Perfect Moments In Music

[Nattlinnen]

Too many perfect moments.

Free Money - Patti Smith Group When it really starts
Kino - The Knife When "Then I had to climb down" comes. Powerful.
Show 'em watcha got - Public Enemy The whole thing.
Overground - Siouxsie and the banshees The gradual intro.
None of you will ever see a penny/This is the dream of Win and Regine - Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) When None of you changes into This is the dream

That's enough for now.

[zmatt]

when the guitar harmony hits in Boston's "peace of mind".

[saut]

The part in David Crosby - Laughing, when the music slows down a little and stops for a brief second, then comes back with that lush vocal harmony. "Mistaaaakennnn...."

(swoons)

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

[axilog14]

Ironically reading this article had reminded me all over again of my unhealthy love for Beck's "Lonesome Tears." There's the orchestral swelling leading up to the chorus, the briefly disorienting drums at the beginning, I-I am just too overwhelmed by the overall loveliness of that song.

Also, hearing this always makes me want to reconsider watching Sunshine.

While we're on the subject of YouTube non sequiturs, this is just insane.

"Panic Switch" - Silversun Pickups
The later part when he starts yelling "Waiting and fading and floating away...", everything just comes together so well there.

I am seriously torn on whether to hail or strangle Zack Snyder for cannibalizing so many perfect music moments for his movie trailers. I'm looking at you, Sucker Punch. (Resurrecting the Smashing Pumpkins' "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" for the Watchmen trailer was also a novel decision.)

Since "Panic Switch" is already here (for the record I also love that song's badass bass riff), I might as well mention that ever since the second trailer came out our house has had Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" on unironically heavy rotation. Obviously the guitar solos go without saying, but it's a pleasantly surreal moment when they take up the whole first minute and 23 seconds of the song and your ears are just bombarded with nothing but those guitars. Like, damn. I could have sworn my heart stopped the first time I heard all of it.

[Sleepy]

Bruce Springsteen is pretty good at creating those... the break before "The Highway's jammed with broken heroes" in Born to Run would be one example. A more recent one is Mary's place, the line starting with "Your lovin grace surrounds me". It's the mood of the whole song packed in one moment. The Live version in Barcelona is even better, cause he somehow manages to do the same thing again with a total different pace. And then Clarence Clemon' sax...

[Ithinkabouttrees]

I personally think that the entirety of The Who's Tommy is perfect. I cannot find 1 song with a flaw in it, or that I don't like.

That being said, I see that most of the moments that I find perfect have been named, so some of mine that haven't already been said:

Heavyweight: by Infected Mushroom
Even though Vicious Delicious gets some flack from older fans for being out there even for InMush, the drop into the climax in Heavyweight is BEAUTIFUL. The rest of the song with the grinding guitar solo back to the techno is a smooth ride, and executed awesomely!

Buster Voodoo: by Rodrigo y Gabriela
Possibly the most underrated guitar duo of all time.
Buster Voodoo is a tribute to Jimmi Hendrix, and they have a break down that goes from strait up acoustic, to an acoustic/electric duet with a Voodoo child riff. It's perfect, and super energetic and bouncy, without losing any of Jimmi's soul.

Who Are You?: by The Who
Even though Who Are You? the album wasn't as spectacular as Quadrophenia or Tommy,, Who Are You's opening intro and chorus will not only forever remind me of CSI, but is also just a perfect mix of minimalism and rock and roll to satisfy anyone.

[fimzo]

Bruce Springsteen is pretty good at creating those... the break before "The Highway's jammed with broken heroes" in Born to Run would be one example. A more recent one is Mary's place, the line starting with "Your lovin grace surrounds me". It's the mood of the whole song packed in one moment. The Live version in Barcelona is even better, cause he somehow manages to do the same thing again with a total different pace. And then Clarence Clemon' sax...

I was going to say Bruce Springsteen. I've recently started listening to him.

[TheWhiteDeath]

Around 0:43 of Rogue Wave's "Nourishment Nation."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH5027LHgHM

Makes my skin tingle every time I hear it.

[existentialpanda]

The reprise of "Do You Hear the People Sing" at the end of Les Mis, when the chorus comes in on "will you join in our crusade". Gives me goosebumps every single time I listen to it. It's just fantastic.

Actually, add the entire rest of Les Mis to that.

[axilog14]

While we're on the subject of musicals: I'd been playing the Evita film soundtrack a lot lately, and I was genuinely surprised at how many times I'd played "Rainbow High" in a row. Mostly I think I was just suckered in by the clever rhyme schemes ("I'm their product, it's vital you sell me / So Machiavell me, make an Argentine Rose"), but the whole track is dripping with so much charisma and hubris it just sweeps you off your feet.

