Jun 262011
Let’s try another 1-2 Punch, shall we? Top 10 lists are too much; Top 5 lists invite too many opportunities for throwing in a hipster, obscuro choice to distinguish oneself from the raging masses. What I’d like to know is what TWO (2) songs you would choose from an artist’s catalog to say as much about that artist that you believe represents said artist’s core as possible? In other words, if you could only use TWO (2) songs from an artist’s catalog to explain all that said artist is about to a Venusian, what TWO (2) songs would you pick to represent said artist’s place in rock ‘n roll?
I’ll pose two artists and you—love ’em or leave ’em—give me each artist’s representative 1-2 Punch. Dig? Here goes!
Prince
ELO (ZZ Top not included)
Hm. I haven’t heard enough of Prince’s albums to really be a good judge of his most typical songs. I’ll throw out “Let’s Go Crazy” and “When 2 R In Love”, but I’m sure others can do better.
For ELO:
“10538 Overture” – proof that they could rock, even with cellos.
“Telephone Line” – a great example of their ballad style.
Prince “When Doves Cry” (damn genius) and “Sexy MF”
ELO “Can’t Get it Out of My Head” and the world is slightly better now that you hear “Mr Blue Sky” in every advertisement and movie trailer. I had ELO among my earliest records but I totally lost interest in them. I still have nothing on CD or MP3 by these guys and I haven’t played the vinyl in years.
For ELO, my first choice is definitely “Rockaria!”. For second choice I was debating between “Evil Woman” and “Livin’ Thing” when I noticed that they have remarkably similar orchestral intros and grooves! Saul Zaentz and John Fogerty would be proud. “Evil Woman” gets the nod.
For Prince, “Little Red Corvette” is a pretty good exemplar. “When Doves Cry” would be the other. (I do think perhaps the best ever rendition of a Prince song is Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”, but maybe that’s because her video was so striking.)
Meestah Raoul’s head exploded trying to pick a song that defined Prince. He stay so funny! He say someting like “Eeee Yellow Rawk or Rival” and then “KaBoom!” We’ll try to piece together again his head for future topics!
aloha
Punani Lipschwitz
Secretary to Meestah Raoul
Prince- Little Red Corvette and Kiss.
ELO- Livin’ Thing and Turn to Stone
Prince — impossible to say — the guy is so stylistically/philosophically schizophrenic *and* prolific. And virtually all of his “eras” have their share of amazing music to be experienced. I’m going to fully cop out on that one.
ELO — Maybe “Evil Woman”?
Prince- Purple Rain (maximalist hit) and Kiss (minimalist hit)
ELO- Telephone Line and Turn to Stone
When Doves Cry
Black Sweat
Strange Magic
Don’t Bring Me Down
Also known as “I’ve Got No Hair – Fuck You.”
Prince: The Androgynous Prince: If I Was Your Girlfriend
The Bombastic Guitar Prince: When Doves Cry
ELO: Ballad: Telephone Line
Big Concept Album: Turn to Stone
Prince – When Doves Cry + 7
ELO – Mr. Blue Sky + Can’t Get It Out Of My Head
I prefer the Prince + Rosie Ganes duet of Nothing Compares To You from his best of CD
I hate all versions of that song. Love me some Prince, but that song blows.
Prince: Never Take the Place of Your Man; When You Were Mine
ELO: Evil Woman; Sweet Talkin’ Woman
Prince, When doves cry and some dirty funk song with u and 2 in the title, l,ike, l wish u e2 would b mote than sister and brother.
ELO, living thing and don’t bring me down, the latter for pointing the way to his work as a producer.
That imaginary Prince song title should have read “…b more than…” Posting from a phone is a brave new world for me. Now I’m back on an old-fashioned keyboard.
Late on this, but feel like I have to comment becuase it’s the two worthy members of the Holy Trinity and because HVB copped out so bad (please don’t let this go unchallenged, Mod).
Prince:
1. Let’s Go Crazy – amazing song, works in the weird “sex as god/god as sex/devil as elevator(?)” analogies that only Prince deals in, tremendous Prince guitar moments, spoken word, screeching, everything you want out of the guy
2. Batdance
ELO
1. Mr. Blue Sky – arguably now their most famous song, or at least the one that has become their signature song in the last decade; one of their big song suites; the whole “…let’s pick up where I Am The Walrus left off” concept of ELO in action; the most positive example of Lynne’s Beatle love since he builds the whole thing out of the first few minutes of the “woke up, fell out of bed” part of A Day In The Life
2. Mr. Radio – Represents a little of what they were on the first three albums, but still sets the table for the Telephone Line era