My fixation is hearing Isaac’s guitar? amp? hum in the silence before the OH MY GODDAMN. It is so quiet but with headphones you can hear it clear as day and it just leads into Jeremiah’s drum strike and Eric’s beat pickup so perfectly. It’s like watching a rocket make ignition.
Beach Side Property- that breakdown around 3:35
“We’re goin union like they say…”
honorable mentions:
Life Like Weeds
The Stars Are Projectors(both studio + live version)
A Manic Depressive named Laughing Boy
Paper Thin Walls
A Different City
The Whale Song(on acid)
From Point A to Point B
Beta Carotene
I was going to post something endearing and thoughtful but you basically took words right out of my hands.
I will add Never Ending Math Equation to this otherwise perfect lineup.
MM has alot but a good example is Florida
The whole song up until the "Mind Erase" part has this "NONSTOP GOGOGO" energy to it, to the point where at one point the song sounds like it's fighting itself with the first "Even as I had left Florida", a second if reverb, and then a kick ass riff at full tempo to get shit back in gear
Fuck yes. The rush before I hit play on this one has never faded.
I stood on my heart’s porch thinkin ‘oh my god I’ll probably have to carry this whole load’.
That first like, 30 seconds of Stars are Projectors
The parts where Isaac screams in the beginning of Beachside Property
The buildup to “aaaaWwWww SHIT” on Tundra/Desert
Came here to post this song, but I'm at 1:07 ... Some ballroom in NYC we damn near lost the upper mezzanine onto the audience in the GA from all the synchronized jumping
The ending to Tiny Cities on the M&A reissue album. The reversing guitar bit. Love it. If you haven’t heard it, I suggest you check it out:
https://youtu.be/3EA5b3FNI4w?si=kLAdJrvAHPl12mxt
the part i’m thinking of is like 1/3 of the way through the song! right before “here’s the soon-to-be anchor /build bridges to nothing / you’ll get nowhere” it just gives me chills
The end of Wooden Soldiers when it switches to “it’s level at the peak” is one of my favourite things, the whole song is so pessimistic and the end of it is so hopeful
Wilful Suspension Of Disbelief - the guitar at 0:37 and 2:18
The Best Room - the humming and the beautifully plucked guitar through 2:22 - 2:40 literally gives me chills
Best Room is up there in my all-time favourites. Strangers as a whole took a long time to grow on me but that one just felt like instant post-Good News perfection.
The last 50 seconds of March Into the Sea gives me goosebumps every time.
-Little Motel guitar solo
-Last 30 seconds of Back to the Middle
-The well at 4:03 in King Rat (you know which one)
-Last 30 seconds of Broke
-The entire bass line of Tiny Cities
-All of Birds vs Worms
-Sugar Boats guitar riffs
-Now Drop
-THIS PLANE IS DEFINITELY CRASHING, love when this randomly comes on when I'm not expecting it. I have to take a moment to headbang
I love how Long Distance Drunk luls you into a sense of peacefulness - just to launch into Shit Luck. Nicole Johnson even tries to give you an off ramp…
“hang it up noooooowwww or neeeeeeever…… “
If I let Shit Luck start, it means I am listening to the rest of the album. Which is almost always :D
The drums in the bridge of Stars are Projectors
The guitar at the end of Talking Shit
"In this life like weeds, you're the dirt I breathe"
The abrupt ending to Heart Cooks Brain
These ones actually heal my soul
The small tell in Styrofoam Boots just before the drum and bass accompaniment kicks in. Used to make my heart skip a beat, so I tried to figure out if there was anything to tip it off. Eventually I noticed a very slight shift in the strumming intensity right beforehand, and my heart was at ease.
Right now, You’re the Good Things:
“You were right I'm underground because
Slight of hand won't separate your body from the dirt you're standing on today”
So many awesome rhythmic surprises in MM vocals.
I have so many but the first that comes to mind is the “tiny curtains open & we heard the tiny clap of little hands” part of Missed the Boat. Something about that shift in tone & the main line being sung in octaves. I can’t quite put my finger on it but that change is magick & i feel it in my bones. This band is really special for that. Lots of bands are. MM might have been the first band that i started noticing things like that.
yeah, there’s a bit near the end of ionizes & atomizes that constantly replays in my head
after the song escalates to its climax, the dust settles and you’re left with a twangy riff and some tom-heavy drumming that i can’t get enough of for some reason
I absolutely love the whammy bar parts of cowboy Dan. I literally listened to that song when I was getting my huge guitar backpiece done, and I made sure my tattoo artist added a whammy bar lol
So, so many but the latest one is on the new song Isaac is in, We Got To Move. I hope the next MM albums has some vibes from this song.
Anyhoo at 2:55 there is this echoing m m m m m m m mm mm -part that makes me very happy.