Another one of my favorite soundtracks is the album Air did for The Virgin Suicides. A great moment there is in the last track "Suicide Underground", at around the 3-minute mark when the background music abruptly shifts to acoustic guitar and the spoken-word narrative takes a turn for the worse. It's a sobering contrast to the vastly electronic sound of the rest of the album, and thematically it also drives home the sort of naked, non-glamorous vulnerability that death really is all about.

[Sosekopp]

XTC's entire discography post-1979.

[luvnotwar]

Tons of stuff fron Yes give me braingasms no matter how many times I play it, particularly the lead in to the keyboard solos on Close To The Edge and Siberian Khatru. I hear those riffs and no matter where I am I crack a smile from ear to ear.

[malec2b]

Back with some more.

Modest Mouse - Lives: The bit where the acoustic guitar comes in, particularly "My mom, god is a woman and my mom she is a witch." This section of the song sounds so hopeful in contrast to the dark quality of the rest of the song, it almost feels like he's getting ahead of himself trying to get the line out.

From the same album, the song A Different City, when the vocals start "I want to live in the city/with no friends or family/I want to look out the window/of my color TV", I find the delay effect they put on that but so haunting.

Procol Harum - Wreck of the Hesperus: The bit at the end of the chorus/beginning of the solo. "One moment's space, one moment's final fall from grace/Burnt by fire, blind in sight, lost in ire [guitar solo]"

[Malus Rune]

On the subject of Modest Mouse, I love that heavy chord in the second verb of "The Parting of the Sensory," with the eerie synths in the background. It's so terrifying.

The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread was the solo at the end of "Beneath the Mire", by Opeth. It comes so perfectly out of the final lines. There are quite a lot of moments like this for me, but a few others would include the solo to "One of My Turns," by Pink Floyd (I love the piano followed by guitar in it. Also, on the subject of Pink Floyd, although The Division Bell wasn't an amazing album, the moments in the High Hopes solo where the guitar and the keyboard play various interpretations of the same descending four notes is definitely in there), and the insane shredding around the "Flying up through the crack in the sky..." section on Mastodon's "The Czar"- I'm not usually a fan of really fast guitar, but it's so illustrative when used there. Then there's the end of the first chorus in Diablo Swing Orchestra's "Stratosphere Serenade", where a lovely cello-guitar interplay breaks into a simple melody with rolling toms on the drums behind it, and the vocals start singing in rather strong accented swedish, I love accents in singing. Finally, in Radiohead's "The Bends", there's an awesome up-and-down guitar riff just after Thom sings "I wanna be part off the human race...", which seems to really make the song, and I like how it's not repeated- it gives it a real impression when it comes.

[cjmcjmcjmcjm]

Thomas Tallis—Spem in alium
Tchaik 4

[darknut]

matthew good - lights of endangered species

good morniiiing beautifuuul, i've waited all myyyyy life, to watch yoouuu, breath iiiiiin, stand uuuuuup and decided, to set somethiiiiiing, anythiiiiiing, oooooon FIRE

[cjmcjmcjmcjm]

The waltz before the "Africa" section of Amarok

[McGrupp]

OH MAN there are SO many of these!

The really high E flat in "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" - the Cannonball Adderly original
The "Express Yourself" tease in the Jaco version of the same tune
All of Zeppelin "Fool In The Rain" - as soon as John Bonham drops that Purdie shuffle it's a "shit just got real" moment
The bridge on Steely Dan's "Cousin Dupree" that drops to half time and Becker slips that sexy little lick/arpeggio in there
There are several of these in the Headhunters version of "Watermelon Man", because every time they switch to the Ab chord it's so completely perfect and sexy. On the last time around they hang on the Ab for a while and Herbie does some kind of witchcraft that makes it the new tonal center. Learning this tune was a real brain teaser.

I'll write more later, maybe.

[Laserdan]

With Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, the beginning is intentionally low quality, it sounds like an old radio - and then suddenly the first notes of the actual guitar come in, and by comparison it sounds so full and clear, as if I could actually feel the "volume" of the musi (not in terms of loudness but rather volume as in liters).

Infected Mushroom's Deeply Disturbed, it's rather very electronic sounds for the first 2 minutes, and it's building up slowly, and then comes the moment when the new rhythm sets in and is much more melodic in the classical sense; I always feel like I'm in a dark tunnel for the first 2 minutes, and then, when the new sound comes in it's like exiting the tunnel into a bright beautiful sunny day.

