100 songs that seem straightforward enough, until an unthinkably massive fuzzed-out guitar solo rises from the ocean floor to swallow everything in sight

#1 (~3:00 in)

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:20 (8 months ago) Permalink

― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:24 (8 months ago) Permalink

#3

― Broney, Pt. 1 (Pillbox), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:25 (8 months ago) Permalink

#4 (rumblings as early as the 4-minute mark, but leviathan doesn't breach the surface until 6:05 or so)

feel like there might be other BtS tracks that might fit the criteria but I can't think of them right now

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:26 (8 months ago) Permalink

(bonus points if everything gets quiet for a little while so that you can hear the fuzzbox being stomped on)

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:27 (8 months ago) Permalink

#5 (1:50)

nearly forgot this one until Pillbox's post reminded me

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:29 (8 months ago) Permalink

I don't wanna rain on anybody's parade, but the solo in that Andy Burrows song, while unexpected and totally bitchin', strikes me as straightforward wailing guitar, i.e. not so obnoxiously loud and abrasive that it overpowers the drummer and sends casual fans running for the exits, i.e. not exactly what I'm looking for here

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:35 (8 months ago) Permalink

― i know your nuts hurt! who's laughing? (contenderizer), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:36 (8 months ago) Permalink

#7 Not straightforward per se, but sudden entrance of fuzz guitar + Dennis Edwards? Hell reaches forth with both arms.

― tuomas without a nose ring (The Reverend), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:37 (8 months ago) Permalink

okay reverend, you have successfully piqued my curiosity

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:40 (8 months ago) Permalink

also, wait: how did I not know there was a temptations album called Psychedelic Shack—this has to be amazing, right?

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:45 (8 months ago) Permalink

8) Any excuse to post this song again:

The guitar first puts in an appearance about 1:13 and then slowly gets fuzzier and more acidic until the rest of the song just ~melts~ in the face of its psychedelic awesomeness.

― The Kelvin Helmholtz Instability (White Chocolate Cheesecake), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:53 (8 months ago) Permalink

9. Obvious choice, probably, but a classic of this sub-genre imo. Album cover art is oddly fitting for this thread title, too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGc6KRIBIlY

― Evan R, Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:55 (8 months ago) Permalink

this has to be amazing, right?

oh yeah

― i know your nuts hurt! who's laughing? (contenderizer), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:55 (8 months ago) Permalink

xp Ugh, the complete and utter Charlie Brown-ish humiliation of a failed YouTube embed. That was supposed to be Wye Oak's "Civilian."

― Evan R, Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:56 (8 months ago) Permalink

a temptations album called Psychedelic Shack—this has to be amazing, right?

absolutely

― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:58 (8 months ago) Permalink

in fact, that's probably the 2nd weakest song on the album

― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 September 2012 18:58 (8 months ago) Permalink

oh wow this Wye Oak track SLAYS

never listened to this band before, making note to fix that

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:02 (8 months ago) Permalink

(I'm listening to all of these and it's been delightful—thanks everybody and keep 'em coming!)

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:05 (8 months ago) Permalink

#10

― Broney, Pt. 1 (Pillbox), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:07 (8 months ago) Permalink

― billstevejim, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:11 (8 months ago) Permalink

#12:

― Gavin, Leeds, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:11 (8 months ago) Permalink

#13
http://youtu.be/LPCXRpu6F6I

― ciderpress, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:12 (8 months ago) Permalink

oh wow this Wye Oak track SLAYS

Whole album is great; they're awesome at twisting the Yo La Tengo soft song/loud guitar formula so it always feels new. "For Prayer" from their previous album is also a favorite of mine in this style

― Evan R, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:13 (8 months ago) Permalink

Dunno if this qualifies as it starts pretty messy too

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:13 (8 months ago) Permalink

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:14 (8 months ago) Permalink

failed to post Velvet's I Heard Her Call My Name, twice. Give up!

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:16 (8 months ago) Permalink

a temptations album called Psychedelic Shack—this has to be amazing, right?

My favorite Temps album

― tuomas without a nose ring (The Reverend), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:16 (8 months ago) Permalink

Gavin's Ghost track reminds me that Damon & Naomi's "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington" is particularly gorgeous example, too. There's no YouTube of it, but the track is on Spotify

― Evan R, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:18 (8 months ago) Permalink

The granddaddy of them all:

― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:24 (8 months ago) Permalink

more impressions (now with capsule reviews+full track info, for the benefit of youtube-embed-disabled users, and/or historians of the future):

#10. Mercury Rev, "The Funny Bird" — awesome track, good gtr, could be louder. still, they get props for incorporating it into the arrangement well, those big whooshy backwards cymbals(?) are great. B+

#11. Boris w/Michio Kurihara, "You Laughed Like A Watermark" — aaaaahhh nice one! I used to own this album but for some reason it's not ripped to this computer and I don't know where the CD is, haven't heard it in forever! A

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:27 (8 months ago) Permalink

#15(?)

