Crescend of times

May 31, 2007 12:01 AM

Crescendos. I love them. Help me find more.

(any genre, really, the more diversity the better).

Some examples of what I'm looking for:

65daysofstatic - Aren't We All Running
A Silver Mt. Zion - Sit In the Middle of Three Galloping Dogs
Asobi Seksu - Red Sea
Aurore Rien - Hindsight 20 20
Bedroom Heroes - Embers & the Night After
Belegost - Nightwalker-Deergod
Bitcrush - Drop Entitled
Ceremony - Old
charlatantrum. - Triomphe de L'Obélisque (muahaha, self-promotion)
Circle of Birds - Circle of Birds
Cursive - Staying Alive
Do Make Say Think - Outer Inner & Secret
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Moya
Gregor Samsa - Untitled track2
Jaga Jazzist - Swedenborgske Rom
Laura - Levodopa
Lis Er Stille - Lobetid
Loveninjas - My Lust Is Dead
Mono - The Kidnapper Bell
Mono & World's End Girlfriend - [untitled]
Moving Mountains - Cover The Roots, Lower The Stems
Murder By Death - Those Who Left
My Education - Thanksgiving
Paik - Tinsel and Foil
pg.lost - Yes I Am
Port-Royal - Zobione pt. 2
Saxon Shore - This Shameless Moment
The Appleseed Cast - Sunset Drama King
The Frames - Dream Awake
The Workhouse - Coma
This Beautiful Mess - Clean
This Will Destroy You - There Are Some Remedies Worse Than the Disease
Uzi and Ari - Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz
Yndi Halda - We Flood Empty Lakes

posted by Mach3avelli to Media & Arts (66 answers total)

K.C. Accidental - Anthems for the Could've Bin Pills

The entire album.
posted by bigmusic at 12:22 AM on May 31, 2007

Thanks for the music!

Check out Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky
posted by mateuslee at 12:32 AM on May 31, 2007

The Dirty Three have a couple of songs that fit the bill: "Sue's Last Ride," "I Remember a Time When Once You Used to Love Me" and "Lullabye for Christie."
posted by chrominance at 12:52 AM on May 31, 2007

Heh. My initial instinct upon seeing this question was to direct you to your own blog. (Which is awesome, by the way.)
Actual recommendations:

This Morn' Omina
Dirty Three
posted by zamboni at 12:59 AM on May 31, 2007

Oh, and this is a very left-field pick considering the rest of your selections (at least the ones I recognize), but: "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans," by the Smashing Pumpkins.

No, seriously.
posted by chrominance at 12:59 AM on May 31, 2007

Some would consider Ravel's "Bolero" the crescendo of all crescendos. You can also find the same theme in Rufus Wainwright's "Oh What a World".
posted by pica at 1:16 AM on May 31, 2007

Anything by The Necks.
posted by flabdablet at 1:17 AM on May 31, 2007

does it need to be instrumental?

underworld - moaner
posted by sergeant sandwich at 1:18 AM on May 31, 2007

I'm not positive this is the kind of thing you're looking for, but I'll nominate the minute-long build up at the end of Pulp's Sunrise.
posted by teleskiving at 1:29 AM on May 31, 2007

Deep Purple - Child in Time. Everytime I listen to it, someone in the room has to remind me to "keep it down". It doesn't help them that I try to sing even the guitar riffs of it.

btw, thanks for that great list.
posted by forwebsites at 2:20 AM on May 31, 2007

Rival Schools - Hooligans For Life. It's like an instrumental orgasm.
posted by corvine at 2:33 AM on May 31, 2007

You mean really loooooong crescendos ?

Sister Winter by Sufjan Stevens has a cool one.
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:15 AM on May 31, 2007

Butterfly by Crazy Town (a cover of the original Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Pretty Little Ditty"). Beware, the version I found of Youtube misses the intro, hence there is no crescendo at all!

V.
posted by V-Turn at 4:18 AM on May 31, 2007

Apologies if I'm missing the point:

Day in the Life by The Beatles
posted by SpacemanRed at 4:48 AM on May 31, 2007

Industry by Michael Gordon is all one 9 minute long crescendo of amplified Cello! One of my favourite pieces!
posted by TwoWordReview at 5:44 AM on May 31, 2007

Controlled, complex crescendi inside intricate instrumental tunes? My friend, it's time for you to start listening to Phish. Think 'Reba,' 'Harry Hood,' and 'Slave to the Traffic Light' for starters - they've got a lot of tunes that amount to long elaborations on a motive while slooooowly cranking the dial to 11.
posted by waxbanks at 5:56 AM on May 31, 2007

You need Wagner, oh, and Beethoven's 9th Symphony (especially if you are a Clockwork Orange fan)
posted by Pollomacho at 6:15 AM on May 31, 2007

Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 6:16 AM on May 31, 2007

Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 by Trans-Siberian orchestra may fit the bill...
posted by widdershins at 6:17 AM on May 31, 2007

Try these:

James Brown - Shout (A little bit louder now... A little bit louder now)

Shostakovich Symphony #5, 4th movement

Tool - Sober
posted by bofe at 6:17 AM on May 31, 2007

"New Way Home" by Foo Fighers, last song on The Colour and the Shape, starting at 2:05

"With or Without You" by U2. I turn away from this tune on the radio now if I catch it in the middle, the song long crescendo is the only thing left that catches my ear after 20 years.

