# What's your favorite instrumental? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528 "2003-06-08T22:13:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nimbokwezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bcef8e/32.png) [@Nimbokwezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimbokwezer)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/1 "2003-06-08T22:13:21Z")
I was just wondering, because I can’t stop listening to “Nothing Is Good Enough” by Aimee Mann. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/2 "2003-06-08T22:26:21Z")
Han and Leia’s theme–I believe it’s titled _Han and the Princess_–by John Williams. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/3 "2003-06-08T22:43:19Z")
“Tannhauser Overture”- Wagner “Clarinet Concerto”- Mozart ---
**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:** [June 8, 2003, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/4 "2003-06-08T22:50:04Z")
Not counting classical (technically, Beethoven’s Ninth isn’t an instrumental, so I’d pick his violin concerto), I’d probably pick something from the Allman Brothers; most likely “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” Second choice would be “Glad” by Traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Sikander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Sikander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sikander)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/5 "2003-06-08T23:14:35Z")
Elegia by New Order. That is aside from classical… where there’s just too much to mention. ---
**Author:** ![Yersinia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6bbea6/32.png) [@Yersinia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersinia)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/6 "2003-06-09T00:48:43Z")
Goodness! Do I have to pick only one? I prefer all-instrumental music to music with vocals, to the point where the ONLY time I listen to music with vocals is when someone else puts it on. Anyway, here are some of my favorites… Synergy: "Sequencer, “Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra” and “Metropolitan Suite.” These are all albums, not songs. I can’t possibly pick out individual cuts which I prefer since they all give me thoroughly intense eargasms. Neil Nappe: “Nova” and “Pickupstix” from his album “July.” In that order, usually (depends if I’m in the mood to swoon or if I’m more energetic, respectively). Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Chopin’s “Minute Waltz.” All of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. A Ressikan folk melody from Star Trek: The Next Generation first heard on the episode “The Inner Light” and then reprised by Capt. Picard on flute and Lt. Cmdr. Nella Darrin on piano in the episode “Lessons” – and which I had done an arrangement for on my own with my synthesizers. You wouldn’t be familiar with them, but my own compositions (piano, synthesizer and acoustic 12-string guitar). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yersinia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6bbea6/32.png) [@Yersinia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersinia)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/7 "2003-06-09T00:50:31Z")
Goodness! Do I have to pick only one? I prefer all-instrumental music to music with vocals, to the point where the ONLY time I listen to music with vocals is when someone else puts it on. Anyway, here are some of my favorites… Synergy: "Sequencer, “Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra” and “Metropolitan Suite.” These are all albums, not songs. I can’t possibly pick out individual cuts which I prefer since they all give me thoroughly intense eargasms. Neil Nappe: “Nova” and “Pickupstix” from his album “July.” In that order, usually (depends if I’m in the mood to swoon or if I’m more energetic, respectively). Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Chopin’s “Minute Waltz.” All of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. More classical, but let’s just stick with a minimal list. A Ressikan folk melody from Star Trek: The Next Generation first heard on the episode “The Inner Light” and then reprised by Capt. Picard on flute and Lt. Cmdr. Nella Darrin on piano in the episode “Lessons” – and which I had done an arrangement for on my own with my synthesizers. You wouldn’t be familiar with them, but my own compositions (piano, synthesizer and acoustic 12-string guitar). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yersinia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6bbea6/32.png) [@Yersinia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersinia)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/8 "2003-06-09T00:56:28Z")
