In my head I have a category of music that I call "perfect pop." They're not necessarily the most profound or influential or groundbreaking songs, but they're tightly constructed and meticulously well-crafted: every word and sound in just the right place, hitting all the musical pleasure centers of my brain without overstaying their welcome. They're the songs you'd find on Goldilocks' playlist.
"Pauline" by Richard X. Heyman, who plays all the instruments on it, is always one of the first examples that comes to my mind. The beat is jaunty, the bass bounces. Chunky piano chords round out the background. The guitars, straight out of 60s rock, add a satisfying amount of crunch in just the right spots. Heyman's multi-tracked harmonies echo his lead vocal or provide discreet commentary on the side, as if he'd hired the Beach Boys as a rock 'n' roll Greek chorus. The guitar solo is coolly efficient, restating the melodic line of the verses and then executing a quick flourish before bowing out. I love the shape of the melody and the smartly-written lyrics ("I'm ground to a halt in the routine / Like character actors on a screen" is a great, evocative line).
The song packs a lot of meat into three-and-a-half minutes and there's not an ounce of fat on it. And the bottom line is that it's just so much FUN. To me it's almost the Platonic ideal of a pop song, and it's one I keep returning to whenever I need a quick hit of musical joy.
Check out much more of Heyman's music, including audio streams and lyrics, at his website. "Pauline" is off his album Basic Glee, which I recommend in its entirety. (And as someone who appreciates a good pun, I love many of his album titles: Basic Glee, Actual Sighs, Pop Circles. Well done.) BONUS: He won't remember me, but I briefly met him -- and his bassist and wife Nancy -- in 2002, when I had the pleasure of hearing his band perform at a music competition held in the old Lion's Den club in Greenwich Village. I was actually part of the competition; a lifetime ago I was a member of an a cappella group trying its darnedest to break into rock 'n' roll circles. Heyman's quite a raconteur and he has a hilarious account of how it all went down. Neither of our groups took the prize that night, though he seems to think we deserved it. But I'm the one sitting here years later, still a fan of his work, writing about how his music is a spot of sunlight for me in a dark time. So he wins. :-)
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