Help me pick the most "definitive" songs by each of these bands...

Cafe Society
1

A friend of mine, who’s totally into folk & bluesgrass music (and apparently NOTHING else…for instance, he knows of Paul McCartney, but never heard his music) has posed me with a challenge: to rip an mp3 collection of one “signature song” by each band I have in my collection. Not necessarily their best, or their most popular…just the one song that best “defines” the band. In return, he’s gonna make a collection of his own, for me.

Some are easy enough, like Yes “Close to the Edge” or the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. But many are damn hard, and I’d like to enlist my fellow Dopers’ help/opinions in this task. (The “www” button below my post will give you a list of all the bands I own.)

Here’s what I’ve got for A-B so far, minus all the fringe death/thrash/speed/kill metal stuff (I’m asking help on another board for those, LOL):
[ul]
[li]ABBA - “Dancing Queen”[/li][li]AC/DC - “Down Payment Blues”[/li][li]Aerosmith - “Lord of the Thighs”[/li][li]Alice in Chains - “Rooster”[/li][li]Alien Ant Farm - “Smooth Criminal”[/li][li]Angel Witch - “Gorgon”[/li][li]Anthrax - “Indians”[/li][li]Armored Saint - “Aftermath”[/li][li]Asia - “Wildest Dreams”[/li][li]Audioslave - “Gasoline”[/li][li]B-52s - “Rock Lobster”[/li][li]Bad Company - “Feel Like Making Love”[/li][li]Beatallica - “Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band” :slight_smile: [/li][li]Beatles, the - “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?” [/li][li]Benatar, Pat “Promises in the Dark”[/li][li]Black Crowes, the “Hard to Handle”[/li][li]Black Sabbath “War Pigs”[/li][li]Blondie - “Dreaming”[/li][li]Blue Oyster Cult - “Veteran of the Psychic Wars”[/li][li]Body Count - “Cop Killer”[/li][li]Boston - “Smokin”[/li][li]Bowie, David - NOT A CLUE!! I’ve listened to his Greatest Hits 3 times so far and not one sounds like it sums up Bowie’s style…[/li][/ul]
[sup][/sup]Purposely chose their most nutty song as I only have the White Album

Up next, in the C’s, is a lot of fringe death/thrash/speed/kill metal (for Dopers into it, I need help with Celtic Frost, Coroner and Cradle of Filth) – as for more typical rock, here are ones I’m most dreading having to decide:

Deep Purple - Gillan era obviously, but which? I <i>really</i> wanna avoid “Smoke”…

Dio - I’m thinking “Rainbow in the Dark”, but that seems just a little <i>too</i> easy…

The Doors - “The End”? Again too easy, and “Light My Fire” too poppy. Hey, how about the whole “Celebration of the Lizard”? :wink:

ELP - My favorite band, yet I’m stuck between “Tarkus”, “Karn Evil 9”, “Fanfare for the Common Man”, and a couple others…

Genesis - not a freakin’ clue

(Oh, and please, nobody hijack this into a “my favorites” thread. I’m a narcissistic personality and I own TOTAL DOMINATION in this thread! Muahahaha!!!)

2

The Doors: Wild Child or Touch Me.

Don’t use ‘Why don’t we…’ for the Beatles. It’s too short and doesn’t represent what the band did. From the White Album, I’d say ‘Revolution’, ‘Dear Prudence’ or ‘even ‘Glass Onion’. Hell, go for ‘Goodnight’ if you want to show the Beatles’ classical side (though that doesn’t represent the whole of the band any better than your original choice).

For Body Count, I always liked the Anthem, personally. Don’t know why, it’s just good.

I’d stay away from ‘Hard to Handle’ and ‘Smooth Criminal’ as well…both covers. I’d think a band’s best single-song-representation should take into account writing. If you give him a cover, you’re demonstrating how that band’s sound fits with someone else’s ideas and imagination.
PS: You’re CD collection is almost as F’d up as mine! Abba next to Body Count… I love it!

3

I’d stay away from “Smooth Criminal” as well, it’s still Michael Jackson at heart. “Movies” is a much better song anyway. But “Hard to Handle” IS The Black Crowes. Cover or not, that’s their song now.

As for The Doors… “Riders on the Storm” is classic.

4

I’d agree with Glass Onion for the Beatles - or maybe A Day in the Life.

