Music Moments

The guitar riff from "Drown" by Son Volt

 

The little burst of feedback at the end of the Townshend solo on The Who's "Run, Run, Run."

 

Hells Bells still haunts me. That intro might mean something entirely different to most, but to me it's all about saying good-bye to Bon Scott.

Here's some others...

-"And right now...it's time to...KICK OUT THE JAMS MOTHERFUCKERS!!!" I have that whole speech memorized.
-Dead Boys opening to "Sonic Reducer"
-The rattle sound right before the thrilling finale verse of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message"
-Metallica's "Orion"...when it slows down toward the end and a wicked bent guitar note signals a medieval style solo.

 

So many moments, so little time ... :

-The intro to John Williams' "Star Wars" theme

-The intro to Billy Joel's "Angry Young Man."

-David Gilmour's solo in the middle of Pink Floyd's "Time." Small wonder "Dark Side of the Moon" is an album for the ages.

-The first minute of Genesis' "Firth of Fifth" ... either the album (Selling England By The Pound) or two live releases among numerous bootlegs.

-The intro of Genesis' "Blood On the Rooftops." Thank you, Steve Hackett.

-The last verse of Mike + The Mechanics' "Living Years." I wasn't there that morning when my father passed away, either. And the track was released within a year of his death.

-The last verse of Genesis' "Duchess." Powerful ... superb lyrics and Tony's synths make this track unforgettable. It's all great, but picking up at about the 2:20 mark here (bad audio, but still a workable example).

-Every morsel of Genesis' "Squonk" and Rush's "La Villa Strangiato."

 

Chuck Klosterman has an article about this in the new Esquire.

-- The instrumental bridge in "Let Down" by Radiohead. If used correctly, that can make me get a little teary.

-- The sexy phrasing Fiona Apple uses on "A Mistake"...especially when she says the phrase "I wanna make a mistake"

-- How "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" by The Mars Volta builds up starting around the 7:00 mark...starts going faster...then Cedric Bixler-Zavala hits some crazy high notes...then it starts melting down at the 8:00 mark.

-- The little intro to "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" by Nirvana...then when the drums come in and SLAY the tune.

-- The sexy, bratty girl backing vocals on "Quick and to the Pointless" by Queens of the Stone Age.

-- The guitar riff to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" by Black Sabbath

-- The drums on "Instant Karma" by John Lennon (although I thought for sure that Ringo played on that tune)

-- Jeff Tweedy's vocal on "Kamera" by Wilco.

-- The coda to "Rocket Queen" by Guns N' Roses.

-- The foot stomping sounds on "We Will Rock You" by Queen

-- The little "Whooo" just as the final solo on "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young and Crazy Horse starts.

-- The way Bob Dylan says "My advice is to not let the boys in" on "Tombstone Blues"

 

The intro to Springsteen's "Born to Run"

Frank Sinatra building up to the final part of "My Way"

Billy Joel counting down, "1, 2. A 1, 2, 3, 4" in "A Matter of Trust".

The opening piano solo in Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' "