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Last Active 10-23-20 2:50 pm
Joined 06-09-09
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| Music Snapshots Vol. 3
Music Snapshots is a series that focuses on specific moments/snippets in songs that I love, highlighting what makes them so special for me. Feel free to share your own favorite moments from songs you enjoy. | | 1 |  | Leonard Cohen
Songs of Love and Hate
"Avalanche" (1:18-1:26 mark)
Every time I listen to "Avalanche" I get this weird sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and this chill crawls up and down my spine and it has much to do with Cohen’s baritone that has this odd booming quality to it that I wouldn’t normally associate with that kind of vocal tone, but it leaves an eerie impression on me. The instrumentation tends to alter slightly with each verse, which adds a harrowing layer when combined with Cohen’s menacing delivery. The one that always sticks out to me is the opening of the third verse, when Cohen sings “You strike my side by accident as you go down for your gold.” The strings are more prominent behind this opening line, particularly the cello, which gives the delivery of this lyric an additional level of darkness that almost makes you worry for the person who struck the narrator in this song, fearing that a violent form of retribution may come for that transgression, despite it being identified as an accident. | | 2 |  | Typhoon (USA-OR)
White Lighter
"Dreams of Cannibalism" (2:10 - 2:21 mark)
From a lyrical standpoint, there are an extensive amount of lines within White Lighter that stick out in my mind. There’s the unnerving proclamation of “Count down the time that you have left,” on “Possible Deaths,” the perturbing question of “Who protects the ones I love when I’m asleep?” on “Morton’s Fork” or the stark reality of “I will never be a younger man now,” on “Common Sentiments.” But personally, the line that has been imprinted on my soul since 2011 when this album came out comes via the surreal “Dreams of Cannibalism” with “And I tried to fake my own death, just to shake the devils from my mind.” It’s uncomfortably relatable, one that has always made me reflect on my own struggles throughout my life and the ways in which I chose to navigate through them over the years. It’s arguably one of the most human lines that I’ve ever heard. | | 3 |  | Josh Ritter
So Runs The World Away
"The Curse" (4:19 - 4:31 mark)
"The Curse" is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. The last verse feeling like a stab to the heart, with the final couplet hitting the hardest. The tale Ritter tells has come full circle, as it becomes apparent what transpired between the mummy and the archaeologist during their conversation on that fateful boat ride back to home. In that kiss, the two swapped lives. He drains the life out of her and obtains vitality and fame while she withers away until her heart ultimately stops beating. It’s such a poetic and tragic tale capped with this truly heartbreaking sequence. I love the use of the momentary pause right before the piano comes back into the fold, as it really allows the weight of this interaction to sink in for the listener. I feel like this is one of those rare songs where just about every line feels like a punch in the gut after you’ve fully digested the story a few times, but the ending is what truly haunts me. | | 4 |  | Ryan Bingham
Junky Star
"The Weary Kind" (3:42 - 3:46 mark)
“The Weary Kind” has always felt like a song that’s the embodiment of regret. It’s a lonely song that focuses on how it feels to lose once you lose everything. But it’s the last verse that has always left the most last impression, primarily because Bingham sheds some light on what the character in this tale has lost with “Your lover’s warm kiss, it’s too damn far from your fingertips/You are the man who ruined her world.” It’s really interesting to insert this key storytelling perspective to include another person towards the end of the story because it leaves the listener with a lot of questions. What transpired between this man and the woman that he seemingly loved that he ended up losing her? What did he do that “ruined her world?” I have thought about this particular line so much over the years. In a way it feels like it’s etched in my soul somewhere somehow. | | 5 |  | Geese
Getting Killed
"Taxes" (1:32 mark)
While I did enjoy Getting Killed quite a bit, I don’t personally think it comes close to 3D Country, which was my favorite album of 2023. However, what Getting Killed does have is my favorite music moment of 2025 which comes in the second half of their single “Taxes.” The song starts out with this quiet, sort of tribal backdrop with the percussion, Cameron Winter’s vocals and the almost cooing background singing before picking up a little bit of pace with these acoustic guitars added to the mix. But once Winter sings “You’re going to have to nail me down,” “Taxes” transforms into an entirely different song with a guitar lead that I absolutely adore and a more uptempo flair. As Winter yells “Doctor! Doctor! Heal yourself!” I always get swept away by the guitar lick, inducing chills almost every time. | |
bighubbabuddha
02.24.26 | fart | RVAHC13
02.24.26 | 1 is such a great song, the strings always give it such a cinematic intensity, especially after the last verse |
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