I’ll go out on a limb and make the sweeping generalisation that out of all instruments the cello and violin have the most potential to move me. You only have to listen to the masterpiece that is Samuel Barbers Adagio for Strings to see what I’m getting at.
So I’ve been trying to put together a list of modern music (at the risk of aging myself, let’s say 90s and later) that includes at least one string instrument that is prominently featured that is not the guitar; mainly because they show verve and creativity and often produce astounding tracks. I’ve found that these types of modern songs still have that ability to produce that ground-swell of emotion and I’d like to find more… I’ll start off with a few of my favourites but I’ll preface by saying that often bands whose music I do not particularly care for nail it when they use strings in this manner…
Andrew Bird - Fake Palindromes
Damien Rice - Blower’s Daughter
Ra Ra Riot - Boy
The Wombats - Anti D
I’ll post some more when I’m at home - but I’d love to hear your suggestions…
Beautiful/Melancholic: “Lay Me Down” (violin kicks in about 1:45)
Kinda epic (to me anyway since it’s about one of my favorite movies): “Roy (Back From The Offworld)” (violin kicks in about 3:10ish)
Beautiful/Epic “Experiment IV” (extended 12" version-that’s Nigel Kennedy btw-that’s a fan video, can’t say I care for the visuals. Here’s another not as good-sounding fan video with the kinda cheezy official video mixed in, which is fun mainly for seeing all the familiar British actors including Hugh Laurie)
I also have to include a link to the epic sounds of Caryn Lin, an entire orchestra alone on a stage.
I remember a similar thread from some time ago in which I recommended the songs from R.E.M.'s “Automatic For The People” with a string arrangement (done by John Paul Jones), which are my favorite combinations of pop music and strings, so I post them again:
Nightswimming
Another great use of strings is to be found on Van Morrison’s live album “It’s Too Late To Stop Now”. Here’s an example:
Saint Dominic’s Preview
Edit: Oops, seems like the last example doesn’t fit your definition for modern music for this thread. Maybe you can enjoy it anyway.
I’m impressed (maybe more than I should be) when a musician who’s famous for other things shows multidimensionality by playing cello.
For example, Adrian Belew plays the cello in the instrumental break in the Jars Of Clay song “Flood.” (And I love the string arrangement in Belew’s own, ELO-esque “Big Blue Sun,” though I don’t remember whether he plays them himself).
And Matt Slocum, the guitarist/songwriter of Sixpence None the Richer, plays cello (as seen here, accompanying Mike Roe on “Ache Beautiful”).
But possibly my favorite :dubious: use of cello in a song is [url=Mike Knott - 7 - Bad Check - Strip Cycle (1995) - YouTube]Mike Knott’s “Bad Check,” in which a gorgeous cello solo accompanies the lyrics Wrote a bad check to this cello player
She didn’t know it at the time cause I’m singing it later
I knew I could count on The Dope… this has been one of those backburner projects for years, and this morning you guys and girls blew the doors right off!
Hodge, thank you for that beautiful piece… airplayed it round my home this morning.
Tanbarkie, it sounds like we have very similar taste in music, I forgot that Decemberists track…
Novelty Bobble, I am so glad someone else mentioned Elbow… and thankyou for the intro to The Shining
Had a little dig last night too…
Vampire Weekend - Walcott
Ben Sollee - (everything… check this guy out)
Portishead - Glory Box / Roads
Nick Drake - Cello Song
Certainly happy to see all the tracks from before the 90s, there’s no real rhyme or reason to the list, happy to take any suggestions, keep them coming!
Moving into September is the right time to mention the melancholic A Summer Song by Chad and Jeremy. That melancholy is perfectly captured by the way the violins hand a theme off to the violas who in turn give way to the cellos. One of the prettiest songs of the entire 60s.
Something by Dave Holland or Leroy Vinnegar (he was still alive post-1990, cause I used to sneak in to hear him all the time). No more specifics, sorry.