Best Songs Ever

DiracPool

I'm actually transfixed on this song right now...

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

I can't stop playing it. When it ends, I get morosely depressed. I think I'm gonna have my team give me an MRI tomorrow to see what's going on. I'll keep you posted.

WannabeNewton

Yeah I'm pretty accustomed to this kind of music because I used to play a lot of fantasy rpg games in high school. The sitar was a very nice touch I have to say; overall the music is quite serene, thanks! If you like soft music like this you *might* like the following artist, however the genres are different:



One of my most favorite artists all around, Nick Drake's songs always remind me of my brother back home because he introduced me to Drake's music

strangerep

Hmmm -- what would you call this genre?

I'd never even heard of him before. But... was that a gravestone with his name of it at the end? Was that real, or just part of the visual montage for the sake of the song?

WannabeNewton

I would say folk but not the kind of folk you linked to before as they seem to have distinct sounds. I don't know about the gravestone thing but he did die very young at the age of 26 in 1974 if I recall. Here's another

strangerep

Yeah, Pentangle is kind of blend of traditional old-English, a touch of jazz and some rock. They pretty much invented the genre, and fans began to call it "folk-rock". Steel Eye Span is similar, but not as good as Pentangle, imho.

Ah, that would explain it. It's probably real, then.

strangerep

And, just before I tear myself away from the computer and go to bed...

I just did a search on this thread. Surprised to find no mention of "The Real Thing" by Russell Morris from the 1960's. I was too young understand it properly when it first came out -- I just heard the bizarre "lyrics" in the repeating crescendo and wondered "WTF???". I didn't understand then that "come and see the real thing" meant "come and see the real world"...

The video is an updated compilation including more recent clips (including a much older Russell Morris), and more clips from history showing not much has changed in the world...

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

[Warning: a couple of brief scenes herein are a bit confronting...]

dkotschessaa

This is kind of blowing my mind to think about.

We're about to go see this:



In the same hall where we saw this:

SW VandeCarr

Verdi and Vai, a pretty eclectic combination, but it's not that unusual for an upscale venue to host such diversity. Carnegie Hall in New York City has hosted a number of rock/pop groups such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones. In 1969, 1971 and 1976 Laura Nyro played to sold out crowds at Carnegie. Although not nearly as famous as many popular groups, she had considerable talent as a songwriter, vocalist and pianist. One thing about her albums was that many of her recordings were layered multi tracks, something you can't carry over to live performances. This probably limited her exposure to the general public as a solo performer.

I particularity like this song, recorded with Duane Allman (guitar). The opening verse appears under the video and is sung slowly, after which the tempo picks up. I like the way Laura closes the piece with an unusual piano figure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFpOqGrjcZ0

home.earthlink.net/~peter_rocheleau/index.html

leroyjenkens

This is one of my favorite songs. It's long, but it needs to be because it's epic.

jim hardy

After watching some recent NOVA shows on brain development, i wonder if it's simply what one listened to as a teenager & into early 20's.

Seems one's brain adapts itself as one grows older, and a lot of behavior is imprinted during adolesence. Last night's NOVA show repeated this idea in their study of violence.

Laugh if you like, but my favorite group in Junior High School was "Arthur Fiedler & Boston Pops". To this day i prefer light classics and symphony-sound treatments of contemporary music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP5v1O-QSg4
And a little of the Big Bopper era stuff from my early teen years, before i discovered high fidelity .

Observing other folks, they seem similarly imprinted from their developmental years.

What about your own kids, and your parents?

Is there a brain doctor in the house?

old jim

WannabeNewton

Pleased to meet you ;)

jbunniii

Try getting this one out of your head after you hear it once or twice.

strangerep

Interesting thought, but... I think there must be more to it...

As a very young child I'd wear out the old vinyl records of (instrumental only) carols every Christmas season. Even many weeks after Christmas I'd still be listening to them continuously, until my mother couldn't tolerate any more and told me "no, it's time to put those records away now, until next year".

I wonder why my child mind was so hypnotized by that type of music?

My (now elderly) mother is besotted with Andre Rieu (and absolutely everything he releases), but I can only tolerate his versions of the more sombre classics, not the fluffy musical-theatre songs my Mum likes.

It also occurred to me that different religions have been exploiting such neurological susceptibilities for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. And as different religions tend to attract/influence different types of people, they also use different music to do so. Compare, say, modern fundamentalist Christian revivalist, vs old-style Christian, vs Gregorian chant monastery types, vs Buddhist meditative chants, Sufi whirling-dervish, and so on. It's kinda scary when you think about it -- how one can be thus deeply influenced, even conscripted, semi-subconsciously.

strangerep

Hmm. Interesting take on the modern protest/rejectionist genre.

But I was playing the following one last night, and it's been in my head all day today, and still pushes out other songs as soon as I stop playing them. For those who've never heard it, you'll soon understand why.

(BTW, does anyone know of a modern rock singer who can match the young Ian Gillan? I've never heard anyone do this song as well as him -- though of course he paid for it later with severely damaged vocal chords (true story).

The bizarre thing is that I really like this, and the gentle delicate stuff I posted earlier.
Go figure.

OmCheeto

I agree. I'm in my mid 50's and still discover new music, by new bands, to which I become, transfixed: (The Shins, Sleeping Lessons). Even genres of music, which I've had no previous interest: Opera, Hip Hop(I think? What genre is Nelly's "Hot In Herre"? ), Bob Dylan, etc, etc.

I think I posted, in the past, that people who play musical instruments, experience music differently than people who sit around, get stoned, and go; "Wow. This is cool."

Though I like some of that music also.

A line from that last one popped into my head yesterday morning as I was heading out the door for work. I was doing a mental checklist:
Keys: Check
Wallet: Check
Water: Check
Computer: "You're magnetic ink"

Flashbacks aren't always bad.

fuzzyfelt

Really nice page of music, including some things I hadn't heard before, like Nick Drake.

WannabeNewton