Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds
A twelve-string guitar states four bars that glitter and then hold, compressed until the note seems to ring in the air of the radio itself, and only then do the voices come in.
You Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette
A bass guitar enters already angry, sliding, and Alanis Morissette's voice follows it without warming up, mid-sentence, as if the listener had walked into a phone call that should have stayed private.
One Nation Under a Groove – Funkadelic
The groove arrives already smiling, a bass that rolls rather than stabs, a guitar that comments from the side, a chorus that sounds like a pledge written by people who have just got off a bus.
Interview of Tom Waits (1979)
Tom Waits on Australia's Don Lane Show in 1979, in the wake of Blue Valentine, is charm disguised as wreckage.
Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple
Four notes, then a rest, then the same four with a tail, and the whole of rock's most borrowed sentence is already finished.
Under the Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
A guitar begins alone, high and almost shy, the kind of figure John Frusciante has said he wrote happier than the words because the words were already sad enough.
Abbey Road – The Beatles
On 26 September 1969, the Beatles released the last album they would record together, and they dressed the goodbye as a walk across a road.
Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper
A soft drum pattern and a keyboard figure begin like a clock in another room, and Cyndi Lauper's voice enters without costume, lying in bed, listening, already promising to catch someone if they fall.
The Last Waltz
On Thanksgiving night in 1976, Winterland Ballroom smelled of roast turkey and the end of a job.
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