Miracle Mile by Silkworm...love how this barges in the track, the 'plug in' sound especially

― the best Laid jams (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:29 (8 months ago) Permalink

Not fuzz per se, but listen for an out of nowhere Duane Allman slide explosion @ 1:26

― Instagrams of Lily on My Facebook Wall (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:30 (8 months ago) Permalink

^^Clarence Carter's "The Road of Love" btw.

― Instagrams of Lily on My Facebook Wall (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:32 (8 months ago) Permalink

I dunno how "straightforward" this song is and the solo actually starts at 2:15 or so but then comes the 3:00 mark...

― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:33 (8 months ago) Permalink

you can hear the click of Eddie hittin the fuzz pedal

― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:34 (8 months ago) Permalink

This is the perfect thread to kick off my autumn listening

― stURGEON & musKEY (how's life), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:38 (8 months ago) Permalink

I've sorta lost track of the numbers at this point but...

#19.A. - Shearwater, "Pushing the River"

(slightly stretching my own definition, but I think the guitar that comes in at 3:40 is sufficiently loud, unexpected, and abrasive to qualify. mostly, though, I wanted to post this one so I could celebrate its spiritual forefather...)

#19.B - Talk Talk, "After the Flood"

(I'm actually not even sure whether the noise stretching from 4:00-5:15 is a guitar or a fucked-up telegraph signal or what, but either way I am rocked to my very bones by it)

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:42 (8 months ago) Permalink

3:19

― nostormo, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:44 (8 months ago) Permalink

3:46

also, something by the smashing pumpkins ?

― nostormo, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:47 (8 months ago) Permalink

Fucking love that Rainbow song posted above.

Realize I'll get shouted down here, but can we just link to YouTube instead of embed? This is gonna kill my browser soon.

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:48 (8 months ago) Permalink

t jon: ya good call—not sure I actually know how to do that tho??

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:51 (8 months ago) Permalink

(^^^ not an idiot, mostly I'm wondering whether to use url or url= tag)

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:52 (8 months ago) Permalink

I feel like I did it "the wrong way" one time and the whole effort just borked

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:53 (8 months ago) Permalink

Great thread, great recommendations. I think the definitive Built to Spill song in this style is probably "Broken Chairs," right? Perfect album closer, and perfect concert closer when the solo becomes a 12-minute plus marathon

― Evan R, Thursday, 20 September 2012 19:58 (8 months ago) Permalink

oh dang upper mississippi beat me to "miracle mile," maybe the ultimate example of this and one of my fave solos ever

― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:02 (8 months ago) Permalink

also maybe the only realistic song about "life on the road" for 99 percent of bands

― the best Laid jams (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:03 (8 months ago) Permalink

yes. so depressing.

― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:09 (8 months ago) Permalink

listening to "Miracle Mile" right now but haven't reached the relevant part—Silkworm's a band I'm slightly embarrassed to say I've never heard, though I certainly know them by name/reputation. must admit, this song is doing a good job of playing it close to the vest...

... oh wow that was great

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:09 (8 months ago) Permalink

re: Built to Spill: one thing I'm struggling with is that even their noisiest work strikes me as being closer to the Neil Young - "Like a Hurricane" end of the spectrum, where the guitar is too busy soaring into the clouds and pouring out SUPER-EMOTIONS to properly focus its destructive energies upon the other musicians

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:14 (8 months ago) Permalink

dinosaur jr - in a jar

― nostormo, Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:18 (8 months ago) Permalink

for smashing pumpkins, "soma" and "rhinoceros" seem to fit ok, although there's a build throughout both songs and the solo doesn't necessarily swallow everything in sight. I feel like there's another song that perfectly nails this description but i can't think of it.

― billstevejim, Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:19 (8 months ago) Permalink

not really straightforward but something from Psychocandy maybe?

― nostormo, Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:20 (8 months ago) Permalink

dinosaur jr - in a jar

yes!

― Evan R, Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:24 (8 months ago) Permalink

plus there's a dude, like, literally singing from the jar he's trapped in or something at the end of that song. So awesome.

