The best moment in the song is...

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by judicial clerk

Yes

Also, the beginning of Sunday Bloody Sunday with the drums and then the guitar starts. I like that.

+1

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Good call, any time a Pink Floyd solo starts has to be a moment.

Thanks sab.

The entire length of Shine On You Crazy Diamond is a moment.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

I think the perfect example of this is Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight, when it stops being a soft ballad and turns into rock with the drums and stuff, late in the song.

I love it when the aggressive drums kick in.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

The entire length of Shine On You Crazy Diamond is a moment.

I once experienced that moment for a full 7 hours with some........you know....."medical" help.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Okay... this is a "thing" of mine. Mrs Q puts up with me pointing this out from time to time, but really doesn't get what I'm talking about. In the past, sometimes I have found that quirks of mine are more widely held here than I might expect... so I'll share, and see what happens.

First... I a not a music guy. Can't read music, never learned an instrument, and I don't exactly speak the language. Not a central issue - I feel that I have a good sense of aesthetics, and I more or less trust my ear. Besides, I'm talking here about popular music, and that belongs to the listener as much as any art form, I'd think. So... this is not a technical thing.

Here's my thing. Listening to music, I have a real fondness for "moments" that I think just work perfectly. Sometimes they happen in a song that I really like, sometimes they are just hidden on an album cut that hardly anyone ever heard of. But I derive a disproportionate share of my musical enjoyment from these moments. Some are just a perfect line or two of lyrics that just click perfectly, sometimes it's something in the musical accompaniment that I like, and sometimes it's even more subtle than that.

So... to the extent anyone shares what I'm talking about here (even if you never thought of it quite that way) this thread is to post things like: "the *moment* in [name of song] is when..."

What say you?

I know EXACTLY what you mean and I keep a list of these moments in my head. Often sing them at the top of my lungs when the moment happens. Some bands are good at moment. Some never achieve a one.

I will most likely check into this thread a lot.

Oingo Boingo (Danny Elfman's band in the 80's) has several of these.

In "PRivate Life"



the moment is the part
"In my humble room at night, I often WONDER what goes ON UP THERE, what MAKES me run so SCARED, I often stare...at the people passing by but they can't see me through my windowshades it's like I'm not even there." Kind of a dark lonely moment. I've felt like this before and done that. And they further it at 2:33 by escalting the moment with another moment. Damn that guy has range, both vocally and emotionally.

They are a moment band. They have lots of moments.


That's kind of what The Beatles would call "The Middle 8" that part of the song that's different from the rest that's an insert.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

The entire length of Shine On You Crazy Diamond is a moment.

My favorite MOMENT of that moment is at 7:37 when the sax kicks in!

[thesloppy]

The last 45 seconds of Mastodon's 'Seabeast':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx-jAf0QcCE#t=3m29s

The flamenco jam-out in Love's 'Alone Again Or'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yVBMUXr4xo#t=1m45s

The pounding intro to Van Halen's 'Runnin With the Devil'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRGDqA6g6Zo

...and the 'been to the edge' part of 'Ain't Talkin' Bout Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgTgbV8bZiw#t=1m49s

The break (and the false ending) in 'Banging Camp' by The Hold Steady
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrRqmhb1cag#t=2m12s

The bridge in the Beta Band's 'Dry the Rain'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsbR2dEmHGc#t=3m25s

[johnnyshaka]

Thought of another one...Led Zep's Bron y aur Stomp...at 0:36 when the stomping begins...I dare you to try and not stomp along!

[Qwikshot]

Been a long time since I listened to Men at Work, popped it on this morning on the drive to work.

I think "Overkill" is a great song. I started off listening to "It's a Mistake". I remember the videos to these songs. I was always fascinated with "Overkill" because of the rhymes with -ation. I was still in grade school and learning words like that so I think it helped with learning.

"Down Under" and "Who Can It Be Now" are great little tunes too. I think they were trying to hard on some songs to include that sax (or woodwind). But on "Overkill" it really adds to the melancholy mood of the song.

