This is the first part of something that I hope to build along with your collaboration. The title speaks for itself, really – I’ll try and collect together these moments in which music becomes a true epiphany.

I have begun by picking my five favorite moments. I have made an effort to include some performances by artists I am yet to add to the blog like Pink Floyd (just give me time), and artists I am to cover more extensively like Queen.

Please, add your suggestions by leaving a comment. The idea is to let everybody discover these performances he might not hear about otherwise, and which are too amazing to be missed. I’m counting on you!

So, without further ado:

1- Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova Perform “Falling Slowly” At The 80th Academy Awards.

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova Performing "Falling Slowly" Live At The 80th Academy Awards

The stars of “Once” play the movie’s signature tune at the 80th Academy Awards. You can watch the performance here.

2- Pink Floyd Performs At The Live 8

The whole band reunited for the first time in 24 years for the Live 8 festival, and they proved that they still had it. “Comfortably Numb” was the final song they played that night. The performance started gathering momentum when Mason threw his headphones away (around the 2:00 mark)… The song ended up being even more mesmerizing than ever.

3- Music Video: Queen’s “These Are The Days”

Freddie Mercury’s farewell. It might be one of the biggest tearjerkers in the history of music:

4- Music Video: Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye”

This is a masterpiece bristling with sentiment at every note, and the section after the orchestrated break is simply something out of this world.

5- The Who Performs “Won’t Get Fooled Again” For “The Kids Are Alright”

This was the final performance from the show that filmmaker Jeff Stein arranged in order to have more up-to-date clips for the band’s biopic. It would turn out to be the band’s final performance with Keith Moon.

Now that I have finished reviewing all the albums that The Who released during its original run, the time is ripe for individualizing the five studio records of the guys I can’t do without. As I always say, this is just a matter of personal tastes. I have to say it again because having included “Face Dances” at the expense of “Who Are You” or “Tommy” could end up in me being lynched. I am just highlighting the albums I can connect with the most. You can let us all know what you think by posting a comment below with your own favorites.

1- Who’s Next

The Who’s most consistent album from start to finish, and that is specially remarkable considering the tensions it caused within the band, the friction with their longtime managers and the risks that they took by embracing new technology so openly. If you listen to classic rock stations, you already know more than half of the songs on offer here – “Baba O’ Rile” (aka “Teenage Wasteland”), “Behind Blue Eyes”, Won’t Get Fooled Again”…

And the ones that you don’t know are no B leaguers in any sense (“Getting In Tune”, “The Song Is Over”, “Going Mobile”…)

2- Quadrophenia

A very problematic album turned to be a timeless work about identity – Pete Townshend’s key theme, and one that few have investigated as thoroughly as him. The 1996 remaster put everything in a mix as balanced as that of “Who’s Next”, making listening to this double album as pleasant to the ear as it is to your intellection.

3- Face Dances

How good would a poppy Who sound? The answer lies in this album, the first with Kenny Jones onboard. It produced their last chart hit, the dynamite “You Better You Bet”. But it also had some great songs in the shape of “Don’t Let Go The Coat” and “Another Tricky Day”. In each and every case, Roger’s delivery is more nuanced than usual. It is a pleasure to listen to him on this record. And the remastered CD is a true gem.

4- The Who By Numbers

A dark album, but also one of the most elaborate lyrical workouts of Pete with the band. The songs were clearly meant for a solo disc, hence the wordiness that somehow annunciates his solo oeuvre. It is a dark album, so be careful.

5- The Who Sings My Generation

One of the most inspirational debuts ever, this was one of the few ‘60s discs that a ‘70s punk could enthuse about without receiving a good kicking. Moon steals the show, but Pete and John do not really lag behind – Townshend shows a knack for voicing the thoughts of others, and Entwistle shows the kids what a bass solo sounds like on the title track. Roger still has some way to go, and that is why I can’t rank this higher.

Honorary mention: Live At Leeds

This should actually be placed at the top of the preceding list, but since I decided to include only studio albums that wasn’t to be. Still, no list of great Who works is complete without this mammoth of a live disc, issued at a time in which performances went down on tape as they were – no fancy editing or overdubbing. The Who sound impeccable because they were impeccable. And bestially unstoppable at the same time.

The Opening and the Ending of Zegapain

One of my best-loved anime alongside Evangelion and RahXephon, Zegapain has one of the most outstanding soundtracks I have ever come across. Even the show detractors wholly agree that the opening and the ending are superlative. The show is not that engaging on first looks since the writers took their time to establish everything, but I think that it really paid off – you become completely immersed without even knowing, and when the series hits full stride (episode 14)… mamma mia.

The opening is called “Kimi E Mukau Hikari (“The Light That Faces You”) and the ending is “Little Goodbye”. The former is sung by Akino Aria, and the latter is done by Rocky Chack. Amazing. Both easily top my list of favorite music moments in anime.

