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
Mapman, Thanks for bringing Metallica onto the pop song list! +1Like! GOOD ONE!
I'm waiting for teh Metallica version of "Climb Every Mountain". Seriously!!!
AND album- Michael Jackson's Thriller. and Billie Jean has enough detail and overdubs to make it kind of a modern masterpiece. Do i "thrill" to it? No. but MJ hit a peak that will not soon be equalled. He was literally on top of the pop music world for many months after its release.
It reminds me of the time during Beatlemania when John Lennon, commenting on the HUGE crowds of fans swarming the Beatles wherever they went, said they were becoming "more popular than Jesus"- a handful of super pop stars enter into the "Unreality Zone" from which some of them sadly never escape.
Honorable mention goes to a lot of REALLY great pop songs though- hundreds of them...