Layered Storytelling in Music

[Songbird]

I have listened to Esther by Phish a few hundred times in the last 2 weeks or so. It's the song I play when customers come in.

Esther one of the most beautifully layered stories I've ever heard in an extended song, 7 or 8 minutes long, with so many unexpected twists and turns and highs and lows ... it's right up there with Paradise by the Dashboard Light and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant in terms of storytelling. All 3 songs take you on a funky adventure.

Be interesting to see which one music fans here like best.

Esther ...




Paradise by the Dashboard Light ...




Scenes from an Italian Restaurant ...

 

[Songbird]

Feel free to add your own song.

 

[QYFW]

I'll have to find a better quality video. Can't do that one for more than a couple minutes.

 

[Songbird]

With the Phish song, you might need to watch that version. The video is a very big part of it.

 

[QYFW]

 

[Songbird]

Paradise by the Dashboard Light still might be the gold standard. That is one intense performance.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

I went with Paradise if only for the fantastic finish: 'I swore I would love you til the end of time/praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you. ' Tremendous.

 

[QYFW]

Now that @Double Down is roaming around again, I'd be interested in his take on this subject.

 

[Songbird]

Here's Esther, much better quality.

 

[QYFW]

Here's Esther, much better quality.

Ambitious piece of music, but quite weird. Reminds me of a Zappa song. Interesting tidbit: That's the first Phish song I've ever listened to.

 

[Dick Whitman]

"Jesus of Suburbia."

 

[Batman]

"Sometime Around Midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event.
It paints a familiar picture of lost love and better times, and the singer hits the perfect level of emotional agony. You feel terrible for the guy, hate the girl who's playing with his emotions, and by the end you feel like you've been punched in the gut just like he's been by this random encounter on what had been a fun night out with the boys.

 

[QYFW]

In the non-fiction subset of story songs, this is a favorite:

 

[SpeedTchr]

Out of the three choices presented, clearly Meatloaf.

I have no idea what that first thing was.

 

[Songbird]

Listen to the second version of it that I posted. Close your eyes and listen to the music and lyrics.

 

[Double Down]

Now that @Double Down is roaming around again, I'd be interested in his take on this subject.

Wil have more to say later, but in the meantime, I thought you guys would enjoy this. I don't even really like Radiohead (they're fine) but this was really interesting.

The secret rhythm in Radiohead’s "Videotape"

 

[Songbird]

This is in the pantheon as well.

 

[ChrisLong]

Arlo Guthrie with Alice's Restaurant gets the Thanksgiving Award.

 

[Songbird]

Arlo Guthrie with Alice's Restaurant gets the Thanksgiving Award.

Worst ****ing song in the history of the world.

 

[QYFW]

All right. Now it's getting interesting.