Semi-Open Thread: In which the Meridian seeks the attributes of The Perfect Pop Song

Finals Week begins today; and, seeing as I have yet to figure out when else to schedule final exams and due dates for final projects, I'll be pretty much only a visitor to the blogosphere for the next week.

In the meantime . . .

Some of my favorite blogs have a feature called Open Thread, in which commenters can post on whatever topic they choose. Being the anal-retentive control-freak academic that I am, though, we can't just talk about anything; we have to have Purposes and Goals and Learning Outcomes. Really. So, this thread is not so Open.

I have found myself thinking about this now off and on for the past month: What are the attributes of The Perfect Pop Song? I have some ideas about that, which I'll get to as I talk about my nominees below. Pre-emptive strike: The list below glaringly omits certain groups/"sounds" that could just as easily be here. The ones listed are just the ones that first came to mind. The idea is not to identify THE perfect pop song but to identify the qualities that a contender for the title should have. In other words: a Perfect Pop Song taxonomy.

Please note as well that, while I like very much the songs I've listed, they aren't necessarily my favorite songs. Neither do the ones you list have to be. So: no flaming of my/others' choices--except as regards the taxonomy itself. We'll be adults and agree to disagree as regards tastes. I hope you'll also supply links to evidence to bolster your claim--at least lyrics, if not video.

Enough with the caveats; on with the search!

The Beach Boys, "I Get Around." Those harmonies in the chorus actually seem to drive the song; the lyrics are about cruisin' the town looking for hip kids . . . whether or not "my buddies and me" themselves are actually hip. How much more "pop" can you get?

The Cars, "Let's Go." Structurally aerodynamic and air-tight. Nothing is extraneous in it; even the two brief instrumental breaks are the same "solo." And the chorus is irresistible.

Fountains of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom" (scroll down a bit for a link to the video). Maybe the ultimate in confession-songs: every male during his adolescence, I suspect, had a crush on at least one of his friends' mothers--but who would admit that sort of thing out loud? It oh so delicately straddles the line between serious and goofy, just like all crushes do. And, as with the Cars, there's nothing musically extraneous in this song: all works toward what Poe would have called a singular effect.

Have fun. I'll see you back "here" at the end of the week.