Music & transcendence

[AlecBGreen]

I drive quite a bit every day and I spend the time in one of two ways: quiet meditation or listening to music. There are many times when Ive just been absolutely FLOORED when listening to music; I can get teary eyed & choked up, I can beam like a fool, I feel like I can take on the whole world and everything is just right and perfect. Its unusual because I so rarely feel these emotions so strongly other times. There is something about music that breaks through my crusty old heart and just makes everything seem so clear. The only other times I feel like this are in nature or in church/prayer. Whether its coincidence, a function of biology & psychology or something greater, I dont know. It doesnt matter honestly. As the healed man says in the Bible: "Whether he is the messiah or not, I know not. One thing I DO know... I was blind but now I see!"

Anyway, I just wanted to share a few random songs that take me to that 'higher' place.

"In The Morning of the Magicians" by The Flaming Lips - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jTuKHKIT4w

"Fearless" by Pink Floyd - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCgQuj8v2gg

"Pocahontas" covered by Johnny Cash - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0DUD4SQ7-g

"Heaven" by Talking Heads - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zNdMc6wGtU

"One Love" covered by Playing For Change - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xjPODksI08

What songs take you 'there' ?

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Somebody got murdered by the Clash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3-Hc62LRZg&feature=related

it was the greatest single song I ever saw performed live.

Much Beatles.

Much Beethoven, particularly the Seventh and Ninth Symphonies.

Much Bach.

Exultate Jubilate by Mozart.

Much Johnny Cash. And Sleepy LaBeef.

I agree with all of your picks that I know.

[AlecBGreen]

3. thats crazy you mentioned Beethovens 7th

My mom and I were just talking about it today. She says it has a way of popping up when she needs it most. Ill have to check it out!

Listening to your Clash pick now...

[MannyGoldstein]

5. The Clash video can't really do it justice

But I hope you enjoy it.

Beethoven's Seventh is amazing. My understanding is that he wrote it just as he was becoming profoundly deaf, it's a mixture of powerful, powerful emotions. The second movement is awesome.

Listening to your Flaming Lips pick now - very nice.

[AlecBGreen]

6. yeah videos seldom do. have to be there eh?

Live music is a whole other animal. I cant get enough. Did you ever see them live?

The other thing about music that makes it so appealing to me is that it helps me remember much more vividly. My memory is like swiss cheese but I will NEVER forget when I heard that Flaming Lips track. I was hiking in the mountains of China around midnight with a good buddy who had just turned me on to them. I can remember everything about that night, I think in no small part due to the strong association I have with that song. Any time I want to relive that hike all I have to do is pop in that track and *boom* Im there.

[MannyGoldstein]

9. I saw The Clash a few times

Somebody Got Murdered live was truly transcendent.

The association helps too. Back then there was much hope for a better future. A little tougher to harbor hope these days.

[AlecBGreen]

34. Sleepy LaBeef! Whooo doggie!

Long Tall Texan, Hillbilly Blues, Big Boss Man, ... Thanks, never heard of him before. This is right up my alley :hi:

[WolverineDG]

2. I used to get that feeling all the time when I was in choir

especially when we had to sing anything by Mozart. That music sounds like it's alive.

We sang quite a bit of sacred music & while some of it left me with a "meh" feeling, other pieces still affect me to this day.

dg

[AlecBGreen]

8. man I wish I could sing :)

I sound like a dog choking to death on a chew toy lol. Another benefit to driving alone :) Crank it up and belt it out and ignore all the chuckles of the passer-bys.

[gateley]

11. I wish I could, too - and agree on driving alone. Our own private sound studios.

And opening up and just belting it out is cathartic. Nothing feels better. :hi:

[gateley]

10. Speaking of Requiems,

:7 (Mozart's is one of my favorites),

you might like this - John Rutter's Requiem aeternam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAhNDGwMDPQ

[gkhouston]

16. Brahm's is my all-time favorite, although Durufle and Faure tie for a close second.

And speaking of "second", the last movement of Mahler's 2nd is knock-your-socks-off potent. Hearing it is one thing. Standing in the middle of hundreds of people singing will transport you to another dimension.

But it doesn't have to be something as meaty as a requiem. Debussy's "Dieu! Qui'il la fait bon regarder" is a like a beautiful little miniature that somehow captures that entranced feeling that often accompanies the beginning of a relationship or Barber's "Anthony O'Daly" is an incredibly potent lament. Mulholland's setting of "Heart, we will forget him" is also good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYsrTmYyw9E&feature=&p=FAC7E70EF8DF8F07&index=0&playnext=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkbUgxO9cHI&feature=&p=B161F04381912B1D&index=0&playnext=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lluY70zaOmk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdmsZhvhYXI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nAFgzbMJm4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpgRtgdMmK8

the Durufle requiem is broken up into separate movements, search youtube for "Durufle requiem" and "Shaw" and you'll get
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqW7QzsT9jI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcT0C-7Z7pY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgMx1Ne4eXM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58GyDXRoeKw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAcL3j_qMo8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voVqgfbkfdM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU9RwcnqnS4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnRTuf7aA4o

[gateley]

18. Well, you've sent me scurrying - I can hardly wait to check all these out. And

I can only imagine standing in the middle of hundreds of people singing -- transcendent.

