Weekend Listomania (Special L'Amour, Toots Shor L'Amour Video Edition)

Well, it's Friday and you know what that means. Yes, my Oriental groinal manipulator nutritional advisor Fah Lo Suee and I will be travelling to the fabulous off-shore resort L'île des Bonifications de Conservation (or Island of Retention Bonuses) for the first annual AIG "Eat It, Suckers" retreat and pig roast.

As a result, posting by moi will necessarily be sporadic for a few days.

But in my absence, here's a fun project for you all to contemplate:

Best Post-Elvis Love Song and/or Record!!!

Self-explanatory, obviously, so no arbitrary rules this time -- the song can be rapturous, bitter, horny, whatever. Just nothing about animals, please.

Oh, and don't give me any of that Stephen Merritt/Magnetic Fields bullshit, cause I don't want to hear about it.

Okay, here's my totally top of my head Top Six:

6. You Belong to Me Now -- Candy Butchers



I actually think this is the single most beautiful song written in the English language in the first decade of the 21st century. And if Mike Viola isn't on anybody's short list of the most emotionally compelling rock singers ever, I don't know who should be.

5. Here Without You -- The Byrds



Gene Clark at his most gorgeous, with the possible exception of "The World Turns All Around Her," for which I couldn't find a video. Why this one isn't a more often-covered standard is beyond me, although I seem to recall Richard Thompson did a nice version on a Byrds tribute album in the 80s.

4. Frederick -- Patti Smith



Frederick, as in her husband, the late Fred "Sonic" Smith, of MC5 fame. This song has killed me since vinyl days -- you can't help but wish that someday somebody would write as obviously felt and eloquent a love song about you. The chances are slim, of course.

3. Don't Worry Baby -- The Beach Boys



Heartfelt and heartbreaking, and one of those personal, confessional songs where Brian Wilson more or less invented the whole personal, confessional LA singer/songwriter genre that everybody thought was such a big deal when people like Joni and Jackson did it years later.

2. Andalucia -- John Cale



From one of my absolute favorite albums of all time, and ineffably touching, I think. No video, alas, but you can download the mp3 here. BTW -- the guy doing all the gorgeous guitar stuff is a pre-Little Feat Lowell George, whose name was left off the credits until the most recent CD reissue.

And the number one not necessarily silly love song, I think for a change we're all going to agree on this, obviously is --

1. Here, There and Everywhere -- The Beatles



One of the two most perfect pop records Paul McCartney ever made with his first band (the other, obviously, is "For No One") and all the justification for his knighthood anybody could possibly need.

Awrighty then -- what would your choices be?

[Shameless Blogwhore: My parallel Cinema Listomania -- theme: Nazis: I Hate Those Guys! flicks -- is now up over at Box Office. As always, if you could be kind enough to go over there and leave a comment, it would ensure my continuing post-AIG bonuses. Thanks!]