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

but you really like that song! and you are always happy to hear it. i am ALWAYS happy to hear beck's "loser" or "burnin' down the house" by talking heads and "pump it up" by elvis costello but i don't really need to ever hear more. i know "pump it up", right? what can i say, it always makes me happy. i don't own any albums by these three either. oh and blur's "girls and boys" i actually held on to a best-of cd just so i could hear that when i felt like it (i don't listen to any other song on the cd). i'm sure there's more. wait, i actually have an everclear album in the back of the store in case i want to hear "father of mine"! it's okay, you can laugh.

while i love'em, i suspect there are those that would suggest that Madness fit this criteria with the song of choice being either 'baggy trousers', or 'our house'.

oh the selector too. speaking of 2tone era. only need to hear "too much pressure" and then i'm done.

r.e.m. - the one i love

the clash - train in vain

blondie - heart of glass

coldplay - viva la vida

psbs handily covered it so i wouldn't have to listen to that one coldplay but, i dunno, i still like it.

chumbawamba - top of the world

Limp Bizkit - N 2 Gether Now

10000 Maniacs / Natalie Merchant - The Weather

artist/band with large catalog and you only really need to hear one song by them: the stereolab thread

I disagree with all of the examples so far on this thread regarding bands with which I'm familiar.

But anyway, my suggestion: Cabaret Voltaire - "Nag Nag Nag". I keep trying with them (I have *Red Mecca* and *The Living Legends* among others), but that's the only track that really does it for me.

"large" may not apply here but: atari teenage riot

i only ever listen to "livin on a prayer" but i listen to it all the time

Sorry, make that "Like the Weather".
I just happened to see the video on VH1 after work one day back when I was working second shift. I was pretty bummed out at the time, and her dorky dancing in the video really affected me.

Killing in the Name is the king of this thread.

and for the record, i might not listen to talking heads records but i've heard a LOT of talking heads in my life. since i was a kid. in the 70's. but that song gets me every time. especially on the radio in the car. my brother loved elvis costello. he had all his stuff. i listen to nick lowe and dave edmunds to this very day. but elvis, nope. and those first two albums are still great but i never need to hear them. maybe i've heard them enough. i still want to play Look Sharp! every once in a while. that album is tops.

Slow Ride - Foghat

I disagree hugely with the Coldplay one. The correct amount to listen to is zero. Ithankewe.

Scott, The Selectors "On My Radio" is on the phone.

*ter's*

Iago has managed a clean sweep of wrong but especially with Blondie. Like all three of those acts have such diverse back catalogues and it's not like those three songs are either their pinnacle or the record that best encapsulates them.

"Summer Breeze" is the only Seals & Crofts I ever really need to hear.

It's tricky because I want to say something like "Jackie Blue" by Ozark Mountain Daredevils, but you kinda need to hear other songs by a band as diverse as they are. There isn't gonna be a single song that best encapsulates them, but there isn't a single song that best encapsulates Beck either, so I dunno.

Also, there are bands like Soundgarden where I'd be perfectly content if someone were to put on one of their records, there are tons of their songs that I like a lot, but if it were up to me, 99% of the time I'm just gonna rock "Pretty Noose" and be good to go.

"Little Wing." There are other Hendrix songs I like okay, but that's the only one I really love.

The Walkmen - The Rat.

Orange Juice - Rip It Up And Start Again.

Actually I suspect that a lot of post punk and new wave bands qualify here.

The Damned - "New Rose"

I think the Undertones might actually be the platonic ideal of this kind of band. Six albums and countless singles but I'm never going to be motivated to listen to any of them no matter how much I loved Teenage Kicks.

Crowded House, 'Weather With You'

Boston - More Than a Feeling

Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage!

Kiss - "Love Gun"

Yo MattDC, thanks for the shout out. These just go for me personally, I'm not playing god here! Happy holidays though!

Dinosaur Jr. - "The Lung" or "Freak Scene".

Julian Cope "Sunspots"

Tho' I really appreciate his curatorial efforts and writing.

Eagles - Hotel California
Steely Dan - Reelin' in the Years

Elvis Costello almost works for me but I like Radio Radio as well.

James Taylor - Fire and Rain

lol@ steely dan. one for the headz there.

i dunno, beck and elvis costello and talking heads have lots of songs that i need to hear... i knew i'd disagree with everything in this thread before i opened it.

Foreigner - Dirty White Boy
The Toadies - Possum Kingdom

oh man soundgarden forgot about them. "black hole sun" all the way for me. and then i am so done. but i love that song.

