the greatest pop song ever?


apropos of absolutely nothing, i just listened to the song "five o clock world" by the vogues for the first time in perhaps 20 years. i heard it on a really good lexus (levinson) sound system and have concluded that it's arguably the greatest pop production ever--the damn thing's incredible. in the space of a quick two minutes you get 12 string guitar, marimba, horns, incredible drumming and a really wild honky-tonk piano, all on top of those weird doowop harmonies. add to the mix a really tight melody and sorta meaningful lyrics and you have something that makes phil spector look unambitious and timid.

also from left field, i've been touting a song called "i can see you" by someone or something called june and the exit wounds as the single most beautiful tune ever written. as far as i know, it's only been released on a sampler by parasol records (an indy label out of urban il). this song sounds like some lost brian wilson masterpiece and is well worth finding for those in search of audio nirvana.
loomisjohnson
American Pie "the Day the Music Died" - Don McClean

Or maybe;
Art Garfunkel - Geometry :)

02-28-10: Shadorne
This pop song is a highly polished production by Trevor horn that will sound better than any other pop song when really cranked.
Funny to hear how much of that style was carried over into Seal's work, just updated with better syntehsizers.

The really impressive thing is listening to the 1985 studio original and then hearing this 2005/6 live version. Not always easy to do such a highly polished/produced studio dance tune live and catch the essence of it.
Also dig Friday on my mind. There are so many good poppy flavors available. Can't help thinking how much better radio could have been:
See Emily Play/ Pink Floyd (the Bowie one is good too)
Yellow Pills/ 20/20
I Can see For Miles/ The Who
Go All The Way/ The Raspberries
Sister Havana/ Urge Overkill
Little Green Bag/ George Baker Selection
The Move/ Do Ya
She's A Sensation/ The Ramones
Here Comes My Baby/ The Tremeloes
Sunshine Superman/ Donovan
Summer in the City/ Lovin' Spoonful
Just What I Needed/ The Cars
That Thing You Do/ Dwight Twilley
Breakup Song/ Greg Kihn
Strangers When We Meet/ Smithereens
Modern World/ The Jam
You Really Got Me/ Kinks
Look Sharp/ Joe Jackson
Speedy's Coming/ Scorpions
Walk Don't Run/ Ventures
Sleepwalk/ Shadows
Fleetwood Mac/ Albatross
Seven and Seven is/ Love
Too Much To Dream Last Night/ Electric Prunes
(Like the Stiv Bators one too)
Procol Harum/ Whiter Shade Of Pale
Jimi Hendrix/ Wind Cries Mary
She's a Rainbow/ Rolling Stones
Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape/ Be Bop Deluxe
Space Oddity/ David Bowie
Backwater/ Meat Puppets
Where is My Mind (and lots of others)/ Pixies
Radiohead/ Creep
I Will Follow/ U2
Eddie and the Hot Rods/ Do Anything You Wanna Do
Never Say Never/ Romeo Void

Gobs of glaring omissions, but gotta stop somewhere