That One Perfect Song.

I've been listening to a lot of music lately (which isn't terribly out of the ordinary or anything) and more specifically, I have been making a point to listen to whole albums all the way through. In this listening, I have realized the importance of having at least one patently "great" song on an album, and how it can make an entire album more listenable. I'm trying to figure out exactly why that is, or at least how it relates to my mindset when listening to music. I'll use three examples, and I don't know if any will be immediately recognized by any of you, but they still are all proven examples in my book. In each case, the entire disc is solid from top to bottom, but there's something about one specific song that keeps me coming back.

Band: The Blow
Album: Paper Television
Song: True Affection
Position on album: track 10 of 10
I can't say exactly why I like this song as much as I do, but there's something about it that absolutely floats my boat. Interestingly enough, this is the last song on the album, but I think the fact that the album is short enough (roughly 30-35 minutes as memory serves) to listen through quickly, I will often listen to the whole thing again in the anticipation of reaching that song yet again. It helps that the track "Parentheses", which is the second track on the album, is also phenomenal, so it helps. Still, if it weren't for "True Affection", would I like The Blow as much as I do? Not necessarily.


Band: Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
Album: Pershing
Song: I Think I Wanna Die
Position on album: track 7 of 11
This song is what introduced me to SSLBY. It might be one of the best indie/pop songs written in the last five years. It's clever, it's catchy, and it's the fillet of the album. I like the band, and appreciate their work as a whole, but this song stands out far above the rest. Chances are it's because the song is the most "pop" cut on the album, in addition to the fact that it is the song that the band chose for its hilarious video. Still, the placement just past the midway point has a similar effect: I spend a decent amount of time anticipating the song's arrival, and as soon as it's over, I'm ready to listen to the album again to get to it.


Band: Geographer
Album: Innocent Ghosts
Song: Each Other's Ghost
Position on album: track 5 of 11
I love the hell out of this band. They're local, they're talented, and they put on a hell of a live show. The CD is great, even if it does get stuck in my car's CD player any time I listen to it. Still, there is one song, again nearly at the midpoint of the album, that stands out above the rest. The song "Each Other's Ghost" is a shining achievement of indie rock for the Bay Area, and it's one of those tracks that even gets me reaching for the "repeat" button when I listen to the album in my car. I think this one has an affect as The Blow, in that the song "Asleep" is another stellar track that keeps me wanting more.


What is the secret? How do they do it? How do you produce albums with enough good songs to make it constantly listenable, while still having that one song that will make it on mix tapes for years to come? One day I'll figure it out...