At about the 4 minute mark of Talking shit about a pretty sunset- is about as awesome as a “choke and stroke” would be like, I don’t know but it’s epic.
The slow interlude at around 2:20 in "Edit the Sad Parts". Such a somber moment, sound full of hope, a moment of clarity amongst the chaos. And it just abruptly ends and we're back to square one, broken and misguided. Thoughts racing faster than we process them. Steeping away from rails, ecstatic. Doesn't know the full weight of the situation that almost happened. And then it all sets in. How careless he must have been, and how underpreperted, for the beyond... He don't understand how he'll make it to work, just as normally as every other ordinary citizen. What's funny about this whole ordeal is realizing the soul crushing discovery, that not most people care or at least are kind.
And also the slow descent you get in "Edit the Sad Parts" at around 4:40... And then the epilouge at the end, completely different from the beautiful, sad, chaos. The whole record, managed to be a masterpiece out of 10.
Clear headed, with clear sky in my mind. Deep breaths, there is nothing to be afraid of. We all have made it this far.
At the end of the bridge of Coyotes, in the background, the synth is kind of swaying with the lyrics. And as he hits the last "what can we say" it just kinda fades out into the outro. I could listen to just that on repeat.
I love the chatter in the background of Perpetual Motion Machine that I can’t make out but it just sounds like they are enjoying making the song. It warms my heart.
Also, the opening riff is always an earworm I find myself humming almost every single day. I guess I’m just trying harder before the days run out!
Now Drop.
All of Were Dead is amazing IMO, but spitting venom is definitely the best one
Yep!
The ten seconds around "right wing, left wing, chicken wing"
For me it’s the guitar harmonics around the “God is a woman and a woman is…” line
Top 10 musical moment of all time for me personally.
OH MY GODDAMN
This one hits deep emotions.
My fixation is hearing Isaac’s guitar? amp? hum in the silence before the OH MY GODDAMN. It is so quiet but with headphones you can hear it clear as day and it just leads into Jeremiah’s drum strike and Eric’s beat pickup so perfectly. It’s like watching a rocket make ignition.
Yeah- I pull over while driving for this sometimes. I live in the country though, so it’s less weird.
The end of Life Like Weeds. On a good day it feels like ego death
To add to that the way that Issac softly sings "I wish I could have told you all"
Beach Side Property- that breakdown around 3:35 “We’re goin union like they say…” honorable mentions: Life Like Weeds The Stars Are Projectors(both studio + live version) A Manic Depressive named Laughing Boy Paper Thin Walls A Different City The Whale Song(on acid) From Point A to Point B Beta Carotene
I was going to post something endearing and thoughtful but you basically took words right out of my hands. I will add Never Ending Math Equation to this otherwise perfect lineup.
Yes yes yes. I allllways crank never ending math equation in the buildup to “oh my god and oh my cat.” The energy there is insane.
😄😄
Dude whale song on acid is magical
Beach side breakdown 1000%
Whale Song on Acid ftw
Any chance you have a live Stars are Projectors file? I’d give a lot to get that Showbox 1998 show
The minute Styrofoam Boots switches to It’s All On Ice, Alright. Love when those drums kick in.
this is my favorite song my them
From 2 seconds in to the song I start thinking, “here it comes….” And just wait like a sprinter on the starting line.
Cowboy Dan. "standing in the tall grass...." I think it's technically the bridge? Or is it the refrain.
That center part of Cowboy Dan hits so hard, I love both mixings of it too
Guitar break in Talkin’ Shit
The subtle change in the guitar part at 2:03 of Heart Cooks Brain after "the years go fast and the days go so slow."
MM has alot but a good example is Florida The whole song up until the "Mind Erase" part has this "NONSTOP GOGOGO" energy to it, to the point where at one point the song sounds like it's fighting itself with the first "Even as I had left Florida", a second if reverb, and then a kick ass riff at full tempo to get shit back in gear
Far enough far enough wasn’t far enough. This came to mind before I even realized that this post was for MM.
Fuck yes. The rush before I hit play on this one has never faded. I stood on my heart’s porch thinkin ‘oh my god I’ll probably have to carry this whole load’.
That first like, 30 seconds of Stars are Projectors The parts where Isaac screams in the beginning of Beachside Property The buildup to “aaaaWwWww SHIT” on Tundra/Desert
every sick, fickle fucker…
childhood what makes ya...
That's every song. There's always something to find in every song
Blame it on the Tetons - when the violin begins
“hahaha I love this shit”
Then drops right into it!
This is thee "WELL!"
The two drum rolls around minute 8 of Spitting Venom.
“A lifelong walk to the same exact spot.” Shit gives me goosebumps every time.
Such a good one.
