Moments

So I was listening to Tourniquet on my way home from school today. (Shuffle is a great thing.) And a song came up I haven't listened to a year (according to my Last Played column in iTunes.) And it was totally awesome. Early in the song, I was remembering how cool the one part that came towards the end was. And when that moment hit, I was still as amazed as always.

See, I've held the belief for a while that music is all about moments--those split seconds where an earth-shattering revelation hits you (if the band has a really good lyricist) or every note just falls perfectly into place. So why not blog about it? These are some of the best moments I know to exist in music. We're not necessarily talking the best overall songs (though there is a loose correlation)--just the best parts, no more than ten seconds.

Tourniquet--The Skeezix Dilemma, Pt. 2 (The Improbable Testimony of the Pipsisewah
Yes, the title is obscenely wordy. (It's supposed to be an allegory for war between God and Satan...I think.) But the song is remarkably epic. It's one second short of ten minutes long, but you can't forget the beautiful, somber cello intro that starts it. Especially when at 7:43, that melody returns, this time soaring triumphantly on Aaron Guerra's guitar in double-time. I LOVE when bands incorporate previously used melodies like that, and in the context of the song, this is the best instance of that phenomenon.

Underoath--Too Bright to See, Too Loud to Hear
More than three minutes of ominous buildup and group chanting. Then it all cuts away but the chants and drums...then Aaron Gillespie wails "Still get us home!" and everything comes back in a maelstrom of musical perfection. It sends chills down my spine.

Anberlin--The Haunting
Again, about two minutes of acoustic buildup before the whole band erupts with one of the greatest stanzas Anberlin's ever created.

And Then There Were None--Reinventing Robert Cohn
Unlike any of the previous three bands, I can't consider ATTWN a personal favorite (though they certainly have potential). And unlike the previous three songs, this song is low on climactic drama--it's a dance track with some heavy guitars laid in. But when the singer's last repetition of "It just isn't there" fades away and your speakers nearly collapse from the following chorus, it's hard not to get drawn in.

Boston--Foreplay/Long Time
The acoustic guitar riff from the chorus is already catchy enough. And then they have to go and make it electric and throw the rest of the band in. Listen to that and try to convince me that Boston's not one of the best classic rock bands of all time.

The Classic Crime--The Beginning (A Simple Seed)
This song has TWO priceless moments. First: in the middle of an insanely catchy verse, Matt MacDonald pulls out a ridiculously corny but perfect line: "I've found the cure for my landlocked blues, it's coming home to you!" with just the right amount of passion. Then later he outdoes himself: after repeating "I let her go!" over and over, he fades away and lets a simple piano part take prominence in the midst of a raucous jam session. Awesome.

Dead Poetic--Glass in the Trees
I'm sure some of you know this. Brandon Rike laments his dead friend: "I took a vow to never forget you/ if you're still here then we'll wait for you to come back home!" Few singers can deliver that with such believable passion.

He is Legend--Either They Decorated for Christmas Early or They're All Dead
This whole song is just about perfect--but I'm just going to highlight the bridge that comes in after the last somber verse. Kicking the tempo up to double-time gets me EVERY TIME.

So on and so forth. I just realized now that this list is almost too long to be effective. But anyway: if you don't know these songs, FIX THAT.

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Now playing: Flobots - Cracks In the Surface
via FoxyTunes
(YES I HAVE IT.)