― Evan R, Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:25 (8 months ago) Permalink

feel like "freak scene" is the dino jr. song that best fits here, though maybe it's "too busy soaring into the clouds and pouring out SUPER-EMOTIONS"

― i know your nuts hurt! who's laughing? (contenderizer), Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:45 (8 months ago) Permalink

Mercury Rev's "Chasing a Bee" has a wonderfully monstrous, earth-shifting guitar solo. Can't find a YouTube link to the album version.

― Duke, Thursday, 20 September 2012 20:52 (8 months ago) Permalink

Frittering, too

― nostormo, Thursday, 20 September 2012 21:01 (8 months ago) Permalink

I would argue that those MR tracks are more steady builds, but yeah, both have awesomely mind-melting solos. Actually I was looking for the Luna track "Hey Sister" on YT to post itt, which also features a beautifully tortured Grasshopper solo. Dude was a genius w/ that stuff back in the day - too bad he doesn't seem so inclined to unleash the noize in recent years.

― Broney, Pt. 1 (Pillbox), Thursday, 20 September 2012 21:26 (8 months ago) Permalink

er 'hasn't seemed'

― Broney, Pt. 1 (Pillbox), Thursday, 20 September 2012 21:27 (8 months ago) Permalink

Nah, that Chasing A Bee solo really does suddenly pull the earth out from under you (at least the first few seconds). The song builds a little, but not enough to prepare for the quake.

― Duke, Thursday, 20 September 2012 21:40 (8 months ago) Permalink

oooh that Mogwai track ("Yes I Am A Long Way From Home") is good—I often feel like I'm 'over' post-rock (in the sense that I never get the urge to actively listen to it) but I bet they woulda been fun to see live c.this album

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 21:47 (8 months ago) Permalink

Ty Segall & White Fence painting an idiot grin across my face—exactly the kind of thing I (didn't know I) wanted! thanks for posting this one nostormo, would you recommend the album it comes from?

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, 20 September 2012 21:52 (8 months ago) Permalink

xxp - okay, yeah I'll give that to you. Found it btw

earth-shifting commences @ 3:05

― Broney, Pt. 1 (Pillbox), Thursday, 20 September 2012 21:57 (8 months ago) Permalink

Crutis

― tuomas without a nose ring (The Reverend), Thursday, 20 September 2012 22:06 (8 months ago) Permalink

x-post cheers for hunting that down

― Duke, Thursday, 20 September 2012 22:10 (8 months ago) Permalink

Guitars too clean, perhaps, but it still fucking rips! And the final screams top it off nicely.

― Mule, Thursday, 20 September 2012 22:43 (8 months ago) Permalink

And maybe not exactly straightforward, either. Sorry. I'll read the headline next time.

― Mule, Thursday, 20 September 2012 22:46 (8 months ago) Permalink

1:56

― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 September 2012 22:52 (8 months ago) Permalink

1:55!

― bentelec, Thursday, 20 September 2012 23:13 (8 months ago) Permalink

listening to "Miracle Mile" right now but haven't reached the relevant part—Silkworm's a band I'm slightly embarrassed to say I've never heard, though I certainly know them by name/reputation. must admit, this song is doing a good job of playing it close to the vest...

... oh wow that was great

― Strokes crushed to death by a giant statue of Johnny Thunders (bernard snowy), Thursday, September 20, 2012 3:09 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

glad i got someone to listen to silkworm! they are one of the great indie rock bands of all time! or at least i think so. there are no casual silkworm fans. you'd see them in minneapolis and there'd only be like 60 ppl there, but then you'd run into a group of dudes that drove all the way from canada to come see them.

― the best Laid jams (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 20 September 2012 23:22 (8 months ago) Permalink

The guitar slide at 1:33 in this is my new favorite thing. Also, that it's called ART GUY.

― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 20 September 2012 23:52 (8 months ago) Permalink

oh wau this cooks

― destroyers of the live music experience (bernard snowy), Friday, 21 September 2012 02:46 (8 months ago) Permalink

(completely off-topic but what Silkworm album is best to start ??? tia)

― destroyers of the live music experience (bernard snowy), Friday, 21 September 2012 02:48 (8 months ago) Permalink

I'm loving even the non-fuzzy guitar on this United Soul track!

