Musical Gold

[JimmyNeutron]

There's something about music that drives me completely crazy. I call it "Musical Gold" for lack of a better term. I realize this is probably going to be different for different people, but for me it goes like this:

Every once in a while, I'll hear a piece of music that really moves me, it's just incredibly profound to me, but what get's me about it is that it's just a short motif, or theme, or something like that. The rest of the piece is good, but I'll find myself rewinding and listening to a short, 15 second long or so bit of the music over and over again. It really drives me crazy.

Here's an excellent example of that: I was listening to the soundtrack to the film "Matilda" and came across a very short theme (from about 0:20 to 0:35):

[video=youtube;Q7V2U_Jyl_o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7V2U_Jyl_o[/video]

It's little themes like that, they drive me crazy because I can't fathom how it can be so simple and yet so profound at the same time. It's like in those 15 seconds an entire musical story is told. The rest of the piece is great also, but that little bit I'll listen to over and over and over, trying to figure out why it's as good as it is.

Has this every happened to you? Has there ever been a little nugget of musical gold that you feel like you can't hear enough?

[TheNeedleDrops]

I hear ya! I think that's a sign of a phenomenal composer (in this case). My favorite is from Quigley Down Under. I don't know what it is, but from 0:25 - 0:50 gets me every single time!
[video=youtube;06aqwv6rHaQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06aqwv6rHaQ[/video]

[JimmyNeutron]

Oh, I love that soundtrack! It's actually my favorite western movie, partly for it's music.

[TheNeedleDrops]

I love it too. I especially like all the great one liners. However, my ultimate western is "Man From Snowy River", incredible music in that one. INCREDIBLE!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

I wouldn't call "the man from snowy river" a western in the accepted American idea of a 'western', its about horse wrangler's in Australia...

anyway,whatever you call it, its still a good soundtrack and movie....

here's a link for the original 1890 poem by A.B "banjo" Patterson that inspired it...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_fr...iver_(poem)

and also, the best song version of that poem is linked here, and sung by the brilliant Slim Dusty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW7rgnNqgjE (sorry,not a video link,just audio)

[TheNeedleDrops]

Well...I see cows, horses, cowboy hats, a ranch, horse and buggies, and lots of land and dust...and that says WESTERN to me. Yeah, it's not "western" as far as gun-slinging goes but, oh well.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

I get where you're coming from mate, but to get one up on your friends with Australian knowledge....

Ranches are called 'stations' out here, if they raise cattle then they're ,Cattle Stations, if they raise sheep they're Sheep Stations etc...
Ranch Hands as you call them are called Jackareoo's here because they are generally male thus the 'jack', they often move around from one station to another,or bounce as we call it, thus the 'aroo' as in Kangaroo.
The owners of stations are called Station Master's...

Dotn forget, I'm not criticising you, just giving you info to astound your friends/family.

[Ruby]

I’m not sure that naming Nick Cave’s “The Proposition” a Western is correct either, but that’s what people refer to it as – an Australian western. He did a brilliant job on that – an absolutely harrowing film, but not gratuitous, somehow; well executed, and the soundtrack is his too – along with Warren Ellis and his violin – the very stuff of desolation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX2oYPzr3jY

Equally haunting is the other fantastic soundtrack along similar lines by these two “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” – not at all what you might imagine his usual fare to be (but then again, there’s not much ‘usual’ about Nick Cave! …)

The final track –

[video=youtube;andd1eYucx0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=andd1eYucx0[/video]

[SteveO]

Yes sometimes a short simple piece of music can really hit you! Less is best?

[TheNeedleDrops]

I get where you're coming from mate, but to get one up on your friends with Australian knowledge....

Ranches are called 'stations' out here, if they raise cattle then they're ,Cattle Stations, if they raise sheep they're Sheep Stations etc...
Ranch Hands as you call them are called Jackareoo's here because they are generally male thus the 'jack', they often move around from one station to another,or bounce as we call it, thus the 'aroo' as in Kangaroo.
The owners of stations are called Station Master's...

Dotn forget, I'm not criticising you, just giving you info to astound your friends/family.

Yeah...I don't know if "astound" is the word the word I would use. Let me elaborate...

Here in MN, we would call that place a ranch, those things that eat grass and give us beef - cows, ranch hands are aka my brother and sister, if we moved from "ranch" to "ranch" my father (aka station master) would whoop us. So, as far as this Minnesotan is concerned, Man From Snowy River is THE GREATEST WESTERN EVER!!!!

I see what your saying and your right, I'm just letting you know I'm gonna continuing acting as though I am blissfully unaware (until I run into an Aussie, then I'll drop some "station" knowledge on them that never saw coming!!!)