tracks that GENUINELY send shivers down your spine without fail

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (226 of them)

Well the end of A Northern Chorus - "Louder than Love" is devastatingly gorgeous and just gave me the chills.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Friday, 25 July 2003 20:30 (9 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

"johnny too bad" from the harder they come soundtrack (heard it in a manhattan starbucks the other day, hadn't heard it in years and it sent shivers down my spine)

― Tad (llamasfur), Sunday, 10 August 2003 05:05 (9 years ago) Permalink

the way Ray Davies sings "you can't go ANYWHERE" in "Shangri-La," and the way the perfect drifting serenity of the verse suddenly stumbles into near-drunken glee: "And all the houses in the street have got a name..."

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 10 August 2003 05:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

REM: The live "Maps and Legends" at the end of Fables, when Stipey's voice cracks as he sings "Is he to be reached?" That kills me every time.

The Man with the Child in His Eyes - those descending piano chords before the chorus. Actually, the whole song is one long shiver.

Coolio's I'll See You When You Get There makes me teary-eyed for reasons which I don't understand.

John Coltrane's live version of Naima for poignancy, and My Favourite Things for the other kind of spine-tingle.

― Philip Alderman (Phil A), Sunday, 10 August 2003 16:36 (9 years ago) Permalink

The very last track on Mr. Lif's I Phantom where the characters are reflecting back on their lives as the world ends has been grabbin me by the boo-boo lately; it's possibly El-P's baddest beat evah (if my memory is correct and it is indeed an El-P beat).

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Sunday, 10 August 2003 16:58 (9 years ago) Permalink

let me just say I got suckered. Somewhere in the back history of my mind I was told about "in the air tonight" being about a friend who was murdered and seeing the accused in a courtroom. I almost feel as though VH1 might have been attached to that, but I don't know.

In any event, I'm wrong and nickdastoor made me question and
snopes told me for sure. So I learn.

In any event it's still a swell songs that sends shivers down my spine... murder or not.

― nick ring (nick ring), Sunday, 10 August 2003 19:04 (9 years ago) Permalink

mary margaret o'hara - help me lift you up

― joni, Sunday, 10 August 2003 19:20 (9 years ago) Permalink

Chuck Berry "Back in the USA"
Urge Overkill "Digital Black Epilogue"

― dave q, Sunday, 10 August 2003 19:21 (9 years ago) Permalink

there's that moment in Kimya Dawson's "Chemistry" where she says "my family and my friends and all the little kids that love me make me strong," which just gets the hell out of me, though you gotta have some of her bio in mind before it can work I think (i.e., she works with little kids, she has this tattoo that says "I love my friends" etc)

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Sunday, 10 August 2003 19:35 (9 years ago) Permalink

Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights ("oooh it gets dark...")
Robert Wyatt - Sea Song (when the mellotron-choir sets in)
Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn part 1 (return of the opening theme by a small choir)
Candlemass - Solitude (when the distortion kicks in)
Univers Zero - La Faulx (the chanted part)
John Coltrane - Countdown (when he plays the theme at the end)
Devil Doll - Dies Irae (towards the end when he sings "smile and simply ivory")
Mr Bungle - Pink Cigarette (when he starts the countdown)
Suffocation - Pierced From Within (the part where he sings "Returned to a land you've never been", basically the big stop and start right before it)
Caravan - For Richard (when the big organ-riff pops in and they start jamming)
Gentle Giant - Schooldays (when the piano chords come fading in)
Thelonious Monk - Bemsha Swing (on Brilliant Corners, basically when the melody is first played on the sax)
Voivod - Sub-Effect (the part that starts right after "Too late for S.O.S.")

