artist/band with large catalog and you only really need to hear one song by them.

I was about to say that "How Soon Is Now" is a distinctly bad Smiths pick, since it doesn't sound much like anything else they did! It's a total one-off in their catalog. And is 2-3 minutes too long. If I had to pick one song to get all your Smithiness from, it'd be "Still Ill".

Thinking the same myself, a very un-Smiths song to me.

its so epic though. and i can definitely see someone who doesn't care about the smiths listening to it a lot. i just meant that lyrically/emotionally its got all the smithiness but then it has the rock wallop and it makes sense for a non-fan to pick that one. more so than the other well known stuff like this charming man or whatever.

no non-smiths fan is gonna pick still ill as the one smiths song they listen to!

and suedehead would be prefect for non-moz people too.

Oh, I wasn't thinking about what song the non-fan would be most likely to enjoy--I was thinking about what song nails the basic essence of the band so well that you could hear just that one track and understand what they're about. But I see now that I may have missed the point of the thread.

Yeah, I'm in the camp of loving "How Soon..." and really not being much into other Smiths.

Smiths don't fit in here imo (my POO would be "Ask" though, duh)

I don't think there's any sort of "don't fit" about this though. It's highly subjective, one song I think is awesome and a bunch of others by the same artist that don't do much for me.

Which isn't the same as picking one song that encapsulates the band.

Yeah I'm a bit confused on the intent of this thread. For example I think "Clint Eastwood" by Gorillaz is a bad pick since their other stuff really isn't like it, but if you're saying "this is their only good song", well I guess I'm kinda on board. But then "Hallo Gallo" is named which makes sense but the Neu!/La-D discography is pretty stellar so it also feels wrong.

I think this is essentially for bands you don't really care for but you like one of their songs--thus, fans of said band will be disappointed because you're usually choosing something atypical or peripheral to what fans like about them (cf. my picks like "Train in Vain" above)

Muse, 'Supermassive Black Hole'

I guess that would have a different answer depending on what you like best about The Clash. Lots of their best elements are all in "I'm So Bored With the USA" but I dunno if I would choose that as "only need to hear one song"

although "Guns of Brixton" might work

Yeah this is a subjective discussion, obv.

With "How soon is now" as my first and repeated exposure to The Smiths it was more of a deterrent, not that it's a bad song, but that it's so non-indicative that it held me off a few precious teen years from investigating a band that I would later love to death (see also "Never met a girl like you before" Edwyn/OJ)

So far I haven't read another example that's made me say "yeah" as much as Scott's original mention of "Pump it up" I could listen to that song five times in a row

yeah i recall being disappointed in myself for not having gotten into the smiths sooner/earlier in my adolescence, too

Oh I definitely feel this way about "Love is a stranger" re: Eurythmics and Annie's entire catalog

i see this question as being like, i get the right amount of x every time i hear x by x. like, one or two vodka red bulls is good for me, maybe four or five if i feel like going nuts, but it's not going to lead me to explore the world of clear alcohol + energy drink pairings, though there is absolutely nothing wrong with that world and its enthusiasts.

i was just thinking about bands that i NEVER listen to on my own. ever. not cuz i hate them or anything but just because...i don't know could be lots of reasons. but even with those bands there is usually at least one song that i'm always happy to hear. it COULD be the most representative/distilled song in their catalog, but not always. like i said about "ace of spades" i could definitely see people loving that song and never listening to a motorhead album. and with that song you do kinda get all of what makes motorhead great in one short sharp package.

i mean there are other talking heads songs and elvis costello songs that i like but i am always in the mood for the two songs i mentioned. they always sound great. doesn't mean i would change the station in the car if psycho killer or allison came on the radio. (that's the only way i hear their songs pretty much. car radio. unless they are playing in a movie or something)

Starlight is obviously the right pick for Muse. As a bonus, it makes Keane superflous as well.

ok, that description is pretty much how i chose the stuff i posted earlier. xp

Cream - Badge

I wondered whether Rick Springfield would qualify as having a "large catalog," and when I looked it up it said he has 17 studio albums, which is ridiculous, but also allows me to add "Jesse's Girl" to this list without any trepidation.

