# Songs that knocked your socks off **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486 "2007-12-01T21:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/81 "2007-12-05T21:02:21Z")
[QUOTE=Klepto21] I heard a song on the radio a while back, sounded like 60’s rock, will never forget it. I nearly cried. It was 60’s rock, mostly acoustic i think, and a story about a young guy that goes off to war and dies. \Anybody know what I’m talking about?\ I’ve never been able to find it since… [/QUOTE] Hmm… Only thing that comes to mind right off is _Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner_ but I doubt that is it. Do you remember what war it was? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/82 "2007-12-05T21:28:42Z")
When I first heard The Shins’ [Caring Is Creepy](http://youtube.com/watch?v=8hhxthxhwk0) on the radio, I pulled onto the shoulder as soon as the song was over, and called the radio station to find out just who and what that was. Somehow I missed TMBG’s [Birdhouse in Your Soul](http://youtube.com/watch?v=6kJD2N2gvqw) when it first came out, and first heard it only last year. First time, it registered in the back of my mind as a pleasant, quirky song. Second time, worth checking out on YouTube. Once I heard the song and watched the video together, I was freakin’ _hooked_. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/83 "2007-12-05T21:45:49Z")
[QUOTE=Klepto21] I heard a song on the radio a while back, sounded like 60’s rock, will never forget it. I nearly cried. It was 60’s rock, mostly acoustic i think, and a story about a young guy that goes off to war and dies. \Anybody know what I’m talking about?\ I’ve never been able to find it since… [/QUOTE] _To Susan on the West Coast Waiting Galveston No Man’s Land (Green Fields of France) Sky Pilot I’ve Got to Get a Message to You_ ? ---
**Author:** ![Trathena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Trathena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trathena)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/84 "2007-12-06T01:57:38Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] [_Knights of Cydonia_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV1bRfLHA3A) by Muse has to be the most amazing song I’ve ever heard- and it has an equally awesome music video, too. [/QUOTE] Oh! Another Muse fan? Or just this one song? I agree that “Knights of Cydonia” is fantastic. I also love “Citizens Erased” from their first album. Have you seen their Glastonbury concert on YouTube? ---
**Author:** ![Klepto21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/65b543/32.png) [@Klepto21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klepto21)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/85 "2007-12-06T06:34:42Z")
Thanks to everyone that offered suggestions on my song. None of those are it though ☹ It was a slow, depressing song. But it certainly wasn’t country. Think “bob dylan”, but not quite I don’t think. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/86 "2007-12-06T07:47:58Z")
I keep listening to [Australia by The Shins](http://youtube.com/watch?v=OHTSxw6zN1E). It speaks to me (and the video clip is fairly amusing). The last song that really got to me was probably Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/87 "2007-12-06T08:49:57Z")
[QUOTE=Klepto21] I heard a song on the radio a while back, sounded like 60’s rock, will never forget it. I nearly cried. It was 60’s rock, mostly acoustic i think, and a story about a young guy that goes off to war and dies. \Anybody know what I’m talking about?\ I’ve never been able to find it since… [/QUOTE] [“Lucky Man”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezwCksjDWHs) by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/88 "2007-12-06T09:27:51Z")
It’s been awhile since a song stopped me in my tracks. The last time was probably one of the songs off Neko Case’s _Fox Confessor Brings the Flood_. But the songs I most remember clearly bowling me over in the last 10 years (although the songs are older than that) would have to be [Only Shallow](http://youtube.com/watch?v=GB8nCE2EoIw) by My Bloody Valentine and [Teardrop](http://youtube.com/watch?v=fG8eQBSp9Ao) by Massive Attack. The crappy youtube quality sound doesn’t do either of the songs justice, but they both just send chills up my spine. I just want to turn the lights out, the sound up, and lose myself in the music. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/89 "2007-12-06T13:21:00Z")
I love the following songs because they’re hauntingly beautiful, lovely with a melancholy backdrop: “Scratch” by Kendall Payne “It Doesn’t Matter” by Allison Krauss “Uninvited” by Alanis Morisette “Fields of Gold” by Eva Cassidy “Take my Breath Away” by Berlin * * * I loved the following songs the first time I heard them, and still love them today, because they make me want to get off my ass and dance like no one’s watching: “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees “What Goes Around” by Justin Timberlake “Nothin’ at All” by Nellie Furtado ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/90 "2007-12-06T13:26:51Z")
