Re:Ask HN: What's the most beautiful song or album you've ev...
by CSSer on Thursday June 11, 2020 @11:14AM
(#23489733)
This might seem like a cliché answer, at least because this is not what I typically listen to on a normal basis, but for an album I'd Pink Floyd's The Wall.
I think it has a certain degree of universal appeal. It has really aged extraordinarily well. If you are ever given the opportunity to listen to it on an any type of hifi system, do so. You'll find layers of eery texture and masterful use of stero dynamics. As a cherry on top, the album forms a perfect loop.
As for a song, Aphex Twin's Avril 14th. I love that you can hear the action of the piano in the track. It was recorded with a kind of player piano that makes it sound very mechanical, but it still has a somewhat organic feel to it. It's very quaint yet oddly contemporary.
Re:Ask HN: What's the most beautiful song or album you've ev...
by thorin on Thursday June 11, 2020 @12:59PM
(#23490844)
Although I've listened to it a lot I wouldn't really describe the wall as beautiful, it's quite jarring in places. Comfortably numb is kind of beautiful. I'd choose dark side of the moon or wish you were here as beautiful though.
Re:Ask HN: What's the most beautiful song or album you've ev...
by thorin on Thursday June 18, 2020 @07:37AM
(#23562082)
Not to sound condescending, I found I grew out of The Wall, I think because it deals a lot with issues from childhood and rebelliousness. The themes of Animals (politics and how we relate to each other), Dark Side of the Moon ( sanity, the meaning of life and life after death) and Wish You Were Here (sanity, conformity) seem more relevant at the moment. Roger water obviously has this rebellious energy and anger where as Dave Gilmour is more reflective and creates beautiful art but without the same kind of passion. At the right time and with Richard and Nick, they made such a perfect combination.
Re:Ask HN: What's the most beautiful song or album you've ev...
by DrScump on Friday June 12, 2020 @05:50AM
(#23497624)
Album: The Pat Metheny Group (called the "white album" because of its plain white cover with just the four names of the players). Side one of the LP was just "San Lorenzo" and "Phase Dance". The former still gives me chills, 40 years later.
Song: Wildflower, by Skylark (fun fact: David Foster was a member). Here[0] is a live version. Here[1] is the background story.
Honorable mention: Hoptsoi, by the Finnish group Värttinä. OMG, the strings. [2]
Most beautiful album is I guess Keith's solo piano Facing You. Doesn't seem to be on youtube at the moment. This is one track from it, Ritooriahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVpDWxoFGP4
Re:Ask HN: What's the most beautiful song or album you've ev...
by moonfleet on Friday June 12, 2020 @02:14AM
(#23496536)
This video popped in my recommendations just a couple of days ago. A welcome surprise. It made me think about how music changed since the medieval ages, not in terms of technology, but in terms of composition, rules and etc. And I haven't yet come to any definitive understanding. Maybe because I don't know the first thing about music theory.
I think it has a certain degree of universal appeal. It has really aged extraordinarily well. If you are ever given the opportunity to listen to it on an any type of hifi system, do so. You'll find layers of eery texture and masterful use of stero dynamics. As a cherry on top, the album forms a perfect loop.
As for a song, Aphex Twin's Avril 14th. I love that you can hear the action of the piano in the track. It was recorded with a kind of player piano that makes it sound very mechanical, but it still has a somewhat organic feel to it. It's very quaint yet oddly contemporary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke2_qob16ls
Check out this reharmonization/improv on Chopin. The guy was basically blind, hence the insane awareness of where the keys were.
Song: Wildflower, by Skylark (fun fact: David Foster was a member). Here[0] is a live version. Here[1] is the background story.
Honorable mention: Hoptsoi, by the Finnish group Värttinä. OMG, the strings. [2]
[0] https://youtu.be/2zPWlOXwnGo
[1] https://www.songfacts.com/facts/skylark/wildflower
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeXn_J8-q2g
Bob Dylan (Love Minus Zero/No Limit) https://youtu.be/ufbHfGU7WxA?list=LLlpi7Iw6jy-mv42RGAAiFVA
Sekret Sekret (New King Jack) https://youtu.be/DyoHMZo7uGA
Steve Winwood (Can't Find My Way Home) https://youtu.be/eoSn2Y-b6wI
Traffic (Dear Mr Fantasy) https://youtu.be/pSQ1akE2CcM
Joe Strummer (Johnny Appleseed) https://youtu.be/4IbMiqIdeME
Miles Davis - Flamenco Sketches https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3W_alUuFkA
Those were the two that immediately came to mind, then:
Barber - Adagio for Strings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKrxPTePXEQ
Miles - Concierto De Aranjuez https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cscpJisU6k
- In a Silent Way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bdBONxS-Es
Keith Jarrett - Visions (48 seconds long) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDujecndByY
- Interlude No. 3 (1 minute 17) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us0EU-yXAlg
- Sympathy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQLTuyIHAMc
KJ's American Quartet - Still Life, Still Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiVg5cSug3k
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf sings R. Strauss' Four Last Songs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs0vSC9DUhU
Most beautiful album is I guess Keith's solo piano Facing You. Doesn't seem to be on youtube at the moment. This is one track from it, Ritooria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVpDWxoFGP4
Medieval style is rather beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhJIZZcNQPA
Steely Dan's "Home at Last" is another interesting turn on Odysseus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3QJ4brLYZQ&list=PL04432CD8C...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy2zDJPIgwc
My favorite piece of all time. It encapsulates what I want to feel about life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g00bVs0zBg
One of the only songs where I prefer the live version to original studio