One song I really like on the greatest hits CD that I don't recall hearing too much is "Hard Luck Story" which has these vocals that are so different from the other songs, it's kind of hidden under the murk of the music where in the other songs, Colin Hay's vocals stand out front of the music. In "Hard Luck Story" he's more bitter and menacing and they're altered with reverb and maybe some gain, so while he sounds he's singing in a gutteral exasperated whisper/scowl, it sounds almost like he's doing it on a bull horn.

But it all sounds pretty 80's slick to me, save maybe "Overkill". At least each band had a "save the world" type tune ("It's a Mistake"). But I do think Men at Work had a cool vibe (got me into Midnight Oil).

I recently was listening to Duran Duran and I was amazed at the bass playing on "Rio" and "View to a Kill" but really "Rio" has a really funky frenetic bass groove. Again, 80's slickness is over the top but the shimmering high hats with that bass really stands out.

On a completely different note, I love what Nick Cave will do to his songs. "Stagger Lee" is just amazing with menace and a cutting guitar that ends in almost ear bleeding screaming (don't play this song at work).

Elvis Costello's "Watching the Detectives" has a cool drum break right at the beginning (heavily Police or reggae influence) and the keyboard/organ has a cool little bit on that song, it's amusingly whimiscal while being acidic. Nothing though is more stark that "I Want You" which he starts off with this lovely acoustic bit and lyrics that ooze love (I love you more than I can say) than all of a sudden a hollowbody electric guitar cuts it off and the lyrics go from love to stalker/jilted lover (I want you, when I woke up one of us was crying), and he keeps repeating I want you before each lyric. And the music kind of trudges forward but that guitar is cutting, like a knife until it erupts it a little solo, and then the rage of the disolution of the break-up has been exhausted and he's almost plaintive, pleading. It's just an awesome song.

Finally, I'm sorry but George Thoroughgood always had a touch of menace to songs like "Who Do You Love", "Bad to the Bone" and his guitar solo and vocal "Yeaaaahhhh" near the end of "One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer" is great (when the drums kick in on that song you know it's grooving), and even the starker "I Drink Alone" has that swagger and menace...that being said when I heard "Get a Haircut, Get a Real Job" it sounded forced and bored, no menace in the vocals, just tired singing to unimaginative lyrics.

Love this topic...finally I'll leave you with how Mick Jagger screams "Gimme a Little DRINK!!" to the angry drumming on the toms by Charlie Watts ..."of your LOVING CUP!"

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

and his guitar solo and vocal "Yeaaaahhhh" near the end of "One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer" is great (when the drums kick in on that song you know it's grooving),

In this song, when his landlord tells him to get a job, and he says "but I'm TIRED."

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

In this song, when his landlord tells him to get a job, and he says "but I'm TIRED."

My favorite line from that song:

"Now you funny, too."

[CrimsonFox]

and "I saw you today you was standin up against a POST."
and "So she let me SLIDE, ya know people!"

heh. Yeah not a fan of his but this song has some fun moments.
Okay Who do you love is great too. That Bo Diddley riff is awesome. I guess they nicked stuff from him so much they figured they owed him so they put him in their Bad to the Bone video.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

Been a long time since I listened to Men at Work, popped it on this morning on the drive to work.

I think "Overkill" is a great song. I started off listening to "It's a Mistake". I remember the videos to these songs. I was always fascinated with "Overkill" because of the rhymes with -ation. I was still in grade school and learning words like that so I think it helped with learning.

"Down Under" and "Who Can It Be Now" are great little tunes too. I think they were trying to hard on some songs to include that sax (or woodwind). But on "Overkill" it really adds to the melancholy mood of the song.
But it all sounds pretty 80's slick to me, save maybe "Overkill". At least each band had a "save the world" type tune ("It's a Mistake"). But I do think Men at Work had a cool vibe (got me into Midnight Oil).

I agree with what you've said. I have loved Men at Work. One of my favorite 80s bands and yeah most of their stuff had that fun pop 80s feel with a slightly dark edge. (DOwn UNder, Who can it be, Be Good Johnny) but Overkill really was a wonderful deep haunting song.

