Best Moments in Music

[Holden]

I was relistening to The Dark Side of the Moon today, and during the song “Brain Damage” when he utters the phrase “The lunatic is in my head” and we hear laughter in the background gave me literal chills. What are similar moments in songs that you think might be among the best moments in the music canon?

This question is less about songs and more about moments within the songs.

[Sweepstakes Ron]

In "Disparate Youth" when the full instrumentation comes back in on the last bar of the bridge followed by the immediate transition to the chorus... like a jolt of lightning to my body every time.

[Harold]

Eddie Jobson's closing electric violin solo on "Out of the Blue" by Roxy Music. Greatest example of tension-and-release that I can think of. The whole track has been building up to something explosive, but that still doesn't prepare you for just how incredibly exciting it is.

[almo]

Rock Lobster's call and response section of animals and their noises.

[Edre Depeche Head]

Depeche Mode has a ton of great moments in my opinion (I am obsessive lol)

- The final section of "Never Let Me Down Again" when the strings and choir comes in and in the live version when the whole audience starts waving their hands.
- The return to the main riff of "Enjoy The Silence" after the live breakdown when they play it live
- The opening notes of "Stripped" when they perform it live
- The transition from the guitar solo to the string section on the track "Home"
- The opening line of "Light"

Also Depeche Mode has some great transitions of some of their album here are just a few:

- Stripped/Here Is The House
- Blue Dress/Clean
- I Want It All/Nothing's Impossible

[Pauler]

I'm gonna represent some poptimism in this thread:

1. The spoken bridge in "Be Mine" by Robyn is a total call-back to heart-aching Motown songs done by girl groups like The Shangri-Las ("Leader of the Pack"). A brilliant touch on an already brilliant track.

2. The multiple tempo and genre change in "I Got A Boy" by Girls' Generation/SNSD. The song marks a pivotal shift in the production in K-Pop where producers would try to marry different genres (R&B, heavy Electro-Pop, EDM, etc.) in one song to maximize the element of surprise. My favorite particular moment is when the member Jessica pronounces "Let's bring it back to 140" and the song's chorus is set at 140 bpm. It is exhilarating.

3. The synth strings in "Toxic" by Britney Spears which sound like it might've been straight from a spy thriller

4. The totally off-kilter chorus following those heavy & downright dirty verses in "Red Light" by f(x). A prime example of tempo change is executed to perfection.

5. "You say, I only hear what I want to/And you say, I talk all the time, so" from "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb. I personally think it's one of the most simple and memorable opening lines ever. So specific yet so universal for a lot of couples.

6. The "pop" rework of "Maps" (YYY) is evident on "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson. That urgency in how the bridge is built gets me every time and Clarkson was in her vocal prime here: belting the living hell out of the song.

7. The sweet whistle tone displayed by Minnie Riperton in "Loving You". That vocal riffing in her whistle register has been attempted many times on every singing competition but none has even comes close.

8. The opening of "I'm Every Woman", Whitney Houston's version. Her timbre during this section is ridiculously beautiful.

[tfguenther]

The Beatles "A Day In The Life"
Right after "Somebody spoke and I went into a dream..." when John is starting to sing his "Aaaaaaaaah"-part.

Rage Against The Machine "Freedom"
The build-up towards the end, when Zack turns from asking for "Freedom" politely into yelling it maniacally underlined by the climactic instrumentation: "Freedom? Yeeeeeeeahhh"

The Eagles "Hotel California"
During the guitar solo section when both electric guitars start to play in sync.

Led Zeppelin "Stairway To Heaven"
After the guitar solo when the lyrics start with "And as we wind on down the road..."

Simon & Garfunkel "The Sound Of Silence"
That song has many remarkable moments, as a matter of fact the beginning with "Hello darkness my old friend" is already great. But my favorite moments of the song are probably, when they start a new verse, i.e. after they sing "...of silence".

The Cure "A Forest"
The instrumental part at the beginning right when the bass guitar sets in.

REM "Drive"
When the electric guitar starts playing in the middle of the song.

Portishead "Roads"
After the second "How can it feel this wrong", when the violins and the guitar set in right after the snare drum and Beth continues with "Storm, in the morning light...". Gets me every time.

Daft Punk "Giorgio by Moroder"
After around 6:00 minutes when the drums kick in.

Michael Jackson "Beat It"
After the "knocking on the door" and Eddie Van Halen breaks loose...

