What's The Dolls' Best Song? - Part II

[HereIsGone]

Sorry I didn't put this up yesterday like I said I would. Guess I was too tired.

Just to recap, this thread here is for your reason why you picked a certain song as their very best. While, I doubt anyone else'll answer this, if you're late to the party you can still join in so long as you pick the best song they've done and why you think it is (and not just because it's your favourite).

If you guys could, answer in the following format using this template:

Your favourite song by them?

Your pick for their best song?

Why you think this is their best song?

Now if the song you find best matches your favourite, I want you to tack on the following question,

How would you explain that personal bias has not affected your choice in the slightest?

If you hadn't, tack on this question,

If someone told you that they thought your favourite song was their best (without knowing that it's your favourite), what point(s) would you bring up to challenge their pick?

And yes, I'm really trying to get you guys to think here. So to bring that point home, anyone who chickens out of the last question will have their post with the answers deleted. And unless if TA overrules me on that one, I'm being dead serious here.

Okay, so here's mine.

Your favourite song by them?

Here Is Gone.

Your pick for their best song?

Name.

Why you think this is their best song?

It was between Sympathy and Name, actually. I'd originally picked Sympathy because of the honest, self-depreciating, honest, 'I scared the shit out of myself' lyrics but then I realized with a help of a friend that I wasn't looking at the whole picture. Then I realized that Name was the right choice in all respects.

• It is earnest and heartfelt with honest lyrics.
  
• It is well known to say the least.
  
• Personally, it's got to say something that it broke them on ABNG of all albums -- seriously, that album was so hit and miss, I don't get it.
  
• It has lasted the test of time and has aged far better than Iris.
  
• John can still do justice to this song during live shows from what I can see -- his deeper voice hasn't hampered it in the slightest.
  
• Case and point, listen to LIB and Greatest Hits Vol I Name -- still sounds awesome anyway you play slice it.
  
• You can pick Name apart and it'll still sounds great. Strip it down to John and an acoustic guitar and it still holds on it's own. It's not like Iris which is the sum of it's parts -- strings/high notes/etc.
  

If someone told you that they thought your favourite song was their best (without knowing that it's your favourite), what point(s) would you bring up to challenge their pick?

• John sings Name better live.
  
• It was a bigger hit than Here Is Gone, though they were both the biggest hits off of their respective albums.
  
• More people can connect a point in their lives to Name and it's probably more memorable.
  

[sue5]

Your favourite song by them? Black Balloon

Your pick for their best song? Black Balloon

Why you think this is their best song? From the very intro, the melody is so beautiful, almost hypnotizing...The song builds so beautifully, and rises and falls...Sorry, my description does not do it justice...It just sounds so good...Everything...The melody, Johnny's voice, the lyrics seem so sincere and genuine. I'm not surprised that Johnny wrote it about Robby's ex-wife...That kind of clarity, sadness, and emotion is hard to just pull out of thin air...It feels so real, because it is. It means something to them and me.



How would you explain that personal bias has not affected your choice in the slightest?

I can't because I'm not sure if it has or not...All I can tell you is that from the opening notes this song stands out, and I just never, ever get tired of it...I have never had one song be my all time fave song for years...It's just a perfect match for me...It's a ballad, but it rocks, it's dark, but it's beautiful...Black Balloon is to me, what the night is to the moon...Musically, I couldn't tell you what chords are what, but I have never heard a song that even sounds similiar to it...I had read that it's Robby's favourite too... I have to go listen to it again right now!

[googal70]

Follow the template please -- HereIsGone

[BulletProof]

Your favourite song by them?
Cuz you're gone (1000 words) (I'm not totally sure about this, cause I don't know exactly which song I like most)
Your pick for their best song?
Iris
Why you think this is their best song?

• Most people here (The Netherlands) know the song, and everyone likes/loves it, I don't know a person who don't like it.
  
• The lyrics fit perfectly into the City Of Angels movie, and the lyrics are soo good!
  
• I like it at the end of the solo thingy, the music is going softer, and then you hear Johnny singing: And I..., and then the music is returning very loud.
  
• Johnny wrote this song in 5 minutes!
  
• The acoustic version is also beautiful, they madea totally different version of the song.
  

If someone told you that they thought your favourite song was their best (without knowing that it's your favourite), what point(s) would you bring up to challenge their pick?

• Iris was their biggest hit, and Cuz You're Gone wasn't even a hit.
  
• I think Iris is a more personal song, like you said about Name HIG, a lot people can connect to it.
  