The OP's choice of moment is awesome. I do like how the sax echoes him out of knowwhere as if to agree with the singer. "Day after day it reappears," says Colin. "Yes, it does reappear," moans the sax at he end of the bar.

"COme Back another day" is a great moment. The guitar solo is a moment, although this band kinda drove me crazy in that they used this exact same chord progression in many of their songs. This and It's a Mistake and one other.
My other favorite moment here is when he jumps an octave for the last verse. When he gets to "Especiallyyyyyyyy at night". I thiink THAT is my favorite moment.
I sang this in Karaoke when I was in LA visiting some friends. GOt applause and hoots for that verse.

[dawgfan]

Great thread Quik. Some ones off the top of my head:

Jane's Addiction, "Three Days"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmvG2GZ3S7o
At 8:15 in when they drop out the drums and Navarro's guitar tone changes - the contrast just heightens the power of the section before and sets up the return to it a short bit later. I always visualize it as something powering forward and then all of a sudden the ground drops away and you're coasting in air until reaching the other side.

The Who, "Eminence Front"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_-Ue0LhVsI
The break at 2:54 always gets me. The song is essentially one beat, one guitar riff throughout, so when that break happens, it's a fantastic release of tension that keeps the song from feeling too static.

Soundgarden, "Superunknown"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwdjreJKggg&ob=av2e
At 3:52 as the bridge ends, Cornell sings "control" for the 2nd time and Thayil's solo kicks in - sublime moment. The bridge is a good release for the full-frontal assault of the rest of the song, and you can feel the tension building back up that explodes in the first several notes of Thayil's guitar.

The Sundays, "Can't Be Sure"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yARVs1ZNLjU&ob=av2e
Harriet Wheeler's voice is a great instrument. Her little expressions found at 0:58, 1:41, etc. get me every time.

King Crimson, "Waiting Man"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En6orVmjH6M
Great beat and rhythm throughout the song, but listen at 2:17 when Bruford locks into a solid beat on the snare, but then at around 2:25, when you think the groove is locked, he decides to shift the beat to keep you on your toes.

Michael Jackson, "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yURRmWtbTbo&ob=av2e
This will always be one of the most danceable songs ever produced. I love the little touches Quincy Jones puts in the production of this track, especially the extra tom-tom beats at 1:21, 2:25, 2:57, etc. The bridge sounds very dated though, about the only thing that doesn't hold up.

[thesloppy]

For anyone wanting their youtube vids to go to a certain segment of time, use this format:

{original video URL}#t=(number of minutes)m(number of seconds)s

..so, for 1 minute 30 seconds into a video, you'd use:

{original video URL}#t=1m30s

[Comey]

Well, I'm frustrated...but I'm going to share this with you.

This song is about Dave Matthews proposing to his girlfriend, which he did three times. She said no, three times. So, he wrote this song, and debuted it on Halloween in 1992. It's aptly entitled "Halloween", and it's a pretty angry song.

It's also a very rare song; it had only been played seven times in the last decade, going into 2008. Then it started showing up after another song was faked. They took a very happy song, Everyday, and faked that into this. Then they took one of their major segues and took that into Halloween. My favorite one of those is what I'm sharing.

The moment for me comes twice; the first is when the crowd realizes what's being played. This was the first time this segue had happened (you can see Dave set up the horns right before they start). Really cool to see. I finally got to see this last year, and I took a video of it. The crowd response was insane. Secondly, and this is on the older versions of this song...Dave absolutely flips out. He still shows it here, but not nearly as much as he did in the 90s. There's a website that has single versions of these songs (as tapers are at every show)...the 10.31.96 version even made my girlfriend shiver at his wails.

Basically, he starts my moment at "But tell me, are you satisfied with fucking?"

The version I'm sharing here, from 8.9.08, is also awesome for the Mike Tyson's Punchout outro that Tim Reynolds plays. Hopefully you hear it.

[Toddzilla]

The "moment" in Safe European Home by The Clash is the opening drum beat. Loud, hard, and in your face. Sets the mood for the entire album.

