44

Kiss
Prince
1986

So speaking of weirdos....I never really got into this guy in my youth. I mean, when you change your name to a completely bizarre symbol in the early '90s, that was grounds for the looney bin at the time.  So I completely wrote him, his music, and his undeniable talent off.  Even thisamazing scene couldn't save him in my mind.

But over time I came to my senses and got into him, though I still wouldn't call myself a superfan or anything.  The man has better songs -- Let's Go Crazy and When Doves Cry come immediately to mind -- and he certainly has displayed better talent (do yourself a favor and watch this absolute surreal performance.)  But this one is the pick.  And it's due to the most random of circumstances.  Years ago (2016, to be precise), we won some school auction that included tickets to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.  One of the plays we picked was this interactive Gilbert and Sullivan musical where you sit on the floor/stage and the play happens all around you.  It was actually very cool.  Anyway, as part of the warmup for the play to start, a few of the actors came out and sang some cover songs to just one guy on acoustic guitar, with a bit of crowd sing-along as backing vocals.  And yeah, one of those songs was Kiss.  And from that point forward, this was my Prince song.  It's fun.  It's playful.  It's funky.  And it's just a very unique sound -- no bass line, just a guitar and a drum machine, and of course, that signature falsetto vocal.

Don't just take my word for it.  Rolling Stone ranked this No. 85 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time list two years ago.  Sad I never got to see the man live.

Other Songs Considered:
Let's Go Crazy, When Doves Cry