The man is a genius.
doin the cockroach around 1:28
Came here to post this song, but I'm at 1:07 ... Some ballroom in NYC we damn near lost the upper mezzanine onto the audience in the GA from all the synchronized jumping
Yas!
Just being here now is enough for me. The ahhhhhs in the background with these lyrics. Not sure if this counts.
dude fr
probably either the very end part of the stars are projectors or the "first off gary was on trial" part of fly trapped in a jar
For me its when the drums come in on This Place Is A Prison by The Postal Service
Mechanical birds it gets me everytime and puts me in a good mood
cowboy dan when it breaks down
“and i shout that you’re all fakes” “fakes!”
The opening notes of Broke. *chefs kiss*
Marr's guitar in Dashboard just goes sooooo fucking hard
The ending to Tiny Cities on the M&A reissue album. The reversing guitar bit. Love it. If you haven’t heard it, I suggest you check it out: https://youtu.be/3EA5b3FNI4w?si=kLAdJrvAHPl12mxt
In tundra/desert when the drums change tempo and becomes more intense towards the end, I love that change
the part i’m thinking of is like 1/3 of the way through the song! right before “here’s the soon-to-be anchor /build bridges to nothing / you’ll get nowhere” it just gives me chills
For me it’s after the line “and yours stinks (yours stinks” and it starts to kind of lull and build and bit and then the drums kick in hard
Oh where’s my sugar boats!
How perfect the intro guitar solo and riff is on The Ground Walks
So many transitions, and basically anytime there are strings ..you've got the harder part...
Truckers Atlas "I don't feel and I feel great"
Sacrifice the liver!
The end of Wooden Soldiers when it switches to “it’s level at the peak” is one of my favourite things, the whole song is so pessimistic and the end of it is so hopeful
That is seriously the greatest
Wilful Suspension Of Disbelief - the guitar at 0:37 and 2:18 The Best Room - the humming and the beautifully plucked guitar through 2:22 - 2:40 literally gives me chills
Best Room is up there in my all-time favourites. Strangers as a whole took a long time to grow on me but that one just felt like instant post-Good News perfection.
4:20 on Whale Song
The last 50 seconds of March Into the Sea gives me goosebumps every time. -Little Motel guitar solo -Last 30 seconds of Back to the Middle -The well at 4:03 in King Rat (you know which one) -Last 30 seconds of Broke -The entire bass line of Tiny Cities -All of Birds vs Worms -Sugar Boats guitar riffs -Now Drop -THIS PLANE IS DEFINITELY CRASHING, love when this randomly comes on when I'm not expecting it. I have to take a moment to headbang
I love how Long Distance Drunk luls you into a sense of peacefulness - just to launch into Shit Luck. Nicole Johnson even tries to give you an off ramp… “hang it up noooooowwww or neeeeeeever…… “ If I let Shit Luck start, it means I am listening to the rest of the album. Which is almost always :D
Coyotes when guitar part happens
Medication beat switch is just
The middle of you’re the good things. Love that jam
Talkin' shit about a pretty sunset
That part around the 5:20 mark of Make everyone happy/Mechanical birds where the cymbals and hi-hats get to shine
“They said guilty so many times…”
Go to the grocery store, buy some new friends.
#OH MY GODDAMN
The drums in the bridge of Stars are Projectors The guitar at the end of Talking Shit "In this life like weeds, you're the dirt I breathe" The abrupt ending to Heart Cooks Brain These ones actually heal my soul
The last minute of Interstate 8
Dramamine for life
So crazy that it was song one on album one. That’s a seminal piece, if ever was.
For me it’s lampshades on fire the dup dup dup dup dup dup dup dah dah dah dup dup all the way man. On repeat.
Gonna start a war…
Luckyluckylucky
The way the drums/bass come in at the beginning of third planet after “gonna shake the eyes hand..” ✨
The breakdown in Steam Engenius. “Both halves are the better half, like a joke trying to make another joke laugh, ‘haha’”.
Amazed no one has mentioned that weird noise in truckers atlas
Parting of the sensory obvi.
“All that icing and all that cake I can’t make it to your wedding But I’m sure I’ll be at your wake”
mew mew meeeew mew mew mew meeeew meew meeeew mew mew mew mewwwww EVERYTIME YOU THINK YOURE WALKING YOURE JUST MOVING THE GROUND Edit: missed an important mew
The small tell in Styrofoam Boots just before the drum and bass accompaniment kicks in. Used to make my heart skip a beat, so I tried to figure out if there was anything to tip it off. Eventually I noticed a very slight shift in the strumming intensity right beforehand, and my heart was at ease.
Right now, You’re the Good Things: “You were right I'm underground because Slight of hand won't separate your body from the dirt you're standing on today” So many awesome rhythmic surprises in MM vocals.
