Your favourite beautiful/epic/moving/melancholic use of strings in modern music

Cafe Society
1

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…

2

At the mention of strings my first thought was John Williams, Itzhak Perlman - Schindler’s List

3

“Disarm”, Smashing Pumpkins.

4

In pop music, a smattering of my favorites:

The Beatles - “Golden Slumbers” (just classic)
Radiohead - “Nude,” “Faust Arp,” “How to Disappear Completely” (lovely and nontraditional use of backing strings)
Ben Folds Five - “Selfless, Cold, and Composed” (string sweeps in the bridge)
The Decemberists - “The Gymnast, High Above the Ground” (solo fiddle at the coda)

5

Affairs of the Heart composed by Marjan Mozetich. Neo-Romanticism by way of Philip Glass. Gorgeous.

6

Hodge - wow, gorgeous is the word.

7

I love the Clannad pieces in The Last of the Mohicans. That may not suit what you are looking for, but I like it. :slight_smile:

8

The Dirty Three

9

It Just Is, Rilo Kiley
Us, Regina Spektor
You Were Right, Badly Drawn Boy
All I Want Is You, U2

10

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.

11

I confess I’m a sucker for strings in contemporary music. They give a depth that is difficult to substitute for.

some of my favourites,
Elbow, together with the BBC concert orchestra, andthis oneas well

Arcade Fire

The Waterboys

ooo! forgot one that fulfills the OP’s brief perfectly, full on strings (and brass) from the off. The Shining

12

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:

Drive

The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight

Everybody Hurts

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.

13

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

14

They, or Warren Ellis’ work with Nick Cave (like here), are what I came in to mention.

And if you can find them in the complex, hypnotic soundscapes, Wovenhand often have great string moments, too (see here).

15

Don’t Fall Apart - Royal Wood

Fade to Black - Apocalyptica

16

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!

17

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.

18

The heroic theme from Lord of the Rings is more moving on strings than horns, in my opinion, if that’s what you’re looking for.

19

God, that bit at 3:54, where the strings return and the faint snaredrums kick in. Gets me every fuckin’ time.

Best movie soundtrack of the decade, without question.

20

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.