The Most Beautiful Song You've Heard Lately

[Odieman]

My choice is the version of "Mansion On The Hill" on Bruce Springsteen's "Live In NY City" album. It opens with some absolutely lovely slide guitar work by Nils Lofgren. And then Bruce starts singing and he is filled with emotion as he tells the tale of the lyrics. There are some absolutely stunning harmony vocals and then the band drops off for a verse and the twenty thousand people in Madison Square Gardens are silent as he sings a capella. The song ends on a falsetto yodel that complements the arrangement perfectly.
So what is your nomination?

Keith

[Superdude]

I think I'd have to say either "Speedway" or "Chelsea" by Counting Crows. "Speedway" sums up my feelings on life at the moment, and "Chelsea" is just all around beautiful...piano and horns working in perfect union.

Sample lyrics:

Speedway-
"In all this time
The bottom line's you don't know how much I feel
You say you see
Well, I don't agree
You don't know...don't know how I feel"

Chelsea:
"It's good for everybody
To hurt somebody once in a while
But the things I do to people I love
Shouldn't be allowed...
Is anything different these days?
The light in her eyes goes out
I've never had light in my eyes anyway...
I dream I'm in New York City some nights
Angels flow down from all the buildings
Something about an angel just kills me
I keep hoping something will"

[RocknRoll Killing Machine]

If by "lately", you mean the last couple of months, I'd say Moya by Godspeed You Black Emperor.

If it's really recently, I'd say something by Sigur Ros, or Mogwai.

[xekul]

A song called ``Snare, Girl'' from Sonic Youth's A Thousand Leaves. Particularly these lines:

Hold out your hands
and take these poems
I've been given;
they are wild
with beauty faded
and they can guide
this child to heaven.

That seems completely Hallmark when it's written out like that, but it sounds great when Thurston sings it on top of all the droning wah-wah noises.

[jayjay]

Prior to this weekend, Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. So beautiful it makes me cry every time I hear it.

After this weekend, Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden (although I've heard an unbelievable a capella version that isn't them). Because this is now what I consider to be "our song" for my SO and me. It just says exactly what I feel.

jayjay (newly in love...fear the sugar-death!)

[VarlosZ]

"Spanish Guitar" by Gene Clark.

Or maybe the closing track to Radiohead's new disc. Can't remember the title of the song, regrettably. "Crazy"?

[AETBOND417]

I'm narrowing my time frame to the last 4 days.

Funniest song: "There's Always the Backseat" [Live] - Lucky Boys Confusion.

Best song: "All Apologies" - Nirvana.

Most Beautiful song: "Everlong" - Foo Fighters.

[Spavined Gelding]

Come on, people, get serious. This is about beautiful songs. Let's deal with somthing with a haunting melody and heartfelt lyrics that has some significance in life. As middle age slips away my vote is for "The Parting Glass" sung by some whisky vioced old Mick with a tear in his eye and a lump in his throat.

Oh, all the money that e're I spent,
I spent it in good company.
And all the harm that e're I done'
Alas it was to none but me,
And all I've done for lack of wit
To memory now I can't recall.
So fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.

Oh, all the comrads that e're I had
Are sorry now I'm going away,
And all the sweethearts that e're I had
Would wish me one more day to stay.
But since it falls unto my lot
That I must rise and you should not,
I'll gently rise and softly call
Goodnight and joy be with you all.

If I didn't think that the righteous would creat a spectacle to the dishonor of the whole congregation, I'd have that sung at my funeral, preferably as the moldering corpse in drug out to the dead wagon.

[Mr. Cynical]

It's a toss-up!

It's either Goodbye Girl by David Gates (the real brains behind Bread), or anything by Loggins and Messina, but especially Celebrate Me Home.

[hypergirl]

Yellow by Coldplate.

[hardygrrl]

Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Nirvana.....the way Kurt's voice craks at the end gives me the chills.

[Randy]

"May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always know the truth
And see the light surrounding you

May you build a ladder to the stars
Climb on every rung
And may you stay..........."

Forever Young by Bob Dylan.
Lately or whenever, it's a pretty song.

Mary by Patty Griffin is a fairly new song that qualifies. A song she wrote about her Grandmother.

And I gotta say it once again;
I Still Cry by Julie Miller.

[MrVisible]

Just heard it now for the first time...

Mogwai - 2 Rights makes 1 Wrong

Wow.

Also, Wheat - Summer

There is some incredible music out there these days, ya know?

[HalberMensch242]

Rammstein-Sonne
Depeche Mode-Dream On

[exchicagoan]

The only time I hear a beautiful song is when I play CON TE PARTIRO.

