Favourite Moments in Songs

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There is a cinematic quality about Sonic Youth's music that is pretty obvious in this masterpiece. The simple, three-note guitar riff that comes in through that wall of noise at 5:36 sends many beautiful visual images in my head.

Sonic Youth - "Trilogy: A) The Wonder, B) Hyperstation, Z) Eliminator Jr." - YouTube

The second half of this song is simply my favourite studio jam by anybody. Not a note is wasted. For a particular moment, I choose that acoustic slide guitar and the subsequent triumphal return of the rhythm section for a stunning conclusion (from 6:30 onwards):

The Stone Roses - I am the Resurrection (audio only) - YouTube

The whole climax of this song is absolutely terrifying and breathtaking, but when Ed O'Brien comes in with that simple guitar riff, backed by Jonny Greenwood's vicious Penderecki-influenced orchestral arrangement (one which will come more into focus on his subsequent soundtrack work), that moment makes the song for me (3:33):

9. Climbing up the Walls - YouTube
 
Climbing up the Walls is easily my favorite on OK Computer. The scream that comes after the part you mentioned is great as well.
 
Produced by Thom Yorke shrieking into an acoustic guitar. My favourite Radiohead song by far and away.
 
Axver said:
Definitely a great pick.

Leave Them All Behind is probably my favourite song of all time, and when the guitar comes in at 0:42, oh man, that always gets my blood pumping. The whole intro is fucking incredible, and then the first verse coming in at 2:13-17 with those drum hits, that kills. The other really big moment for me is the final verse and the start of the solo, 5:33-6:25.

Ride "Leave Them All Behind" - YouTube
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Gardener's acoustic guitar that comes in at 4:32 gets to me the most, along with the intro.

Axver said:
Speaking of songs with intros that kill me, when the first guitar comes in at 0:19 and the main guitar at 0:53:

Porcupine Tree - Fadeaway (Lyrics In Description) - YouTube
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Yes. Those weird electronic sounds in the background during the intro are beautiful.
 
bono_212 said:
You started it a little bit too late. That entire ending is possibly the best thing U2 has ever done.
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I guess so, yeah. Definitely my favorite U2 bit. I just tried to keep it short and sweet, so I took the part that literally gives me the chills.

Such a meaningless song but it's so meaningful to me.
 
No spoken words said:
After you mentioned Kamera a few of us had a brief follow up about how we could relate to your comments, so it wasn't just you.

Here's one that I like a lot, it's a Replacements with a little guitar flourish (again, let's remember, I have no musical vocabulary) that I adore. It occurs at 2:11 or 2:12 and it's just 2 seconds long or so.....

The Replacements - Alex Chilton - Original Music Video - YouTube

There you have it.

Nice thread.
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I believe the correct term is "guitar fill".

And funnily enough, there are credits for it on Pleased To Meet Me Itself. Alex Chilton actually does fills on Can't Hardly Wait.

There's a nice little one at 0:56, and another, more subtle one at 1:49.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7L...and then those horns. Lots of great moments.
 
Radiohead - How to Disappear Completely

4:35 to the end. That haunting falsetto and the way it rises and dives beneath the strings makes for one of the most beautiful moments in music. It's this end part that makes this my favorite Radiohead song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAF8D0ugyVk

Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)

3:18 to 3:50. From the handclaps to the last shouts of "Lies!" If ou've seen them live, you know how crazy the crowd goes during that call-and-response.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CICIfCbw1nU

St. Vincent - Cruel

1:56 to 2:29. I love how this part builds and builds but then the vocals crescendo before the background synths. Those dual peaks are so good, they give me goosebumps.

St. Vincent - 'Cruel' - YouTube
 
Axver said:
Haha, I was waiting for you to chime in on that one.
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Of course :) Top 10 U2 song for me, I can't stay away.

LuckyNumber7 said:
I guess so, yeah. Definitely my favorite U2 bit. I just tried to keep it short and sweet, so I took the part that literally gives me the chills.

Such a meaningless song but it's so meaningful to me.
Click to expand...

I'd almost let people get away with that "meaningless" comment if it weren't for those last :30 seconds :wink:

But, yeah, I understand the brevity, I just meant that the part you left out is the part that hits me the hardest.
 
nielsgov said:
This one is awesome.
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Yes, it is. Great choice there, Axver-good god, that song is so beautiful. Again, like I said in the "Random" thread, I can easily form pictures in my head when I listen to it, and that's a big thing for me.

On the subject of Finn-related songs, I submit Neil Finn's "Sinner", notably the part from about 2:48 to 2:54. I love how his voice and the music rise and rise and rise and then just completely tumbles back down. Especially given what the song's about...sounds like a last, desperate reach or plea or something.

Neil Finn - Sinner - YouTube

(Not sure what the video has to do with the lyrics, though.)

Next pick would be Guster's "Satellite", which was the first thing that popped into my head upon seeing this thread.

Guster - Satellite w/ lyrics - YouTube

I LOVE this song. Particularly fond of the music in it. I like at around 0:07 minutes in, when the sparkly, shimmery (I dunno, best words I can come up with to describe it), up and down sort of music kicks in. And I like the guitar that quietly plays in the background during the chorus, too.

But I think my favorite bit has to be from about 3:00 to 3:30. Every time I hear that part I feel like I want to be driving through the desert areas of the southwestern U.S. with a group of friends, at night, with stars twinkling up above. Either that, or the polar opposite-a dusty open road on an early summer afternoon, sun beating down and sky as pale blue and clear as far as the eye can see. It's just a great, great driving song and I always feel happy when I listen to it.

And final pick for this go-round, chosen 'cause I heard it at work tonight: Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day", at 1:48, simply because it sounds so cool.

Buddy Holly - That'll Be The Day - YouTube
 
A couple that have come to mind:

Cut Copy - Pharaohs and Pyramids @ 3:35-3:45

Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely @ 3:01-3.11 - love the melody in the frantic little bleeps that come to surface

Stone Roses - This Is The One @ 2.00-2.10 - when Ian Brown's vocal kicks in "I'd like to leave the country"
 
Great idea for a thread, Cobbler.

One that always sticks out in my mind is from this live, piano-only version of Someone Saved My Life Tonight:

Elton John - Someone saved my life tonight (Ephesus Amphitheatre) - YouTube

The piano fill at roughly 4:08, and the entire bridge at that, is just a sublime chord progression. It is really the one thing that inspired me to be more than just a dabbler with the piano. That entire Ephesus concert is exhibit A for why I love Elton John: the man's power with just that piano and voice is astounding. He is a master songwriter.

The lead guitar riff in The White Stripes' version of Death Letter similarly makes me want to learn guitar. Son House's original version is stellar, but Jack's sludgy electric take on it brings a new dimension to the song. The moment when he slides down into the lower register, which first occurs at 0:23, always gets to me.

Death Letter - The White Stripes - YouTube

Then there is Radiohead: the "you'll go to hell" line of Nude, the horn appearance in Codex, the opening notes of Everything in Its Right Place...the list goes on.
 
Oh, and speaking of Floyd's Echoes, the moment when it breaks into that funk-groove around the 7:00 mark is brilliant. The seering guitar in the Live at Pompeii version only enhances it.
 
I can't listen to European Oils without Painter In Your Pocket. Crazily good 2 track combo. I remember being blown away by both the first time I heard them.
 
The bit that comes in towards the end of Radiohead's Weird Fishes (chiming?)

The 'for a moment' part of Radiohead's Karma Police.

And for Axver who was picking bits from Crowded House's Together Alone, I'd also nominate the musical escalation that comes in at the end of Distant Sun.
 
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