[Scigatt]

matthew good - lights of endangered species

good morniiiing beautifuuul, i've waited all myyyyy life, to watch yoouuu, breath iiiiiin, stand uuuuuup and decided, to set somethiiiiiing, anythiiiiiing, oooooon FIRE

I actually think the best moment in that song occurs shortly before. The line "Spinning a right that was never far off wrong" not only completely changes the verse its in, but packs a lot of meaning and implication into a few words.

Staying on the same album, there are so many perfect moments on Non Populus that one could consider the entire song as a perfect moment. From 2:59 to 6:36 especially, it's basically just one perfect moment after another, each one adding to the ones to come.

[Radical_Initiator]

Jimi Hendrix - "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" - right after the opening riffs, where it drops in to the main section (technical terms! Yeah, I know). Say what you will about Hendrix being overrated or not - I'd probably agree that he's not the greatest guitarist ever, but he was really damn good for what he did, and he did it very well in that section.

[freezeblade]

Jimi Hendrix - "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" - right after the opening riffs, where it drops in to the main section (technical terms! Yeah, I know). Say what you will about Hendrix being overrated or not - I'd probably agree that he's not the greatest guitarist ever, but he was really damn good for what he did, and he did it very well in that section.

I think that song is about my favorite on that album. And that moment is just awesome "WELL I STAND UP NEXT TO A MOUNTAIN! *riffage* AND I CHOP IT DOWN, WITH THE EDGE OF MY HAND! *more riffage*

[tms]

Matt Gray - Last Ninja 2: The Basement (#8)
from 02:34..02:57

Infected Mushroom - Virtual Voyage
from 06:18..07:40 (album The Gathering)

[lord carnifex]

Two moments from EBM:

Brudershaft's "Forever [Original club version]": As it heads into a final bridge, most of the programming drops away leaving a minimal tenor synth allowing Stephan Groth's voice to come, clear and clean as a prayer with, "I will walk this ground forever..."

Front 242, "Crushed": The vocals are heavily pitched corrected (in an electroinica kind of way, not in a she can't sing kind of way). But the line "This heavy heart that I carry still holds the weight of you" is allowed to blend seamlessly into an electronic tone that allows it to become a part of the overall insturmentation. Whish is not only a reasonably impressive feat for 1993, but reinforces the theme of the rest of the track, that of becoming emotionless.

[cjmcjmcjmcjm]

Carbon-Based Lifeforms: World of Sleepers
I think the commenter who said they cried when this was over was being serious.

[cjmcjmcjmcjm]

I can't believe I forgot this one from Frank Ticheli's Angels in the Architecture

[Gwydion]

I agree with so much of the thread to date, it's hard to single out just a couple. I will nth the guitar mutes from Radiohead's Creep as a moment that really gives me chills - the first time I heard the song, I remember thinking "Ok this is just another sad radiohead song wait what did he just say oh crap this song just got awesome".

I'll add a few of my own: The recurring pause in the main guitar riff of Supervixen by Garbage - it occurs several times throughout the song, and each time I want to hold my breath. The end of the instrumental break in the Skin and Bones DVD version of Everlong - a long crescendo that abruptly ends, and comes back to the soft chorus.

And in a very different interpretation of the thread title, from Alice in Chains' Unplugged concert: "And now we're gonna break for an LL Cool J video", followed by the band playing the hook from Enter Sandman. Still makes me smile every time.

[Radical_Initiator]

I might as well mention that ever since the second trailer came out our house has had Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" on unironically heavy rotation. Obviously the guitar solos go without saying, but it's a pleasantly surreal moment when they take up the whole first minute and 23 seconds of the song and your ears are just bombarded with nothing but those guitars. Like, damn. I could have sworn my heart stopped the first time I heard all of it.

I love me some "When the Levee Breaks", but my absolute favorite part is just the opening drum. It makes me think of the musical equivalent of walking through sludge - just really heavy, slow, forceful (to me). And then, when the rest starts in, it just fills in the heaviness.

[hroobarb]

The much too obvious one: Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing

Dinosaur Jr. - Raisans. Contains one of my favorite guitar solos.

Stooges - Search & Destroy. From 2:30 on when they crank up the distortion.

Pixies - Gouge Away. Pretty much the whole song, but more specifically the screamy parts.
Pixies - Debaser. The buildup in the first 20 seconds.
Pixies - Holiday Song. There's something about the main riff than give me a feeling of melancholy and nostalgia like no other song.

