# Moments in music that you love **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 8, 2014, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095 "2014-08-08T06:08:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/1 "2014-08-08T06:08:20Z")
I’m interested in hearing about specific moments in songs that you really enjoy. I’m not talking verses or even entire lines - just little bits that strike you as particularly beautiful or awesome or evocative. You don’t even have to necessarily like the rest of the song. My contribution to kick things off. [Spiders](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQIk7QR3mVQ) by System of a Down has a really beautiful bit in its intro where the heavy guitars come in. I’ve always really loved the way it all comes together. The bit as right around the :47 mark, though I recommend listening to at least a dozen or so seconds prior (if not the whole bit) just to really get the contrast. I’ve also always liked, in the chorus of [American Girl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XsufDwXu4w) by Tom Petty, the “Make it last all night!” echo. Example at 1:12. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/2 "2014-08-08T07:38:26Z")
Okay, I have so many, but I’ll pick one of my latest obsessions. But to get to my favorite part, I have to take you to the lead-in because it’s what makes the moment so incredible. The piece is Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto, 1st movement. We’ll begin at [this section at 5:37](http://youtu.be/0Vv0Sy9FJrc?t=5m37s), where the orchestra and the movement as a whole start building toward… well, something, as we’re teased with hints reminding us of the main theme in ascending modulations. At about 5:47, the piano–brilliantly played in this version by Arthur Rubinstein–gets impatient and demanding (sorry for the sexual innuendo, but damn it, that’s how I hear it) as if saying “screw the regular tempo, come _on_!” and starts getting syncopated and unpredictable, until at 5:57 the whole massive orchestra and piano get closer together (although the piano is now just a beat off as it lets the orchestra take the lead but follows right on its heels) in what feels like wave after wave rising and retreating, obviously building to a climax until at long last we’re at… [6:21: The Recapitulation](http://youtu.be/0Vv0Sy9FJrc?t=6m21s), my favorite moment. The orchestra returns to the powerful, melodic main theme while above, Rubinstein and the piano are _insanely_ gorgeous with what is artfully composed to sound like a virtuoso improvisation–it’s the classical equivalent of Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong or any brilliant jazz musician riffing off fellow musicians. The piano’s continuing off-beat syncopation, the doubled octaves… it’s a frenzied obligato, an amalgam of joy and strength that partners perfectly with the orchestra’s romantic yet sinister theme. So. Amazing. I cannot listen to the segment right before and following 6:21 without very literally getting goosebumps and tearing up; I really don’t know why. But damn. DAMN. That’s music. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2014, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/3 "2014-08-08T08:51:23Z")
Dead Can Dance - _[Cantara](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNxa0odpCJU&t=1m30s)_ nice, pleasant ambience, then, from 1:54 : heaven. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/4 "2014-08-08T12:55:36Z")
In Springsteen’s “Rosalita,” the line, “The record company, Rosie, just gave me a big advance.” I also love the guitar fills in the original “Jingle Bell Rock.” They make the song. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/5 "2014-08-08T15:13:12Z")
Don McClean’s American Pie where he sings “eight miles high and falling faaaaaaaaaa–st,” with that pause. It sounds just like something falling and going SPLATT as it lands “foul on the grass”! ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/6 "2014-08-08T15:24:44Z")
The beginning of Saint-Saens’ [2nd Piano Concerto](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxi3E5wnHo8) (and return of that same theme at 9:45) is one of the most beautiful and haunting sections of music I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/7 "2014-08-08T15:33:10Z")
The opening guitar notes in Elvin Bishop’s _[Fooled Around and Fell in Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyMMEmwFQUE)_. Very simple, but affects me every time I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/8 "2014-08-08T15:36:34Z")
The Rhinemaidens lamenting the loss of their gold near the [end of _Das Rheingold._](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UxM0T84_OM) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/9 "2014-08-08T15:51:59Z")
The moment in Squeeze’s “Tempted” where the drummer plays a triplet or skips a beat or something\* that mixes up the rhythm of the song just enough to make me think “_nice_” almost every time I hear it. \*If anyone knows exactly what the thing that happens is, please tell me. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/10 "2014-08-08T16:38:26Z")
Obvious one: [The drum crash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Air_Tonight#Drum_sound) in Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” (Link is to Wiki explaining how they made it rather than to Youtube) ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/11 "2014-08-08T16:56:33Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > The moment in Squeeze’s “Tempted” where the drummer plays a triplet or skips a beat or something\* that mixes up the rhythm of the song just enough to make me think “_nice_” almost every time I hear it. > > \*If anyone knows exactly what the thing that happens is, please tell me. I just listened to Tempted to hear it (dunno what it’s called, but it is _nice_); I’ve heard that song several hundred times, and never noticed how much organ there is in it. Say, that reminds me of one of my favorite moments in music: the organ solo and guitar bridge in Crowded House’s [Don’t Dream It’s Over](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9gKyRmic20&t=1m55s). ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/12 "2014-08-08T17:38:40Z")