[woodstockbirdybird]

"Tonight We Fly" by the Divine Comedy.
Tonight we fly
over the mountains, the beach and the sea
over the friends that we've known
and those that we now know
and those whom we've yet to meet
and when we die
will we be that disappointed or sad
if heaven doesn't exist
what will we have missed?
This life is the best we've ever had

[Monster104]

Nothing really sounds beautiful to me right now. A lot of sad stuff though.

[DMC]

It's quite old, but I hear it much more often now that it's used in a car commercial. :)


"At Last" by Etta James

[Eutychus]

Bernadette by Leonard Cohen, but especially as sung by Jennifer Warnes.

"So many hearts I find
Hearts like yours and mine
Torn by what we've done and can't undo..."

[Edited by Eutychus55 on 04-18-2001 at 03:54 AM]

[Monkey Chews]

Love Letter by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds


"Two hundred words; I live in hope."

[Gyrate]

Sticking strictly to the theme of "The Most Beautiful Song I've Heard Lately", I'd have to admit that I'm quite taken with Dido's "Here With Me". On the scale of "Most Beautiful Songs I've Ever Heard", however, it would not rank particularly highly.

If we can throw classical music into the pot, I was listening to Pergolesi's Stabat Mater sung by Emma Kirkby and James Bowman the other night. Not a "song", strictly speaking, but definitely beautiful.

[Mothra's Pilot Car]

A resounding second for Everlong - foo fighters

Oooh, yeah! Where Did You Sleep Last Night - Nirvana. Haunting.

Glycerine - bush

very very many Tori Amos songs
current favorite - her cover of Angie

"with no money in our coats
and no lovin in our souls
you can't say we're satisfied
. . .
oh angie, i still love you
ev'rywhere i look i see your ~eyes~"

Of course, my life is FILLED with enormous wonder at the gorgeous songs that are always around. Are we lucky, or what?

-Mothra

[Brynda]

Lately?

Dido's "Thank You."

Current plans are to see her live in Detroit with RickQ. It doesn't get better than that.

[flodnak]

Just finished listening to it, actually... Peter Gabriel's "Blood of Eden" from the Us album.

The funny thing is, it's about breaking up with his first wife. Not at all a pretty topic. But the song is achingly beautiful.

[Albert Rose]

I still get chills when I hear Nightswimming by R.E.M.

[toonerama]

Sorry, not recent, but only recently did I see the *amazing* video for this lovely song. I'm not much into videos but this one is piece of art unto itself and truly enhances the song. Dammit, why can we hardly ever see some of the more interesting videos? Watching MuchMusic (and I expect MTV too) is painful. At least there's The Wedge, their short weekly 'alternative' show.

[PunditLisa]

"Free" by Savage Garden.
"Sogno" by Andrea Bocelli
and the ballad from Stillwater in one of their concerts. You only hear the beginning of it in the movie "Almost Famous" and I have no idea what the title of it is. Don't believe it's on the soundtrack.

[Spritle]

When I saw the thread title, I just had to let you know my current favorite. Then, as I read the replies, I see that exchicagoan beat me to it. In fact, I put in the "romanza" CD right before logging on. It's just a beautiful song. I like both versions, with and without Sarah Brightman.

As far as baseline favorites go, I am deeply moved by Bob Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand". It makes me feel very small in an incredible universe.

[Gyrate]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by toonerama
[B]Sorry, not recent, but only recently did I see the *amazing* video for this lovely song. I'm not much into videos but this one is piece of art unto itself and truly enhances the song. [b]
There's a video for "Isobel"? Coolness! I wanna see!

[tiggeril]

"Love is Blindness" by U2... gives me the chills. In that good way. ;)

[SteveinSpain]

Don't Forget Me - Marianne Faithfull

[masafer]

100,000 Fireflies by The Magnetic Fields.

Absolutely beautiful, but also absolutely depressing. Opening lyrics: I have a mandolin/I play it all night long/It makes me want to kill myself.

Whoa.

[Gundy]

Originally posted by hypergirl
Yellow by Coldplate.

It's Coldplay. And God help me, I love this song. The lyrics are lukewarm, but the voice just melts me. Just bought the CD and am listening to it now.

Another one I just listened to the other day was "Twin Falls Idaho" by Built to Spill. It's sorta melancholy but very nice. Wistful.

[Studi]

La Mer by Nine Inch Nails.

Studi

[Nacho4Sara]

"Untouchable Face" by Ani DiFranco. The music is beautiful, her voice is perfect for the lyrics, and the song totally sums up my life right now. My favorite part is how lovely the music is compared to the anger of thelyrics: (http://www.danah.org/Ani/Dilate/UntouchableFace.html)

think i'm going for a walk now
i feel a little unsteady
i don't want no one to follow me
except maybe you

i could make you happy, you know
if you weren't already
i could do a lot of things
and i do...

so fuck you
and your untouchable face
fuck you
for existing in the first place
and who am i
that i should be vying for your touch
who am i
bet you can't even tell me that much

Also, "Kissing You" by Des'ree is one of my all-time most beautiful songs, equal only to "These Foolish Things" by Billie Holliday. I'm also a sucker for "My Antonia" by Emmylou Harris with Dave Matthews. I bought the CD two days ago and have listened to it nonstop.