[magnetronnie]

Your favourite song by them?
Iris

Your pick for their best song?
Cuz You're Gone (with a 1000 words)

Why you think this is their best song?
I think technically speaking this is their best song. The drums and guitars sound really cool, the song contains alot of energy, hold in during the 1000 words bit, only to build up energy and throw it all out in the last bit. Also the lyrics are great, especially the 1000 words part.

How would you explain that personal bias has not affected your choice in the slightest?
I'm not a music expert so it's always hard to choose their (technically) best song, but I tried to be as objective as possible, not letting my personal flavor for my favorite songs interfere with my choice.
It's also how you define "best", after all Iris made them famous in 150 countries orso, that's also a way of saying it's their best (most popular) song according to the masses.

If someone told you that they thought your favourite song was their best (without knowing that it's your favourite), what point(s) would you bring up to challenge their pick?
That's a tough one, because like I said I'm not a music expert and not even a musician so it's hard to say Cuz You're Gone is better then Iris (or Name or Black Balloon). Iris is emotionally incredibly strong (same with the other 2 songs), but all those 3 songs are technically very standard songs, and Cuz You're Gone with a 1000 words is not. Simple as that.

But then again, maybe I'm wrong.

[TuckedAway]

Your favourite song by them?
Black Balloon

Your pick for their best song?
Name

Why do you think this is their best song?
You know, it's kind of odd... When I thought about this question, I immediately thought of Name. My heart went straight to this song, not to Black Balloon. At first I wondered if I was just having an off day, but then, I realized something...
I really think Name IS their best song.

Here's why...

Okay, so it wasn't the mega-hit that Iris was. Alright, I accept that. I'm good with it. But, it wasn't the mediocre hit that We're_Normal was, either. It was, essentially, the stepping-stone to stardom. It was like a practice run for the Iris-mania that was to come. It launched them to their first round of multi-platinum success, which supports that the masses supported it, if that's any indication of objective goodness.

But, more so, I think this is the song that solidified the Dolls' path in music. The melodic nature of their music had always been there, even back in the FR-days... It just had been overwhelmed, or weak, or wavering until BOOM! Name came through, as a great, solid melodic song... It achieved what they had been driving at, what they had been hinting at, for years prior.

It had a catchy melody. It was their breakthrough song that established their signature slow-fast-slow style. It proved that Rzeznik is a lyricist worth his weight in salt, and then some, with its touching, heartfelt, and honest lyrics a number of people could relate to.

And, unlike Iris, for example, it came to be from Rzeznik's own self... It wasn't an assignment. It wasn't inspired by a wholly outer-source. It came from him and his own feelings and observations, and was STILL the first breakthrough hit.

Name was how the world first found the Dolls, and how the Dolls finally found themselves and their place, imo.

If someone told you that they thought your favourite song was their best (without knowing that it's your favourite), what point(s) would you bring up to challenge their pick?
(god damn it... it hurts my heart to do this...)
Okay... Long story short: BB suffers from what I believe Iris suffers from... Unplug it, especially take out the strings, and the song falls to pieces. Not even amazing, well-written lyrics can save it.
Name on the other hand? It still works as well, if not better.

[imstillhere]

First let me say, I didn't read any of this before I wrote this so I wouldn't be affected by other peoples' answers so sorry if there's repeats.

Your favourite song by them?
Name

Your pick for their best song?
Name

Why you think this is their best song?

• The obvious: it was their first hit.
  
• I feel it was their first truly, really, way down DEEP song.
  
• It just delves into so many different aspects of life. Its a very metophorical song and I think if you really listne to it there is something for everyone to relate to.
  
• Kind of the same thing as before but: its a love song but its so much more. Its not like many of their other songs where they just come out and say what they want. Its a very poetic and has really great meaning.
  
• The music is perfect. Its slow and calm at first but then in the chorus it gets a little louder and then the instumental part is so big and fast and in your face and then it gets soft and slow again. Its exactly like the kind of roller coaster life is.
  
• The video is perfect too. Once again, it just shows all the pain to all the joy life can bring.
  

How would you explain that personal bias has not affected your choice in the slightest?
I could have picked another one of their songs like Iris, or Black Balloon but I would have been lying. Any of the other songs I would have picked would have been one of my favorites anyway. The truly groundbreaking and revolutionary songs of theirs are the truly deep ones. Now don't get me wrong, I love Iris but when you think about it, it is basically a pure love song. There's nothing wrong with that, its just that I can't consider something like that their best in a objective way. Black Balloon was really close but I felt that Name just delves much deeper into life itself.
If I did this basically on why I love it I would have commented on things like, "Scars are souveniers you never lose, the past is never far" is the best line of any song in the world and it explains my feelings. And other things like that which would always end with something like, "that is just what I feel" or "that just explains who I am" I looked at this from an outsiders eye as best as I could and still came up with Name.