:( sad to admit this but every time I put on Laura Nyro I actually just want to hear "Sweet Blindness". Her voice is too strident for me to enjoy her in anything other than short bursts and man "Sweet Blindness" has it all, I love all her songs yes but That's The Song

Eagles - In The Long Run is probably the only song I *like* to hear from them, but I dunno if any of their catalog qualifies for 'wanting' to hear

Motley Crue - On With The Show
I actually like them up to Dr Feelgood but this is the only AWESOME song they ever did

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
to be honest i only listen to zepp for bonham. i abhor plant's vocal mannerisms and page's riffing doesn't do much for me either. but man, kashmir is the fucking bomb.

The who - I Can See for Miles
another shitty vocalist bringing diminishing returns to a bunch of songs that could've been great otherwise. this one works for me anyway, best chorus they ever made.

For Beatles i would pick "Happiness is a Warm Gun".

Psychedelic yet at times universal lyrics, 50s rock nostalgia, weird interlocking time signatures that somehow feel natural, cheeky humor, childlike singalongs, John Lennon trying out for the best rock n roll singer, immaculate Everly Brothers-style harmonies, R&B girl group backing vocals, all ending with a minimal Ringo drum solo (snare roll into a single kick drum hit).

Great thread idea. Anyways:

Pastels - Nothing to be Done

if i had to pick it would probably be helter skelter. there is probably a thread for that. man i have listened to the beatles sooooo much in the last 3 years. its frightening. they're fun to obsess over though. i can feel the obsessives. plus having kids who like them...its a whole thing. and i really didn't do that. they just had it in them. they are very easy to love if you are a kid. and i totally stood by cyrus during his Kiss phase. i didn't really want to listen to that much Kiss but i was nice. there's a good one actually. i never listen to kiss. i don't really have a favorite kiss song. i guess an ace song if i thought about it.

and oh yeah, still relevant lyrics! (xp)

oops, you led with the lyrics, adam, apologies. it's just stunning here in america the pathology of the gun nuts in this country. and it won't change in our lifetimes.

"Jessie's Girl" is not only not Springfield's best song, it's probably not even the best song on his greatest hits albums. I know you're not a power pop fan, NYCNative, but he's got a pretty underrated catalog IMO.

Patti Smith - Because the Night
(i also dig Ask the Angels tho)

re: Rick Springfield, "Working Class Dog" is a solid 10 songs IMO

Probably have to split her into two eras, but:
PJ Harvey - "Dress"

I'll go with Janis Joplin - "Piece Of My Heart". I mean, of course there's plenty of other good stuff in her catalogue, but that one song neatly encapsulates what she was about.

Rod Stewart - Young Turks
The Chemical Brothers - Lost in The K-Hole
Billy Idol - Eyes Without a Face
Cabaret Voltaire - Nag Nag Nag
Hot Chocolate - Put Your Love in me
Ian Brown - F.E.A.R
Lenny Kravitz - It Ain't Over Til it's Over
Catatonia - Bleed
Yoko Ono - Walking on Thin Ice
Feist - My Moon My Man
CSS - Move
INXS - Never Tear Us Apart
Crystal Castles - Not in Love (with Robert Smith)
World Party - Is it Like Today?

Cream - Badge

This is a good one.

Donovan - Sunshine Superman
Eurythmics - Never Gonna Cry Again
Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4

> Patti Smith - Because the Night

For the purposes of the thread, I'd say "Gloria".

i really like 3 patti songs. people have the power, because the night, and pissing in the river. so, can't pick one. always happy to hear those three songs. that's it though. any more than that is too much for me.

Would say New Sensation is the essence of INXS

Doesn't really explain earlier stand out stuff like Don't Change but is the template for every post-Kick single

Or rather every post-87 single that people liked and wasn't a ballad.

More than any other act on this thread, Patti Smith is one I'd walk five miles to see her sing live, and I'm only a casual fan, she's such a great performer with such a broad legacy I can't even think about reducing her to a single song she recorded many years ago

Unlike say Jonathan Richman who I love seeing live and have high-fived several of his latter-day records but everybody knows it's Roadrunner forever

Thought it was "Ice Cream Man."

Donovan - Sunshine Superman

YES. Good one!

I own nothing by him, and radio has kind of forgotten him, but I would dig pretty much any Donovan cut that came on the radio.