Take this thread to mean whatever you will.

Music appreciation thread, crazy performance showcasing, sharing music that leaves you thoughtless and speechless - I'm curious to see peoples' input on this because I'm an emotional music geek of some sort (herp derp) and I found there to be a lack of musical discussion other than specific bands on this board.

Just to explain through example,
I'll just...leave this here. [link]

Yeah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhN7SG-H-3k
Yiruma's river flows in you might already seem popular to you guys.
Just wanna share that this piano piece makes me close my eyes and think that I'm such a fortunate person.
It also has vocals in this ver :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJSVgv2FXbM

>>1 misuto, this post is amazing ^^

>>2 You know, I've heard that before, but I don't think I've ever sat down and listened to the whole thing. It's also the first time I've heard the vocal version.
I love how something so simple in melody can have such an effect just by how it's played. I've heard people just play it as fast as they can, or completely flat (like, just to finish it), so I guess this is my first time really listening to the song.

Nice share.

...also, first comment on the vocal one was "wow, kawaiii! (^3^)"
I've learned I shouldn't be reading youtube comments while listening.

I'm so happy you initiated this thread Misu!

I'm a HUGE fan of Kyle Landry's......
You may already know this one, but this is his cover of Passion from Kingdom Hearts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-neZL4_O6sQ
(Since it's an old one, the quality may be a bit crappy.)

Also, I have a playlist of some of Kyle Landry's songs if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DB0D1645CA6B0370

And Yiruma is also one of my favorites! I love River Flows in You and Kiss the Rain. Here's Kiss the Rain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCSe66pWNmc

And to add in my own reference, I introduce you to Sungha Jung (you may already know him). He's pretty much a guitar prodigy and has played ever since he was a child. Here's a link to one of his performances: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kb44Yf1JG0&feature=channel_video_title
(It's a little slow in the beginning, but it gets better.)
I like a lot of his other songs too.

>>4I'm also mad crazy on Sungha Jung's music! Seriously, I really admire him and his music. He is just extraordinarily amazing and that's all there is to it.

Here's some live stuff by bands/artists I really like that also happen to be pretty great.

A pretty.. Amazing performance.
Aphex Twin - Girl/Boy Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehwY7b8JJeg

Really good light show, and they do a good job of changing up their songs live to make them more.. Dance-y.
Boom Boom Satellites - Upside Down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsZ0yS2nR-I

And just another really great live performance.
Thrice - In Exile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9nWJ2Ek1YY

Mmm, yeah. I think that's it for now.

I've recently started listening to pieces by John Williams (the guitarist, not the guy who did the soundtrack for Star Wars, etc). He's definitely one of the finest guitarists of this century.

Here's one of his pieces:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEfFbuT3I6A

>>7 holy crap Aphex Twin. That was crazy.

Since my thread died in abysmal failure, I guess I'll just talk about Harry Gregson-Williams. Here's some stuff from Sinbad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XfvxpRJ6CI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5cFrbq0jEE

Bumping this thread again.

Has anyone heard of Lindsey Stirling? She's a violinist I recently stumbled upon on youtube. Her songs are just altogether really great, and she does a lot of song covers like River Flows in You and songs from Legend of Zelda.

Here's her channel if anyone's interested.

I don't know how relevant this thread still is; people post on "what song is stuck in your head" and "what album are you listening to", and I personally don't think it would do this song justice to post it on any of those.

My friend just shared this with me: Luminous by Max Richter.

I haven't seen the film that this is from ("Perfect Sense"), but this is one of the most amazing songs I have ever heard, being a sucker for piano/violin arranges notwithstanding. It consists of a very simple series of melodies, played by the piano and several violins, overlaid on each other, but the result is incredible, rather than cacophonous.

A song doesn't need to be overly complex for it to be amazing, and I feel like this embodies that. I literally have to drop everything I'm doing just to listen to this when I have it playing. It's enrapturing.

>>4 Kyle Landry is pretty much my only inspiration left that keeps me from letting go of playing music all together. I believe that he's a fucking amazing pianist. I dont know about his face, but the flow of his hands/fingers reflects the same emotion as the music piece his playing.

This Sungha Jung is ..wow, that's all ive got to say.

>>11 Ive heard of her. If my room mate would stop bragging her to me id probably enjoy it a little bit more. All he does is play her music all the time and I kind of get tired of listening to it after a long while. I do admit she's a great violinist.

Kyle Landry and Sungha Jung are definitely astounding musicians.
There's also Igor Presnyakov, Josh Chiu and a few other musicians who have amazing talent.

There's a song that I rediscovered recently and I couldn't get it out of my head.
Mad World - Gary Jules

I know this version isn't the original but it's far more popular and it has a voice that suits the melody more. I sometimes listen to the instrumental versions as well. I can't tell what I'm feeling right now, it's quite strange. Meh, I'm not sure if the song itself was that impressive but I guess it left me confused.

Aw hell, I'll bump this.
I've always been really stunned with this song.
Fuck, the whole album this is on is just ridiculously unique, a concept album about sleep paralysis inspired by a Salvador Dali painting. This is just one of those songs perfect for setting a mood or landscape, where one can just doze off and enjoy. As the album's closer, it really encompasses everything there is to hear throughout the course of the album, and...I don't know, it just seems so...and I don't even necessarily like the word, but....."epic." Just draw your conclusions as you will. The choir outro is fabulous ear-candy, I must say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-CdB7-AFKw

Somehow I didn't see your link before, Yata.

