The Indie Anthology 68: essential songs

Told you this section was going to be revitalized and, before we take a holiday break for about ten days here's another mesmerizing tune to add to our anthology. Well, as a matter of fact it is way more than just a tune. In my opinion, it's one of the best jangle pop melodies ever penned.

Song: I Had an Excellent Dream
Artist: The Dentists
Year: 1985

This past April, we had the pleasure to count with Mark Matthews from the amazing The Treasures of Mexico, answering our questions in the 'These Go to 11' section. But, Matthews, as we pointed extensively on that interview, has a jangle-pop pedigree that goes back to the middle 80s, as he was a permanent member of the The Dentists, a terribly underrated combo that gave us a bunch of gems, among them this mind-blowing 'I Had and Excellent Dream', an epitome of what an eternal jangle-pop tune is, and part of a truly masterful album, 'Some People Are on the Pitch They Think It's All Over It Is Now' (reminder: have to grab a copy, damn it!). Second one: a guitar starts ringing (thanks Bob Collins, also playing now at the Treasures, you are genius guitarist). Seconds five to-eight: you are irrepressibly hooked by that chiming guitar riff (it resonates, vibrates, hums and keeps going further, relentlessly), propelled by that groovy rhythm section. Second thirty: Michael Murphy starts singing and you, providing an fragility and melancholy to the otherwise blasting tune. Second one hundred and eighty: the chorus keeping exploding and you know you'll get stuck to the song forever. 31 years have passed and still sounds raw, exciting, slightly psychedelic, immediate and classic at the same time. Guitar pop as its best.