If there was a "Best First Note/Sound" for an album, this wins for Give Em Enough Rope.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

If there was a "Best First Note/Sound" for an album, this wins for Give Em Enough Rope.

For Best First Note* on a song, Hush by Deep Purple comes to mind for me. Nice, power guitar chord**.

*the first sound for the song is actually a wolf howl, which is pretty cool too.

** yeah yeah, technically a chord isn't a note

[stevew]

Motorin'. What is your price for flight.

I also think of Alfred Molina in a robe and tighty whiteys smokin crack.

[Scarecrow]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

If there was a "Best First Note/Sound" for an album, this wins for Give Em Enough Rope.

May I suggest the bell toll at the beginning of Back In Black...

[stevew]

You know where you are? You're in the Jungle baby.

[stevew]

Beatles. Day in the Life. Obviously where the tone dramatically shifts.

[thesloppy]

any part where Paul McCartney jabbers like he's wearing a raccoon coat and yelling into an olde-tymey megaphone.



oh no, wait that's the worst part.

[stevew]

B.I.G. P.O. P-P A
No info for tha DEA
Federal Agents mad cause I'm flagrant
They tapped my cell and the phone in the basement

[Abe Sargent]

Do elements dance songs count as this? You know, when it starts with one element of the song, like a beat, and then another, and then another, and then two leave and another enters, and then you hear a tiny part of the melody and then it fades to a stronger beat and then another element, and then another part of the melody, and then the melody stops and the harmony goes solo over the drum line and then, finally., two minutes into the song, everything plays at once?

Happens a lot in dance music. It's definately built around that moment, when everything plays, and you are teased for a while before it happens.


Here's an example. The Song is full fledged at 3:06 out of a 4:10 song

[judicial clerk]

I got a few more:

The Beatles Hey Jude; the last third of the song but specifically when McCartney first screams;

Kanye West GoldDigger; The opening with Jamie Foxx/Ray Charles singing then the beat comes in;

Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Child; basically the beginning of the song. I think maybe Hendrix has an inordinate amount of "moments";

This one may be lame, but ... The old theme song to MNF had the cool drum part and the string part where it was like rising to a crescendo;

Paul Simon Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover; the snare drum part.

[CrimsonFox]

OK Go White Knuckles.
THey have made a career off of crazy video ideas and has paid off. So this one, their latest one has the most amazing moment at 2:28 where the video/audio synch is priceless!

[cartman]

Just had one hit me out of the blue when I was listening:

The part in Pearl Jam's 'Alive' during one of the codas where Vedder sings "I can't see, I just stare". The codas are definitely hooks, but this particular one stands out to me more than the others, and qualifies as a "best moment in the song".

[cuervo72]

The horns at 1:07. Horns are prominent throughout the song, but that's where they're at their fullest, their most powerful fanfare.

(wish YouTube had a higher quality version)

[Antmeister]

Great thread and I am not sure how I missed this.

I had to think about those moments since it is unconscious for most of us.* Usually, for me, that moment in the song occurs when I am not paying attention to a song and then something prompts me to sing along or it is when the song reaches a perceived crescendo/peak and I exclaim either "That's the jam!" or promptly start playing some air instrument.



Prince – Do Me, Baby
This is one of those songs where I immediately sing to a certain part of the song. It occurs at 22 seconds after I hear that funky guitar note right after he says “He we are in this big old empty room”.




Daft Punk – Something About Us
Another song where if not paying attention, would usually pick up at a certain part of the song. This actually from 1:45 to 2:15 and occurs when the drum kicks back in and ends with “....in my life”.




The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On
I believe it reaches the peak of the song at 2:26 when he is singing “On----ooooooooohhhhhh” and it my "That's the jam!: moment. Just one word that last for about four seconds. And right after it goes “Huh”, I start into my silly funky dance that the wife and kids may get embarrassed about if played in public place.




Kings of Convenience - I'd Rather Dance With You
Another song where I believe it hits it peak is at around 2:58 and that's the moment where I am usually rubber-neckin playing my air piano. This will last until 3:24. I could listen to that section over and over again. Something about the piano and the beat.




