Specific things in songs that you love

Just gush about something in a song that you really like a lot. Could be a certain section of a song, could be something in the background that most wouldn't notice but you appreciate, could even be a specific instrumental part, or anything else I didn't mention that you feel like gushing about.

For my money, right now I'm obsessed with the drumming in Bastille's "Pompeii". That drum fill before the choruses is infectious, and the rest of the drumming in the song is some of the best, most creative drumming I've heard in a mainstream rock song in forever. When it comes right down to it, it's simple, but it's so effective.

Dis is my kind of music thread.

I've got lists of this stuff in my head.

Roger Waters - 4:30AM (Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad)

• The use of the electric guitar bursts over the unsettling acoustic guitar defines the entire album's sound right away.
• The string instruments right after the line "Her dress blew up over her head" is just divine.

Marillion - Grendel

• The acoustic guitar that kicks in at about 11:45 sends a chill up and down my spine. Perfectly placed, perfectly timed for me.
• The verse immediately succeeding this oozes a delightfully hammy, poetic menace as Grendel's threats and assumed assault upon Heorot begins. Not to mention the chugging electric guitar build with the squeal of synths compounds the threatening lyrics.

UNKLE - Mayday

• At 1:50, the layered harmonisation of Liela Moss from The Duke Spirit is just oh so pleasing to the ear.

Simple Minds - Great Leap Forward

• Just... Both the bridge and the chorus. Both lyrically and instrumentally, both just feel so right. Especially the chorus.

Genesis - Fading Lights

• The entire build of this song to a brilliant crescendo and fall back into serenity is done so very well.

Deep Purple - Strange Kind of Woman

• The rolling drums in the entire track, most noticeable from about 5:00 in, are great.
• Ian Gillan matching Ritchie Blackmore's guitar is just cool period.

Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Roman Blue

• Everything. It's hard to even describe, but this song is just sublime to my ears.

Kate Bush - Pi

• Kate Bush sings Pi. Just damn cool. Oh he loves, he loves, he loves, he does love his numbers.

Capercaille - Finlay's

• I've always loved puirt à beul, but this gives a kind of funky edge.

Karnivool - Roquefort (With Cat Empire Horns)

• The addition of the horns from The Cat Empire in this just spice it the hell up. I already liked it, but this makes it even better.

Sting - When The Angels Fall

• Goodnight

Mike Oldfield - Outcast

• I just love the electric guitar in this. Not overdone, not underdone - just right.

Daisuke Ishiwatari - Thin RED Line

• The sprinklings of piano amongst the rock in this hit all the right notes with me.

...I went overboard. Just a bit.

Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack

I love the harmony in the chorus. I love the chords. That little whistling in the background that appears in the chorus. The descending/ascending note that appears every four bars. I love how it all comes together and makes a two-chord production sound so brilliant.

When instruments hit THE mark. Nothing gets me happier than instruments getting notes JUST right.

Also, catchy rhythm. Rhythm heaven is a prime source of this.

edited 26th Jan '14 11:14:18 AM by Nitro836

I've heard about five or six different versions of "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie," but what makes Dean Ween's cover my favorite is a really a small musical change he makes: those harmonics he plays during the chorus. They're not in any other version of the song I've heard and something about them really adds a lot to the song for me.

I love the entirety of Electric Twist by A Fine Frenzy. But the best part is 2:30 into the song. "And the touch of your lips is a shock, not a kiss."

General:

• Strong bass lines (I can play a little bass myself)
• Good guitar solos that are just well put together melodically and not overly flashy or over-reliant on rapid-fire picking. (Keith Urban is one of my favorite guitarists because of how soulful and unpretentious his playing style is)
• Hammond organ (I'm an organist)
• Strong harmonies in any form
• Horn sections, especially saxophones
• Story songs

Song-specific:

• "Creepin'" by Eric Church. The funky acoustic guitar riffs and all the production changes throughout — electric guitar, banjo, heavy snare, vocal filters, etc. That's typical Jay Joyce production work, and I love it.

• "Sweet Annie" by Zac Brown Band. That part near the end where the harmonies hold out the C♯7 chord on "Sweeeeeeeeeeet Annie".

• "Little Bit of Everything" by Keith Urban. The "stuttering" ukulele riff in the intro and interlude, and the strong synth bass line.

• "Love Done Gone" by Billy Currington. That "ba-ba-da, ba-da-ba" riff throughout, a mix of horns and backing vocals. It just sounds so sunny and cheery, especially for a breakup song. Good luck getting it out of your head...

Lots more, but there's a few to get you started

The Prodigy - G-Force (Energy Flow): DAT RIFF at 2:04. SO GOOD MMMMMMMMMMM.

The last chorus in "Walking in Memphis" is really fantastic. It was one of the things that made it stand out for me.

edited 31st Jan '14 12:11:54 PM by Gamebreaking

Agreed 100%.

At the end of She Talks in Stereo, when Myrick and the other guitarist sing in unison and then split (one of them goes up the other goes down, note-wise), it's one of my favorite moments in any pop song you'd care to name. I don't know why, it just sounds so good.

In Money for Nothing, I like the line "We gotta sell these color T Vs", especially the way they say "T Vs".

The guitar line after the first chorus in Mirror Mirror by Blind Guardian

edited 7th Feb '14 5:09:23 AM by CardsOfWar

In Good Feeling by Violent Femmes I love the entire song and the meaning to begin with, but the solo after the end of the second verse just gets me. Especially when I'm in the downish mood that listening to this song really calls for. So pretty.

edited 22nd Dec '14 9:47:23 PM by GigglesMcYummy