# Have you ever heard a song so good, your jaw literally dropped? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703 "2013-01-10T01:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Evin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@Evin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/41 "2013-01-10T16:13:10Z")
Merry Clayton’s haunting vocals and the prescience thereof in _Gimme Shelter_ End of decade, December, 1969 I was at a party in New Haven where young people were dancing around like simians. It was remarkable. \*Rape, murder! It’s just a shot away It’s just a shot away Rape, murder! It’s just a shot away It’s just a shot away\* Well, then there was the spring of '70. I was a freshman and you could smell it coming. I still get chills. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/42 "2013-01-10T16:22:19Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > [“New Routine”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0U9CLYenOg) by Fountains of Wayne had me laughing and then amazed that I had never heard of a group that could record a song that good. I do love Fountains of Wayne, and just listened to your link, which did make me smile widely. I don’t think I could hum the melody after the first listen, but the playful lyrics and deep arrangements were entrancing. > [@Crotalus](#): > > The first time I heard Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits I was slack-jawed and mesmerized. I think I remember hearing that for the first time. It stood head and shoulders above everything else on Top 40. Usually it takes multiple listens for songs to click with me, but after hearing _Born to Run_ for the first time, I was desperate to hear that big opening motif again. My first encounter with Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s[Rain](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fkIaLAdJFc) was hearing it used in a commercial for lemon-lime soda. (Probably 7-Up.) It may have taken two listens for it to slap me in the face. It might be easier to be stunned by an innovative cover version of a song, since your brain isn’t starting from point zero ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/43 "2013-01-10T16:28:11Z")
As a musician, guitarist and music collector, I can say there’s probably thousands of songs but a few jaw dropping moments where I remember thinking “Wow, Genius!” include: James Taylor - anything, the first time I heard his voice I was hooked. Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue Joe Walsh - Rocky Mountain Way Peter Frampton - Do You Feel Like We Do Van Halen- Eruption Joe Satriani - Satch Boogie Colin Hay - Waiting for my Real Life to Begin Five for Fighting - 100 Years Rush - La Villa Strangiatto Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop Dire Straits - Telegraph Road I’m sure there are lots more, but that’s a start. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/44 "2013-01-10T16:32:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The earliest music that I remember reaching out and grabbing me by the throat were: > > **[Soul Serenade](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCfqnQOLzCA)**, by King Curtis: I’d never heard jazz before, and this guy blew me away. The clarity of his horn, the heart he put into his playing, and the pure swing of the tune still puts me into rapture. The tune was the theme music for a late-night DJ in the 60s; I remember forcing myself to stay up late for a solid week, hoping he would mention what that tune was. As soon as I found out, I went to the record store and ordered a copy. I wore that thing out, man. \*\*Chef \*\*- Check out [Oliver Sain’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt1VjRpBMjs) version. He builds up to a climax that will leave you breathless and then sails along ever so smoothly. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/45 "2013-01-10T16:34:00Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Not exactly literal jaw-dropping, but [“New Routine”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0U9CLYenOg) by Fountains of Wayne had me laughing and then amazed that I had never heard of a group that could record a song that good. > [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > I do love Fountains of Wayne, and just listened to your link, which did make me smile widely. Most of it’s just a fairly good but standard FoW song IMO, but it does have a great “cellar door” phrase “they talk about real estate, prostates, Costco.” I just love the way that phrase rolls around in my brain. A couple months ago I started a thread about cellar door phrases (i.e. phrases that sound inherently good just from the aesthetics), and I almost included that phrase as an example. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/46 "2013-01-10T16:36:29Z")
Alanis Morisette’s “You Oughtta Know” just blew me away. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/47 "2013-01-10T16:53:18Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I’m not certain of my jaw position, but a few years back I was browsing in a used CD store when a song came on the sound system that froze me in my tracks: **O Mary Don’t You Weep by Springsteen**. I went to find the CD for purchase before the song finished. > > Do yourself a favor if you have not heard it: [LINK](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_NDH5H0RuE) > mmm Heh, that’s one of my favorites too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/48 "2013-01-10T16:57:08Z")
In the early wave of ‘alternative’ music…some of the context of this is I grew up in a small town, too young to go to the big shows, only big mainstream album radio… A friend came back from LA with a couple of copied cassette tapes for me. Love and Rockets “Express”, and Janes Addiction “Nothing’s Shocking” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/49 "2013-01-10T17:02:36Z")
**Portsmouth Sinfonia** with their version of “Hallelujah” caused my mouth to drop open in wonder, but not because they were so good. **Santana** ’s “Yaleo” did make my jaw drop with wonder and joy due to its goodness, however. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/50 "2013-01-10T17:17:40Z")
The first time I heard Henryk Górecki’s \* Symphony No. 3 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.”\* I was completely knocked out. Only later did I find it had been a big hit a few years earlier. I just love it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/51 "2013-01-10T17:50:59Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > For me there was a particular recording of Andrew Weber’s Pi Jesu by a young boy and slightly older woman. Possibly [Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJJyeK__3e4)? ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/52 "2013-01-10T17:59:04Z")