Dead Milkmen - Dean's Dream. At about 1:00 "We argue and fight, and one pulls a knife..."

Faxed Head - Could Eckankar Help? The first 3/4 of the song is this pounding, chugging black metal swallowed in piercing tape noises. Then at about 3:20 the beautiful lyrics start.

Spoiler:

My phonetics teacher caught my eye
By removing her blouse
Some ladies take pity on our situation
But quickening my pulse
Can cause an irregular palpitation

My doctor said that excitement
Such as my phonetics teacher's breasts
Can cause a reaction that can lead to death
My system has no ability
To withstand stress

And so here i sit, alone
Another friday night
Without the chance to cruise durian avenue
I watch television, listen to music
Wish for inspiration, or death

Could eckankar help?

[bassguy]

Rickie Lee Jones - Chuck E's in love, when Steve Gadd lays down the most chill drum break in the history of history - you can hear it in the iTunes preview, it's at :52

[strake]

The end of the first movement of Beethoven's Eroica. TRIUMPHANT FUCK YES!

And the whole piece is glorious.

[ChronosDragon]

Solar Fields, Discovering, right when the new synth kicks in around 8:41. No matter where I am (except, that is, when I'm driving) I stop, close my eyes, and introspect for a few brief moments. It's what got me hooked on their music (and similar styles).

[ajh]

Other people have that, too? I used to experience this. Not sure if it depends on how loud you turned the music (as a musician I should care. Also, if you’re playing yourself, the feeling is much stronger), or if I just don’t listen to the same tunes anymore. Need to check that out. Of course, it doesn’t work if it’s in the background, you really have to listen.

[Quercus]

• The high notes in Allegri's Miserere, 1:40-1:50 in this video (although you have to listen to the whole thing to get the full effect). Sends shivers down my spine and makes my breath catch in my throat whenever I hear it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcWo1hKHu40 Incidentally, the soparano singing it in that version is Elin Manahan Thomas, my absolute favourite soprano singer.
• The sanctus from Fauré's requiem
• The chorus from Richard Harris' MacArthur's Park - theres something about so much emotion put into such ridiculous lyrics that is somehow sublime. Similarly with the line "Remember what the dormouse said!" from White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane
• Bruce Springsteen's intro to the E street band on his 2001 Live in New York City album (on the Tenth Avenue Freeze Out track), hell, that man can work a crowd! Actually, any live performance by Bruce is pretty great - I saw him in Hyde Park and during the show he sang a rare unknown song for a fan that had been following him around Europe with a board requesting the song (he relearnt it just for the performance); plucked a 10 year old kid out of the crowd, gave him a microphone and sang together with him for one song; plucked a young woman out of the crowd (physically lifted her right onto the stage) and danced with her for another song; grabbed every single performer from that day at the festival, had a jam session with all of them then refused to go off stage for an hour after the curfew, doing encores until they had to literally pull the plug on him.
• Talking of live performances, the time they pulled the plug on the Oysterband, and they carried on for half an hour by shouting out the name of a song and having the crowd (all massive fans - it was that sort of gig) sing them all together.
  
• Edit: forgot one! The line "I see angels on ariels in leather and chrome, swooping down from heaven to carry me hooome" from the Richard Thompson song 1952 Vincent Black Lightning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yw2yKNLEPc (3:45). Oh, and I don't care what people say about Mark Knopfler - that song contains the finest finger picking guitar ever heard on this earth (in case you didn't realise it's one guy, with one guitar).

[Warp Zone]

Rach 2, movement I: The restatement of the first theme against the piano's alla marcia theme. Breathtaking, and one of the best musical climaxes I've heard.

Rhapsody in Blue: The Eb grandioso before the restatement of the main theme that ends the piece. Also, the clarinet gliss.

[freezeblade]

Rach 2, movement I: The restatement of the first theme against the piano's alla marcia theme. Breathtaking, and one of the best musical climaxes I've heard.

Rhapsody in Blue: The Eb grandioso before the restatement of the main theme that ends the piece. Also, the clarinet gliss.

Playing that gliss still gives me nightmares, making it over the register break seamlessly is way too hard.

[pelrigg]

I was going to put this under "Recommend an Artist", but perfect moments is Better.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this lady, but ANYTIME Bonnie Koloc sings, it's a perfect moment.

Here's one with her singing a Steve Goodman¹ song: I Can't Sleep
And one from more recently, an acappella version of Jazzman

¹ Another person who's catalogue is full of perfect moments.