― Øystein Holm-Olsen (Øystein H-O), Friday, 15 August 2003 03:54 (9 years ago) Permalink

The thing 'bout the countdown in Bungle's "Pink Cigarette" that really gets my skin tingly is the background harmony lines that come in one at a time for each "hour-til-you-find-me-dead" Patton counts off. And the verses. And the intro. And...who am I kidding that whole friggin album affects me more physically than leaping into frigid arctic cold water.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 15 August 2003 04:46 (9 years ago) Permalink

sally go round the roses, you're gonna miss me, great white buffalo, jailbreak, i will always love you

― duane, Friday, 15 August 2003 05:52 (9 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

John Coltrane - "Alabama"
Bob Dylan - "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"
Stone Roses - "Ten Story Love Song" (while taking into account Burnweed's analysis)

― King Kobra (King Kobra), Thursday, 18 November 2004 23:02 (8 years ago) Permalink

Nina Simone - Sinnerman
Smiths - I know it's Over (from "Rank")
Wedding Present - Heather
Poetic - One Life
Wu Tang - Impossible
Slint - Good Morning Captain

― paulhw (paulhw), Thursday, 18 November 2004 23:43 (8 years ago) Permalink

Todd Rundgren - The Last Ride
Judy Collins - Who Knows Where The Time Goes
Doors - Summer's Almost Gone
Badfinger - No Matter What
CCR - Lodi

― jim wentworth (wench), Friday, 19 November 2004 02:33 (8 years ago) Permalink

Bob Marley - "I'm Still Waiting"
Rolling Stones - "Let it Loose"
Them - "Friday's Child"
Fleetwood Mac's cover of "I Need Your Love So Bad"
Emotions - "Don't Ask My Neighbors"

― Will (will), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:36 (8 years ago) Permalink

Aphex Twin - "Xtal"

Pete Heller - "Big Love"

The Sugarcubes - "Birthday"

Ben Harper - "Sexual Healing (live)"

Supercar - "Recreation"

New Order - "Bizarre Love Triangle"/ "Here to Stay"/ "Temptation"

Depeche Mode - "Somebody" (especially live version from "101")/"Enjoy the Silence"

Jackson 5 - "I'll be There"

Inner City - "Good Life"

The Cure - "High"/"A forest"/"Lullaby"

The Stone Roses - "I wanna be adored"

Pavement - "Grounded"/"Here"/"In the mouth a desert"

Smashing Pumpkins - "Set the Ray to Jerry"

Sonic Youth - "Mote"/"JC"

The Smiths - "There is a light that never goes out"/Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before"

Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On?"

Quicksand - "Fazer"

― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Friday, 19 November 2004 04:54 (8 years ago) Permalink

Tom Tauberts blues - Tom Waits
A Rainy night in Soho - The Pogues
Hellhound on my Trail - Robert Johnson

― Seuss, Friday, 19 November 2004 08:50 (8 years ago) Permalink

Also, 'I'll Overcome Someday' - Mississippi Bracey

― Suess, Friday, 19 November 2004 09:05 (8 years ago) Permalink

Ice Cube - A Bird in the Hand and Colorblind

― mucho, Friday, 19 November 2004 09:21 (8 years ago) Permalink

YES

― Riot Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 19 November 2004 09:24 (8 years ago) Permalink

count bass d - blues for percy carey
mf grimm - bloody love letter

― d. mitha (ykeo), Friday, 19 November 2004 17:11 (8 years ago) Permalink

Bro. Ray Charles--"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying."

Al Green, "I Think It's for the Feeling."

Big Star, "You Can't Have Me."

Elis Regina, "Zazueira" (her greatest recording)

João Gilberto, "Sampa"

Bobby Womack, "Daylight"

Byrds, "Dolphin's Smile"

U2, "Even Better than the Real Thing"

Scritti, "Wood Beez"

Prefab Sprout, "I Remember That"

Everly Bros., "So Lonely"

Gram Parsons, "$1000 Wedding"

Gary Stewart, "Single Again"

South Shore Commission, "Free Man"

Sly and the Family Stone, "If You Want Me to Stay"

Spring Heel Jack, "Midwest"

Sinatra, "One for My Baby" (live version with Bill Miller, piano)

Soul Man Burke, "Someone Is Watching" (from "King Solomon")

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Friday, 19 November 2004 17:45 (8 years ago) Permalink

Beta Band "Gone"
Modest Mouse "Lives"
Company Flow "Last Good Sleep"
Joy Division "Isolation"
Velvet Underground "Venus In Furs"
Squarepusher "I Wish You Could Talk"
Bjork "Enjoy"
Raekwon and friends "Ice Cream"
Cat Power "He War"
Count Bass D "Antemeridian"

recently:
El-P "Oxycontin"
The Silures "21 Ghosts" (thanks to Matt Perpetua)

― Rollie Pemberton (Rollie Pemberton), Friday, 19 November 2004 20:43 (8 years ago) Permalink

Gil Scott Heron - "Did you hear what they said"
Goosebumps EVERY time.

