Nine Great Pop Rock Songs

Before we begin, let me make myself crystal clear: this is not a top nine list.  These songs are not ranked.  I chose nine because I needed a limit and the number made making a collage of covers easy.  While I would put a few of these on my all-time list, the point of this is to illustrate what makes songs great.  I tried to put in a few familiar favorites, a few things a bit lesser known, songs that were complicated and songs that were simple.  Ultimately, it is about illuminating what makes for a great song. 

If you have other suggestions, please post it on the socials and explain why it is so great.

And now, without further ado…

Marvelous 3 – “Freak of the Week” (3:21)

This song is criminally under-rated.  It’s just hook after hook after hook.  You don’t want the song to end.  It’s why you keep going back to it over and over.  It holds close enough to pop arrangements to be familiar but deviates enough to keep it interesting.  It moves fast, the second chorus comes in at 1:03.  If you’re looking for a template to write a pop song in these days of short attention spans, you won’t do better than this one.  For a full breakdown of this song, check out the episode on it on Chris Demakes a Podcast

The Beach Boys – “Good Vibrations” (3:36)

Another song that packs a ton into 3:36.  Lyrics by Mike Love and composed by Brian Wilson, it might be one of the best collaborations in history.  A song that uses the studio itself as an instrument, it was recorded in pieces at three different studios in Los Angeles.  A deceptively simple piece of music that sounds like a symphony, thanks to their vocal harmonies and instruments like the theremin (electro-theremin) and cello.  The instrumentation and the modal changes and key changes add to that feeling, but at the core of it, it’s just a great pop song.

Don Henley – “The Boys of Summer” (4:50)

This song is a lot longer, but would you have said it was almost five minutes if someone asked you?  Probably not, because you get lost in it and the idea of time fades away.  Another simple, but genius composition, this time by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  There’s nothing complicated here, just simplicity, great melodies and a great lyric and vocal performance by Don.  It originated out of Mike playing with an early prototype of the Linn Drum and adding some synths over top of it.  After Tom turned it down as not right for the Heartbreakers, Mike took it to Don Henley and the rest is history (it’s a great story that Mike has told multiple times, search it out on YouTube).  If I had to pick one song that sounded like the 80’s, this would be the one.  It’s iconic. 

Fleetwood Mac – “Go Your Own Way” (3:43)

Another simple song… starting to see a trend here?  There’s nothing crazy here.  Simple, but solid arrangement, melodic but not overly busy bass line, catchy lyrical hook for the chorus, and beyond that, just great musicians providing a great performance. 

Frou Frou – “Breathe In” (4:37)

Another one that didn’t get enough love in my opinion.  I remember seeing them at The Roxy in 2002 and just being blown away at how much they did with so little.  Sure, there were some samples and things going on behind them, but Guy’s production is relatively sparse.  This was a turning point in electronic music with artists lik Frou Frou and Dido, among others, starting to add downbeat elements to what would otherwise be simple singer-songwriter songs.  It’s got a mellow, comfortable vibe that sucks you in with a consistent beat and a bouncing bass line that keeps you nodding your head and tapping your foot.  Imogen’s voice is almost otherworldly, and it’s really what makes this song stand out – the music gives her the vehicle to express her voice in the best possible way to draw you to her. 

The La’s – “There She Goes” (2:43)

There has never been a better guitar pop song ever written in my opinion.  A very simple song, with very simple lyrics that has layer after layer of melodies and rhythms without being arrogant.  The song lyrically is so simple, yet it’s very specific in a way that it can be about anything, when in reality, it’s about heroin.  A heartbreaking lament about addiction that most people treat as a simple love song.  A pop song should try to be all things to all people and Lee Mavers nailed it here.

Nine Inch Nails – “Closer” (6:15)

Yes, this is a pop song.  In fact, it might be the track that best showcases Trent Reznor’s genius.  He takes industrial music, which at best is background music, and at worst, is unlistenable, and takes it to the top of the Billboard charts.  And it’s not just because, as the talking heads would say, “audiences were ready for it”, it’s because Trent knew what he was doing before anyone else did in this space. Industrial elements, organized in a traditional pop structure, with killer hooks and a chorus people couldn’t forget.  Another song that’s been misinterpreted, Trent was expressing his self-hatred and obsession, not writing about lust. 

The Clash – “Train in Vain” (3:10)

Personally, I think Joe Strummer was over-rated and that people overlook Mick Jones, and this is a good example.  A topic beat to death by pop music, a break up, but do any of them sound like this?  Nothing else sounds like this.  Another trait of a great pop song is the trail of cover songs it leaves behind and the diversity you find in them.  Go listen to Annie Lennox’s version, Dwight Yoakam’s version, and then Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet (to just name a few).  The song works.  No matter what you do with it.

Oasis – “Wonderwall” (4:19)

Yes, if you read this blog, you know how much I love Oasis, but this song has almost everything in it.  It’s a love song.  It has simple lyrics that are cloaked in strange phrases.  It has a simple arrangement.  The chorus is a simple hook that you can’t help but sing.  Liam is at the top of his game vocally.  No one else sounds like him.  The drumming is absolutely incredible (Alan White) and there’s a ton of melodies going on while the beat drives everything forward.  The mellotron adds a touch of melancholy to it that is only amplified when the simple piano melody enters at the end after, what I would call a chorus refrain, “you’re gonna be the one that saves me”.  There’s a lot of movement, musically and emotionally from the intro to the outro.  British bands struggle to be huge in America, but for a moment, thanks to this song, the most British band in history were huge.