The Masterpiece Challenge

Our opinion / Not all songs are equal

We have listening challenge for you, High Plains reader.

But before we state our challenge, let’s talk about the inequality of popular music.

That’s right. Not all songs are equal. Some songs are undoubtedly superior to their contemporary counterparts. Of course, as a fan of music, you know this. But have you ever considered calling your ultimate favorite songs masterpieces?

In music, perhaps it’s more kosher to reserve the term masterpiece for pieces with ingenious harmonic and rhythmic complexity -- like a Bach concerto or Debussy’s “Clair De Lune.”

But is it so wrong to call a radio song a masterpiece? No, not if it’s truly a gift to the world of music.

Frankly, part of the fun of searching for new music is digging to find that next masterpiece -- that song that completely electrifies us. When we hear it our senses heighten and we earnestly latch on to every word and note the performers deliver.

Each of us differ in how we respond to certain types of music. It has a lot to do with personality. For example, if your heart belongs to hip-hop and R&B, you may never be able to appreciate the music of living legend Garth Brooks on the same level as a country music fan. Even though he’s written what a number of people would call masterpieces, there’s just too much a divide.

We can’t all be the same color, amiright?

At the same time, each of us are similar in how we respond to music we love. And, more than likely, we have similar criteria for what makes a song a masterpiece.

:: The song owns and embraces the performers’ character, strengths and vulnerabilities. (Not just anyone can perform it and make it sound like a masterpiece.)

:: Everything fits. Every pitch, phrase, line, instrument, harmony, voice and shape, or lack thereof, is where it needs to be. Nothing is extraneous. Nothing needs to be added.

:: All the lyrics feel as if they were made for the melodic line; the words seamlessly meld in with each note and rhythmic phrase.

:: The performers, the words and the music, as one, effortlessly command your attention.

:: The song brings the listener an unruly, unprecedented amount of satisfaction. It brings about an intense, fulfilling emotional response from the listener.

That said, there are factors that can cloud our judgement on what may constitute as a masterpiece:

:: Our tendency to judge songs based on hasty, distracted listens.

:: Our love or hate for the performer(s).

:: Our inability to identify with the musicians or the lyrics.

:: Our inability to get over a singer’s voice that we may find unappealing.

:: Our tendency to think a masterpiece must have a certain amount of chord changes, a certain amount of unique elements, a certain tone of voice, a certain number of instruments, a certain sound, a certain fixed level of talent from the performer, a certain amount of popularity or a certain amount of seriousness.

Our challenge to you: Discover a masterpiece in popular music. Preferably, find one you’ve never listened to before.

If you don’t know where to start, do some research. Read critics’ “best ever” lists. Get suggestions from your musically inclined friends. Search the Billboard charts. Storm Spotify.

Perhaps you heard The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” from the jukebox at Duffy’s but you’ve never truly listened to it. Perhaps you heard Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal” while shopping for sneakers but you never truly listened to it.

Truly listen. Free your mind and listen.

**Report your masterpiece discovery (discoveries?) back to us. If you’d like, leave a fun comment about your experience with the song. We’ll publish the list of all the songs sent to us.

******Why? Because we all crave to listen to -- and be inspired by -- amazing music. Let’s help each other out.

For your listening pleasure, here are 20 editor’s choice masterpieces:

:: “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel

:: “Waltz No. 1” by Elliott Smith
:: “Rebel Music” by Bob Marley
:: “Crazy” by Willie Nelson, performed by Patsy Cline
:: “You Don’t Know Me” by Cindy Walker, performed by Ray Charles
:: “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys
:: “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen
:: “La Di Da Di” by Slick Rick
:: “Come Pick Me Up” by Ryan Adams
:: “New Slang” by The Shins
:: “Purple Bottle” by Animal Collective
:: “Idioteque” by Radiohead
:: “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell

:: “Sleep To Dream” by Fiona Apple
:: “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty
:: “Down In The River To Pray” performed by Alison Krauss
:: “The Avalanche” by Sufjan Stevens
:: “Award Tour” by A Tribe Called Quest
:: “Something To Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt
:: “Tango Till They’re Sore” by Tom Waits

*This list is not in any order, nor is it comprehensive.