Metallica "One"
The "Darkness imprisoning me"-Part.

[Edre Depeche Head]

Ive thought about some other ones, and even though it may be basic, Radiohead's "Creep" has some great moments when Jonny's chugging guitar comes in. Same with "Fake Plastic Trees" and the solo of "Just".

You also can't deny the greatness that is David Gilmour's final solo in "Comfortably Numb".

On a much newer note, on The 1975 album, Notes on a Conditional Form, the interlude track "The End (Music For Cars)" is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. Also on the Grimes track "4ÆM" there is is a little sub base in the first chorus right before the drums kick in and it gives me goosebumps every time. And while not a single moment, the dilevery on the BTS track "UGH" is so great.

[Madzong]

The slinky bass in the Cure’s Lullaby.

The repetitive bass line and turntable sample in Portishead’s Wandering Star

[Holden]

The repetitive bass line and turntable sample in Portishead’s Wandering Star

Agree

[Madzong]

Songs that stop and start again or fade out and come back e.g. The Stooges’ ‘T.V. Eye’, Elvis’ ‘Suspicious Minds’, Def Leppards’ ‘Animal’

[Madzong]

The changes in XTC’s Dear God - from the boy’s voice to Andy’ Partridge’s And the vitriol in the last tirade which he pulls off without stopping for a breath (backed with some propulsive drumming)

‘I won't believe in Heaven and Hell
No saints, no sinners, no devil as well
No pearly gates, no thorny crown
You're always letting us humans down
The wars you bring, the babes you drown
Those lost at sea and never found
And it's the same the whole world 'round
The hurt I see helps to compound
That Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Is just somebody's unholy hoax
And if you're up there you'd perceive
That my heart's here upon my sleeve
If there's one thing I don't believe in...’

[Madzong]

Led Zeppelin "Stairway To Heaven"
After the guitar solo when the lyrics start with "And as we wind on down the road..."

Simon & Garfunkel "The Sound Of Silence"
That song has many remarkable moments, as a matter of fact the beginning with "Hello darkness my old friend" is already great. But my favorite moments of the song are probably, when they start a new verse, i.e. after they sing "...of silence".

Yeah, these are great moments! Specifically the electric version of Sound Of Silence when the drums and bass comes in.

And I love it when S & G come in with “And the people bowed and prayed, To the neon god they made”

[Madzong]

The ‘elec-tric-tric-tric-tric’ sample/vocals in Rhinestone Eyes by Gorillaz

[Arsalan]

There are many moments that I like, Some of them are:

1 - When Roger Waters says "Together we stand, Divided We Fall" at the end of Hey You
2 - When Matthew Bellamy says "And We Will Be Victorious" in Uprising
3 - When Kurt Cobain says "I'm worse at what I do best and for this gift, I feel blessed" and "Oh well, whatever , NEVERMIND" in Smells Like Teen Spirit
4 - When Thom Yorke says "Immerse your soul in love" in Street Spirit(Fade Out)
5 - When Jack White Says "I had a brain that felt like pancake batter" in The Hardest Button to Button
6 - The closing solo of High Hopes by Pink Floyd
7 - The closing solo of Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits ft. Eric Clapton (Wembley 1988)

[ordinaryperson]

These are in no particular order:

Both of David Gilmore's verses (including the guitar solos) - Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb

"I hear the horses' thunder down in the valley below. I'm waiting for the angels of Avalon; waiting for the eastern glow" - Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore

After the spoken word part - Nine Inch Nails' Closer

Verse 2 - Paul McCartney & Wings' Band on the Run

The opening riff - The Cure's Push

The singing in the background - Aphex Twin's Xtal

When the music changes to a thumping beat - Underworld's Born Slippy .NUXX

The transition to Can't Take My Eyes Off You - Pet Shop Boys' Where the Streets Have No Name (Can't Take My Eyes Off You)

Before the synths kick in - Toby Fox's Hopes and Dreams

"'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice. And when justice is gone, there's always force. And when force is gone, there's always Mom." - Laurie Anderson's O Superman

The transition to electronic instruments - Portishead's The Rip

"I'm afraid I told a lie" - Nick Cave's The Mercy Seat

"Nothing's gonna change my world" - The Beatles' Across the Universe

Robert Fripp's guitar solo - Brian Eno's St. Elmo's Fire

The first 23 seconds - Siouxsie and the Banshees' Cities in Dust

That synth - The Cure's Disintegration

"I'll see you in the next life." - Radiohead's Motion Picture Soundtrack

"No matter what happens now, you shouldn't be afraid. Because I know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen" - Radiohead's Videotape

Just the whole song - Alice in Chains' Nutshell

There's probably more but I can't remember them.