Goodness! Do I have to pick only one? I prefer all-instrumental music to music with vocals, to the point where the ONLY time I listen to music with vocals is when someone else puts it on. Anyway, here are some of my favorites… Synergy: "Sequencer, “Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra” and “Metropolitan Suite.” These are all albums, not songs. I can’t possibly pick out individual cuts which I prefer since they all give me thoroughly intense eargasms. Neil Nappe: “Nova” and “Pickupstix” from his album “July.” In that order, usually (depends if I’m in the mood to swoon or if I’m more energetic, respectively). Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Chopin’s “Minute Waltz.” All of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Bach’s “Brandenburg Concertos.” More classical, but let’s just stick with a minimal list. A Ressikan folk melody from Star Trek: The Next Generation first heard on the episode “The Inner Light” and then reprised by Capt. Picard on flute and Lt. Cmdr. Nella Darrin on piano in the episode “Lessons” – and for which I had done a full orchestration/arrangement on my own with my synthesizers just because I loved the melody so much. You wouldn’t be familiar with them, but my own compositions (piano, synthesizer and acoustic 12-string guitar). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yersinia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6bbea6/32.png) [@Yersinia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersinia)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/9 "2003-06-09T01:00:15Z")
Goodness! Do I have to pick only one? I prefer all-instrumental music to music with vocals, to the point where the ONLY time I listen to music with vocals is when someone else puts it on. Anyway, here are some of my favorites… Synergy: "Sequencer, “Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra” and “Metropolitan Suite.” These are all albums, not songs. I can’t possibly pick out individual cuts which I prefer since they all give me thoroughly intense eargasms. Neil Nappe: “Nova” and “Pickupstix” from his album “July.” In that order, usually (depends if I’m in the mood to swoon or if I’m more energetic, respectively). Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Chopin’s “Minute Waltz.” All of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Bach’s “Brandenburg Concertos.” More classical, but let’s just stick with a minimal list. Jean-Luc Ponty, “Out of Time.” The whole f\*\*\*ing album! A Ressikan folk melody from Star Trek: The Next Generation first heard on the episode “The Inner Light” and then reprised by Capt. Picard on flute and Lt. Cmdr. Nella Darrin on piano in the episode “Lessons” – and for which I had done a full orchestration/arrangement on my own with my synthesizers just because I loved the melody so much. You wouldn’t be familiar with them, but my own compositions (piano, synthesizer and acoustic 12-string guitar). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yersinia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6bbea6/32.png) [@Yersinia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersinia)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/10 "2003-06-09T01:03:48Z")
Oops. Did I just post the same thing twice? I’m sorry!!! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/11 "2003-06-09T04:54:16Z")
Excluding classical music, it’d be _Wedding Cake Island_ by Midnight Oil. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/12 "2003-06-09T05:03:42Z")
Classic Gas. It’s just… cool. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/13 "2003-06-09T15:14:11Z")
Holy cow, **BogNik** , That is on my list. I nominate another obscure song by a well known Aussie band, only I don’t know the name of the song. It’s a 20 second interlude inbetween Violet Town and No Explanation on The Church’s Persia EP. Walk Don’t Run by the Ventures is pretty good too. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/14 "2003-06-09T17:44:52Z")
For me it’s a tie between _Autobahn_ by Kraftwerk and **Sikander’s** pick _Elegia_ by New Order. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/15 "2003-06-09T18:10:33Z")
Again, not including classical, I would run headlong into…jazz. Most of my favorite jazz is instrumental. **Kind of Blue** by Miles Davis is a well-known favorite of mine, along with plenty by most of the jazz greats and some less well-known… In blues/rock, I would have to say **Hideaway, by Freddie King** - its the song covered by Eric Clapton on the John Mayall and the BluesBreakers’ **“Beano”** album that led to the “Clapton is God” graffitti in London…I would probably add **Stevie Ray Vaughn** ’s version of **Little Wing** off of the posthumous Sky is Crying CD or Scuttlebuttin’ off the Couldn’t Stand the Weather CD… Just off the top of my head… ---
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/16 "2003-06-09T18:29:15Z")
**Godspeed, You Black Emperor!** motherfucker=redeemer Don’t let the track name fool you, it’s really a fantastic, 30 minute rock/strings-heavy sonic colonic. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/17 "2003-06-09T18:36:50Z")
A bunch of stuff by Dick Dale and the Ventures. What can I say, I like surf music. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/18 "2003-06-09T18:54:56Z")
Canon in D Minor by Johanne Pachabel ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/19 "2003-06-09T18:55:08Z")
Neil Young - _Down By the River_ ---
**Author:** ![Hully\_Gully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7cd45c/32.png) [@Hully\_Gully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hully_Gully)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528/20 "2003-06-09T19:21:06Z")
**Classical Gas** by Mason Williams [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-instrumental/180528.md?page=2)