Three Songs That Extend Beyond Life
- Garrett Bice
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Songs that implicitly convey a special wonder are far and few but remain amazing to those who come across them. I’ve managed to stumble across three songs (this school year) that hold something we don’t quite experience in everyday life.
From the 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, “The Great Gig In The Sky” is placed in a track position that any outside observer would see as an afterthought, but that is not the case. Piano eases the listener into a mysterious world, and after a minute of anticipation, a woman belts her heart out. This song never needed lyrics to emit such a vast array of emotion to the listener. Yelling into space is just as magnificent as any set of lyrics. Anyways, this song features Alan Parsons as the recording engineer, with experience with the Beatles, and he just made it all work at such a young age. The most notable detail of this song is that the vocals were recorded in one day. Such is only on par with this memorable, unbounded song.
In 1982, Philip Glass released this orchestral whiplash to the world. It starts out with a quiet hum, and again, in an instant, all the instruments come in at once. What results is such an interesting, organized cacophony. Instruments appear and disappear like people within a lively party, moving right along. Towards the end, horns that beep like alarms arrive to signal a blast off into your next song. I really appreciate the cover art for this one. The entire album is organized in a way where it seems to mirror itself, so if you’d like to, check out Glassworks online! Also, fun fact, he enrolled in college at just 15! The standards remain high for the best music.
This track was released 1982 as well, and I saw it as a miracle to have ever had the chance to listen to it. The lyrics are written in the manner of a conscious poem, which in its own right is a masterpiece. Additionally, the atmosphere created by the song in the second half, especially the horns and staccato of the piano, creates a setting of a funeral without needing visuals to piece it together. These elements together resonated with me about feelings of dread, forgiveness, and peace with a technique done so perfectly. Life is summed up so well in such a short amount of time. And yes, this track was, in part, created by Alan Parsons, previously mentioned in this article. Eric Woolfson, the main contributor for the base of the song, also created many early diary recordings of the song. I should follow this practice as well.
I hope you listen to these songs in your own time. Music is a strong thing. Use it wisely and keep it close.
Until next time.
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