Personally, I’d go with Roadhouse Blues for The Doors, and Invisible Touch or Domino for Genesis.

5

For AC/DC, I’d go with “Whole Lotta Rosie” rather than “Down Payment Blues”. For Blondie, I’d go with “Union City Blue”, rather than “Dreaming”. For ABBA, I think you need a depressing song. “Dancing Queen” is happy and IMHO unrepresentative of their better work. “Knowing Me, Knowing You” would fit the bill.

For Deep Purple, how about “Highway Star”? For The Doors, “When the Music’s Over”. And for Bowie, I always thought “Loving the Alien” was fairly representative.

6

I’d say Space Oddity for David Bowie.

The Beatles can be summed up with something from Rubber Soul. Something that showcases those great Beatles harmonies and lyrics. But if you only have the White Album to work with, hmmm… maybe Blackbird?

7

I would choose Walk This Way for Aerosmith.

Trying to define a band with one song is going to be impossible. The Beatles, Bowie, Led Zep–the styles and performances varied so much over hundreds of songs that anything you pick will be wrong (and right).

Oh, and why not Hush for Deep Purple? (Machine Head would be my 2nd choice.)

8

Well, if you can’t find a 'definitive" Bowie song, maybe that’s because he’s had so MANY phases and sounds.

I mean, it’s easy to pick (for the sake of argument) “War Pigs” and say it’s a perfect example of the Black Sabbath sound, because Sabbath never wandered too far from a certain basic sound. But there are many bands and artists that went through a lot of phases. How can anyone say that “In the Court of the Crimson King” is the definitive song by King Crimson or “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” is the definitive Genesis song, when the 1980’s incarnations of those bands sounded completely different?

Still, to play along, if I had to pick a song that captures what Deep Purple, at its best, was all about… I’d go with “Highway Star,” because it’s one of the songs that gives Ian Gillan a chance to scream while ALSO giving Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore a chance to show off. Deep Purple’s classic sound was defined by Gillan’s scream and the interplay of Lord’s organ with Blackmore’s guitar.

9

For the Doors, I’d probably do either Wishful Sinful or Shaman’s Blues, but The End would be a good second.

For Deep Purple I’d say Woman From Tokyo.

Genesis, I’d do Inn Too Deep.

10

The Doors–“Break on Through” or “Riders on the Storm.”

I like “Touch Me,” but it’s probably the least “Morrisony” of the Doors’ songs, and so may not be the best candidate for their “signature song.”

11

The Beatles don’t have a definitive song. They just don’t have one.

People generally don’t take that well to change, so most bands have to stick to the style they introduced themselves with. The Beatles on the other hand, were so popular they could do whatever they damn well pleased.

The best you could do is one song from their early years and one from their later years. Maybe an Eleanor Rigby/A Day in the Life combo or something. But if you can only work from The White Album I just don’t know.

12

I’d have to agree with most of your choices, particularly Aerosmith and Audioslave. But for AC/DC I’d have to go with "It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock ‘n’ Roll) - the bagpipes are awesome.

13

Doors: I’ll go with Skopo’s two choices.

Bowie and Genesis: Too much variance between periods to nail down ONE “signature”

Beatles: If you only have the WA you’re in trouble. That was honestly a collection of works by 4 solo performers. My first choice “A Day in the Life” is from SPLHCB (no need to medley it, the piece itself is sorta medleyzed); the run-on multi-mini-song sequence from the B side of Abbey Road would be a good late-period sampler; a 2-side pre-SP/post-SP combo could be assembled out of Paperback Writer and Hey Jude.

14

Carcass - Reek of putrefaction

Bolt Thrower - Lest we forget

Deicide - Blaspherion

Morbid Angel - Thy Kingdom Come

Mortification - Scrolls of the Megaloth

Napalm Death - Armageddon times seven

Deftones - Engine number nine

15

A few suggestions:

Bob Segar & The Silver Bullet Band: Hollywood Nights

The Rolling Stones: Jumping Jack Flash

Led Zeppelin: Kashmir–Page and Plant have said that if there is one song in their catalog that captures the "essence of what Zeppelin was about, Kashmir is it.

Journey: Don’t Stop Believing

Guns N’ Roses: Paradise City

Hall & Oates: I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)

Heart: Crazy On You

Eric Clapton: I Can’t Stand It

Pat Boone–You do know that he made that CD as a lark. Not to say that he didn’t take the recording process seriously, he always has, but it in no way represents the type of music that he recorded during his career.