There’s a number of songs that have done this for me but in different sorts of ways depending on why it’s so good. A song that is SO good because of it’s raw beauty isn’t so much likely to make my jaw literally drop as it is to bring tears to my eyes or chills down my spine. When it comes to music, jaw-dropping is more of a literal response when the technical aspects are unbelievable, like some insanely talented guitar solo or drum rhythm or the like. To me, though, they’re essentially the same response, one is just an intellectual one that manifests physically and the other is an artistic one that manifests emotionally. For the first type, I can say I had exactly that response as recently as the newest Anathema album, Weather Systems, I had chills in the first track and I’m quite certain even my jaw dropped by some point in the second track. I had a similar response to their album before that. Some others I can recall immediately off the top from the last couple years of my head would be Katatonia’s Departer, Dark Sun’s For You. For the latter type, it really takes a very special musician. I remember seeing Jeff Loomis play live a few times as part of Nevermore and just being in complete awe of some of his most impressive solos, like in Enemies of Reality and The Riverdragon Has Come. I remember listening to Meshuggah’s I for the first time at the gym and had to stop in the middle of a set because it was so impressive and I listened to the rest of that section there with my jaw dropped. I could probably list a few dozen songs I’ve had one or both of those reactions to. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/53 "2013-01-10T18:03:40Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > There’s a number of songs that have done this for me but in different sorts of ways depending on why it’s so good. A song that is SO good because of it’s raw beauty isn’t so much likely to make my jaw literally drop as it is to bring tears to my eyes or chills down my spine. When it comes to music, jaw-dropping is more of a literal response when the technical aspects are unbelievable, like some insanely talented guitar solo or drum rhythm or the like. For me, it’s hearing a completely different style that I nonetheless like. For really great songs I also like you get more of a chill. I think actual jaw-dropping may have only happened twice. Once was the alternative-with-hip-hip influence of Beck’s _Loser_, the other is the screamo-with-hip-hop influences of _Blood on the Dance Floor_. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/54 "2013-01-10T18:15:57Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Possibly [Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJJyeK__3e4)? I don’t know, they both look very familiar but I can’t youtube or listen audibly at work. If though it’s from around that mid to late 80s period on Requiem then you’ve probably found it. Thanks! [QUOTE=Ludovic] Once was the alternative-with-hip-hip influence of Beck’s _Loser_… [/QUOTE] Heh, almost mentioned Loser too. What an extraordinary tune. Beck is a musical god. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/55 "2013-01-10T18:56:44Z")
For me, the jaw dropping experience occurs when I hear the first time I hear the song is live. A couple of experiences, both from 2006, come to mind. I was at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, in January, just a few weeks after the Sago mine disaster in West Virgina. There were three songwriters in an “In the Round” setup, playing songs their songs in rotation. One of them, a fellow named Austin Moody that I’d never heard of before, said those miners who had died were on his mind, and he played one of his songs called “Thousand Feet Under.” I can’t find a sound file of the song, but the lyrics are [here](http://www.mlmabry.com/web/moody_site/lyric.html). Those last two lines of the chorus : “You ain’t scared of dying when you’re buried each day / A thousand feet under your granddaddy’s grave” gave me chills. And, yes, my jaw dropped. Second time was in Atlanta, also an in the round setting. The three songwriters were Marshall Chapman, Ellis Paul, and a fellow I’d never heard of named Tommy Womack. About halfway through the set, Tommy played [“Alpha Male and the Canine Mystery Blood”](http://www.myspace.com/tommywomack/music/songs/alpha-male-the-canine-mystery-blood-81204706). EVERYONE’S jaw dropped. Ellis Paul, who was next up, turned to Tommy and said, “I’m NEVER sharing a stage with you again!” ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/56 "2013-01-10T18:59:14Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I was late to learning of Nina Simone. Oh, the feeling my friend must have enjoyed when he introduced me. The way his eyes widened and the smile glowed on his face when he realized I had never heard of her. You reminded me that “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone affected me that way. It’s also the perfect song for driving in fast traffic. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/57 "2013-01-10T18:59:33Z")
Emma Gillespie’s cover of [Change](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEtRTAIZyU0) by the Deftones gives me major cold chills every time I hear it. A great cover version of a good song can be a thing of beauty and this is the way it’s done. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/58 "2013-01-10T19:01:25Z")
For OP to be more interesting, replace “a song” with “an album”. ---
**Author:** ![James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Otto_Sweet_Heart)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/59 "2013-01-10T20:00:51Z")
The first time that I heard the song named “Dam\* Right” from my most favorite singer, I knew that I could not have picked a more precious beautiful sweet hearted teddy bear to be my most favorite. 🙂 🙂 🙂 God bless you and James always!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Holly ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703/60 "2013-01-10T20:01:13Z")
I’ll probably be mocked mercilessly for this, but what the hell. This past holiday season, the radio in my car was tuned to The Wave every time my wife and/or daughter were riding along (and sometimes when they weren’t). The first time I heard the station play [_Carol of the Bells_ by Pentatonix](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vMxTzhmfUI), my jaw did literally drop open. I am _SUCH_ a sucker for masterful _a capella_ close harmony/polyphony. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-a-song-so-good-your-jaw-literally-dropped/646703.md?page=4)