"Mad Man Moon" by Genesis from A Trick of the Tail. There are a few more from this era like this, but MMM is the first that came to mind.
posted by dr. fresh at 6:26 AM on May 31, 2007

foo fighters! rats.
posted by dr. fresh at 6:27 AM on May 31, 2007

I think you will LOVE Hrvatski's Equinox.
posted by sparrows at 6:29 AM on May 31, 2007

"El Tango de Roxanne" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Actually, most of the songs from Moulin Rouge. Actually, the movie as a whole.
posted by hermitosis at 6:29 AM on May 31, 2007

Bush's "Alien" has a nice long arc.

You can find some pretty good cresc/dim effects in minimalist orchestral music. Try out the third movement of John Adams' Harmonielehre, particularly the last 3 or 4 minutes.
posted by aliasless at 6:40 AM on May 31, 2007

These aren't instrumental, but they do all have distinct crescendos:
The National - Cherry Tree
Okkervil River - So Come Back, I am Waiting
Shearwater - Hail Mary
The Microphones - The Sun
posted by version control at 6:42 AM on May 31, 2007

Some examples from jazz that still give me goose bumps:
By the arranger Gil Evans (his albums for Miles Davis)
-"Prayer (Oh, Doctor Jesus)" from Porgy and Bess

Duke Ellington
-"Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" from Ellington at Newport '56 (features a 27 chorus tenor sax solo by Paul Gonsalves that has the crowd in hysterics by the end)
posted by imposster at 6:49 AM on May 31, 2007

Can't find a YouTube or other version of it but Pat Metheny Group's "San Lorenzo" has a fabulous crescendo. The live version is the best, IMO.
posted by fuse theorem at 7:06 AM on May 31, 2007

Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss" comes to mind.
posted by leapfrog at 7:18 AM on May 31, 2007

Memorial - Michael Nyman (it's on the soundtrack to The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover + no doubt on various Best Of type compilations). The wordless vocal part is quite extraordinary.

The Sorceror's Apprentice - Dukas. Everyone knows this from Fantasia of course. Doesn't stop it having a great crescendo.
posted by crocomancer at 7:19 AM on May 31, 2007

Also, if you want something eight hours long, find a copy of Philip Glass's "Einstein on the Beach." Listening to it the whole way through left me a different person.
posted by leapfrog at 7:19 AM on May 31, 2007

"In the House - In a Heartbeat" from the 28 Days Later soundtrack album.
posted by fuzzbean at 8:00 AM on May 31, 2007

I can't believe no one's suggested King Crimson. Starless and Bible Black has the most unbelievably satisfying, near-orgasmic finish I can think of.

And generally speaking, if you're into dramatic music, King Crimson is about as dramatic as it gets. Night Watch, Epitaph and especially Court of the Crimson King are fucking stunning once you get over the fact that you're listening to prog.
posted by loiseau at 8:10 AM on May 31, 2007

Maybe my favorite piece of music ever is Elgar's "Nimrod" from his Enigma Variations. And the thing I like the most about it is the near-orgasmic crescendo to the song's climax. I get huge chills just about every time I listen to it. I cannot reccommend it highly enough.
posted by PhatLobley at 8:12 AM on May 31, 2007

How about Rossini crescendos?

"Rossini's most famous technique, and one nobody has successfully copied, is the crescendo. To play a basic, garden-variety crescendo, all that's necessary is to become gradually louder. A Rossini crescendo is more involved than that. Rossini builds excitement by repeating a passage over and over, gradually making it not just louder but faster and often higher in pitch, with more and more singers or instruments joining in. Rossini used crescendos in vocal passages, but it's really his overtures that make the most striking use of the technique, with each buildup culminating in a burst of comic frenzy."
posted by anitar at 8:48 AM on May 31, 2007

Seconding anitar on listening to a little Rossini. If you're game for opera, the Act I finale of The Barber of Seville is basically a 15-minute crescendo. To sustain this build-up for so long, Rossini brilliantly plays with both arrangements of singers and instrumentation, until you have all eight principles singers and the entire orchestra WAILING at the end. And curtain.

Just awesome.
posted by non sum qualis eram at 9:06 AM on May 31, 2007

I read the thread and I don't think that anyone has suggested 'Bolero' by Ravel. I'll second Wagner too, 'Tristan and Isolde' (even the prelude) for example.
posted by ob at 9:12 AM on May 31, 2007

Yes Ravel was suggested. Sorry!
posted by ob at 9:13 AM on May 31, 2007

It's not uniform (i.e. there are gradual build-ups and then loud sections and this happens a few times) but if you're into things that start quietly and get loud then 'The Rite of Spring' by Stravinsky might be your cup of tea...
posted by ob at 9:15 AM on May 31, 2007

wow, Mach3avelli - a post that helps me rather than me helping you? What an incredible selection of music. Thanks for this.