[racinchikki]

"Imitation of Life" by REM is surely pretty.

Anything by Nickel Creek is sure to be beautiful.

[Manda JO]

"Smoke from Yur Cigarette" by Lillian Leech and the Mellows. Possibly the most beautiful song ever recorded, and completly unknown outside of the NYC R&B scene in the early 50s (the stuff you find on Mp3s . . .) Someday someone is going to take this song, put it in a movie, and make millions on the soundtrack.

[Airbeck]

Fiona Apple - "Never is a Promise"

A new one that I heard on the Sopranos Sunday and can't get enough of is, Kasey Chambers - "The Captain"

[vivalostwages]

"Rushing," by Moby, has some lovely piano in it.
That's all that comes to mind right now.

[Munch]

This couldn't come at a more appropriate time. However, I'm stuck between 3 songs which I heard at mass on Sunday (note: normally, I don't come across so fundie-ish, but Easter mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame at 11:45 is amazing). They would be:

Gloria: Mass of Light
Alleluia, My Father
Come to the Living Stone (new verse added!)

[Falcon]

Have to second Nacho's mention of Ani DiFranco, and add in a few more: "Can't Let This Go," by Gypsy Soul, "Imagine Me," by Eddie from Ohio, and "Grey Street" and "Grace is Gone" by the Dave Matthews Band.

Excuse me please...one more drink.
Could you make it strong, 'cause I don't need to think
She broke my heart, my grace is gone
Another drink and I'll move on....

[TexasSpur]

Big Pimpin by Jay-Z

Everytime I hear it I a single tear rolls down my cheek. It is so beautiful.

[poohpah chalupa]

Originally posted by Falcon
Have to second Nacho's mention of Ani DiFranco, and add in a few more: "Can't Let This Go," by Gypsy Soul, "Imagine Me," by Eddie from Ohio, and "Grey Street" and "Grace is Gone" by the Dave Matthews Band...
Wow...I'll be dipped. This is the first time I wasn't the first person to mention Gypsy Soul in a thread.
:)

I'd have to pick GS's "Promises and Lies" as the most beautiful, if not the saddest, new song I've had the chance to hear...

[racinchikki]

Dave Matthews Band, "The Space Between." Gorgeous.

[xandar]

I just heard O Danny Boy, the Irish folk song recently after not having heard it for years. Probably the most beautiful (and saddest) song ever, IMHO.
In terms of more recent stuff, I'd go with The Promise Ring's "A Picture Postcard."

[gigi]

I am really enjoying everything off Emmylou Harris's "Red Dirt Girl" album; "The Pearl" and "Boy from Tupelo" in particular are very beautiful.

All-time beautiful: "Price You Pay" by Springsteen. "Lies" by Stan Rogers (I cry every time I hear this.)

[sk8rixtx]

"Red Letter Day" by The Get up Kids.

Thats such a great song.

[rayniday]

I listen to a lot of anime music, so some of this stuff comes from there. The violin pieces are magical, and Akino Arai has this amazingly haunting voice......

Anime:
Akino Arai-Hiiru no Tsuki and Tsuki no Ie

Sailormoon (the violin)-Death of Neptune, Michiru plays with the Starlights (a fun little piece, i don't know if anyone else would find it beautiful), and Haruka and Michiru

Tenchi Muyo-Washu's Heartache

Non-anime:
Diamond Rio-You're gone

Paul McCartney and John Lennon-Yesterday (I'm not a big beatles fan, but this one knocks my socks off)

An American Tale-Somewhere out there

[Pammipoo]

"What would you do?", I don't know who sings it. But it's on my rap station all the time. I can't remember the opening lines, but it's about a guy who goes to a party, and there's a bunch of hoes there, looking to make some money.

"And i took one girl outside with me.
Her name was molly, she went to junior high with me.
'Why you up in there dancin for cash?
I guess a whole lot has changed, since I seen you last.'

{female vocalist}
'What would you do if your son was at home
cryin alone on the bedroom floor
'cuz he's hungry, and the only way to feed him
is to sleep with a man, for a litlle bit of money."

I won't write out the whole song, cuz i know the copyright thing is a no-no. But it really is a beautiful song, especially for rap. It really hit home...

[Sealemon88]

Recently?

Here With Me by Dido

Pressed Against The Sky and Dollskin by The Toadies

Can't Get You Off My Mind by Lenny Kravitz



Classic beautiful song: Amazing Grace and Unchained Melody.

[heembo]

Is "I wanna Lick your Balls" by that chick in Accounting. Every time she sings it I want to cry tears of joy....