What aspect of music do you like best?

Cafe Society
1

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and if I had to choose a favorite, it would be transitions. Transitions between one musical thought or section to the next. They can be subtle or drastic, but when the flow gets funneled properly into a new container, it feels like it has captured the essence of music. I love both the transition itself and the way the before and after relate to each other. A silky smile into a roaring guffaw, or a cutting edge slightly softened. The shifting of gears may be well thought-out or quite flighty, but it has to be in a way that fits with what came before.

For example, the Flaming Lips’ Suddenly Everything Has Changed essentially consists of three verses, separated by instrumental interludes. However, the two interludes both have a uniquely cool transition back to the next verse, and it comes roaring in like a waterfall that has suddenly been turned on again. I can’t quite pinpoint why, but the song rocks my world and the transitions play a huge role.

I can’t stand songs that are repetitive, especially if there’s not much variation within the oft-repeated sections themselves. A lot of Dylan just starts to grate on me, as some of his songs (even acclaimed ones like Masters of War, or Dignity) are just so flat, with few transitions. It feels like a rut, and I keep waiting for a way out that never (or seldom) comes. I guess with Dylan, it’s often about the lyrics, but that’s usually not enough for me. I don’t get into much “groove”-style music either, unless, of course, the groove starts to fly off instead of being glued to itself.

So yea, ditch the groove, and give me Stairway to Heaven or Paranoid Android, which are just chock full of those living transitions that give music its ants-in-the-pants nature. The lead-in to Stairway’s “And as we wind on down the road” section still kicks so much ass, because the song has been to so many different places already and it’s earned this screaming rock’n’rollin outburst (though really, when doesn’t he scream? ;)). And the way the “Rain now” section in Android comes in is just so hauntingly beautiful, not even counting the way the counter-point comes in, which is itself quickly ousted by a much rougher (but still somehow fitting) transition that snatches it all away with that familiar heavily distorted guitar riff.

You get the point; I think transitions are the yum, and I could go on all day. Tell me what YOU like. :smiley:

2

Rhythms. Complicated, syncopated, one layered on top of another.

3

I really dig songs where you have a significant departure from a main theme, and then you return to it one last time at the end.

A simple, straightforward example is the song Born to Run. You’ve got two verses at the beginning, the second one slightly more full in orchestration. Then the song has a sax solo leading into a very different B section that sort of travels around to different chords and is very different from everything that’d come before. Then at the end there’s sort of a noisy pause, like you’re sitting at the edge of cliff about to jump off, and then BAM, a final verse brings you back to the song, with the vocals powered out an octave higher than they had been previously. That’s the best moment in the song.

Genesis has a song Fading Lights that has a slow, beautiful melody where we again get two verses before the song goes into a prog rock section that takes up most of the duration of the song, at the end of which, after a big build, the guitar screams into an impassioned version of that original melody that just soars.

Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick is an extreme version, where you’ve got a 40 minute song, the first two minutes of which are the main theme, then the song goes off in completely different directions and only occasionally hints back at the theme, and then we come back around to it at the very end.

It’s so very satisfying. Music rocks!

4

I like music that has power to it, and doesn’t sound washy. This doesn’t necessarily mean loud, but more solid, like it’s not about to be blown away by the wind. Some singers, especially females, have voices that are very airy and soft, and I can’t stand it.

5

I like music I can perform. And which challenges me in the process.

Although, sometimes I like music which doesn’t require me to work hard, but allows me to enjoy other people working hard.

I sing and I play handbells. In playing handbells, there’s a certain level of difficulty which I enjoy which is kind of hard to describe. I want the music tricky enough to keep me interested, but not so complicated that I never master my part.

In singing, I love singing in parts, but I’m a soprano so I’m bad at singing anything other than the melody. (Note: I’ve sung in church choirs with ladies who seemed to pick the soprano part because they are bad at singing anything other than the melody, but I really do not have an alto range, I don’t really have the high notes that some music calls for, but I come much closer to having them than I do to having the low notes that alto parts generally call for). I love vocal harmonies, especially if I know the song well enough that I can close my eyes and sing along, and listen to people singing the other parts–not a good idea when actually in a choir.

6

I’m a lyrics man - but also glossolalia, like Cocteau Twins. I guess I just like singing.

7

Lyrics, and the way they are driven by the vocals.

8

I really am a sucker for some splendid harmonies, whether they be vocal or layered with instrumentation in the recording studio or live.
Loved the Beatles and the Grateful Dead for their vocal harmonies, and many, many other bands. Even Michael Anthony in VH had all those dead-on high harmonies that add so much to music as a form of layering.

