From: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org (loud-fans-digest) To: loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Subject: loud-fans-digest V7 #563 Reply-To: loud-fans@smoe.org Sender: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk loud-fans-digest Wednesday, December 17 2008 Volume 07 : Number 563 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [loud-fans] Re: most beautiful song [Russ Lewis ] [loud-fans] Re: Most Beautiful Song [info@richardgagnon.com] [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? [robert toren Subject: [loud-fans] Re: most beautiful song I mentioned earlier that "Tomorrow Wendy" would be tough to beat for beauty mixed with sadness, but "Always" by Kristian Hoffman might be just the song to beat it. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:42:15 -0500 (EST) From: info@richardgagnon.com Subject: [loud-fans] Re: Most Beautiful Song (my first attempt to send this seems to have failed, my apologies in advance if it turns up twice) Hey all-- Great thread, indeed. I'll third or fourth God Only Knows, but among Beach Boys tunes, it has its beautiful equals in Please Let Me Wonder, Surfer Girl, This Whole World... Agreed, instrumentally, on Sleepwalk. I have a deep weekness as well for "More" (the Mondo Cane theme, not the Sisters of Mercy, though I love that as well, Steinman fan that I am) and Theme From "A Summer Place". And Irik Satie's "Gymnopidie No.3" and Thelonious Monk's "'round Midnight"... In the Holtebeck orthodoxy realm, I'm surprised no one's mentioned Wichita Lineman. Or have I missed its nomination? I love it, but as far as Jimmy Webb goes, I'd put my money and my heart on "All I Know" or "Skywriter" (Garfunkel versions), or "A Tramp Shining" (Richard Harris), the closing (and titular) track of the first Harris/Webb album. In the anti-Holtebeck heresy realm, I agree that Walk Away, Renee, is a heartbreakingly beautiful song. But I don't think much of the Left Banke's version, because I don't think Steve Martin's voice is strong enough to carry the song. There, I've said it. Let's see, what else, at random: Re: Jane Siberry, since she's been mentioned a couple of times, on well-deserving tracks, but my choices for heartbreak in her case would be "The Taxi Ride" or "The Valley". Re: Barry Manilow. Not Mandy, probably for the reasons cited. "Somewhere in the Night" is my pick. That golden-eared scumbag, Clive Davis, knew a hit song when he heard it, but it had to go through incompetent and/or bland version by the likes of Batdorf & Rodney and Helen Reddy before Barry recorded it properly. ;) Re: Marshall Crenshaw...my pick would be "Whenever You're on My Mind", but not his version, though I adore it, but Marti Jones', which boasts a wonderful silkiness, and when it comes up against the grit of Don Dixon's background vocals...mmm. 10cc's "Fresh Air for My Mama", followed closely by their "Old Wild Men". Sometimes the best songs are well-hidden album tracks. The Associates' "The Girl That Took Me" (downtempo b-side version of their "Take Me to the Girl") Burton Cummings' "I Will Play a Rhapsody" and a lot of Guess Who songs. Don't ask me to pick. As pretty as most Zombies songs are, for sheer prettiness, I'd throw my lot in with Colin Blunstone's version of Tim Hardin's "Misty Roses". Del Amitri's "Just Getting By" Dwight Yoakam's "Nothing" Earl Grant's "The End" The Flamingos' "I Only Have Eyes For You" Elvis Presley's reinvention of "Blue Moon" and, come to think of it, the Marcels' as well! Eels' "Climbing to the Moon" What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted (pick your version. I first heard it as an instrumental on Roxy horn man Andy Mackay's solo albums) Jigsaw's "Only When I'm Lonely" Josh Rouse's "Streetlights" The Three Degrees' "When Will I See You Again?" The Pernice Brothers' "Amazing Glow" or "Crestfallen" (hard to pick within Joe Pernice's songs!) That's what comes to mind at this moment. Thanks to everyone for the leads to investigate! Richard ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:32:49 -0800 (PST) From: robert toren Subject: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? > I've also maintained that Waterloo Sunset is the most > beautiful song ever, so everyone else is playing for second. Here's a 2007 live version with a choir - one of my fave youtube clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kp1n1tveCI I'll demand again... no one else tags REM's Nightswimming? How does it not rank amongst the prettiest? Also, I've been thinking - which is not the same as knowing what I'm talking about - that Yesterday lacks a