― destroyers of the live music experience (bernard snowy), Friday, 21 September 2012 02:58 (8 months ago) Permalink

AC Marias - Time Was

great feedbacked guitar explosions around the 2 min mark

― cock chirea, Friday, 21 September 2012 03:23 (8 months ago) Permalink

Bernard, I think Lifestyle by skwm

― the best Laid jams (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 21 September 2012 03:37 (8 months ago) Permalink

Neil Young "Don't Cry" (1:08 & 3:05) - Eldorado EP version w/extended guitar stranglage

― Hideous Lump, Friday, 21 September 2012 04:06 (8 months ago) Permalink

amazing fuzz/wah insanity at 2:40. the gtr tone kinda reminds me of those vicious leads by james williamson on raw power.

― cock chirea, Friday, 21 September 2012 04:18 (8 months ago) Permalink

^^^lost gem of an album

― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 September 2012 15:34 (8 months ago) Permalink

It's a Cub cover

― 'Separate Lives', by Phil Collins & Marilyn Manson (PaulTMA), Friday, 21 September 2012 17:23 (8 months ago) Permalink

The song by Slap Happy Humphrey is fucking amazing.

― billstevejim, Friday, 21 September 2012 21:42 (8 months ago) Permalink

Little girl sits on a swing hanging from a tree, swaying slowly... She looks at the ground and sings a lonely song to herself, expressing sadness, but everything will be ok in the end. Meanwhile, her imaginary best friend sits beside her, a 30 foot tall creature from the black lagoon who politely and patiently waits for his friend to finish her 3 verses before shredding blackmetal noise with the world's most gigantic 40-string guitar plugged into a mile high wall of marshall cabs.

― billstevejim, Friday, 21 September 2012 21:56 (8 months ago) Permalink

ya that was a great one—I ran into a muso buddy yesterday after posting this thread and asked him for recommendations, and he independently suggested SHH! definitely gonna be checking out the album

also, can't believe I forgot about this one:

(The Microphones, "I Am Bored")

― destroyers of the live music experience (bernard snowy), Friday, 21 September 2012 22:26 (8 months ago) Permalink

Herbie Mann- Hold on, I'm coming

It's going along as a standard jazz fusion soul cover until the second guitar solo at 5:41. That may not be fuzztone, but it sounds fuzzy.

― riding old whitey (Zachary Taylor), Friday, 21 September 2012 22:47 (8 months ago) Permalink

@ 3:09

― Broney, Pt. 1 (Pillbox), Sunday, 23 September 2012 10:45 (8 months ago) Permalink

― B-Boy Bualadh Bos (ecuador_with_a_c), Sunday, 23 September 2012 14:39 (8 months ago) Permalink

For me this is the ultimate example:

Love - Love is More Than Words or Better Late Than Never (from the Out Here LP)

― Lewis Apparition (Jon Lewis), Sunday, 23 September 2012 18:55 (8 months ago) Permalink

Obviously Slapp Happy Humphrey owns this thread (need to dig that out, haven't played it for a few years), but...

(1:33)

― Wandering Boy Poet, Sunday, 23 September 2012 19:04 (8 months ago) Permalink

No Youtube link but Luna- Hey Sister fits the bill for me.

― global tetrahedron, Sunday, 23 September 2012 22:43 (8 months ago) Permalink

^ otm - http://open.spotify.com/track/1PChcviXTzSPJg8QGDvz2l

― Broney, Pt. 1 (Pillbox), Monday, 24 September 2012 09:21 (8 months ago) Permalink

I'd totally forgotten that I'd done a playlist for this thread. I'm listening to it now for the first time and it's pretty awesome

http://open.spotify.com/user/nathanwoolls/playlist/7suyp75W1NT8O9VLnbdH8D

― nate woolls, Tuesday, 18 December 2012 22:27 (5 months ago) Permalink

Thanks!

― Evan R, Tuesday, 18 December 2012 22:42 (5 months ago) Permalink

that playlist is tempting me to finally register with spotify

also, I can't remember whether I already posted it to the thread but: "Supervixens" by A.R. Kane, although bathed in shoegaze-y shimmer from the word 'go,' takes it to another level with the craziness that starts around the 3-minute mark (immediately after the cheezy keyboard string patch that sustains a single piercingly high note for like 45 seconds)

― Excelsior twilight. Harpsichord wind through the trees. (bernard snowy), Tuesday, 14 May 2013 15:56 (1 week ago) Permalink

... although the 'solo' is actually heavily tweaked duelling gtr+keybs, and I think it may be the super-distorted pitchwheel divebombs that are responsible give the resulting ~2 minutes of sound its world-devouring quality

― Excelsior twilight. Harpsichord wind through the trees. (bernard snowy), Tuesday, 14 May 2013 15:59 (1 week ago) Permalink