The entire Beach Boys discography can be boiled down to a 7" with "Don't Worry Baby" on one side and "Good Vibrations" on the other, and honestly I can take or leave "Good Vibrations."

Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage!

i'm not a big E6 fan but this is really their worst song

The entire Beach Boys discography can be boiled down

no

lol@ steely dan. one for the headz there

no idea what you are talking about. that one dan song is more than enough for me.

Hi Iago! Happy Christmas as well, I feel a bit bad about jumping on you on this thread even if you are unjustly depriving yourself of the Blondie back catalogue.

The entire Beach Boys discography can be boiled down to a 7" with "Don't Worry Baby" on one side and "Good Vibrations" on the other, and honestly I can take or leave "Good Vibrations."

― 誤訳侮辱, Monday, December 24, 2012 2:26 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol now do the beatles

It's OK, Matt DC. I must say, I know Blondie the least of the three so I am going to give them another shot. Merry Xmas to you too!

oh yeah, happy holidays everyone! Could 2012 have sucked any worse? I guess if Mittens won, but otherwise, a bummer of a year

"Union City Blue" is my pick for best Blondie song which sounds nothing like "Heart of Glass" (which I love, and generally my favourite Blondie songs somewhat resemble it). But I guess that's a question for a Blondie thread.

that bob marley one

lol now do the beatles

I hate the Beatles more than anyone you know hates anything.

you sound cool

these are all subjective but I guess that's the point. feel free to debate any of them cos i prolly don't know what i'm talking about.

The Eagles "I Can't Tell You Why"
Heart "These Dreams"
The Alan Parsons Project "Eye In The Sky"
Fall Out Boy "Dance Dance"
Sugar Ray "Someday"
Chris Isaak "Wicked Game"
Del Amitri "Roll To Me"
Powerman 5000 "When Worlds Collide"
Boyz II Men "Motownphilly"
The Flamin' Groovies "Shake Some Action"
Rod Stewart "Maggie May"

Eagles, Alan Parsons, Flamin Groovies, and Rod all OTM for me

Rod Stewart - Young Turks

Is surely what you meant.

Man, Heart is essential listening

smashing pumpkins - cherub rock

hope I don't piss anyone off too bad with this one, but: Shriekback - My Spine (Is the Bassline)

Have tried, but nothing else I've heard by them grabs me at all. If any huge fans think I am missing out on the rest of their catalog, I would love some suggestions.

cat power - metal heart

not really large catalogues i guess, but still
beach house - zebra
xx - vcr
bon iver - skinny love

I think if you only picked Strawberry Fields Forever and associated boots flying around that would be enough for The Beatles.

There are people who have made better blues and girl scream pop, better concrete or used sitars in their tracks more interrestingly, had better riffs or did the studio as an instrument thing...so for all the goodies in their immense catalogue you could actually get away w/SFF. Besides, so many tendencies are there in one single song that its a good sum.

That's what I do anyway.

America - A Horse With No Name

cat power - metal heart

Jukebox or Moon Pix version?

Ventura Highway by America is hundred times better than Horse With No Name.

i mean seeeeriously rules so hard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5J54RVZjYs

And to play to type:

Bardo Pond - "Tommy Gun Angel"
Cocteau Twins - "Donimo"
Dead Can Dance - "Summoning of the Muse"
Stereolab - you know, the one that sounds like Neu! or Faust.

cat power - metal heart
Jukebox or Moon Pix version?

metal heart is the song i was going to post -- but i need both versions
i want her to keep recording this every 10 years until she's 90 years old
it's the only cat power song i need by a wide margin

Electric Six, but 'Gay Bar' instead of 'D!HV'.
A bit unfair on Rod Stewart, as he had loads more great songs besides 'Maggie May' - although everything since about 1992 can be skipped.

Lazy and obvious, but...Mudhoney - Touch Me I'm Sick. Honestly assumed this would be mentioned in first 5 replies

They're great and all, but really.

radiohead, maybe 'there there'. nb i love radiohead

should be good for another hundred posts or so *crosses fingers*

oh i know who is the ultimate example of this for me is bjork

America - A Horse With No Name
i love about 9 songs by this band

Fela "Lady"
Neu! + La Dusseldorf "Hallogallo"

I don't think saying "this band can be reduced" is a bad thing. I think it shows a clarity of intent.

Until recently, the only Grateful Dead song I ever needed (or wanted) to hear was "Box of Rain."

Rod Stewart - Young Turks

Is surely what you meant.