[ordinaryperson]

Here's some more:

The opening notes (Also any time they play this song live with an intro.) - Radiohead's Everything in Its Right Place

"You bring light in" - Underworld's Two Months Off

"Tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down" - Arianne Cleopatra Schreiber's Komm, süsser Tod

"I'd love to turn you on" - The Beatles' A Day in the Life

"Come back" - Radiohead's In Limbo

Verse 2 and onwards - Radiohead's Idioteque

"Cut the kids in half" - Radiohead's Morning Bell

The final guitar solo - Deep Purple's Highway Star

Verse 2 - The Beta Band's Dr. Baker

"Don't leave, don't leave" Radiohead's True Love Waits (A Moon Shaped Pool version)

Patti Smith's backing vocals - R.E.M.'s E-Bow the Letter

2:57-7:02 - Pink Floyd's Echoes

Verse 4 - Pink Floyd's You've Got to Be Crazy (The early version of Dogs)

The "today" sound effect - The Smashing Pumpkins' 1979

"None of you stand so tall." - Nick Drake's Pink Moon

"Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky" - Pink Floyd's Shine on You Crazy Diamond

Going from acoustic instruments to electric ones - Led Zeppelin's Over the Hills and Far Away

"Paulie caught a bullet, but it only hit his leg. Well, it should have been a better shot, and got him in the head." - Butthole Surfers' Pepper

[Madzong]

The final guitar solo - Deep Purple's Highway Star

Patti Smith's backing vocals - R.E.M.'s E-Bow the Letter

Love these too. Patti Smith’s vocals really make this song.

[Madzong]

Joey Ramone’s anger (towards the Ronald Reagan incident) is palpable when he sings the last verse of Bonzo Goes To Bitburg:

“If there's one thing that makes me sick
It's when someone tries to hide behind politics
I wish that time could go by fast
Somehow they manage to make it last”

Also love the following lyrics from ‘Somebody put Something in my Drink’ (also by the Ramones) for similar reasons - the emotion coming through is awesome:

“Yeah, kick the jukebox, slam the floor
Drink, drink, drink, drink some more
I can't think
Hey, what's in this drink?”

[andyd1010]

Arcade Fire - Reflektor
The last three minutes... as soon as the sax kicks in

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
Guitar solo into "And as we wind on down the road..."

Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
"But I can't help the feeling, I could blow through the ceiling"

Radiohead - Exit Music (for a Film)
And you can laugh a spineless laugh
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you
Now we are one in everlasting peace
We hope that you choke, that you choke

Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Saxophone outro

Outlaws - Green Grass and High Tides
First guitar solo

Wilson Pickett - Hey Jude
Duane Allman and Wilson Pickett going nuts after the final "make it better."

Audioslave - Like a Stone
The bridge culminating in "I will wander on"


Any of the choruses I chose in last year's poll:
1 | Oasis | Don't Look Back in Anger
2 | Thrice | Words in the Water (final chorus)
3 | System of a Down | Chop Suey! (final chorus)
4 | The Beatles | Hey Jude
5 | Feist | 1234 (final chorus)
6 | 4 Non Blondes | What's Up?
7 | Father John Misty | Please Don't Die (final chorus)
8 | Finch | What It Is to Burn (final chorus)
9 | Tool | Vicarious (final chorus)
10 | Thrice | Image of the Invisible

[Holden]

Just listen to Big Boi's Sir Lucious Left Foot, and found one there.

Janelle Monae's vocals on "Be Still" are intoxicating! She never fails to blow me away.

[_______________]

The banjo riff in Swamp Thing from The Grid, no way Prodigy could top that in a million years from there for ever!!! ((aka: late summer of mid-Europe 1994... and Body Count had their first and final BLM hit with Born Dead so who cared anymore anyway

[jamieW]

The banjo riff in Swamp Thing from The Grid, no way Prodigy could top that in a million years from there for ever!!! ((aka: late summer of mid-Europe 1994... and Body Count had their first and final BLM hit with Born Dead so who cared anymore anyway

Just listened to this - now THAT'S a music moment!
(So where was the banjo on "Tainted Love"? That might've been the only thing it was missing...)

