Perfect Moments In Music

[Blinke]

I got chills just reading that. Such an awesome song.

[BurningLed]

It's not really a perfect moment at all, but I think it deserves honorable mention: Whenever Serj screams "PIEPIEPIEPIEPIEPIEPIE!" in the System of a Down song Chic'N'Stu, I fall off my chair.

Edit: Official lyrics says its "BUYBUYBUYBUYBUYBUY!". Not as funny

[nyeguy]

All of I'll Cover You (Reprise) from Rent is amazing, but I get major goose bumps when everything cuts and under Collins, and the huge gospel part following it.

[Mincewind]

I... feel compelled to post.

I think there's a term for this - 'Eargasm'. Anyway my eargasm would be when Guy Garvey sings the lyric 'Darling is this love?' in Starlings, just before the horns kick in. It kind of sends a shiver down my spine. Elbow seem to be really good at producing that sort of moment.

[iwishiwuzskiing]

The "Do You Feel Like We Do" off of Frampton Comes Alive, at about 11:25 when everyone comes in after Frampton's talk box solo.

[tes]

I love the second half of "Whale Song" by Modest Mouse.

[Dason]

The "Do You Feel Like We Do" off of Frampton Comes Alive, at about 11:25 when everyone comes in after Frampton's talk box solo.

That was an epic first post. I saw this and was like YES and then listened to that part -> the whole song -> the whole album. You just brightened up around an hour and a half of my life.

[Kaeyn]

Listening to all of Explosions In The Sky's albums in chronological order, and then relaxing as the impossibly calming piano notes of So Long, Lonesome kick in.

[Slurgi]

Two come immediately to mind:
Nine Inch Nails' "Just Like You Imagined"... at around 2:12, when the layered harmonic vocals come in on a decrescendo, and then all hell breaks loose.
And the ultimate in perfect moments, Radiohead's "Creep." You know the part. The gloriously decayed "cha-chunk" of a distorted guitar. Absolutely sublime.

Interesting rumor about that part you're describing: That may have been Jonny Greenwood attempting to sabotage the song because he didn't really like it. Other rumors are just that he thought the song was too quiet and wanted to give it more oomph. Who knows what the real truth is...

Anyway, some of my favorite musical moments:

Andrew Bird - Fiery Crash: The very last "to save all our lives, you've got to envision" he hits just a beautifully dissonant note on "envision" that differs from the two previous times singing that line. Absolutely stunning.

Bright Eyes - Poison Oak: Either of the lines "But me I'm a single cell..." or "The end of paralysis..." are just the most monstrous dynamic change that they send shivers down my spine every time.

Keane - Hamburg Song: When the song (normally in G major) breaks into the piano solo it transitions directly and seamlessly to an EbMaj7 chord, it fully completes the unrequited love feel to the song. ♭VI? Yes, please!

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah: God, this whole song is great. Whether performed by Leonard Cohen (original artist), Rufus Wainwright, or Jeff Buckley, it's good. Anyway, I guess it's hard to pick a perfect moment because I feel like the entire song is perfect... is that cheating?

Edit: Am I the only person largely into Indie music that finds both Neutral Milk Hotel and Wilco PAINFULLY boring? Musically, they don't do anything that even resembles something interesting, at least to me. Is there even a single key change or borrowed chord, ever, on any of their songs? Hell, Owl City has more interesting chord transitions than those two bands.

[Dream]

Link Wray: Rumble. Two minutes-thirty is a moment when it's this good...

[LeagueOfMorons]

Edit: Am I the only person largely into Indie music that finds both Neutral Milk Hotel and Wilco PAINFULLY boring? Musically, they don't do anything that even resembles something interesting, at least to me. Is there even a single key change or borrowed chord, ever, on any of their songs? Hell, Owl City has more interesting chord transitions than those two bands.

I always thought the Wilco songs Either Way and Impossible Germany had some interesting chord changes going on in them. Haven't listened to any Neutral Milk Hotel, though, so I can't say anything there.

Another song I absolutely love the crap out of: Hum - Apollo. Might be the most perfectly melancholy song I've ever heard. The lyrics are gorgeous too. "I'm thinking of a number between everything and two . . . and it's molecules of you." Sounds like nonsense, I guess. Maybe I've just listened to it enough times to convince myself it makes sense. Anyway, it's still great. Pretty much the whole song - I don't know if I could pick a single moment. Although I really like the beginning of the first verse (0:34) and the final chorus (3:57).

[icanflywaitno]

Listening to all of Explosions In The Sky's albums in chronological order, and then relaxing as the impossibly calming piano notes of So Long, Lonesome kick in.

