What song would you choose?

dlmcc · « **on:** 26 Dec 2011, 06:42 pm »

Happy Holidays

Here is the set up…

You have several people of different ages, music interests, sexes, and any other parameters you may want to include, coming to your house to listen to your amazing two-channel set up.

The rules….
You may play one and only one (1) selection for all of them.

The goal is to demonstrate to each of them, why you spend most of your waking hours messing with this stuff and shouldn’t be locked away in a padded room for your own protection.

The question is…

What one song do you play for all of them?

thx

Mitsuman · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Dec 2011, 06:49 pm »

Quote from: dlmcc on 26 Dec 2011, 06:42 pm

Happy Holidays

Here is the set up…

You have several people of different ages, music interests, sexes, and any other parameters you may want to include, coming to your house to listen to your amazing two-channel set up.

The rules….
You may play one and only one (1) selection for all of them.

The goal is to demonstrate to each of them, why you spend most of your waking hours messing with this stuff and shouldn’t be locked away in a padded room for your own protection.

The question is…

What one song do you play for all of them?

thx

If you truly think you can convey this sickness to that wide of an audience with one selection, you do belong in a padded room.

thunderbrick · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Dec 2011, 06:56 pm »

+1!, but if I do bring in a total novice who won't tell me what kind of music they prefer, I use "Over The Rainbow" by Linda Rondstat with the ~~Fred Waring~~ Nelson Riddle

Orchestra. On LP, naturally. Once they get over the shock of the SQ, you should see their jaws drop when I lift the LP up from the TT and they realize what they've been hearing.

And isn't a padded room just another room treatment tweak?

KenSeger · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 Dec 2011, 07:06 pm »

As a person who has worked too many years in too many hi-fi shops in ages past, I am way too familiar with the answer to the standard question: What would you like to listen to?

A: "Oh anything."

Ken

P.S. Love the room treatment comment!

Mag · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Dec 2011, 07:48 pm »

>>What one song do you play for all of them? <<

That's a tough one with so many songs one could choose. But I think I would go with 'Ecstasy of Gold' from the 'Way Out West' album. It's a re-make of the original movie release 'Good the Bad the Ugly' by City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

If this song fails to impress then they aren't serious audiophiles.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #5 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 01:01 am »

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart....
That's the rub, right there. After all these years, tears, and dollars, is there a single song you could play to firmly place the punctuation point on what it is you're doing.

Not sure there's an answer to that question that we'll all agree on, but it's certainly fun to explore.
Personally, I've created a playlist of "those songs", and if somebody comes over I'll give them the remote and show them which button to press to advance to the next song if the current song turns out to be fingernails on the chalkboard. Because, once your guest has been ruined by being forced to sit through four minutes of some bizarre off the wall audiophile recording, they're pretty well screwed......
And so is their opinion of your hobby (and possibly you).

I actually started a similar topic not too long ago.
Check here: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=93635.0

Hope that helps, good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

Bob

Mitsuman · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 01:13 am »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 27 Dec 2011, 01:01 am

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart....
That's the rub, right there. After all these years, tears, and dollars, is there a single song you could play to firmly place the punctuation point on what it is you're doing.

Not sure there's an answer to that question that we'll all agree on, but it's certainly fun to explore.
Personally, I've created a playlist of "those songs", and if somebody comes over I'll give them the remote and show them which button to press to advance to the next song if the current song turns out to be fingernails on the chalkboard. Because, once your guest has been ruined by being forced to sit through four minutes of some bizarre off the wall audiophile recording, they're pretty well screwed......
And so is their opinion of your hobby (and possibly you).

I actually started a similar topic not too long ago.
Check here: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=93635.0

Hope that helps, good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

Bob

What is this "remote" that you speak of?

Delta Wave · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 01:16 am »

Just one song? A whole album would be easier.

But right now I'm mesmerized by track 2 of Becks "Sea Change", Paper Tiger on MoFi vinyl.

I have a lot of the old RCA Living Stereo compilation LPs and one of them has a great version of "Flight of the Bumblebee" which seems to do well.

Delta Wave · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 01:23 am »

Actually now that I think of it, "Siegfried's Funeral March" from Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner, conducted by Georg Solti on a London ffrr pressing gives me goosebumps every time... and most people, at the very least tolerate classical music.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 01:26 am »

Quote from: Mitsuman on 27 Dec 2011, 01:13 am

What is this "remote" that you speak of?

Umm....You must be a vinyl guy.

Bob

ZGood321 · « **Reply #10 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 08:49 am »

I would choose Meyer:Bt off the album, Heartland - An Appalachian Anthology. All the instruments on the track are crisp, the melody is uplifting, and it has a great dynamic hook in the first 30 seconds.

Mitsuman · « **Reply #11 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 06:36 pm »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 27 Dec 2011, 01:26 am

Umm....You must be a vinyl guy.

Bob

Oh, I do have a zeedee collection, but I would hardly dig into that if I wanted to impress the group of people under the circumstances the OP listed.

Mag · « **Reply #12 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 06:37 pm »

I would argue that the song should be somewhat familiar, not an obscure song. So that the listeners have some frame of reference as to what they are hearing.

A movie soundtrack like Ecstacy of Gold, most people would have seen the movie at least once, except for maybe the youngest. Think I've seen the movie at least 100 times. And neutral enough to satisfy different genre taste.

gooberdude · « **Reply #13 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 07:11 pm »

An original copy of Aerosmiths' "Sweet Emotion". It crosses several generations & sounds so slick on vinyl.

Or...anything off Beck's 'Sea Change' album.

Mike Nomad · « **Reply #14 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 08:35 pm »

There are plenty of wrong answers to chose from. Two of mine are:

Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues

If your rig is good, listeners won't have a problem with the vocal & harp. The beat is great, and you are in and out in ~~less~~ just over two minutes.

Bob Dylan - Beyond Here Lies Nothin'

Plenty of bump, and it _swings_.

Delta Wave · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 09:17 pm »

Another would be "Friends of Mr. Cairo" - Jon Anderson & Vangelis.

electricbear · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 10:32 pm »

I've never been able to find an audiophile quality copy of " Friends Of Mr Cairo" although it is great to listen to. I would suggest The Yuri Honing Trio " Walking On The Moon" , Tomita " Pictures At An Exhibition- Ballad Of The Chicks In Their Shells" or Yello " Fat Cry". These are all tracks that I use when showing off equipment in the store and I've played them to the Gassers on a few occasions. Another good one was introduced to me by Sturgis and it is The Fairfield Four " These Bones".

Delta Wave · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 10:37 pm »

Quote from: electricbear on 27 Dec 2011, 10:32 pm

I've never been able to find an audiophile quality copy of " Friends Of Mr Cairo" although it is great to listen to. I would suggest The Yuri Honing Trio " Walking On The Moon" , Tomita " Pictures At An Exhibition- Ballad Of The Chicks In Their Shells" or Yello " Fat Cry". These are all tracks that I use when showing off equipment in the store and I've played them to the Gassers on a few occasions. Another good one was introduced to me by Sturgis and it is The Fairfield Four " These Bones".

I have a German import of it (Mr. Cairo) on vinyl... it's a great pressing.

thunderbrick · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Dec 2011, 10:50 pm »

Not a "song" per se, but Wagner's "Forest Murmurs" on Sheffield.

Hell, the whole album!

tshifrin · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 Dec 2011, 04:17 pm »

Y'all mean the right answer isn't something by Amanda McBroom? Gee, where have I been...

Tom