certain 'feyness' necessary for a song being called "pretty" - it's melodramatic and maudlin, but take away the string arrangement and it's more pleading and brokenhearted than lilting and pretty - God Only Knows would be pretty played solo on a tuba. Robert ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:36:49 -0600 From: Tom Galczynski Subject: Re: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? I love Nightswimming but chose Find the River as most beautiful. FTR somehow imparts a heaviness to me that nudges it up a little in the beauty dept. Nightswimming is lovely though. Tom Galczynski tgalczynski@comcast.net--------------------------------------- Enlightenment (if there is any such thing as enlightenment) is not an experience at all. So, this dawns on you -- this realization (if you want to put it that way) that there is nothing to realize. Self-knowledge, or self-realization is to realize for yourself and by yourself that there is no self to realize -- that is going to be a shattering blow. -- U. G. Krishnamurti robert toren wrote: I've also maintained that Waterloo Sunset is the most beautiful song ever, so everyone else is playing for second. Here's a 2007 live version with a choir - one of my fave youtube clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kp1n1tveCI I'll demand again... no one else tags REM's Nightswimming? How does it not rank amongst the prettiest? Also, I've been thinking - which is not the same as knowing what I'm talking about - that Yesterday lacks a certain 'feyness' necessary for a song being called "pretty" - it's melodramatic and maudlin, but take away the string arrangement and it's more pleading and brokenhearted than lilting and pretty - God Only Knows would be pretty played solo on a tuba. Robert ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:25:37 -0500 From: "Anthony R. Miloscia Jr." Subject: Re: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? I would add The Smithereens - Cigarette or Spellbound to the list Also, Bruce Springsteen - Jungleland or Meeting Across The River Hope all is well, Ant - ----- Original Message ----- From: "robert toren" To: Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 11:32 AM Subject: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? >> I've also maintained that Waterloo Sunset is the most >> beautiful song ever, so everyone else is playing for second. > > Here's a 2007 live version with a choir - one of my fave youtube clips > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kp1n1tveCI > > I'll demand again... no one else tags REM's Nightswimming? How does it > not rank amongst the prettiest? > > Also, I've been thinking - which is not the same as knowing what I'm > talking about - that Yesterday lacks a certain 'feyness' necessary for a > song being called "pretty" - it's melodramatic and maudlin, but take away > the string arrangement and it's more pleading and brokenhearted than > lilting and pretty - > God Only Knows would be pretty played solo on a tuba. > > Robert ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:37:14 -0800 From: "Steve Holtebeck" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 8:32 AM, robert toren wrote: >> I've also maintained that Waterloo Sunset is the most >> beautiful song ever, so everyone else is playing for second. > > Here's a 2007 live version with a choir - one of my fave youtube clips > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kp1n1tveCI That's a good performance.. If it were one of the Southbank venues near Waterloo (Festival Hall or the QEH) instead of the Roundhouse, it would have been perfect! > I'll demand again... no one else tags REM's Nightswimming? How does it not rank amongst the prettiest? I'll cast another vote for "Find The River" as the most beautiful song on AFTP. And "Caroline No" from PET SOUNDS. And Nick Drake's "Northern Sky". In the Scott Miller division, I'll nominate "Together Now, Very Minor". > God Only Knows would be pretty played solo on a tuba. Elvis Costello did a nice chamber version with the Brodsky Quartet, but it would have worked better if the singer were someone other than EC.. How about "Most Beautiful Song of 2008"? - -Steve ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:51:05 -0600 From: Tom Galczynski Subject: Re: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? TNVM is a great and beautiful Scott tune, but I think Slit My Wrists does it slightly better for me. Most beautiful of 2008? Off the top, I would nominate The Delays' "Silence" and Aimee Mann's "It's Over". Tom Galczynski