Bon Jovi: Wanted Dead Or Alive

Peter Gabriel: Games Without Frontiers

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Fortunate Son

Don Henley: The Boys Of Summer

Elton John: Tiny Dancer

KISS: Rock 'N Roll All Night

Huey Lewis & The News: Heart And Soul

Men At Work: Overkill

Pearl Jam: Once

Prince: Little Red Corvette

Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water

Bruce Springsteen & The E. Street Band: Tenth Avenue Freeze-out

16

Whoa, lotta responses! I guess narcissism works. :wink:

Beatles - I’m using “WDWDIITR” to tell this guy that it’s their typical sound, and see if he falls for it. Seriously, he might.

Black Crowes - Didn’t know “Hard to Handle” was a cover. Sucks because my 2nd choice was “Remedy”, and I don’t have that CD. As for AAF, I’ll have to check “Movies”, I remember that CD actually being good for some reason, the one time I listened to it.

Deep Purple - Hmm, 3 votes for “Highway Star”. Might be getting close. Votes for the Doors are all over the place (which figures…)

AC/DC - Well, “Whole Lotta Rosie” is my LEAST favorite song by them, and I’m already doing Pat Boone’s version of “It’s a Long Way to the Top” :smiley: Plus, AC/DC has always been a dirty blues band at heart, even if they rarely showed it, and “Down Payment Blues” catches that dirty sound perfectly. Plus, it’s far and away my favorite song by them. :slight_smile:

Body Count - Whoever suggested that their definitive song was some thing OTHER than “Cop Killer” needs to be shot. As Ice-T said, “When the President says your name in anger, you know the shit has truly hit the fan!” (BTW, I knew about that song months before it came out, and EVERY person I mentioned it to reacted strongly, in one way or another.)

Genesis - Yeah, the Gabriel/Collins split is what’s killing this one. Luckily I also have both of the solo (and Tony and Mike, too!) so what’s required here is finding a song that’s “middle ground”. I’m considering “Me and Sarah Jane”, think that’s a good choice?

17

Here are the C’s so far:

18

Here are the C’s so far:

  • Candlemass - “Black Stone Wielder”
  • Carcass - “Vomited Anal Tract” (they’re all about song titles, anyway)
  • The Cardigans - “Lovefool”
  • Celtic Frost - “I Won’t Dance”
  • Cheap Trick - “Surrender”
  • CHESS soundtrack - “The Deal (No Deal)/Pity the Fool”
  • Chicago - “Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?”
  • Eric Clapton - “Cocaine” (hey, I’ve only got a best-of…)
  • The Clash - “London Calling”
  • Coal Chamber - “Clock”
  • Phil Collins - “Thru These Walls”
  • Alice Cooper - “Welcome to My Nightmare” - even if I had more than one Alice CD, I’d pink this one.
  • Coroner - haven’t listened to these in years, will take awhile.
  • Corrosion of Conformity - ditto this
  • John Cougar - “Pink Houses” (another easy one)
  • Course of Empire - not sure yet
  • Coven - “McDonaldland Massacre” (don’t ask)
  • Covenant - “Dragonstorms”
  • Cradle of Filth - pick one at random, maybe?
  • Cream - “Crossroads” or “Spoonful”, haven’t decided
  • Credence Clearwater Revival - leaning towards “Run Through the Jungle” or “Born on a Bayou”
  • Cro-Mags - “Fugitive”
  • Cryptic Slaughter - “Money Talks”
  • the Cult - “Nirvana”, since they sucked after Love
  • the Cure - hmm, obviously something dark, depressing, gothic and suicidal. THAT sure narrows the field…

…oh, and I’m breaking deadlocks by judging how well the songs flow together when played in alphabetical order. Which is why ABBA got “Dancing Queen”, gives a nice kick as the lead-off track. :slight_smile:

19

Absolutely. But I still gotta pick something from it. :slight_smile: :smiley: :wink:

20

This is a cover of a JJ Cale song, but so is half Clapton’s material. :wink:

Either is a fine choice, especially of their bluesy side. Of course, both are also covers, if that matters to you. [I think when you’re dealing with blues stuff, covers are less of a big deal.] My favorite Cream song will always be Badge, though.

By the way, Hard to Handle is an Otis Redding song.