What five pieces of music do you love the most? And why?

DAMNN , I like all of them except I never heard "Paper Bag", My favorite big band trumpeteer is Chuck Mangiones "Children of Sanchez". Hey, maybe Ill build a list by eeing others and recalling.

TOO DAMN MUCH REALLY GOOD MUSIC OUT THERE.

well I have to start with my number one;
Leader of the Laundromat by the Detergents.

[Is he really goin' out with 'er? I don't know. Look, here he comes now. Let's ask 'im.
{piano chord}
Hey, Murray, is it true Betty's wearin' your ring? Uh-huh.
{piano chord}
Who's that bangin' on the piano? I don't know. You goin' out with
her tonight? You bet yer fur. By the way, where'd ya meet her? ]

I met her one day at the Laundromat.
[She turned around and smiled at me, ya get the picture? Yes, we see.]
And that's when I fell in love with the Leader of the Laundromat

{sound of washing machine running}

My folks were always putting her down (down, down)
Because her laundry came back brown (brown, brown)
I don't care if they think she's bad
I fell in love cuz she looked so sad
I got a date tonight with the Leader of the Laundromat

{washing machine runs, sputters, and stalls}
[Dang it!!]

My dad said "Find a laundry that's new" (find a laundry that's new)
How can I tell my baby we're through (tell my baby we're through)
Gotta drive right into town
I don't care if my shirts are brown
I got a date tonight with the Leader of the Laundromat

{washing machine runs, sputters, and stalls}
[Dang it!!]

[When I finally got there, I told her it was all over between us. I'll never forget the
hurt and the funny look in her eye. She grabbed my laundry and ran into the street,
directly into the path of a runaway garbage truck.
I yelled "watch out !, watch out !, watch out !, watch out !, watch ou-u-t !"

{screeching brakes, crash, sound of breaking glass and falling metal parts}
[Dang it!!]

I felt so messy standing there (messy standing there)
My daddy's shorts were everywhere (daddy's shorts were everywhere)
Tenderly I kissed her goodbye
Picked up my clothes, they were finally dry
But I won't forget you, oh Leader of the Laundromat

{washing machine finally runs smoothly}

(oh-oh-oh-oh)
{piano chord}
(ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
{piano chord}

[Who's that bangin' on the piano?
I don't know.]
This tune reminds me of the really good old days when there was no SDS, you didn't have to lock your doors at night and children were polite to their elders.

Damn . . . why does it gotta be five? You got a wild hare up yer ass for five lately? 'Scuse me, a wild hair.

Maurerische Trauermusik in C minor, little Johnny Mozart
Sonata #49, for piano, in E flat major, Frankie Joe Haydn (sneaky music)
Songs from the Auvergne, Joey Cantaloube
Bachiana Brasileira No. 5, Say Hey Villa-Lobos
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Johnny Sibelius

. . . so there . . .

Thanks all, I'll look properly after work.

And Set...why the hell NOT bloody five?

Hmmmm?


It's not as passe as 10, not as tough as one, and concentrated enough I hoped people might think .

Off the top of my head:

Strauss- 4 Last Songs

Alan Rawsthorne- Practical Cats

Messiaen: Vingt Regards Sur l'enfant Jesus

Brahms: Symphony No. 4

Strauss: Elektra

But this is all liable to change within the next 5 minutes, I chose these 'off the top of my head' otherwise I wouldn't actually decide. The above are chosen all for their use of colour (particularly messiaen) thematic development and harmonic language, although that's not particularly precise.

Yes indeed Debbie, you're a silly goose.

Liszt's "Les Preludes" has always been a favorite tone poem. Course, maybe its just because I was a Flash Gordon Sat AM TV watching kid.

Been thinking.

The why makes this a challenge.

Saint-Saens, Carnival of the Animals. Lightness and beauty.

Beethoven's Fifth, Power and emotion.

Benny Goodman, Swing, Swing, Swing. The opening drum bit makes me nuts. Also it's impossible to be still when you listen to this music.

The Shirelles, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. Not sure about the why with this one. An old favorite. What can I tell ya?

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon. I especially like hearing Elvis sing this. I don't like his tacky arrangement and backup singers. But the power of his voice moves me. However, the original, with Art Garfunkle singing is fine too. Why? Stong imagery in the words--I think.

Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah. It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah. Love that.

She probably has a crush on John Cusack. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146882/

Ya lost me, Boss . . . i ain't familiar with that movin' pitcher . . .

All through the movie, he's talking about his "top five this", "top five that".

i see that most people are going with individual pieces of music, don't know if i misunderstood, but my choices are all full albums

Wrong! It's Sing, Sing, Sing. Duh. My brain is rotting. But the drums at the opening still rock.

Full albums are FINE!!!!!!!!

Great...thankee.

You know I just love to sing "Will you still love me tomorrow"...in all its versions. But the Shirelles' is great.

I love "Halleluljah"...I am having a big Cohen thing since seeing "I'm Your Man".

And I am a Simon and Garfunkle admirer (downloaded "Bookends" on the weekend).

Goodman "Swing"...I'll look it up.

Familiar with the Fifth, of course.

Lovely!! Thank you...

Heehee...I love the real version.


I used to sing in an all female a capella group...and I got to do the soloes!!! Cool.

well, if we are accepting entire albums then I nominate The Moray Eel eats the Holy Modal Rounders.
And no acid folk album mixed inspiration and lunacy in as downright deranged a fashion as The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders, the Holy Modal Rounders' sole LP for Elektra Records.

Here was the Rounders' chance to mix all of the roots folk that had informed their work since their formation into a blender, topped off with some seriously wacko drugged-out strangeness and hard rock. Jug band, country, blues, ragtime, folk-rock--everything segued in and out of each other, figuratively and literally. The stringing together of uninterrupted song fragments into side-long suites was much in keeping with the approach used by the Mothers of Invention on We're Only in It for the Money, and less famously on side two of the Fugs' It Crawled into My Hand, Honest. As strokes of mad genius go, it was a winner, managing to just about walk the tightrope between art and chaos. Given just how chaotic the production of the record was, though, it's something of a miracle that the album was made in the first place, let alone eventually enshrined as a cult classic.

So don't!

But I might have a look at that.

Thanks for your contributions!


Thanks EVERYONE!!!!