[QUOTE=Klepto21] It was 60’s rock, mostly acoustic i think, and a story about a young guy that goes off to war and dies. \Anybody know what I’m talking about?\ I’ve never been able to find it since… [/QUOTE] Ballad of the Green Berets? Ballad of the Unknown Soldier? One Tin Soldier? ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/91 "2007-12-06T14:44:13Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] Ballad of the Green Berets? Ballad of the Unknown Soldier? One Tin Soldier? [/QUOTE] Small correction… One Tin Soldier isn’t about a soldier who goes away to war and dies. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/92 "2007-12-06T18:38:12Z")
[QUOTE=Cazzle] I keep listening to [Australia by The Shins](http://youtube.com/watch?v=OHTSxw6zN1E). It speaks to me (and the video clip is fairly amusing). [/QUOTE] I love that song! I heard “Phantom Limb” on the radio about 2 months before the album came out and I thought, “What a great song…wait, is that The Shins?” I then got a copy of the album earlier than the release date and played it so much, I was almost sick of it by the time it was actually released. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/93 "2007-12-06T23:25:23Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] “Fields of Gold” by Eva Cassidy [/QUOTE] Oh yes. One of those covers that just blows the original away. [_“True North”_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzDqURVjpcM) by Meg Hutchinson. Unfortunately, the video is fairly static, but the sound is good. The song is on her _“Any Given Day”_ live album, available by download from her website. _“Your Heart is for Breaking”_ by Anne Heaton. The live version can be heard in its entirety on the player [here](http://www.myspace.com/anneheaton); an excerpt from the studio version (which I prefer) and download is available below the player, or can be found on her _“Black Notebook”_ CD. ---
**Author:** ![kuwaitkate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@kuwaitkate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kuwaitkate)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/94 "2007-12-07T11:30:52Z")
Anything and everything by [Regina Spektor](http://www.reginaspektor.com/index2.html). She’s absolutely brilliant and has a voice and mind far beyond her years. ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/95 "2007-12-07T12:11:08Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] [_Knights of Cydonia_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV1bRfLHA3A) by Muse has to be the most amazing song I’ve ever heard- and it has an equally awesome music video, too. [/QUOTE] I’m a fan of Muse and think it’s easily their worst song between the four albums (which is not saying that it’s bad :p). My current favorite is [City of Delusion](http://youtube.com/watch?v=zylCKDw7yCg), but it shifts around. Apocalypse Please _has_ to be heard live for the full effect - it justifies the price of the ticket by itself. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/96 "2007-12-07T12:23:59Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] A dozen years back, the only time I’d ever dropped acid **(chased by some really nice tequila)**, the lights were down and we were digging on how good the music sounded. Then the host put on _Waiting in Vain_ from Annie Lennox’s Medusa, a cover of the old Marley song. Socks, shoes… they all went in different directions. **emphasis mine** [/QUOTE] There is such a thing as really nice tequila? Is it still really nice when you are throwing it up? ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/97 "2007-12-07T12:42:53Z")
[Glosoli](http://www.hi.is/~peturv/sigur_ros-glosoli.wmv) by Sigur Rós is awesome, especially with that video to go with it. Some of their songs are even better. Love that band. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/98 "2007-12-07T22:10:56Z")
[QUOTE=MadTheSwine] Just curious about the Zevon song I posted…what did ya’ll think of it? Haven’t seen any comments about it. [/QUOTE] Already knew the song, and the same thing happened the first time I heard it. I was blown away by [Thunder Road](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKnn9Yofic0&feature=related) the first time I heard it, too. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486/99 "2007-12-07T22:22:09Z")
Tom Jobim’s [The Waters of March](http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/6749/39/). Beautiful song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-knocked-your-socks-off/428486.md?page=4)