Greatest Song of All Time

The music business has its fair share of complexities, as you would expect from any business with such a long history, and that is, at its core, built upon international law (i.e. copyright). That complexity is almost always hidden from the listening public. However, one piece that is curiously exposed every year when the Grammys come around is the separation between what is a "record" and what is a "song".

The second and third most prestigious awards at the Grammys are, respectively, "Song of the Year," and "Record of the Year." What's the difference? Most people, including most musicians, wouldn't be able to tell you. I couldn't either until I took a music industry course in college where someone finally explained it to me:

• A "song" is melody and lyrics. The best way I have to think if it is, if hear someone play a faithful-to-the-original, acoustic cover, the "song" is what would be the same between the original recording and the cover.
• A "record" is the specific recording of a song. As in, it is all the sounds (and, to be technically precise, the specific waveforms) that come out of your speaker when you play a track.

Theoretically, then, "Song of the Year" should go to the song that has the best melody and lyrics, regardless of how well it's recorded, and "Record of the Year" should go to the recording that is the best performed and best recorded, regardless of the melody and lyrics. In reality, the two are so intertwined that people can't tell the difference. Not that it matters much in the case of the Grammys. Awards are handed out pretty much randomly anyways.

Now, all this exposition was realy setup for the topic I actually want to write about: the greatest song of all time. As in, the best set of melodies ever written. The song that I would want to cover if I was in a horrible band and needed to sound OK, just for one song.

Sidebar: Honestly, what actual music fan really cares about lyrics? It's not that lyrics don't matter. It's just that they matter very little. Lyrics to a song are like the soundtrack to a movie. Sure, a great set of lyrics can elevate a song, but it's not what people are there for, and, generally, as long as it isn't distractingly bad, it's fine - looking at you Bono. What sort of stupid shit is "freedom has a scent like the top of a newborn baby's head"?

I tried to narrow it down to a single song, but I just couldn't do it. I did get it down to four. Here they are in chronological order.

1. Oasis - Don't Look Back in Anger: Wonderwall was a bigger hit. Live Forever is more acclaimed, but when you're drunk at a bar, or when you need a hymn after a tragedy (real or football-related), this is the song people (or at least the Brits) turn to, and for good reason. Wistful but ultimately hopeful. Tender, but perhaps the greatest stadium sing-along chorus ever. If actual church music were this good, I'd be sitting in a pew every Sunday morning.
2. Oasis - I Hope, I Think, I Know: One of two tracks (the other being Slide Away) where Oasis put it all together. Great song. Great recording. Emotionally consistent. Resonant. Also sounds just as good as a ballad.
3. The Calling - Wherever You Will Go: I think it's enough to say that, several years ago, an acoustic cover of this song that was made for a British tea commercial went straight to #1 on the UK charts because, well, this song is just that good.
4. Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Going Down: First, take a minute to appreciate the incredible melodic variety in this song. Many songs, even great ones, get by on just a few unique melodic lines. Shake It Off has four. Say It Right has only two. Sugar, We're Going Down has eight, back to back, and all but two (the first line, and "lie in the grass next to the mausoleum") are properly brilliant. You can play it fast. You can play it slow. You can basically let the audience sing it. It'll sound phenomenal no matter what. You can't. Fuck it. Up. It's one of two songs that I can't help but sing every time at karaoke (the other being Ocean Avenue).