― Tim Dixon, Friday, 19 November 2004 22:31 (8 years ago) Permalink

Peter Hammill, "Shingle Song"
Cat Power, "Satisfaction"
Cat Power, "Names"
Superpitcher, "Tomorrow (Kaito remix)"
Fairport Convention, "Who knows where the time goes"
Husker Du, "Sorry somehow"
Nina Nastasia, "Ocean"
Matching Mole, "O Caroline"
Low, "Two Step"
Foo Fighters, "Exhausted"
Mazzy Star, "Five string serenade"

― Snnap Dragon (snnap dragon), Saturday, 20 November 2004 03:02 (8 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Flying Burrito Brothers, "Hot Burrito #2"

"But you'd better love (LOVE), find some love, you'd better love me, Jesus Christ"

― jsk baby (jsk baby), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 08:28 (8 years ago) Permalink

does this count?

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 08:41 (8 years ago) Permalink

whenever that impossibly gentle guitar comes in my right ear 3:15 into jay-z's "hey papi", i get the shivers, doesnt matter if i try and prepare for it or nothing

― m. (mitchlnw), Sunday, 2 January 2005 23:21 (8 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

the theme from "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" - Michel Legrand
"How Ghosts Affect Relationships" by His Name Is Alive

― davelus (davelus), Saturday, 15 April 2006 05:28 (7 years ago) Permalink

Richard Thompson - Calvary Cross
Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
MBV - To Here Knows When
Otis Rush - Double Trouble
Jimmy Dawkins - All For Business
Luther Allison - My Luck Don't Ever Change
Lowell Fulson - Reconsider Baby
Otis Redding - That's What My Heart Needs
Big Star - What's Going Ahn
Gillian Welch - Everything Is Free

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Saturday, 15 April 2006 05:39 (7 years ago) Permalink

Richard Thompson - '52 Black Lightning - excellent call. The Ghost Of You Walks and I Misunderstood do it for me as well. Same for the person who mentioned Bowie's Rock n' Roll Suicide lo these many years ago. Hoo boy, that and Heroes get me every time. A good chunk of the big 'uns for me have already been mentioned, but here are a few more:

Rufus Wainwright's Oh What a World and In My Arms.
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Fugazi - Do You Like Me?, or Full Disclosure
Mission of Burma - Mica
Underworld - Dirty Epic
Neutral Milk Hotel - Oh Comely
Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel the Illinoise, or Casimir Pulaski Day
Aretha Franklin - Chain of Fools
Four Tet - Unspoken
DJ Shadow - Building Steam With a Grain of Salt
Tori Amos - Professional Widow (ugh, this song came on the iPod yesterday and I got incredibly fucking distracted while I was driving. This is probably her greatest moment. Fie to those who doubt Boys for Pele's brilliance! Nothing else she ever did or has done since matches it, but what a definitive statement from a weird artist).

― Emily B (Emily B), Saturday, 15 April 2006 15:56 (7 years ago) Permalink

Seconding "A Forest". First, just the introductory bass line, second for "again and again and again and again...gets me everytime.

I mentioned it in another thread just the other day, but Built to Spill's "Velvet Waltz", particularly the "and you better not be angry, and you better not be sad!" part.

Kraftwerk's "Neon Lights", especially the 1/3 of it.

Microphones - "Map"

― Zachary Scott (Zach S), Sunday, 16 April 2006 03:25 (7 years ago) Permalink

Last 1/3 of Neon Lights, I should say.

― Zachary Scott (Zach S), Sunday, 16 April 2006 03:26 (7 years ago) Permalink

gymnopedie #1 by erik satie, cliched but it's the truth
aus heiterem himmel (dntel mix) by barbara morgenstern
extra kings by the avalanches
sunday morning by the velvet underground
alles wird besser by curse
(and everybody OTM on god only knows)

― nervous (cochere), Monday, 17 April 2006 02:04 (7 years ago) Permalink

oh also
jim o'rourke - 'and i'm singing' and 'happy trails'

― nervous (cochere), Monday, 17 April 2006 02:07 (7 years ago) Permalink

Most A Silver Mt. Zion at that.

