Songs you love unconditionally (5 max)

[Melodeous]

 

Mike Nesmith wrote some Monkees tunes, but not any of the big hits I think. But you know what--that songwriting thing was a revelation for me. At some point back then I became aware that there were bands (or solo performers) who wrote their own music and others that didn't--I discovered that this made a huge difference to me in terms of how I thought about those bands. Creating a great song has always seemed to me to be a much more significant achievement than performing one. I remember seeing Johnny Mathis on the Johnny Carson show, back when the whole popular music industry was being revolutionized by the likes of the Beatles. Mathis (a great singer, to be sure) said something to the effect that some of the new music was worthwhile, but none of the performers were any good, so it was up to real artists like him to choose the good material from all the crap that the youngsters were writing and do it right (I think he might have sung "Yesterday" or some such on the show). I remember thinking, jeez, what an arrogant dinosaur that guy is...

 

 

Couldn't agree more. You know, I'd rather hear the raw, unrefined voice of a writer performing his own material (Dylan) than a polished singer crooning the same song (arrogant dinosaur). I like raking my own yard.

[simplygoodmusic]

Douce Ambiance - Django Reinhardt

Invitation - Washington/Kaper

Story of Isaac - Leonard Cohen

New York Counterpoint: Slow - Steve Reich

Nar-I-Ney- Mercan Dede

[Michael Martin]

I'd rather hear the raw, unrefined voice of a writer performing his own material (Dylan) than a polished singer crooning the same song

True dat!

 

I think Dylan's vocal on "If You See Her Say Hello" is just about the best singing I have ever heard. I don't believe Mathis ever covered it, but if he did, everything would be lost in translation.

[guildfire]

In the early 60s and prior, those were the days of "show business" where the music establishment had strict lines for songwriter, performer, producer, etc. Musicians had specific roles, singers and so on. Thats why Dylan and the Beatles blew everyone out of the water when they came along.

[Raj]

Most of my favourite songs are from before my time (born in '87.) But I can make a stab at it.

 

Gouge Away- Pixies

I Misunderstood- Richard Thompson

The Living Bubba- Drive-By Truckers

London Town- Shack

Dinosaur Act- Low

[Sangemon]

True dat! I think Dylan's vocal on "If You See Her Say Hello" is just about the best singing I have ever heard. I don't believe Mathis ever covered it, but if he did, everything would be lost in translation.

 

Oh yeah! +1 :thu:

[brahmz118]

I thought 'unconditionally' meant you love the song anytime, anywhere, no matter who's covering it, no matter what the arrangement or instrumentation, no matter how skillfully it's being executed. If you only love the song by a certain singer, from a certain performance / recording, on a certain day of the week, when you're in a certain mood -- well those are conditions.

 

But let's say you've been fighting crowds and traffic and obnoxious people all day, and are in desperate need of some peace and quiet, and then happen to encounter an off-key busker with a cheap plastic guitar who essentially butchers a song with great emotional significance for you. If the performance still manages to elicit a positive response or association, then there's probably something really special about it, something that transcends mere preference.

 

Maybe 'unconditional' is one of those words that represents an ideal state, and if we were to use the term accurately we would never use it at all. I can't even say I love ice cream unconditionally because someone might hand me a cone filled with 'chocolate chip cockroach dough.' But I'm sticking to my interpretation of the word. I have so many memories of children beaming with pride after figuring out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star that I will always appreciate hearing those notes, anytime, anywhere, by anyone.

[Michael Martin]

 

I thought 'unconditionally' meant you love the song anytime, anywhere, no matter who's covering it, no matter what the arrangement or instrumentation, no matter how skillfully it's being executed. If you only love the song by a certain singer, from a certain performance / recording, on a certain day of the week, when you're in a certain mood -- well those are conditions. But let's say you've been fighting crowds and traffic and obnoxious people all day, and are in desperate need of some peace and quiet, and then happen to encounter an off-key busker with a cheap plastic guitar who essentially butchers a song with great emotional significance for you. If the performance still manages to elicit a positive response or association, then there's probably something really special about it, something that transcends mere preference. Maybe 'unconditional' is one of those words that represents an ideal state, and if we were to use the term accurately we would never use it at all. I can't even say I love ice cream unconditionally because someone might hand me a cone filled with 'chocolate chip cockroach dough.' But I'm sticking to my interpretation of the word. I have so many memories of children beaming with pride after figuring out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star that I will always appreciate hearing those notes, anytime, anywhere, by anyone.

 

Well, not to get all Clintonian or deconstructivist here, but we have to agree about what we mean by a "song". For me, Dylan's version of "If You See Her Say Hello" (that appears on "Blood On the Tracks") and Mathis' imagined version would not be the same "song" at all. I don't really imagine a song as a thing detached from its performance--like sheet music. A "song" for me is a living thing, at once out there in the atmosphere and inside me, affecting the way I feel and the way I experience the moment I'm in.

 

So if we wanted to be completely clear here with our lists, I guess with my definition of "song" we'd need to specify which performance of it that we love unconditionally. For example, I probably have a dozen or more recorded versions of either The Who or Townshend doing "Behind Blue Eyes"--but none get under my skin quite the way the "Who's Next" original does, which is flawless and overwhelmingly powerful. And then you have the whiny, mealy-mouthed version of BBE butchered, trivialized and emasculated by Limp Bizkit, which I hate unconditionally. What they did borders on sacrilege.