I salute to you good sir. I was about to say this too.

And Steve Vai's "For The Love of God". The whole song is just musical orgasm.

[Seda]

I have a few, I'll supplement them with links.

Spoiler:

Mastodon:

Where strides the behemothhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aczED7UkGA - The bit after troy's solo, where the entire band just locks into that groove, I get tingly when i hear it. This vid its about 2:20, and they don't let troy take a solo, but its amazing nonetheless. Also there's a part of Mother Puncher where Troy's like as the guitars are harmonizing.

Pretty much all of crack the skye, particularly the solos on The Czar and The Last Baron. When I saw them play the album live it was almost ethereal. It was the night before halloween so Brent dressed up as Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, complete with afro and shiny pants.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pm16ythlec and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBO57f0GX84 During <- live I was entranced by the sheer awesome.

As said before, Hearts Alive

Isis: Holy Tears - The intro's pounding, giving way to the clean vocals, melding with the screaming. One hell of a chorus as well. So good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWjhxnVcmgg

The Mars Volta: Miranda that ghost just isn't holy anymore: Con Safo - The Crescendo of the horns with Cedric's vocals is amazing. I can't find a youtube link for this on

Primus: Welcome To this world - That yell at the beginning(0:45) before Les launches back into the riff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fmPUtP0dXM

I've grown steadily more tired as i've typed, so descriptions have declined in quality. Music hasn't though.

[nyeguy]

I must be hormonal tonight or something, because I'm inundating myself with really tear-jerking music. Naturally, this has many amazing moments. Highlights from the evening have included:

• The last 3is minutes of Firebird
• The end of The Decemberists' Hazards of Love, where the couple drown together, and the final words "Never more will these hazards of love trouble us."
• The Finale to Rent, where a bunch of the musical themes come together and mesh beautifully
• The last piece on Ludo's Broken Bride EP
• The climax of Streetlight Manifesto's A Better Place, A Better Time, with the really passionate shout chorus before the horns place their last line, then the up tempo end thing.

Hmm, I've noticed that most of these are finales. I think I know what I like .

[RabbitWho]

Vivaldi - Summer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go7wlUOC5dg

the whole thing, I get palpitations .

[Omerprime]

In Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, during My Eyes (On The Rise), when Penny and Billy harmonize on the chorus... I get goosebumps every time.

+1. Also in Slipping
A few other perfect little mind explosions I've had lately:
-Sergei Nakariakov playing Rondo and introduction Capriccioso
- This Love by Maroon 5
-Grazing in the Grass by Hugh Masekela
-Make Me Wanna Die by The Pretty Reckless(Yeah yeah yeah, she's a poser\bad role-model\whatchamedoodle. I still like her voice.)
-Gustav Holst's Jupiter

[Durin]

The cadence of the final movement of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony.
The entirety of Jeff Buckley's Grace.

[ultra920]

10,000 days by tool. The build from around 4:00 to the "give me my wings" around 5:40 to the solo. This is definitely their best work and its a shame this album is so underrated compared to their other stuff.

[Yaal]

- Shine on you crazy diamond I-V by Pink Floyd. About 3.55 when the music goes from intro, the guitar starts and the drums kick in.

...Not much of a first post?

[LittleBigSpoon]

The opening of "Knife" by Grizzly Bear
(Bum-bum, bum-bum-bum, bum-bum-bum...)

Also, in the refrains of "A Campaign of Shock and Awe" by Evelyn Evelyn, there's a violin bit in the background that I really like.

[CaptainPerson]

I've got a few favourites which take me completely everytime
The trumpet explosion at the start of Goldfinger (Bwa BWAAA Bwaaaah)
Piano Concerto in F# - Adagio andante con moto by Gershwin is just full of them. When the muted trumpet kicks in, the sax, the piano, the whole thing.
When the guitar comes in in Echoes by Pink Floyd, it just seems to grow out of the piano and then off I go. And speaking of Pink Floyd, the first chord in Breathe loses me for the rest of the album. It's a masterpiece of those kind of moments.
God, there's so many!
♥ music

[saxmaniac1987]

Another one by The Mars Volta--Multiple Spouse Wounds.

Actually, it's the buildup to the movement called Multiple Spouse Wounds, which starts at about :45. Pretty much the entire album builds up to that moment. I don't know why this artist wrote it as "Know there's no light," but it's still a cool project. Also, I use the part starting as :45 as my ringtone.

[\'|-]

Almost every Sigur Rós song contains one of these, especially on ( ). Radiohead has quite a few also.