I'll have to look into the rest of the album later, but damn, the one you linked is just amazing. The parts where the heavier guitar and percussion kicks in have an eerily calm sort of intensity, and that might be attributed to the singer's voice. It's really, as you said, "epic" and grandiose sounding - the image on the video may influence this, but the song gives off the image of a huge expanse of sorts.

And oh god, the outro. It's cathartic. Especially the way it just cuts off, without trailing. It had finality.

Thanks for sharing.


I also don't bump just to say that, I had something else to post. For anime fans, you might know Toradora - I somehow wound up listening to its soundtrack, after coming across scenes from it on youtube (saw it maybe a couple years ago already), and while very short, Lost My Pieces is a really great song. But as I've stated before, I'm a real sucker for piano/violin oriented songs. This one has an incredible tradeoff between the two, throughout the short two minutes that it plays.

I really wish there was a longer version, but I suppose it's just enough to get its point across. Even without context, without knowing what scenes it plays in or even knowing Toradora, this song will make you accidentally feelings. Guaranteed.

There's honestly no better feeling of nostalgia, than the feeling I get from listening to Eskimo Joe. I don't know, there's something about the band that gives me the vision of sitting in a car during summer, eating ice cream and listening to the radio. It just reminds me of the times in which these were the types of songs that were blasting through the speakers, seriously.. those were good times.

The way they pull off the vocals, and their use of piano just pulls me into this sort of train of thought. It's the type of music that you'd never really forget.

Here's one of their songs, From the Sea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzAUyjmedCA&

>>18 I really like the vocals in this one. The guy really knows how to use his voice in the verses. It's different, but it reminds me a bit of Muse, if only just the vocal style in certain parts. I can certainly see how it would be nostalgic sounding, though I have yet to put my finger on what exactly makes a song sound nostalgic. Further research is needed.

Anyway,

Oh boy time to be an absolute weeaboo and post another song from an anime

Anyone who's seen Blood-C will recognize this. I haven't seen it, just heard the song on recommendation from a friend.

Spiral, by Dustz, is really awesome. The vocals are the sort that you don't see very often, and reminiscent of artists like Hyde (who, incidentally, did Blood+'s opening as well). The song doesn't lose its pace throughout the song either, keeping you on edge.

Yup. As far as Japanese songs go, it's pretty g-

..hold on.

No, halfway through the song it shifts into French. Very fluent, accented French, carrying the same feel as the rest of the song in multilingual glory. I even heard some english words in there, pronounced perfectly.

I named this thread Impressive Musical Stylings for a reason. It's technically not impressive musically, but it is music.
And I was impressed.

Oh god, why didn't I mention James Blake and his "The Wilhelm Scream"?

Okay, so first time I heard this song, I was amazed. It's just so... so unusual, and really different from mainstream-ish dubstep tracks and people who just find a way to remix just about everything. The beats are heavy, and the coordination and balance between that and the lyrics are sublime. It is just really, really cool, in my opinion. The music sounds like it's been watered down, but yeah... it's best if you just decide on that yourself.

I suggest that you watch the music video as well -the transitions and effects meld with the song almost perfectly. It's all so interesting.

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

>>20 Not my style of music. I dunno what more I can say, though it was very chill. Anyone else who wants to, feel free to review this in addition to my next offering here:

Untitled 8(Popplagio) by Sigur Ros on the album "( )"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQsPv4FMyLg

Sigur Ros is an Icelandic group renowned for their ambient and post-rock songs, long albums, and moving, relaxing music.
On Sigur Ros' third, most well-known, and most simplistically complex (that makes sense, trust me) release "( )", what they pull off is quite a feat. They make 8 tracks worth of heavenly amazingness with instruments, and the vocals are sung in Vonlenska (Hopelandic), a gibberish language consisting of the phrase "You xylo. You xylo no fi lo. You so" deconstructed multiple times. There are no actual lyrics, no song titles, no ALBUM title....everything is at it's maximum pretentiousness level. Sometimes it doesn't always work.

But when it does, you have songs like the album's closer, Popplagio. (all 8 songs were later given unofficial names by the band for reference) This song starts with a calm track in standard fashion at first, with a long but chillingly beautiful standard structure. Intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus. Around 6:30 it suddenly shifts forth into a slowly unraveling monster of a song. Everything builds and builds, carried by the drums, bowed guitar, and haunting falsetto. The intensity hits its climax around 11:45 , where it becomes one of the most beautifully intense things I've ever heard. The pounding cascade of drums, the vocals that just lift the soul, and the unforgettable strings. The whole package. It can't be described in words. It's just an outpouring of emotion. And it works. With no intelligible words, with a relatively standard format for a song considering it's length, everything is in it's right place. The world is in harmony. If angels exist and they can speak, it would sound this beautiful.

This link I gave to you is a live version, which is just as good, though slightly grainier quality and occasionally has a hiccup compared to the official album version. Hopefully it can still be enough to sway your soul into moving with this track. Don't let the length daunt you, it's long, and at first, it may seem like the same thing over and over. Just let it take its course, and just maybe you may find something amazing awaken inside you.

I know I did, and I thank this song for helping me through some moments where words don't mean anything, just eargasmic music that cannot be replicated by anyone else no matter how hard they try. It certainly deserves a place on this thread in my opinion.

[Sorry for the lengthyness and review-esque nature of this post. Figured if I wasn't gonna half-ass it, I might as well full-ass it. Or something.]

>>15 YES.
I don't know if you've ever seen it, but there's a film called, "Donnie Darko". Mad World was played in the credits afterwards and I fell in love with it.

It must be his voice that really gets to me. It just feels nice to close your eyes and just listen.

Anyone here like lupe fiasco? His music will at least get you thinking...