boring, etc.” To write a song that simultaneously achieves both…damn hard to do. The best pop songs (of which there are many) by these songwriters achieve this remarkable balance: |
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