Every issue of Rolling Stone features a ‘Guest List’ column, wherein a popular artist names five songs that he or she loves and/or views as an influence. It’s a nice look at musicians as fans.
This week I’m going to feature the five songs named by Jack Antonoff, guitarist for fun. and leader of new band Bleachers (which landed a SOTD mention a few weeks back).
Starting things off is ‘Only You’ by Yaz, which Antonoff describes this way:
This is the greatest pop song ever written. Alison Moyet is my favorite singer — her voice makes anything feel like the most depressing thing that’s ever happened.
I’m always intrigued when somebody calls something the “greatest ever,” even though I almost never share the enthusiasm once I hear it. But one of these days I hope to be just as blown away by a song as the person recommending it. Given my penchant for the melancholy, and the description of this singer’s vocals, maybe this will be the one.
The verdict: Not too shabby. Certainly not “the greatest pop song ever written” but I like it.
This song is new to me, though it was a minor hit upon its 1982 release. It was written by Depeche Mode’s Vince Clarke for Yazoo, a band he formed with vocalist Alison Moyet. I do like her voice in this. The band’s name was shortened to Yaz in the U.S. for legal reasons (guess there’s another Yazoo out there somewhere?).
Can you hear me
Came back only yesterday
I’m moving farther away
Want you near me
[Chorus]
All I needed was the love you gave
All I needed for another day
And all I ever knew
Only you
Sometimes when I think of her name when it’s only a game
And I need you
Listen to the words that you say it’s getting harder to stay
When I see you
[Chorus]
This is going to take a long time and I wonder what’s mine
Can’t take no more
Wonder if you’ll understand it’s just the touch of your hand
Behind a closed door
[Chorus]
Meet Me In Montauk 
This song sounds vaguely familiar, It feels like something that could have been done by Annie Lennox.
I’m not crazy about the synth, which dates the song, but it’s otherwise fine, though certainly not the best pop song ever written (at least in my opinion).
Certyainly a good pop song, but not the best ever. It was used to wonderful effect in the Bristish “The Office” in the final episode. Well worth watching to hear it.
The Flying Pickets did an almost totally a cappella cover of this, featured to great effect at the end of the Wong Kar-Wai movie “Fallen Angels”, in a scene that never fails to bring me to tears.