[gkhouston]

21. I'm listening to youtube, trying to find links. I don't have recordings for most

of these, so I don't have recommendations.

[gateley]

22. I know - we've come to rely on YouTube to have almost everything. My next

stop is always amazon and/or barnes and nobel and/or itunes so I can just catch a sample.

[WolverineDG]

26. Oh that's a great one

Just about anything from the Amadeus soundtrack is good too. :)

dg

[gkhouston]

24. Mozart *is* alive. That's why I've never been a big fan of singing Bach or Beethoven.

Not Bach, because most of his "choral" music sounds like instrumental music with words clumsily pasted on, and not Beethoven because all the math shows in his music. With Mozart, it's like all the underlying theory is there in the composition, but that's just the jumping off point; it's not so friggin' belabored. Why plod through a muddy field when you can dance?

And Handel... a conductor once asked me what I knew about the baroque period. I said, "it is thankfully over."

[ZombieHorde]

4. Many songs by Coil...

Slur - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suPBuuLCbUk&feature=related

Homage to Sewage - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhPRrcaW_jw

Refusal of Leave To Land - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnRO1l0XGJU

Another Brown World - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E10QgeWbPtY

[toddaa]

28. You missed my favorite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da5FIf77BJ4

[ZombieHorde]

35. One of my favorites as well, but I already had a song from that album. nt

[AlecBGreen]

30. heh

"Peter Christopherson, however, described the beliefs of Coil as unassociated: "We don't follow any particular religious dogma. In fact, quite the reverse, we tend to discourage the following of dogmas, or false prophets, as it were. And we don't have a very sympathetic view of Christians up to this point. The thing we follow is our own noses; I don't mean in a chemical sense."

[toddaa]

38. Sleazy and Jhon were both involved in Chaos Magick

Much of Coil's work is heavily influenced by Austin Osman Spare. There is a movement in Europe by some heathens to return to the old religions and Coil were supportive of this effort. Unfortunately, politics has been injected into the mix and accusations of fascism get thrown around a lot, but I am mostly ambivolent of the politic factions. I don't care for acts like Von Thronstahl or Ardetti, which are the most open about their right leanings, but Coil did collaborate with some of those artists. Sleazy's quote can be read in much the same way as various quotes from Michael Moynihan, Albin Julius, or Douglas Pearce. It's purposely ambiguous.

[gateley]

7. Music can change how you feel INSTANTLY. It's more powerful than any drug.

Some of the ones that put me into almost an altered state are

Crying k.d. lange's versions, here's one :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cc8TI1KomU

Still Got the Blues - Gary Moore. Here's a live version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O_YMLDvvnw (the guitar leaves me SPENT, I swear)

Requiem aeternam - John Rutter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAhNDGwMDPQ (to me, one of the most beautiful, moving pieces I've ever heard)

I could go on forever, in every genre, but (and I should be embarrassed to admit this) one that always gets me up and happy and grinning from ear to ear,

Earth Wind and Fire, Megamix 2000 :7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0GAhMrsl-A&feature=fvst

[ZombieHorde]

20. When taken intravenously, drugs can work before the needle is out of the body. nt

[gateley]

23. I know.

ETA - but music doesn't make you sit around and scratch your nose and throw up.

[gateley]

12. This thread has just become my new playlist! Some GREAT songs here! Thanks

for posting this!

[AlecBGreen]

13. I was thinking the same thing gateley

Im heading to bed but a good hour or two tomorrow is already set aside to come back to this thread and dig in.

I really liked the KD Lang tune. She's got some pipes!

[gateley]

17. You've probably heard her version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, but just in

case... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE

She reminds me of the Taoist saying "when the dancer becomes the dance". It's not as though she's standing there singing, it's as though the music is coming through her, is her, she's the instrument. Or something. :7

Thanks again!

[AlecBGreen]

37. wonderful

I agree, she isnt 'just singing' well, she is a conduit. This is an example of how we give our best when we get out of the way and let the action almost perform itself THROUGH us. There was a great documentary on bass playing called "The Deep End" and one of the musicians (Chris Wood) was talking about getting into the 'The Groove.' He said basically the music takes over and he is almost a passive observer to his own playing. He said he is unable to play a wrong note at those times, and just smiles at where the music seems to take itself.

Great video, thanks :)

[AlecBGreen]

14. p.s. That Gary Moore tune was HOT

If you like the blues, chomp on this.

"Worried Down With The Blues" by Gov't Mule - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2weiZn7k6lc

Gov't Mule is Warren Haynes & Matt Abts of the Allman Brothers. Their good buddy and bassist Allen Woody died so they made a tribute album and invited all his favorite bassists to play. The one playing here is on of MY personal favorites, Oteil Burbridge. Derek Trucks rounds out the nastiness. Prepare thyself...

[tabatha]

15. just a few of a great number

Not even considering the classics.