No I think he said "Hot Legs"

"cat power - metal heart
Jukebox or Moon Pix version?"

moon pix

otm, but i like them both. fortunately, the rules do not limit different recordings of the one song

Blue Cheer's version of "Summertime Blues." I like that one OTT cover tune, have no need for any more by them.

coldplay - yellow
eminem - my name is
kanye west - through the wire
the strokes - last night
bright eyes - waste of paint
the smiths - how soon is now
gorillaz - clint eastwood
delibes - lakme (the flower duet)

how soon is now is a good smiths pick. kinda get all your smithiness right there. could definitely understand someone picking ace of spades by motorhead for the same reason.

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.

Donovan - Sunshine Superman

;_; I love so many Donovan songs but this is so true. Peggy Lipton's cover of "Wear your love like heaven" even begins with a "Sunshine Superman" quote

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

― capital in ruins, thousands dead (flamboyant goon tie included)

Desmond Dekker - The Israelites

I love Sleater-Kinney to the ends of the earth, but I don't think they ever touched the perfection of Start Together.

Janis Joplin I also dig, but that famous live version of Ball And Chain is gorgeous, passionate, and probably better than Big Mama Thornton's (the only time I'll ever say that about a white rock band's cover of a black blues song).

And ignoring what a cultural behemoth Johnny B. Goode is, Promised Land is far and away the best song Chuck Berry ever wrote.

Low - (other than a handful of their Christmas songs come the season) - Lazerbeam.

Desmond Dekker has a surprisingly rich catalogue of songs. I'm always impressed when I listen to his stuff. Songs like 'It Mek', 'Problems', 'Dracula', 'Fu Manchu' are all just as deserving as the classic 'Israelites'.

'Roadrunner' is no way my favourite Jonathan Richman song, but that will all depend on your threshold for his schtick. That song is a straight ahead blues/punk number that pulls no punches, but somehow I find something like 'Ice Cream Man', 'Abdul & Cleopatra' or 'The Morning Of Our Lives' far more indicative of his style (and ultimately more entertaining) than 'Roadrunner'.

Roadrunner is a bit like Teenage Kicks in that it's a song that sounds so full, such a perfect capturing of an aesthetic, that you don't feel the artist could do any better. You really can get everything you want from that artist from that one song. I've actually had the same thing with Hallogallo, rightly or wrongly.

This is Will Oldham for me, I think. "I See a Darkness" is a great song, but I could take or leave the rest. I've got three or four of his albums (none of which feature the song I actually like) and I've never really been able to connect with his stuff.

Os Mutantes - Panis et Circenses

"in the fade" by queens of the stone age is def this for me. i don't dislike them normally, but i'm not especially interested either. that song though... i know it forwards+backwards. hasn't gotten old yet.

(also maybe a good indicator that it's a very unrepresentative song for them!)

“You Shook Me All Night Long.” There’s a couple other AC/DC songs I don’t mind hearing from time to time, but despite not being much of a fan this one always hits the spot.

^yeah, that's a good call... that song is on another level

"in the fade" by queens of the stone age is def this for me.

Austin, thanks for this... I had never heard that song. What a guitar sound!

Not sure they've reached "large catalog" status yet, but they're getting there, and I'm pretty sure "Highway Tune" is the only track I will ever need to hear from them.

I feel like "X-French Tee Shirt" by Shudder To Think is one of these.

“You Shook Me All Night Long.” There’s a couple other AC/DC songs I don’t mind hearing from time to time, but despite not being much of a fan this one always hits the spot.

― Requiem for a Dream: The Musical! (Dan Peterson), Friday, May 10, 2024 4:45 PM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

by far one of the worst opinions i have ever read on this board

my own xp - I was referring to Greta Van Fleet!

I've listened to that QOTSA track like six times now... what an absolute jam

Pet Shop Boys - What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Of course, there's a ringer in that song, so maybe my answer is really NO Pet Shop Boys.

adam ant's "stand and deliver"

so glad you dig it, morris!

think i found this for sublime. they're a band i've obviously struggled with a lot. idk, they're fine... just... enh, you guys know what i mean, right? i mean, they're cool but i just prefer other bands lol. their songs all kinda blended together for me and as someone who graduated high school in 1999, i don't think i need to tell you how popular they were, whether i led them or not. i didn't have any big criticisms, except maybe for the guy's perceived appropriation of hiphop sometimes. and that didn't even really bother me; just kind of figured him for an MC whose style i didn't really care for.

anyway, did you know they did a remix with the pharcyde!??!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84fhnHhmHTc
sublime feat. the pharcyde ― "doin' time (marshall arts remix)" (1996)

pretty f'kn dope, gotta admit.