# What's your "perfect" rock song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 3, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466 "2010-09-03T04:53:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/1 "2010-09-03T04:53:18Z")
Not necessarily your favorite, or the most meaningful, or the best lyrics, but the song that just seems to embody rock and roll to you. Obviously, since rock means something a little different to all of us, this is a pretty subjective exercise, but I’d be interested to see what y’all come up with. The song that prompted this question is John Mellencamp’s [_Authority Song_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsEwK69LXjQ&ob=av3e). I think it just might be a perfect rock song. It’s all about rebellion and not growing up, it’s got a rollicking lead guitar and primal, almost heartbeat-like drums, and it comes in at a nice radio-friendly 3:31. Mellencamp clearly owes a debt to Bobby Fuller’s [_I Fought the Law_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPXnoLAEUSQ), but he injects more adrenaline into the same concept than Fuller’s song. Now, I’m a bit ambivalent about Mellencamp in general; sometimes I think he’s got this fantastic blend of folk, country, and roots-rock going on, and sometimes I think he’s a self-important ass, but in my opinion he knocked it out of the park with this one. Honorable mention goes to fellow Hoosier John Hiatt’s [Tennessee Plates](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLMJk2AEGxk). I give it honorable mention because, as much as it involves car theft, prison, Cadillacs and Elvis, I’m not crazy about Sonny Landreth’s guitar on the studio version. Don’t get me wrong; I love Landreth, but I don’t think his guitar suits the song. When I saw Hiatt earlier this summer, his guitarist had more of a “growl” to his slide guitar as opposed to the “whiny” sound Landreth had on the original. I think it just worked better. So, what songs just sum up rock and roll? ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/2 "2010-09-03T04:57:12Z")
[Kashmir](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfR_HWMzgyc) by Led Zeppelin ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/3 "2010-09-03T05:01:20Z")
[Louie, Louie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vae_AkLb4Q) by the Kingsmen is the definitive rock song and rock song performance. It’s perfect rock & roll. This is the only song that will be played at my funeral/memorial/thank god he’s dead party. [Ace Of Spades](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e5cqe_JE0Q) by Motörhead is a close second, tho. They better crank that one to start the “after” party, eh. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/4 "2010-09-03T05:03:22Z")
[Room to Move](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au_2ssij9Xk). ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/5 "2010-09-03T05:11:31Z")
[Gloria](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkaMVLHxzWE) by Them. 3 chords, a driving beat, and yelling about sex. That’s rock and roll. ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/6 "2010-09-03T06:16:03Z")
Go With the Flow - Queens of the Stone Age. Great tune… short, fast-paced and urgent, with a fairly intimate message wrapped around a somewhat simplistic choral framework and catchy hook. The video became icing on the cake: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBwWUfLlglw) This. Is. Rock. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/7 "2010-09-03T10:20:36Z")
I’ve got two: First, I offer [Lola](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJiHp-2CmVY)by the Kinks. Some may argue that “You Really Got Me” is a better example of a perfect rock song, but Lola’s got everything a rock song must have. I can’t really describe it’s greatness, so just listen … (as an aside, I also think that the Kinks recorded the perfect \*pop \*song with Waterloo Sunset). This thread can’t exist without an AC/DC song, so my second suggestion is [It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock’n Roll)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpyMX6xZvdA&feature=related). It’s maybe the best example of their no-bullshit, relentless brand of rock’n roll, the lyrics are _about_ rock’n roll, and it’s got bagpipes! (Ok, bagpipes are certainly very unusual in a rock song, but they do fit in here perfectly) ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/8 "2010-09-03T10:33:39Z")
**Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf**. (Can’t provide song link from work.) Subject matter –getting it on for the first time- is pure rock and roll. It’s got an upbeat, driving tempo and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s actually a couple of songs rolled into one and works brilliantly. ---
**Author:** ![Krav\_Manga](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krav_manga/32/3153_2.png) [@Krav\_Manga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krav_Manga)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/9 "2010-09-03T11:02:06Z")
Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen. [Fat Bottomed Girls](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D99n9f3vU4) ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/10 "2010-09-03T11:31:22Z")
**The Trashmen** - “[Surfin’ Bird](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZThquH5t0ow)”. Raw, _garage_, lyrically-simple but damn, it gets everybody’s ass moving. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/11 "2010-09-03T11:33:21Z")
…This can’t be nearly _48 years old_ ? Damn ☹ . ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/12 "2010-09-03T11:50:40Z")
I thought about choosing Springsteen’s “Born to Run” or the Stones’ “Rock and a Hard Place” or Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower”, but then I realized the OP wanted “perfect”, rather than “best”. So my choices for the most perfect rock songs are: [More Than a Feeling](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm_-sW4Vktw), by Boston, and [Eye of the Tiger](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI6r6APUwK0&ob=av3n), baby! ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/13 "2010-09-03T11:59:17Z")
\*\*The Ocean \*\* Led Zepplin ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/14 "2010-09-03T12:19:14Z")
Another Led Zeppelin for the perfect rock song, but for **Black Dog**. I always took it as an homage to old time bluesy rock and roll, but way more complicated. And it _rocks_. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/15 "2010-09-03T12:26:22Z")
This one’s easy for me: **Stay with Me** by Faces. Kick-ass vocals, kick-ass guitar, kick-ass song. Give it a listen. (runner up: \*\*Sympathy For the Devil \*\*by the Stones.) mmm ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/16 "2010-09-03T12:38:31Z")
**Rosalita** by Bruce Springsteen ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/17 "2010-09-03T12:54:09Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > Another Led Zeppelin for the perfect rock song, but for **Black Dog**. I always took it as an homage to old time bluesy rock and roll, but way more complicated. And it _rocks_. I came in here to post **Black Dog**. That, and **Won’t Get Fooled Again**. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/18 "2010-09-03T12:57:53Z")
Not yet mentioned, but “Corduroy,” by Pearl Jam. It’s just a wonderful rock song; awesome hook, awesome power chords, guitar driven, and just about perfectly written. It’s just four minutes of rock heaven. Also, “Rock and Roll” by Zeppelin, because 1. It’s awesome, 2. It’s called “Rock and Roll,” and 3. Like all the best rock songs, it’s really about sex. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/19 "2010-09-03T13:02:53Z")
[Born To Run](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuThNgl3YA&ob=av3e) - Bruce Springsteen Grab your girl and get out of this town before it turns you into your parents. Pounding drums, screaming guitars…what else do you want? ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466/20 "2010-09-03T13:11:42Z")
This thread would make an awesome playlist! I came in to say **Won’t get fooled again** , but **Black dog** fits the bill pretty perfectly too. Now i feel like I’m copying **Mack** so I’ll add **Child in time** by deep purple. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-perfect-rock-song/552466.md?page=2)