The drum & bass groove in **Tool** ’s _Rosetta Stoned_ that starts about 7 minutes into the song. I have others, of course, but this comes to mind after watching some studio footage of them last night. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/13 "2014-08-08T18:01:18Z")
In The Police’s _King of Pain_, when the drums first come in the initial beat comes in a half-beat too late (purposely, to avoid drowning out Sting’s word “There’s”), so you hear the snare immediately after “There’s”, and it sort of drowns out “a”. Hard to describe, but I notice it & love it every time. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/14 "2014-08-08T18:13:39Z")
This is something I was just thinking about the other day. To me, the greatest moments are always those where the song does a fantastic job of building up to it, both musically and lyrically, and then you just get that awesome pay off. I have a few that I can remember, all that were impactful enough that I still remember when I first heard them. 1. Swallow the Sun - The Giant; About 3 minutes in or so. I remember hearing their first album and liking it, but not immediately loving it, then I was listening to this track. It builds up a very intense atmosphere and this riff is just building and… finally, the double bass kicks in. It only lasts about 15s or so, but it gave me chills, and it made their sound finally click for me. I still love that moment every time I hear that song today. 2. Anathema - A Simple Mistake; An amazingly beautiful song and it does a great job of building up the beauty and fragility of the relationship getting described, and then the segue into the second half of the song, “It’s never too late!” again and again, it gives me such a sense of hope. 3. Opeth - The Night and the Silent Water; The entire song builds up to the closing riffs that have just about the perfect use of dynamics, a simple acoustic pair of chords gives way to a distorted chord, to a climbing progression, and the lyrics whispered over the top. Even if the rest of the song isn’t your cup of tea, I really don’t know how anyone could hear that and not be right there with the protagonist. 4. Dark Suns - One Endless Childish Day; Another example of a long song building up to an amazing ending, but even moreso, being the last track of an ambitious and ultimately very successful concept album, it’s not just this track but the entire album that builds up to the climactic ending. It is darn near perfectly executed, simultaneously answering all the questions, but leaving the listener wanting more, and one of the most unique progressions I’ve heard. This is without a doubt my favorite moment in music. ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/15 "2014-08-08T18:17:54Z")
The short, but fabulous guitar solo played by Phil Spector in the Drifter’s “On Broadway.” In the Sinatra version of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” done with Nelson Riddle, there is a bit where the strings swell twice just before the musical break. That second swell kills me. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/16 "2014-08-08T18:20:57Z")
There are two versions of The Beatles’ song Let It Be. The first one is the one that was on the same-titled album, and it doesn’t have the moment. The other one is on the blue Beatles anthology. In the middle of the song, there’s half a second of boogy-woogy organ music. That’s the half second I’m after. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/17 "2014-08-08T18:25:08Z")
From La Boheme, Mimì’s goodbye to Rodolfo. “Addio, senza rancor." I’ve seen that opera a dozen times and I can still feel tears start. And from Turandot the Act I finale. Simply brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/18 "2014-08-08T18:29:07Z")
In _Wicked_, the build-up in “Defying Gravity” just before Elphaba belts out, “So if you care to find me, look to the western sky!” I adore that musical moment of triumph and realization of freedom. In _Miss Saigon_, the flashback counterpoint as we finally learn what happened to separate Chris and Kim – she’s outside the embassy and he’s frantically calling the phone at the apartment. “Please.” The duet conveys such desperation. It’s heart-wrenching. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/19 "2014-08-08T18:48:06Z")
I call these “tingle moments.” I have too many to list all of them, but one that pops to mind immediately is the crescendo during Peter Gabriel’s “Signal to Noise.” (starting at around 5:35 in [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJoSNZxLdbU)). I can listen to this song a hundred times and that bit gets me every time (especially when cranked to high volume). I also love the guitar solo in the Alan Parsons Project’s “The Raven” (starts at 2:27 in [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVLUeXkzUjM)). ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095/20 "2014-08-08T19:22:49Z")
When the background singers first kick in behind Lionel Ritchie in “You Are.” Also, when the organ kicks in during the opening of “Gimme Some Lovin.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moments-in-music-that-you-love/695095.md?page=2)