I've found Sonata Arctica can be good with this when they're not churning out Anti-Love Songs.
edited 14th Aug '11 8:16:43 AM by BoundByTheMoon
There are snakes in the grass, so we'd better go hunting!R.A.'s verse does a good job of painting a vignette of a degenerate being humbled by Vietnam
while this song
tells three different stories that reflects pretty well on each rapper's personality.
edited 14th Aug '11 9:37:33 AM by KitsuneInferno
"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt." - Some guy with a snazzy hat.Rush's Red Barchetta
. Probably the closest thing to tone-painting I've ever heard in a rock song.
Joanna Newsom
- Monkey & Bear
. It's a fable/fairy-tale packed with imagery and it's incredibly beautiful. It's about the nature of, and conflict between, freedom and slavery, and the difference between illusory and genuine freedom. Powerful stuff.
Somewhat of an odd mix of styles, but:
Belle
And Sebastian
- Act Of Apostle I
, Act Of Apostle II
(they go together)
Talking Heads
- Seen And Not Seen
edited 14th Aug '11 9:36:49 PM by MikeK
Schandmaul is generally pretty good at that (I don't have a certain favorite song, though). Only in German though.
edited 15th Aug '11 1:29:30 AM by Nyarly
People aren't as awful as the internet makes them out to be."Seen And Not Seen" is superb.
In terms of recounting a single event or sketching a character in poignant detail, there are a number of Angels Of Light songs that do their job with incredible panache. The song that named the project ("Angels of Light" from New Mother), for example, is a second-person account of someone dying, illustrated abstractly yet with the utmost elegance of description. It's fantastic.
I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.Anal Cunt were masters of this trope. This is as triumphant an example as any:
Here's another noteworthy tune you might not know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=092DUlx2hX0
edited 16th Aug '11 8:13:32 PM by DogLikeSparky
"People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent." - Bob DylanFolk singers are, of course, good at this. Like Eric Bogle. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
is the story of an Australian soldier as he signs up, is sent to Gallipoli, loses his legs, and grows old. On the lighter side, Little Gomez
is a rather amusing tale about a little horny chihuahua and how he died when he "tried to consummate a liaison with a St Bernard called Blodwyn".

Note: while stuff from a story based Concept Album like The Wall or The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust can be here, it would be more nice if you include stuff from not a Concept Album.
It's metafiction about metafiction about metafiction. More serious message: Don't you wish you watch everything that happens in the wo