[prosecutorgodot]

One of the first moments that blew me away, which remains with me today, is the transition from "Dearly Beloved" into "Tales from Another Broken Home" on "Jesus of Suburbia." Transitions in general have always been one of my favorite components in music.

[Honorio]

1 minute of music (and 4 half-minutes):


1. The Beach Boys — God Only Knows (from 1'51" to 2'51")
If someone would ask me about my favourite minute of music (although why the hell somebody would ask me that) I would choose without hesitation the last minute of "God Only Knows." Musically there are a lot of things happening in the song, the Chamber Pop arrangements, the Christmas percussions, the sweet Carl Wilson vocal… But it's in this last minute where the vocal harmonies of the boys from the beach goes intertwining and intertwining forming a spiral that elevates (you) to heaven.


2. Radiohed — Let Down (from 3'55" to 4'25")
After my favourite minute, the half minute from 3'55" to 4'25" is my favourite half minute of music, at the risk of sounding really freaky. Thom Yorke is singing the second melody of the song and at that moment he raises his voice while a second Yorke voice takes up again the same melody. Then the first voice cracks in a falsetto that don't stop until the chorus comes back in an exultant manner that vividly contrasts with the lyrics: "Let down and hanging around / Crushed like a bug in the ground."


3. Sufjan Stevens — John Wayne Gacy, Jr. (from 1'04" to 1'34")
Sufjan Stevens tells the scary story of John Wayne Gacy, Jr., a famous serial killer that killed "twenty-seven people / even more." But the most disturbing thing here is the gentle and sweet tone that Sufjan applies to that tremendous story. After the first minute he asks about the dead, "they were boys, with their cars, summer jobs" and then his voice breaks in a falsetto with an "oh my God" followed by a devastating "are you one of them?" that never fails to put a lump in my throat.


4. Jacques Brel — Ces gens-là (from 2'55" to 3'25")
The first two minutes features a minimalist arrangement of only piano and double bass repeating two slightly dissonant notes. But at 2'55" the explosion comes. When the singer mention Frida qui est belle comme un soleil (who is beautiful as the sun) all the orchestra enters, blinding us with a light brighter that the sun. But the reality prevails (parce que les autres veulent pas, because the others don't want to), the horns shut up and this push of joy is finally completely lost at the end of the song.


5. Morente & Lagartija Nick — Omega (poema para los muertos) (from 7'34" to 8'04")
Although deeply rooted in flamenco the song displays an astonishing range of sounds from Arabian atmospheres to noise bursts. Preceded by a section when various samples of old cantaores fuse creating a sound suggesting the spirit of ancient coming into the soul of Morente that ends screaming "¡¡Las hierbaaas!! (The Graaass!!)" just before the electric explosion. It has been suggested that Federico García Lorca mentioned the grass as a metaphor of Death (as the grass growing around the tombs).

[DocBrown]

"We Belong Together" by Rickie Lee Jones has a drum fill by Steve Gadd beginning at about 2:45 that totally changes the character of the song, and never fails to make my jaw drop.

I'll also agree with Pauler about the opening couplet of "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb. Delivered with an arresting cadence, and so believable.

[Live in Phoenix]

If heaven exists, and it has music when you come in, I assume they're just going to play the piano opening of Bruce Springsteen's "Backstreets," because otherwise they have their work cut out for them.

[Zombeels]

Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentleman We Are Floating In Space
The layering of all the different verses. We heard it before in Paul McCartney's Silly Love Songs but this is epic.

Supertramp - School
After the first verse and the song is still building you hear a scream a split second before all the instruments kicks in. Sends chills everytime. Also the keyboard solo. Worth the full price of admission.

Chicago - 25 Or 6 To 4
The guitar solo. That freaking guitar solo. You will know why Jimi Hendrix said Terry Kath is the best guitar player after you hear it.

Built To Spill - Things Fall Apart
First you get a trumpet solo, yes a trumpet solo followed by a guitar solo with 4 distinct guitars all playing and swirling at the same time.

Radiohead - Paranoid Android
A great song but when the "Rain Down" part comes in, this song achieves a higher status because I swear I've never had such an emotional response to any music as much as this.

[Live in Phoenix]

Not that Dave ruins it, but the whole intro for Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" which is about 1:20.

[mileswide]

Not that Dave ruins it, but the whole intro for Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" which is about 1:20.

That stood out for me when I heard 1984 for last year's 1980s poll and all- holy shit, Van Halen could've passed as a hard-bop jazz band!