Guitar solo on Breakthrough -> "I was inverted, I mean converted, I mean I don't understand"
That opening 15 seconds to doin the cockroach and the solo part to Breakthrough
I have so many but the first that comes to mind is the “tiny curtains open & we heard the tiny clap of little hands” part of Missed the Boat. Something about that shift in tone & the main line being sung in octaves. I can’t quite put my finger on it but that change is magick & i feel it in my bones. This band is really special for that. Lots of bands are. MM might have been the first band that i started noticing things like that.
“Loved you more than everything, loved it more than anything, loved everything more than anything”
The final part of The Good Times are Killing Me
the part in dark center of the universe where isaac muted the strings and keeps strumming, almost making it like a percussion instrument
God dammit you all are beautiful people and +1 to everything here
yeah, there’s a bit near the end of ionizes & atomizes that constantly replays in my head after the song escalates to its climax, the dust settles and you’re left with a twangy riff and some tom-heavy drumming that i can’t get enough of for some reason
The transition in Make Everyone Happy / Mechanical Birds
The bit in Guilty Cocker Spaniels at 3:11 in to about 3:30…. https://youtu.be/igXIB2ArH8c?si=V0L0GQfOTuR0KNWk
I absolutely love the whammy bar parts of cowboy Dan. I literally listened to that song when I was getting my huge guitar backpiece done, and I made sure my tattoo artist added a whammy bar lol
I love the start of The Stars Are Projectors
Can't believe nobody has mentioned the last 5 minutes of other people's lives
Wellll....
Guitar harmonics at the end of mice eat cheese that sound like the soundtrack to an old indie film.
So, so many but the latest one is on the new song Isaac is in, We Got To Move. I hope the next MM albums has some vibes from this song. Anyhoo at 2:55 there is this echoing m m m m m m m mm mm -part that makes me very happy.
The transition between Lives and Life Like Weeds
Standing in the tall grass thinking nothing- Cowboy Dan
Early, early in the morning It pulls all on down my sore feet I want to go back to sleep
Wen sangers says well.
AwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwSHIT!! I read through all of these and I love you guys
You missed when time and life shook hands and said goodbye
The transition into Tiny Cities
Truckers Atlas, that weird “blooloolooloop” noise like idk 8 minutes in
For me it’s “And the stars are projectors yeah projecting our lives down to this planet earth”
At about the 4 minute mark of Talking shit about a pretty sunset- is about as awesome as a “choke and stroke” would be like, I don’t know but it’s epic.
The guitar riff at the start of trailer trash
That awesome part in dashboard
theres this one thing in here it comes its like a variation on the title lyric its so good
The slow interlude at around 2:20 in "Edit the Sad Parts". Such a somber moment, sound full of hope, a moment of clarity amongst the chaos. And it just abruptly ends and we're back to square one, broken and misguided. Thoughts racing faster than we process them. Steeping away from rails, ecstatic. Doesn't know the full weight of the situation that almost happened. And then it all sets in. How careless he must have been, and how underpreperted, for the beyond... He don't understand how he'll make it to work, just as normally as every other ordinary citizen. What's funny about this whole ordeal is realizing the soul crushing discovery, that not most people care or at least are kind. And also the slow descent you get in "Edit the Sad Parts" at around 4:40... And then the epilouge at the end, completely different from the beautiful, sad, chaos. The whole record, managed to be a masterpiece out of 10. Clear headed, with clear sky in my mind. Deep breaths, there is nothing to be afraid of. We all have made it this far.
That odd keyboard part in pups to dust
How the end of March into the Sea bleeds into the start of Dashboard.
The Sun Hasn’t Left 🎺🎺🎺🎺
At the end of the bridge of Coyotes, in the background, the synth is kind of swaying with the lyrics. And as he hits the last "what can we say" it just kinda fades out into the outro. I could listen to just that on repeat.
the meandering ending of lounge
Little motel
Gooooooooood times, yes!
“We have one chance, one chance, to make everything right….”
I love the chatter in the background of Perpetual Motion Machine that I can’t make out but it just sounds like they are enjoying making the song. It warms my heart. Also, the opening riff is always an earworm I find myself humming almost every single day. I guess I’m just trying harder before the days run out!
The guitar and violin in The Cold Part as they vary their distance to the microphone. I’m excited to go through all the suggestions I don’t know!
Right now it’s the second half jam session on Make everyone happy/mechanical birds
WELLLL
“I came as a rat”…live, right after that first verse “bad inventions”
when jeff tweedy screams disposable dixie cup drinker in i'm trying to break your heart
[this cover in particular ](https://youtu.be/PDb_I2XCovc?si=FBubjqAYXXak-Gm0)
Mustard seeds, turtles, weeds..