tgalczynski@comcast.net--------------------------------------- The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them. -- Mark Twain Steve Holtebeck wrote: On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 8:32 AM, robert toren wrote: I've also maintained that Waterloo Sunset is the most beautiful song ever, so everyone else is playing for second. Here's a 2007 live version with a choir - one of my fave youtube clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kp1n1tveCI That's a good performance.. If it were one of the Southbank venues near Waterloo (Festival Hall or the QEH) instead of the Roundhouse, it would have been perfect! I'll demand again... no one else tags REM's Nightswimming? How does it not rank amongst the prettiest? I'll cast another vote for "Find The River" as the most beautiful song on AFTP. And "Caroline No" from PET SOUNDS. And Nick Drake's "Northern Sky". In the Scott Miller division, I'll nominate "Together Now, Very Minor". God Only Knows would be pretty played solo on a tuba. Elvis Costello did a nice chamber version with the Brodsky Quartet, but it would have worked better if the singer were someone other than EC.. How about "Most Beautiful Song of 2008"? -Steve ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:39:49 -0500 From: "Dave Walker" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 3:37 PM, Steve Holtebeck wrote: > How about "Most Beautiful Song of 2008"? Chairlift - "Bruises" (that chorus!) -d.w. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:02:02 -0800 From: "rslloyd" Subject: RE: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? "Slit My Wrists" was the first Scott song that really got me in the "beautiful" category. I think Elvis Costello did an amazingly touching version of "My Funny Valentine." And Ben Folds had a kind of "beautiful" streak on his album "Rockin' the Suburbs": "Annie Waits," "Still Fighting It," and "The Luckiest" all struck me that way. And, finally, I remember Michelle Woodard's version of Scott's "Come Home with Me" on the "Friends of the Family" Loudfans CD as being just gorgeous. For 2008, I thought Bob Dylan released a heartbreakingly beautiful version of "Can't Wait" (from the sessions for "Time Out of Mind") on the latest Bootleg Series volume. Oh, and in a slightly twisted version of beautiful, there's also Sufjan Stevens's "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." Better stop. Bob > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-loud-fans@smoe.org [mailto:owner-loud-fans@smoe.org] On > Behalf Of Tom Galczynski > Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 12:51 PM > To: loud-fans@smoe.org > Subject: Re: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? > > TNVM is a great and beautiful Scott tune, but I think Slit My Wrists > does it slightly better for me. > > Most beautiful of 2008? Off the top, I would nominate The Delays' > "Silence" and Aimee Mann's "It's Over". > > Tom Galczynski tgalczynski@comcast.net-------------------------------- > ------- > The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the > conservative adopts them. -- Mark Twain > > Steve Holtebeck wrote: > > On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 8:32 AM, robert toren > wrote: > > I've also maintained that Waterloo Sunset is the most > beautiful song ever, so everyone else is playing for second. > > Here's a 2007 live version with a choir - one of my fave youtube > clips > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kp1n1tveCI > > That's a good performance.. If it were one of the Southbank venues > near Waterloo (Festival Hall or the QEH) instead of the Roundhouse, > it > would have been perfect! > > I'll demand again... no one else tags REM's Nightswimming? How > does it not rank amongst the prettiest? > > I'll cast another vote for "Find The River" as the most beautiful > song > on AFTP. And "Caroline No" from PET SOUNDS. And Nick Drake's > "Northern Sky". In the Scott Miller division, I'll nominate > "Together Now, Very Minor". > > God Only Knows would be pretty played solo on a tuba. > > Elvis Costello did a nice chamber version with the Brodsky Quartet, > but it would have worked better if the singer were someone other than > EC.. > > How about "Most Beautiful Song of 2008"? > > -Steve ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:03:23 -0500 (EST) From: treesprite@earthlink.net Subject: Re: [loud-fans] re: most beautiful song - Waterloo Sunset? >How about "Most Beautiful Song of 2008"? No problem: Sun Kil Moon's "Lost Verses". Also qualifies for "best song about the Bay Area"... Bradley ------------------------------ End of loud-fans-digest V7 #563 *******************************