I also agree with the OP about transitions and the boredom that comes with too much repetition. You mentioned “Stairway” but songs like “Day In The Life”, “Band On The Run”, “Space Odyssey” by Bowie, etc all come to mind too.
And songs like those don’t have to multi-part songs for me to like them either…sometimes modulations from one key into an odd one are cool. The Dead were known for that, as well as many instrumental guitar players…DiMeola, Vai, Eric Johnson, etc.

9

It would be practically impossible for me to define. I like different songs for different reasons. Mostly, I’m drawn to the music and not the lyrics. The lyrics are a nice bonus for me, with a few exceptions. I tend to be drawn to rhythms and grooves. I don’t like music that is trying too hard to be cerebral and clever (for example, I dislike a lot of prog rock, but not all of it.) I tend to favor classic pop structure and shorter (3 minutes and under) songs. But, once again, there’s many exceptions to that rule. I also love a strong melody and a hook.

Basically, the only commonality is that the music needs to move me and, preferably, create a fresh and new sonic space for me.

10

What a difficult question!

I’ve been rummaging through my collection, trying to find a common thread with not a lot of success. Certainly there’s a fair bit of stuff that sounds great when stoned but I’d like to think there is a higher aesthetic at work here. Hmmm.

ETA: Actually pulykamell says it well in his (I think) last sentence.

11

The greatest is when emotional power is transmitted into music. Some examples are Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin, Echoes by Pink Floyd, Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix, and A Love Supreme by John Coltrane. All of them have an incredible cathartic power to them that borders on the spiritual.
I like big guitar riffs as much as anybody, but I don’t fall in love with them like I do with the emotions of Dazed and Confused, for instance. That overflowing soulful despair in the beginning, the murky depths of the bridge, and then the crazed, almost desperate anger of the solo, rising suddenly and lashing out, and finally the conclusion: an unbelievable surge of resolved, determined power. Jimmy Page’s guitar soars in unison with the bass over Bonham’s pounding, sturdy drums. That song transcends most music. It’s an experience. And I feel the same way about the other ones I mentioned above.

12

Cohesiveness. A slippery term to be sure, but what I have in mind is where all the musicians are playing very tight as a whole, nobody is wanking off by themselves (I dislike soloing for the sake of soloing), and each note transition is in harmony with the established melody, and the overall tone/momentum is retained.

You know the old Bugs Bunny gag where Yosemite Sam or someone wants him to play a certain series of notes on a piano, where the last note is rigged to blow the piano (and Bugs) sky high? Bugs of course keeps playing the wrong note, and finally a fed-up Sam pushes him out of the way, plays it the right way, and blows himself to high hell. All too often I’ll be listening to something someone recommended, and, right when things are starting to get good, an out-of-place note comes in from deep left field and ruins the cut.

But that’s just part of it. Nothing is more rewarding than when a band is clicking on all cylinders and maintains an incredibly intense groove (melody + beat) for many minutes. I hate it when the song is in a very intense dark place, but then all of a sudden this completely out of place “sunny” melody comes along. Yes used to be one of the worst offenders in this regard.

In a closely related vein I’ll second the OP’s favoritism towards transitions. All too often said transitions (when of course as Windwalker says they are present at all) are clunky, unconvincing, and cause the flow of the cut to completely grind to a halt. I really hate that.

Porcupine Tree used to have all these positive qualities, but on their last album abandoned a lot of that, so that we now have metal wanking, clumsy transitions, awkward cohesiveness between the musicians, and “wrong” notes at the wrong times.

Hope that all made sense.

13

Wow - no wonder you, **Struan ** and I seem to have similar tastes; +1.

In addition, I add:

  • My heart likes pure, emotional connection. When a piece of music, regardless of style, delivers clear emotions in the music and lyrics, I pay attention. It could be love, anger, the pain over difficult choices, snotty rebellion or exuberant joy - if it’s good to my ear, the music plays “crack the whip” with my emotions, lofting me into a much deeper connection.

  • My head loves quality craft. Music is a craft and, to me, art is the mastery of craft. Per pulykamell, I want a song that has to fit into specific rules, does so, and yet still finds a way to be fresh and new. Rock is amazingly dogmatic along many dimensions, but the good stuff jumps out.

