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Okay, just for yuks:

What are your picks for the best 5 seconds or so in recorded music?

I'm not looking for songs, or albums, but those "moments." You know the ones: you're listening, no one else is around, the volume knob is pinned, and you're holding your breath, waiting for those few beats, like old friends, to burst forth into the ether, where they disappear all to soon. You want to grab hold of them, but the rewind button is as close as you can get.

Here's mine, in no particular order:

1) The Who, Who Are You:
Wa wa wa wa BLAM
Wa wa wa BLAM BLAM
If only they hadn't used it on that blasted TV show...

2) The first descending run on the guitar solo to Comfortably Numb.

3) The guitar chord that is held at the end of Kate Bush, The Jig Of LIfe

4) The first few bars of Bullet the Blue Sky when it's just those UGLY UGLY UGLY drums.

5)The first 6 or 7 words, whatever they are, that Yousou N'dour(spelling?) sings at the end of Peter Gariel's In Your Eyes.

Happy posting.

Keith

Comments

JoeH Tue, 03/15/2005 - 07:31

god, there are so many (and I'm sure I'm dating myself here...) but what the hell....

1. Speaking of the Who; the last 5 seconds of "Wont Get Fooled Again" - esp the last yelp of Daltry over Entwhistle & Moon's last notes....>da-bump!

2. final seconds of ELP's "Karn Evil 9" Ist Impression Part 2. (The longggggg moog sweep up to the last note over tymp & organ/synth bed)

3. The moment the string quartet enters in "yesterday". (Gotta hear a remaster of this on good speakers to know what I'm talking about)

4. the opening E7 blues riff in "Born on the Bayou" by CCR/Fogerty

5. and slightly more recently: the last couple of lines of Ralph Stanley singing "O Death" (from the "O Brother" soundtrack.)

I'll think of hundreds more later, but those seem to come to mind right off the top of my head....

anonymous Tue, 03/15/2005 - 09:34

This is really hard:

(in no particular order)

1. Counting Crows - Saint Robinson and His Cadilac Dream: the part at the end when Adam goes into "So let's just get into my car and drive"... Oh dear God!

2. Final Chord in A Day in the Life: won't stop giving me chills

3. The Beatles - "And your bird can sing": the second verse where there's a harmony on "you tell me that you've heard every sound there is..."

4. Peter Gabriel - "Growing up": third time "My ghost likes to travel..." w/ harmony

5. Last verse of "Let down" from Radiohead

6. Ryan Adams - "The Shadowlands" - when full band comes in, then gutiar solo

That's all I can think of of the top of my head, and I'm sure that as soon as I leave the forum my head will be flooded with songs, but I'll keep those to myself.

Reggie Tue, 03/15/2005 - 14:17

I think I will have to add:

1. Cartman wailing "Come Sail Away", the part where he really gets into it. Or the beginning part [I'm sailing way.....].

2. Feedback lead-in to the guitar solo on "We Will Rock You"

3. "Don't bring me dowwwwn....Bruce!" or whatever the ef E.L.O. says there. Retardedly great.

4. Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" intro

5. First 5 seconds of Smashing Pumpkins "Zero", or "Tonight, Tonight" for that matter.

How's that for a mix

anonymous Mon, 03/21/2005 - 19:43

Good topic...

In no particular order...

1. The first time the main theme comes in in Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" with the dancing counterpoint melody on top of it...I tear up every time I listen to it.

2. The first two chords of ZZTop's "Jesus just left Chicago" right after "Waitin' on the Bus".

3. The last guitar solo with all the crazy filtering on Radiohead's Paranoid Android...so much energy.

4. When the electric guitar comes in instead of the acoustic on Boston's "Long Time"

5. The Chorus on "Life going by" by King's X at the end of the song when Doug Pinnick starts going off.

6. The first two words when Etta James sings "At Last"

7. When the choir comes in in "Jesus' Blood" by Delirious?.

8. It's way longer than five seconds, but the guitar solo in "No More Tears" by Ozzie.

9. The end of "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles when the horns start playing the ditty from "In the Mood".

10. When Ben Folds whimpers "see" right after screaming "I poured my heart out/it evaporated" in "Evaporated."

I better stop I could go on forever....

John Stafford Mon, 03/21/2005 - 20:34

Keith has already mentioned the Jig of Life by Kate Bush, which would have been on my list!

Kate Bush, the Phoenix Demo version of The Kick Inside when she sings the line about Lizzie Wan that never made it to the album, presumably because it would have been too obvious what the song is actually about!

Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath -the first vocal entry (the guitar solo entry as well).

The Carpenters. Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft. The first entry of the chorus when the voice sounds double-tracked.

Beethoven Pastoral Symphony. The seven notes that separate the last two movements where you can almost 'hear' the sun breaking through the clouds.

U2 Gloria: Entrance of orgasmic closing section.

John Stafford

anonymous Fri, 03/25/2005 - 10:08

1. The lead on we will rock you.
2. the intro to Long time Boston
3. The tom fill in Frankenstein
4. The outro to "Airegin" Maynard Ferguson
5. I know a video doesn't count, but the intro to Yankee Rose "give me a bottle of anything...and a glazed donut....to go", then the chord hold. Changed my life.
6. 3:45 - 3:50 Purple Rain
7. 2:00 - 2:06 Elephant Gun - Eat em and smile
8. 1st 10 sec. preacher man - Dusty Springfield

anonymous Fri, 03/25/2005 - 20:31

1.when Jimi asks the musical question ...bzz-clck...bzzz-clck " Have You Ever been...have you ever been to Electriclady-land...?"
2. The opening drums and.. bass roll into Take 5 Dave Brubek
3. Opening chromatic of and drum hit of Light up the Sky by Van Halen
4. Thus Spake Zarathustra...
5. the breakdown runs in ABC, the Jacksons...

mpx

JoeH Fri, 03/25/2005 - 20:43

Damn, that's some wonderful stuff. Thanks to everyone so far; you mentioned all KINDS of stuff I completely forgot about.

Another one that comes to mind is the trumpet intro to Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man". Doesn't matter who does it - from BSO to ELP - it's still goosebump stuff!

Don't forget the guitar fade-out of "Hard Day's Night", too, or the guitar intro to "You Can't Do That". (Yeah, I"m old, too! ;-) )

drumist69 Sat, 03/26/2005 - 00:01

top moments for me

1. Begining of guitar solo in "Cherub Rock", Smashing Pumpkins
2. "Comfortably Numb"..."the child is grown, the dream is gone" that line always gets me!
3. anything from Jeff Buckley's "Grace" album
4. the end of the guitar solo on "Stairway to Heaven"
5. countless bits from Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick"
Thats for today...I could post 5 more every day till I die and not be done!!!!