Tom Waits - "Lord I've Been Changed"
Bright Eyes - "Road To Joy"
I'm back. Miss me? Took off Friday for family obligations, but all is well. So today's topic of the day: The Big Break. You know what I'm talking about - - that moment in a good song when the music switches direction 180 degrees for maximum effect. Am I describing this correctly (sorry, I'm no musicologist)? In this particular song there is a very cool Big Break. It's extra special because it's alluded to by the singer - - in this case, Conor Oberst. (Think Bruce Springsteen counting down before the band switches gear mid-song.) The music builds and about 2/3 of the way through the song, Oberst sings these very autobiographical words: "Well, I could have been a famous singer if I had someone else's voice // But failures always sounded better // Let's fuck it up boys, make some noise!" And then the band goes on to, in fact, fuck it up, launching a cacophonous jam - - ergo, The Big Break. I really like this moment. Now, I want to list five other Big Breaks, but I'm having a bit of a brain freeze right now. One that I did come up with is sort of the exact opposite of the "Road To Joy." On Steppenwolf's rock classic, "Magic Carpet Ride," the band slides into a jam towards the end of the song and just as they seem to lose all focus and the whole thing will just peter out, there's a Big Break and the vocals and melody come crashing back. It's like this tiny, triumphant moment that can't help but get you pumped up. Anyone else out there have any idea what I'm talking about or should I adjust my meds? Please, tell me your favorite Big Break(s), if you have one. In the meantime, I'll try to come up with some other examples.
The Wrens - "It's Not Getting Any Good"
Damien Rice - "The Blower's Daughter"
Superchunk - "Watery Hands"
Pixies - "Bone Machine" (live)
Illinois - "What Can I Do For You?"
Miles Davis & John Coltrane - "Sid's Ahead"
Air - "One Hell Of A Party"
The Postal Service - "We Will Become Silhouettes"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 10
Total minutes of music (approx.): 47
Song with the most previous plays: "The Blower's Daughter" - 11
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: It dawned on me that most people have the day off. Lucky bastards.
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4 comments:
Big Break songs: Right off, I'm thinking of The Wedding Present's "Dalliance," Animal Collective's "Purple Bottle," the end of Sonic Youth's "Total Trash," Modest Mouse's "Dark Center of the Universe," Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine," Mercury Rev's "Meth of a Rockette's Kick," and, to a lesser and quieter degree, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci: "Patio Song" and Galaxie 500's version of "Ceremony."
Wow. How'd you come up with so many? Honestly I don't know all of those tunes. What album is "Dalliance" on? "Purple Bottle" feels like it breaks 5 or 6 times - - like a lot of Animal Collective. Mouse and Floyd, are good.
I thought of another of my favorites last night: The Wrens "Happy." Amazing break where Charles Bissell (I think it's him) even lets out an audible "ahh" like he just took a refreshing drink just as the music kicks back in.
"Dalliance" is on Seamonsters, and I couldn't recommend it more. It's a great song off of an amazing album (if you're into WP at all.)
I debated adding Animal Collective to the list because about half of their songs do that, but I like it, so it stayed.
That's a terrific Wrens song, and I can't believe I didn't think of that before some of the others! Nice :)
I have to think about this one for a while. However, I do remember the first time I saw Bright Eyes perform "Road to Joy" someone in the audience yelled out the apology part. Oberst nearly lost his shit.
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