I guess to me, I love communication. I love hearing the communication between musicans - which is one reason I don’t like technically precise performances - I need to hear that genuine interplay, not machine-like efficiency. And if I get my head and heart satisfied with a great piece of music - so the musicians are communicating well with each other, and as a result, communicating with me - just wow.

Oh - and it’s gotta rock. :wink:

14

I will give up my kingdom for a truly shredding guitar solo. Especially one that shifts major gears right when other players might have ended it and called that sucker done, for example the solo in the Pantera song Cemetary Gates. The song is retarded lyrically, but that solo, oh dear og that solo. Beautiful and slow and then lighting fast and virtuostic to no end. I can rewind particular solos and listen to them over and over again, somtimes 9 of 10 times in a row just marveling in the beauty of something truly magnificent.

That being said, I don’t normally go for the Yngwie Malmsteen school of Solo All The Time To the Point of Boredom. It needs to be stated well and just long enough to leave me breathless and saying “Oh woah, wait, what the fuck was that?!!?” They don’t have to be metal solos either, although that’s where I got my first taste. Blues, Flamenco, Jazz, whatever, as long as it displays the mastery.

15

As someone that grew up playing this kind of music on electric geetar (soloing ad naseum), I can relate to that. “Cemetary Gates” is a fine Pantera song, with a great solo. Yngwie certainly had his moments, but his music is mostly bereft of any emotional connection. It’s like a Bach fugue on vinyl at 78 speed. Technically sound, but ultimately soulless.
I bet you like the guitar solo from Jimi’s version of “Red House”, or perhaps Vai’s “For The Love Of God” solo.
I actually consider Page’s solo on “Stairway” to be one of the best defining rock guitar solos ever, as much as I have grown to loathe “Stairway” due to repetition.
But I also liked the early 1990’s movement away from the verse/verse/chorus/verse/solo/chorus/chorus format of 80’s rock, with the focus being simply on the song. Nirvana were good at that, or perhaps Cobain was a lousy guitar player… :wink:

16

Great singers. And I don’t mean people who can do impressive things with their voice and stay on tune, but rather people who can put every ounce of emotion they have into what they’re singing. So, for instance, I love Howlin’ Wolf, but only his later stuff, and none of Ray Charles’ stuff really does anything for me.

I can’t understand what people are singing about, so the actual lyrics are meaningless to me until I’ve heard the song a few thousand times and started picking up on what it’s about.

One of the most beautiful things, to me, that I ever heard was a great polyphonic chorus where suddenly one guy with a strong voice joins in and begins leading it with the chorus following him.

17

The music I like most is music that I can’t help tapping my feet and singing along with it, even if it’s instrumental. I find myself singing along with some operas, even if I don’t know the language.

18

The part that makes women shake it.

19

This would probably be my second choice. Beautifully-rendered layered harmonies (and counterpoint) are almost transcendent, and have always been an enigma for me in terms of how much better the parts sound together than apart. Are our brains wired to like certain frequency combinations? And what is it about the end to The Beach Boys’ God Only Knows, with the wave-like attack of counter-melodies? The fit is just so right.

20

I like different types of music, from Mozart to Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, but my heart belongs to “ecto” music, which to me has these qualities:

  1. music that encompasses originality (not using cliches that I’ve heard a thousand times before), thoughtfulness (meaning, thought was put into it instead of relying on cliches just because it’s easier), innovation (something different from what everybody else is doing), is interesting (doesn’t bore me) and has intelligence and quality behind it.

  2. female vocals

I like male vocals, but there’s just something about the female voice that reaches me in a different way. Not that I’ll like any old thing just because it’s sung by a female. There are many female singers that make me want to barf and I wouldn’t touch with someone else’s 10-ft pole, and others that I admire for one reason or another (or perhaps many reasons), but could never be a fan of. I switched this from #1 because the above is most important. Give me quality, interesting music WITH a female voice, and that’s what I want.

  1. consistancy

Don’t give me a couple of good-to-great songs on an otherwise mediocre album. I might like those songs but I won’t be a fan. Give me all good-to-great-to-brilliant songs on every album, and I’m yours.

  1. great lyrics

I like lots of songs that have iffy lyrics, but when an artist cares enough to put something worth hearing there, it makes a difference in how I feel about that artist as a whole. I want the song to be good enough so that I’ll love it even if I never know what the lyrics are, but I want the lyrics to be good enough so that if I delve I’m not disappointed.

All my favorite artists have these qualities. I like or even love lots of artists who don’t have every single one of these qualities, but they’re not favorites.