EMERSON LAKE & PALMER - The Sage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9Ippzdh0Qg

Tracy Chapman - Remember the Tinman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BksJ99wIuCw

Kandia Kouyaté - Woulalé
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUxRcXKQys0

Gito Baloi - Murandzi Wa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyEMvKU5vig

Youssou N'dour - Senegal - Birima
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFxIBOVyKD4

Peter Paul & Mary - Early Morning Rain (1966)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OCnHNk2Hac

Vusi Mahlasela - Miyela Afrika
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-DnYlQh0wE

Stimela - I Long To Return
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpOIJ3fSaY4

Justin Hayward - Broken dream
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdKZ3cYcrlc
(great guitar work)

[gateley]

19. I'm on it - so many new wonderful things to hear - thanks! nt

[AlecBGreen]

40. great tracks, listening to Gito Baloi now

Have you heard "Talking Timbuktu" ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_Timbuktu

An all around great CD, I think you will enjoy it. :hi:

"Diaraby" by Ali Fark Toure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l5KZVte6iY

[tabatha]

43. Thanks. I have added that to my favorite list.

There is such a variety of African music that I enjoy, that it is hard to distill down to the best.
I love the quiet melodiousness of most African music, as opposed to loud rock.

There are some that are really poignant, such as

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzStNVKwgm8

Both of these musicians have since died; Busi this year from breast cancer.

[Anakin Skywalker]

25. "Baby Got Back" by Sir-Mix-a-Lot

;-) Ha ha!

[toddaa]

27. Black Metal is as close to spiritual rapture I get these days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn4iONgHgp0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSnB5wjynGs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0hc3iJk3M0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaY48GauZgg

And yes, it does "take me there" for all the reasons you think.

[AlecBGreen]

31. I never progressed past Metallica & RATM

#3 (You My Cross) was the best of the four IMO.

[toddaa]

36. Funny thing about #3

Rotting Christ is the most mainstream and least black metal of the four I posted.

The other three are pretty daunting for the uninitiated and you have to listen to their entire albums to get "that feeling". Of the four, Ruins of Beverast is my favorite.

[AlecBGreen]

39. ha

thats probably why I liked it the best; its the most accessible to a newbie like me ;) I know what you mean about listening to whole albums. Most good bands are hard to distill into one good track.

[toddaa]

41. Despite my ultra obscure hipster tastes, I love RC

I don't care they aren't true, or grim, or kult enough for the black metal kiddies, sometimes it's nice to hear someone who knows how to play their instruments and can write an actual catchy song.

[beam me up scottie]

29. Henryk Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 - "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs"

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki: December 6, 1933 – November 12, 2010

R.I.P.

[AlecBGreen]

32. beautiful! thanks for sharing

Its eerie because @ the time I was listening, I was doing research for my Earth Science class. I had come across a blog that purports "Planet X" will be causing a massive pole change in the very near future and WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!1!1! The background music was quite fitting :)

[beam me up scottie]

33. The second movement is based on an inscription on the wall of a Polish Gestapo prison,

Górecki learned of an inscription scrawled on the wall of a cell of a Gestapo prison in the town of Zakopane, which lies at the foot of the Tatra mountains in southern Poland. The words were those of 18-year-old Helena Wanda Błażusiakówna, a highland woman incarcerated on 25 September, 1944. It read "O Mamo nie płacz nie—Niebios Przeczysta Królowo Ty zawsze wspieraj mnie" (Oh Mamma do not cry—Immaculate Queen of Heaven support me always). The composer recalled, "I have to admit that I have always been irritated by grand words, by calls for revenge. Perhaps in the face of death I would shout out in this way. But the sentence I found is different, almost an apology or explanation for having got herself into such trouble; she is seeking comfort and support in simple, short but meaningful words".<8> He later explained, "In prison, the whole wall was covered with inscriptions screaming out loud: 'I'm innocent', 'Murderers', 'Executioners', 'Free me', 'You have to save me'—it was all so loud, so banal. Adults were writing this, while here it is an eighteen-year-old girl, almost a child. And she is so different. She does not despair, does not cry, does not scream for revenge. She does not think about herself; whether she deserves her fate or not. Instead, she only thinks about her mother: because it is her mother who will experience true despair. This inscription was something extraordinary. And it really fascinated me."<9>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._3_(G%C3%B3recki)

My mother was a child and lived in refugee camps during WWII.

[Odin2005]

42. Many songs by JS Bach.

When I first heard the Toccata and Fugue in D Major it was like a religious experience.

[onager]

44. Religious music composed by atheists

Ave Maria by Giuseppe Verdi - his wife called him "agnostic," but apparently he was a plain old atheist. There was a huge uproar in Italy when news got out that Verdi was being paid to write the Requiem. Most complainers outright called Verdi an atheist or a non-believer. Cruise the web and you'll see people claiming that the Requiem is so gorgeous and sublime, it had to be "inspired by Gawd." That always tickles me - it was written by an atheist working under contract. No sign of a god anywhere in the deal.

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Lazarus & Dives, among others.

[bananas]

45. "Angel" by Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her

"Angel" by Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Und1_J7P3a0