I could spend a large portion of my day on this….. so I’ll stop here. Have a nice day!
I’m not going to mention any particular Michael Jackson song, because that’s a debate all its own

Perfect music. I have always found Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind” hits all my musical “bells,” as it were. Also Basia’s “Time and Tide.” And Orleans’ “Dance with Me,” but I think that one is mostly because I once had it stuck in my head on constant play (CONSTANT. PLAY.) for 13 solid days. I think it might have driven me just slightly insane.

Almost everything on JoCo’s “Artificial Heart” fits your definition. In fact, I think that album is so dang good because it’s got so many perfect songs on it. The only exception (for me) is the song “Artificial Heart”, which I think goes on a bit too long and is a bit too repetitive. “The Stache” flirts with crossing that line, but doesn’t. But those are minor blemishes … I can’t possibly imagine how the rest of that album could be any better.

“Popular” from “Wicked” is also high on my list of perfect songs. The balance of internal and external rhymes, the catchiness of the melody, and how well the lyric/mood fits the characters and scene … it’s brilliant and efficient songsmithery. “What Is This Feeling?” (the “Loathing” song) is also right up there.

I think “That’s Mathematics” by Tom Lehrer is also a beautiful, elegant song, just an amazing balance in rhyme, message, rhythm, and melody. So is most of the rest of what he wrote.

My wife is the Artistic Director of the Girl Choir of South Florida. She has a knack for digging up perfect songs for her concert programs. Here are two: “Winter Solstice” (9 minutes of a winter soundscape) and “Geographical Fugue” (3 minutes of noisy brilliance).

Winter Solstice by Paul Carey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyulUhUzJnA

Geographical Fugue
Video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhC3NbErHu8
Lyrics – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_Fugue

(As I think about it, a Paul and Storm and Friends version of “Geographical Fugue” would crush everything.)

My musical tastes are too fickle for me to pick a single perfect song. There are occasionally perfect songs for a given moment.

Levitin is the Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal, where he runs the Laboratory for Music Cognition, Perception and Expertise.

Both of his books are an excellent and easy read … I’d HIGHLY recommend them.

Check out his web site at http://daniellevitin.com/publicpage/

*ahem*

I don’t think it’s weird to dry your hair whilst nekkid, but I do think it’s affected by how much hair you have. Back in my youth, when my flowing locks reached my waist, drying my hair was an extremely long and tedious task. I’d have been nekkid in the bathroom all day if I hadn’t got dressed until it was dry. Much easier to get dressed first, then sit somewhere comfortable with comb and straighteners and what have you to spend an hour getting it somewhere in the vague vicinity of dry.

These days, my hair is short like a boy, so it pretty much just needs a vigorous rub with a towel and it’s done. In which case I might as well do it first, and avoid dampening my shirt when I pull it over my head.

Sir Duke is pretty amazing and classic! Paradise has always struck me as a very well composed song in addition to being funny and entertaining.

In the all-the-little-things and compositions category, I’ve always liked “Breaking the Girl” by the RHCP (maybe not a stand-the-test-of-time thing, but it was one of my first experiences with little epiphanies with each re-listen), Tool’s “Lateralus” (Fibonacci FTW!), and the 1812 Overture (rings my bells in that familiar pattern sort of way). I don’t know if they’re universal in appeal, but they’re so indelible in my brain – Frankie Lymon’s “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”, The Supremes’ “I Hear a Symmphony”, and “Time Warp”.

Re: Evanescence, what about Nightwish? I tend to have a fondness for the grandiosity – which is also what draws me to Phantom of the Opera. The roller coaster effect of the actual Overture/”Phantom of the Opera” sections is just plain fun.

One of these days, I’ll have to read some Oliver Sacks. This seems relevant to your discussion about the brain hoodoo! http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-june-29-2009/oliver-sacks And for a tangent that makes me thing of music and science: http://blog.kexp.org/2010/03/17/enthusiasms-flight-of-the-bumblebee/

What about Anthems? Perhaps a future topic? One of my favorite Men Without Hats songs, “Jenny Wore Black” tends to strike me as something on an anthem – at least compositionally.