A lot of Neutral Milk Hotel.

I guess they're my "artists that consistently send shivers down your spine)

― Tokyo Ghost Stories (Tokyo Ghost Stories), Monday, 17 April 2006 03:23 (7 years ago) Permalink

Second "I Want You" (Elvis Costello) as it's surely been mentioned. . .

Also, the live/acoustic recording of Bjork's 'The Anchor Song' with the Brodsky Quartet gobsmacks me every time--just thinking about it stands my arm hair on end. It was a song I'd completely forgotten from 'Debut'--she wasn't even able to hit the single note that gives me the shivers on the original recording.

― I.M. (I.M.), Monday, 17 April 2006 03:27 (7 years ago) Permalink

Fugazi - Full Disclosure

-- Emily B (emily.burnha...), April 15th, 2006.

I may hang out in the wrong circles, but this is the first time I've seen anyone share my opinion on the awesomeness of this song.

― ramon fernandez (ramon fernandez), Monday, 17 April 2006 05:11 (7 years ago) Permalink

metallica - damaged inc

― latebloomer: Ambassador With Training In Righteousness (latebloomer), Monday, 17 April 2006 05:15 (7 years ago) Permalink

The Chieftains & Sinead O'Connor "He Moved Through The Fair"
- if Sinead's voice takes your breath away, then this is the ultimate song.

Phoenix "If I Ever Feel Better (Todd Edwards remix)"
- never listen to it if you're going through a break up.

The Avalanches "Live at Domino's"
- it's like they condensed all the joy and sadness from the album into one track. And when strings somewhere in the middle of the song start to change pitch... Pure genius, with a soul of a child.

Pet Shop Boys "It Must Be Obvious"
- unexplainable sadness kicking in at 0:04 and then despair at 0:20.
Oh, and that line, "It should be poetry, not prose". Horror of everyday commonness in just 6 words.

― scnnr drkly (scnnr drkly), Monday, 17 April 2006 15:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

There are lots of these, but:
1) Birthday -- The Sugarcubes (The first time I heard this song as a kid, I had only listened to the radio, and this sounded SO weird and amazing to me...It's probably STILL one of my all-time favorites)
2) King Me -- Palace Brothers (The first line breaks my heart. Into. Little. Pieces)
3) Frou Frou in Midsummer Fires AND Know Who You Are At Every Age -- Elizabeth Fraser's voice is always totally chilling to me.
4) Big Star -- Big Black Car
5) I Miss You -- Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
6) Shuggie Otis -- A fair amount of the songs on Inspiration Information
7) Little Girls -- Patti LaBelle

― Kali (Kali), Monday, 17 April 2006 15:34 (7 years ago) Permalink

The part where the drums come in on "Running Up That Hill."

― owen moorhead (i heart daniel miller), Monday, 17 April 2006 15:45 (7 years ago) Permalink

Mr. Fingers - Can U Feel It

― jinx hijinks (sanskrit), Monday, 17 April 2006 15:50 (7 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

Heres a few that do it for me...
Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven
Backdraft Funeral Song - Hans Zimmer
(also closing credits for origional Iron Chef)
Pachebel Canon - Johann Pachelbels
My Mother - Hank Snow

― Jarrod Doern, Friday, 5 May 2006 01:07 (7 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

Kate Bush -- Pull Out The Pin

― Surmounter, Wednesday, 20 August 2008 17:24 (4 years ago) Permalink

you like kate bush??

― Frogman Henry, Wednesday, 20 August 2008 17:45 (4 years ago) Permalink

hush you

― Surmounter, Wednesday, 20 August 2008 17:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

When the guitar comes in for the noodly bit in Eno's "Golden Hours."
When everything but the guitar drops out before the last verse of "Teenage Riot."

― wmlynch, Wednesday, 20 August 2008 18:00 (4 years ago) Permalink

The little guitar riff in Fugazi's "Repeater" after the "1-2-3... REPEATER!" literally kicks off an adrenaline rush in me, 18 years running...

― Savannah Smiles, Wednesday, 20 August 2008 19:40 (4 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 126 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.