2004-06-11 - 12:02 p.m. Steve Lacy. Robert Quine. Ronald Reagan. Ray Charles. Thomas "Quorthon" Forsberg. Yeesh, what a week. Am I forgetting anyone? My joke response is "If there's a rock and roll heaven, you know they've got...one hell of a very weird band." And my non-joke response: well, rest in peace, all of you. I've always been confounded by the idea a "favorite song." When I turned 30, I decided to take a stand and make a list of my all-time favorite albums, which felt very life-affirming, but I've always maintained that I would not be able to come up with a single favorite song. However, this morning it occurred to me that I would be hard-pressed to come up with a song that I love more than "Talk of the Town". It's a magical concurrence of transcendent guitar & bass sounds, rueful but clear-eyed lyrics, killer melody, great vocal performance. It's sad and pretty and rocking at the same time. It helps that I was a mopey teenager when I first heard it, that its tale of unrequited longing and social status disparity mirrored my high school experience perfectly, that I was already in love with the first Pretenders album and just happened to be in the record store the day the e.p. came out in the U.S. and got my vinyl copy straight from the box, thus heightening the excitement of hearing it for the first time. So, yup. And, as always, I'd love to hear what your favorite song may be, or what you suspect comes close. Although, you know, this song is pretty great too. Just wait and see what happens at the 3.5 minute mark. thoughts? (10 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact