"One, Singular Sensation. Every Move That They Make."

 

 

At some point many moons ago, I wrote about "Clubland," a song by Elvis Costello that for me, is the very definition of Elvis Costello. I said something like, "If you put ten songwriters in a room and asked them to write an Elvis Costello song, it would come out sounding like 'Clubland.'"

It's an odd concept, especially when Costello, possibly more than any other artist, has jumped genres so often, anything from alt-country to classical could define a particular patch of his career. Yet, "Clubland," released at the peak of his powers, give or take, simply sounds like everything I want from the man.

This idea came back to me a few days ago, while discussing the band Queen with a friend. He stands by the first six albums, but then got off the bus at "Jazz." I happen to love "Jazz," so I got off the bus at "Hot Space." But now, over 30 years after Freddie Mercury's death, I've come to appreciate all of Queen's music. Those last few records, from "A Kind Of Magic" to "Innuendo," have some pretty awful music on them. But knowing more now about Freddie's wild life and his wanting more of everything all of the time, helped me accept more of those crazy, over the top dancey bits on those albums. 

Still, if I had to pick one song that defines Queen, it would be "The March Of The Black Queen" from their second album. Like "Clubland," this song sounds like everything I want from the band. It was released a little under two years before Freddie foisted "Bohemian Rhapsody" on the world, and in some ways it's the template, with numerous sections, vocal flourishes and driving guitars. It's Queen already outdoing Queen and they've only just gotten started.

So kids, can you pick just one song that for you, represents all that you love about an artist or band?

I don't mind if you choose ten artists, as long as you keep it to one song per artist. This is a song, one song, that will represent the talent scouts on another planet. One song, that will make people who have never heard a single note by Elvis Costello or Queen, say, "I want more of this" after only hearing "Clubland" and "The March Of The Queen." And I should point out, the song you choose doesn't necessarily need to be your favorite song by the artist.