Suzumiya Haruhi Plays At The Live Alive

Episode 12 of the groundbreaking anime. It is the school festival, and the pop group ENOZ has lost 2 members hours before they are set to hit the stage. The hyperkinetic Haruhi volunteers her help, and drags Yuki Nagato along for the gig. In her bunny and witch attires respectively, they win over the audience and rock the event.

This is the first song they perform, “God Knows”.

The Ending of Clannad

Clannad’s ending is the charming “Dango Daikazoku” (“Big Dango Family”). It fits the show so well, and it is featured so cleverly through the series that I find it hard to even think somebody won’t fall in love with the song and hum “Dango, dango, dango…” during a day or two.

Elvis Costello

What a task it is to pick favorites from Costello’s lyrics! I will say again what I said when reviewing my favorite Keith Moon’s drum breaks – this is just a list of lyrics I truly connect with, or that hold some kind of thematic poignancy to me. I could have a list made up of 80 lyrics and I would still feel like I omitted a worrying amount of excellent lyrics from him. I will see how many installments I end up running as regards this topic. In the meantime, these are (in no particular order) 5 of his lyrics that I relate to the most. I chose some obscure songs to start, too, so as to avoid quoting the ones everybody knows to the bone.

1)

“But if I’ve done something wrong there’s no “ifs” and “buts”
Cause I love you just as much as I hate your guts”

If someone asks you what a paradox is, do not give them a tome on rhetoric – give them this lyric. It is from the song “Alibi”, which is included on the “When I Was Cruel” album. That single song justifies purchasing it.

2)

“..As you check your effects and check your reflection,
I’m so affected in the face of your affection”

This is from the song “Men Called Uncle”, a song that is often listed (erroneously) as “Men Called Uncles”. The song is found on the “Get Happy!!” disc, and it paints Elvis as a superlative wordplayer from start to finish.

3)

“Under an archway
On a road of white linen
In a love field
Feel the anxious rhythm of a functional stranger
In a love field

In a love field
In a love field
She’s so tense but it’s never mentioned
In a love field”

Now, this is from the song “Love Field” (included on the album “Goodbye Cruel World”). Costello explained he wanted to create a song with lyrics akin to words from a foreign language badly translated into English. Is it because my first language is not English that I find the song in general and that passage in particular highly evocative? Mmmh, what do you think?

4)

“Don’t tell me you don’t know the difference
Between a lover and a fighter
With my pen and my electric typewriter
Even in a perfect world where everyone was equal
I’d still own the film rights and be working on the sequel

And I’m giving you a longing look
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book”

I had to include a lyric from “Everyday I Write The Book”, probably one of my favorite songs ever. I chose that part, but the whole song is pure genius – the degree of characterization is awe-inspiring.

5)

“But if I’ve done something right then don’t be surprised

There are soldiers who will kill but refuse to die”

Yet another lyric from “Alibi” – if you haven’t listened to the song try to do so as soon as possible, it is a true gem. What I like about this lyric in particular is how he takes a common conceit (“he who will kill is he who will die” – The Clash sang it that way on “The Equalizer” from the triple album “Sandinista”) and turns it around. It seems that Costello is saying that the one who goes to extremes will not necessarily meet an extreme fate, yet he is going to cause others meet one. Just my personal interpretation. I also like the irony that using a conditional (“if”) adds, especially taken as a whole with the elucidation that follows.

As I said, these are some lyrics I really like. There is a trillion more I am adding soon for all of us to discuss and comment. Now, it’s your turn! Let us all know which lyrics penned by Costello make you think and feel a lot. And check back soon for a second installment.

Keith Playing Live In The Mid-70s

Ha. That is quite a hard thing to set down, for the mere reason that Moon played a constant drum break from start to finish. This list is made up of personal favorites- I am not saying they are the best, they are just the ones I like best.

Doctor Jimmy

One stormy afternoon I was listening to “Quadrophenia” (the duty of every Who fan when it is stormy outside, you know). While listening to “Doctor Jimmy” the almightiest thunder you could imagine roared and shattered the air, right before the break that you can hear at 05:20. I had always loved it, and from that point onwards it became the one I was the most emotionally attached to from their entire discography.

The Song Is Over

The complex, impossible-to-reproduce-live song from Who’s Next has an incredible break at 02:52. Agree? Disagree?

Substitute

02:37. The music stops. Keith screams and bashes everything. Classic. And he was so stoned when this session took place that he panicked when he listened to the song on the radio, thinking the band had a new drummer as he couldn’t even recall the session at all. Even more classic! ; )

The Kids Are Alright

A salient track from their debut album, the break I refer to was dumped from the American version. It can be heard before the final verse. You know which one – the one where Keith screams like a lunatic, at 02:00.

I Can’t Explain

The Who’s first single. Keith announces himself at 00:45, adding what he would always add to the band: empathy and a masterful dose of suspense, getting the song on track after a small pause.

Honorary mention:

Bargain

The song is a break from start to finish. It is impossible to pinpoint a single part. The same can be said about most Who tracks, but I chose this one because it truly resonates with me.

OK, now it is your turn. Start commenting, people!