[Zanmanoodle]

I'm gonna go ahead and get these out of my system. I'll stick to some less-obvious ones...

"Dazed and Confused"- Led Zeppelin
Right after the mega-solo when the loudest chords come crashing down with Bonzo going berserk on the drums behind it. I can't really explain how awesome it is in words.

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

"Screwdriver" - The White Stripes
When he starts to build up saying "Got a little feeling going now...", and ends up punching out chords like all hell and screaming.

[BurningLed]

So, this is the first time I've actually heard the song, which is apparently rare -- But anyways, the last few seconds of "Fly Like An Eagle" are completely surreal, especially the beeping at the end.

[WHSTech]

This gives me chills every time I listen to it. It's an arrangement of Taps played at Maynard Ferguson's funeral.

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

[Indubitable.]

ok so in Citizen Erased, by muse, the SECOND time the harmonic leady intro bit starts. Which is to say, after it all winds down to smooth melodic stuff, and then it goes "WHABAM HARMONICS R COOL U GUYS" and then the wall o sound starts.

Dear god, this.
Also, in the same song, when it has the piano breakdown. It's just so beautiful. <3

In New Born (also by Muse) - when the riff comes in after the first verse. Just yes.

Great Gig In The Sky (Pink Floyd) - 1:00 in when the vocals come in and the drums become more prominent and the whole song explodes. ><
21 Guns (Green Day) - Just before the final chorus, with the single bar of silence and then the whole band comes in on the same beat.

Also, most of Muse's pre-Resistance music. Like the solo in Knights Of Cydonia. Or the sheer beauty of Unintended. Etc. Etc.

[|Erasmus|]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoGtLq9Q ... re=related

This is now one of my favourite things ever. Every single one of those solos is epic.

The only bad thing is that I cannot for the life of me find the full version of that anywhere.

[Klayman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt5wEkzMaNo
2:20

[Dave_Wise]

The first few bars of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR9nDnyIhAU
I love this, it's totally awesome. It's the tune to which you can imagine wayward subjects being dragged before you for judgement.

[cjmcjmcjmcjm]

The transition from the 3rd to the 4th movement of Beethoven's fifth, followed by the 3rd movement of San-Saëns' 3rd Syhmphony

[Aiwendil42]

The transition from the 3rd to the 4th movement of Beethoven's fifth

That's my favorite moment in music as well. A close contender is the section in the development section of the 4th movement just before the brief reprise of the scherzo.

[Cloud Walker]

From 2:11 to 2:51 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1zftPGLi0U

It's one of the absolute sweetest melodies of all time, just singing along while the beats get more and more frantic, until they finally die away and the dancing melody suddenly stalls and falls onto a single chord at 2:51, a pillow so soft it melts my heart.

[WarDaft]

I don't believe it's been mentioned (surprisingly) ...

Instrumedely live at Budokan repeatedly throughout (depending somewhat on which bits you recognize, and whether you recognize them yourself or have someone point them out to you) but it absolutely peaks after 11:50.

The piano building up in the first two minutes of Magic City also sends shivers up my spine, and... this might be nostalgia, but 54 seconds into this is astonishingly good despite being essentially MIDI.

[PhatPhungus]

Ayreon, The Human Equation, Day 12 - Trauma

When Devin Townsend screams and Mikael Åkerfeldt growls at the same time ("you're better off dead").

[McCaber]

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

FTFY.

The climax of Streetlight Manifesto's A Better Place, A Better Time, with the really passionate shout chorus before the horns place their last line, then the up tempo end thing.

This one too. Streetlight is easily one of my favorite bands.

[TheAmazingRando]

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

FTFY.

I can't tell if you're joking, but the singer for Silversun Pickups is a guy.

[Midnight]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_mDG2TRv5I
It's all really good, but then at 4:35, the very end, it's just like BAM! FUCKIN' SYMPHONY UP IN THIS BITCH.

[Mahonnant]

- The prelude to Bach's first cello suite, I remember the opening of the evening news in 1989 : Rostropovitch playing that in front of a Berlin wall that had just crumbled. One of the most important early memory of world events I retain, and certainly the most beautiful.
- "Thinking about you" by Radiohead at around 1'15
- "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley, the whole thing really
- "Fake plastic trees", at 3'50 : if I could be who you wanted...
- "Ces gens-là" by Noir Désir (originally by Brel), the rise up at 3'30
- "Drive" by R.E.M., the parts where he goes TICK TOCK...

[Aleril]

Monster by Kayne is an amazing song but the best part is when Nicki Minaj just tears. shit. up.