[stevew]

Your favorite?

Mine....."Harry and Maggie"

I was born on a close street down a hill
The trees that line the street
Could sense the winter change
They felt the chill
They ducked and dived
And so we knew that they were alive
Until the year the silver rain came down
The trees turned mauve
And so did my hands
Oh, and the sound . . .
There was no sound and I'm freezing in the sun
Nobody cares to hide the dopeheads and the suicides
'Cause everyone freezes in the sun
And it's fallin' away

I kicked around with Harry
Who lived near Salisbury Plain
He worked on the cathedral there every now and again
He worked with stone, carved with stone
Odd jobs on the telephone
One sunny day he was sent to the Houses of Parliament
chipping' away at the gargoyles
Under the blistering sun
He carved out "Maggie Sucks" on the backs of every one
And so in five-hundred years
There's gonna be some history here
After it all subsides in the sun

And it's fallin' away
And I don't wanna know
I'm glad I don't know
What's draggin' it under

Another day, another loon
A new pied piper calls the tune
So blow it up, watch it explode
Noah's ark on overload
Wrestle with the results and throw 'em round the ring
Everybody knows there ain't no rules in wrestling
(everybody knows there ain't no rules)
The referee's a dupe
Who only old ladies and children believe
I'm getting up now to leave
I'll go back to that street someday
The air's better there anyway
Though the trees are still gonna freeze in the sun

And it's fallin' away
And I don't wanna know
I'm glad I don't know
What's draggin' it under

I wish I had a studio version uploaded somewhere.

Other favorites:

Husker Du "Books About UFO's"
Pernice Brothers "The Working Girls Are Fine"
Sonic Youth "Teenage Riot"
Dinosaur Jr "Freak Scene"
Joe Pernice "Hundred Dollar Pocket"
Wilco "Handshake Drugs"
Stone Roses "Standing Here"
Charlatans UK "Believe You Me"

 

[narlus]

for pure pop bliss, husker's selection would be (for me) either "flexible flyer" or "makes no sense at all".

 

[urbaindk]

Not sure what my favorite pop song is, probably something by Cake, I'd guess.

 

[JRB]

I don't guess I know what a "pop" song is.

 

[urbaindk]

I don't guess I know what a "pop" song is.

You're probably thinking Britney Spears or something.

Here's what I'm thinking when I say pop: From Wilkapedia:

Indie pop refers to indie music which is considered to be based on the conventions of pop music. The term is nebulous. Because indie rock is sometimes used to mean indie music as a whole, indie pop can be discussed as a sub-set of indie rock, but at other times, the terms are used to illustrate a pop-rock dichotomy within the indie music scene. The term is further blurred by disagreement over what qualifies as pop music. Pop is seen as being radio-friendly and disposable, two things that indie music generally eschews. Indie pop is thus the pop music that operates outside of the boundaries of conventional pop music. It is often lo-fi, or otherwise unusual.

Pop in general usually has some sort of hook that brings you in and keeps you coming back (sometimes stabbingly/painfully so). Indie Pop does that as well but tends to be a little more creative while doing it. Maybe the instrumentation isn't as traditional or the vocals not as insipid but the hooks will be there.

Hope that helps.

 

[Tenchiro]

I know Loco secretly has the 'Im a Barbie girl' single stashed away somewhere.

 

[Ciaran]

Too many songs. Unable to choose one.

 

[narlus]

for me, pop is all about the melody. not saying i need to listen only to songs with a strong melody, but if it's pop, it's gotta have a hook. top 40 tends to go for the really obvious hooks, but there are some good ones which get out there (like Outkasts' "hey ya", one of the best pop songs of the last decade for sure).

when i think pure pop, these are the bands which come to mind:

beatles
big star
beach boys
game theory
teenage fanclub
go-betweens
raspberries
the chills

there's a zillion others.

 

[JRB]

I know Loco secretly has the 'Im a Barbie girl' single stashed away somewhere.

A what??? I am so far from main stream, I may have a dam up river.

 

[stevew]

I forgot the Jesus And Mary Chain's "Happy When It Rains".

I guess my thinking is that I think any of the songs listed could be played on a top 40 station and be enjoyed by the dullards who listen to those stations, and possibly have their musical horizons expanded just a smidge.