Off the top of my head all I have is Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (the studio version with strings - a video version here can't quite compare) which is kind of the hokey folk suggestion, but the way Art sings it still gives me chills. Interesting to think of sonic crescendos and how the timing of lyrics and music and minor keys all work together. The way he sings, "I'm sailing right behind..." near the end is just divine.
posted by rmm at 9:19 AM on May 31, 2007

For you I'd highly recommend Alfred Schittke's 15-minute piece for large chorus, Minnesang, which starts with a couple of voices and builds steadily & beautifully into chaos. It won't be exactly like anything else you've heard before.

Chandos CD #9126 includes Minnesang and Schnittke's Choir Concerto (another gorgeous, fierce, sprawling piece). I see Chandos is also selling individual downloads from 9126.
posted by allterrainbrain at 9:36 AM on May 31, 2007

weezer - Only in Dreams

The second half is where the flavor's hiding.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:54 AM on May 31, 2007

OH yes totally -- Weezer's Only In Dreams -- Top 5 song IMHO.

Also, as someone also said, Godspeed You Black Emperor, especially songs from the album "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven". Beautiful, just beautiful.
posted by wonderwisdom at 10:04 AM on May 31, 2007

The New Pornographers - Testament to Youth in Verse
posted by SBMike at 11:04 AM on May 31, 2007

oh yeah, and Nirvana's "Gray Goose" (it's on the With the Lights Out box set)
posted by SBMike at 11:06 AM on May 31, 2007

"Heroin" by Velvet Underground?
posted by justonegirl at 11:55 AM on May 31, 2007

I'm not sure if I understand exactly what you're looking for, but I think you might enjoy "Hero of the Day", by Metallica.

--FCOD
posted by flyingcowofdoom at 12:39 PM on May 31, 2007

"Kronos Unveiled" from The Incredibles soundtrack is great, especially if you've seen the movie. The whole album is great, as a matter of fact; the entire thing was recorded live!
posted by Scoo at 12:44 PM on May 31, 2007

The "crass version" of LCD Soundsystem's Yeah is kind of one long disco crescendo.

Basically all the other things that leapt to mind for me have been suggested by others at this point.
posted by sparkletone at 1:07 PM on May 31, 2007

m83 - gone. Just one dead-simple chord progression, over and over, growing.
Sort of an ambient Ravel's Bolero.
posted by signal at 1:38 PM on May 31, 2007

Wire - Heartbeat
posted by Neilopolis at 2:25 PM on May 31, 2007

Sìgur Rós - Samskeyti
posted by signal at 2:31 PM on May 31, 2007

Roy Orbison- "Running Scared" (and lots of his other songs)
Mirah- "Of pressure"
Both consist of a single slow crescendo.

I also second Velvet Underground's "Heroin" wich builds in both volume and tempo very effectively several times.
posted by DanielDManiel at 3:22 PM on May 31, 2007

Also Sprach Zarathusa. Probably the greatest crescendo in musical and cinematic history.
posted by wackybrit at 3:38 PM on May 31, 2007

Glenn Branca - "Lesson #1"
posted by snez at 4:55 PM on May 31, 2007

I see you're all carefully not mentioning the elephant in the room, so here's the decrescendo version.
posted by jfuller at 6:19 PM on May 31, 2007

This post has been haunting me all evening because it's so awesome to begin with and because it prompted me to mentally catalog my entire collection. I came back in here to say that the fourth and final movement of Respighi's "Pines of Rome" (orchestral) is another awesome orchestral suggestion. It's supposed to aurally depict legions of Roman armies approaching Rome via the Appian Way, complete with detachments of extra brass players, etc. Louder'n hell by the end.

And on a converse note, Respighi's "Fountains of Rome" has one of the greatest diminuendos of all time in the third movement. He achieves a crescendo from nothing to all-out balls-to-the-wall loud in about four bars and takes about 4 minutes to wind it all down. Breathtaking.
posted by aliasless at 9:39 PM on May 31, 2007

The end of !st movment. Mahler : Symphony No. 2
posted by hortense at 11:29 PM on May 31, 2007

Comforting Sounds by Mew, from the album Frengers.

Almost anything by Oceansize - they're a bit like 65daysofstatic.
posted by terrynutkins at 5:33 AM on June 1, 2007

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I found a good one last night: Coldplay's Fix Me. I love that song, and I look forward to the crescendo (and the powerful lyrics) each time I hear it.
posted by odi.et.amo at 5:40 AM on June 1, 2007

Whoops.. "Fix you" not "Fix Me" :)
posted by odi.et.amo at 5:41 AM on June 1, 2007

OK, now I've downloaded all your music (thanks!) and listened to some of it...

I think you will like the album Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós which features some great crescendos.
posted by SpacemanRed at 5:48 AM on June 1, 2007

Trans Am - MOTR
posted by SBMike at 11:55 AM on June 1, 2007

Dvorak's Romance for Violin in F Minor, Op. 11.
posted by monochromaticgirl at 6:51 PM on June 2, 2007

"Adoration" The Cranes
posted by krikany at 4:52 PM on June 3, 2007

The album Televise by Calla.
posted by SpacemanRed at 9:36 AM on July 30, 2007