E.S. Posthumus – Unstoppable
This song actually builds up to a crescendo and where the best moment occurs for me is from 2:36 – 2:38. There is silence and then you hear the beginning of the percussion before the horns come in. To me, the perfect way to end the build-up of that song, which ends with a nice afterglow.

[Pumpy Tudors]

There are two moments (actually the same thing that occurs at two different points) in Drowning Pool's "Sermon" that send me into a fit of wild dancing. My dancing is so ugly that it has been described as a hate crime. I have had people pull over when they see me dancing in my car just so they don't pee their pants with laughter while they're driving. It's really disturbing.

Unfortunately, I am at work right now and don't have any way to share the exact moments I'm talking about, so I'll have to do it later if I remember. If I don't remember, well, you'll just have to imagine me convulsing to a Drowning Pool song.

[Ksyrup]

So what you're saying is we shouldn't let the Pumpy hit the floor?

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

...My dancing is so ugly that it has been described as a hate crime...

LOL! That needs to be recorded and placed on your YouTube channel.

[Suicane75]

Desperados Under The Eaves. The line "And if California slides into the ocean, like the mystics and statistics say it will, I predict this motel will be standing, until I pay my bill". I love the way only California has backing vocals. I can't put it into words, it's like the song's about to get majestic and then it punches you with the bass of Zevons voice, all alone.

This thread popped into my head the moment I heard it.

[cthomer5000]

One my constant favorites is a 'clipped' vocal. It's usually intentional from a production perspective. The vocal is intentionally cut short from it's full length. A really good example is Corin Tucker providing backing vocal (to herself, singing lead) in 'Get Up' from the 1998 (99?) Sleater-Kinney album 'The Hot Rock.'

I can never get enough of when her 'Ooooohhhhh' vocal is abruputly cut off in the background. It's about 26 seconds in.

Sleater-Kinney "Get Up" - YouTube

The song itself took a lot of learning to like even at the time, and it's far from their most accessible or best album but has grown to be my favorite single sonic moment from the band.

A similar example would be Kim Deal's cut off 'Oooohhhh....I' at the beginning of 'Where Is My Mind?' by the Pixies.

[SteveMax58]

One of those moments for me is in John Lennon's Working Class Hero at about 2:10. Now, there are many moments in this song & a lot of great lyrics to choose from that are what I'd call "mood-disrupting" but for me...the revelation of "you think you're so clever, and classless, and free" is just that type of moment I think. Its reiterated in the "peasants" line (which is certainly intended to be a jolt) a few moments later but to me is equally as powerful.

[korme]

It's very clearly



The 2:34 mark

So powerful

[cuervo72]

Peter Gunn theme - Nick Davies, Lahti Symphony Orchestra - YouTube

The stretch beginning at 1:55. It's like the entire orchestra collectively says "ok, this is where we all blow the roof off this fucker."

[HerRealName]

This one hits at 3:14 into the album but starts towards the end of the first song on the album at around 2:54. The whirring sound was recorded by one of the band members hanging a microphone out of the car window while another drove across the John A Roebling bridge in Cincinnati. This is still one of my favorite albums after 20+ years.

[Umbrella]

For me, I have a lot of songs like that, but the first one I thought of was "Rosalita". I'm not even a Bruce guy. The section leading up to "And my tires were slashed" gives me goose bumps every time at the moment where the verse starts. It happens at from about 5:11-5:18. It is such a random thing, but there you go.



I tried the starting at the time trick, but it didn't seem to work for me.

[cartman]

The parts in 'Lido Shuffle' by Boz Scaggs where he sings "One more for ro-oh-oh-oh-oad" before hitting the chorus.

[QuikSand]

heh

[cuervo72]

Man, I wanted to bump this the other day too.

More, More More - Andrea True Connection (HQ Audio) - YouTube

You know, the one they based a whole song around in the 90s.

Also, was the discussion about songs that were made to sound old in a thread or somewhere else? (Because this.)