Get Ready to Cry
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In the course of conversation the other night, the subject shifted to opera - a musical form that has never garnered much of my attention. I don't go to operas. I don't proactively listen to opera. I'm not a big fan of the genre. The only "Magic Flute" that I care about is my own, if you get my drift. But my friend was going on and on about how hearing the late Luciano Pavarotti sing the exquisite "Nessun Dorma" from Giacomo Puccini's "Turandot" brought her to tears every time.
Oh, sure. I got a little wet-eyed when I first heard the beauty of "The Flower Duet" from "Lakmé" by Léo Delibes. To be honest, that might have been because I was watching the sexy, glam vampire flick "The Hunger" at the time, and it was the soundtrack to the scene wherein Catherine Deneuve's ageless vamp character seduces the hot doctor played by Susan Sarandon. In fact, I'm tearing up even as I type those words. (Ha! As if...)
All kidding aside, the discussion about the emotional impact of "Nessun Dorma" did remind me of music's amazing capacity to unleash all sorts of feelings - and to even inspire weeping. It can be surprising or downright cathartic.
So when was the last time a song, a symphony, a snatch of any musical variety made you cry - what was it, and why?
In keeping with the theme, Robert Smith and The Cure try to suggest that "Boys Don't Cry" on the MOG Player. As for the video clips below, Deneuve and Sarandon get intimate to the sounds of "Lakmé" in an excerpt from "The Hunger," while former 10cc compadres Godley & Creme (and a passel of peeps) just let it all out in the promo for their 1985 hit single "Cry."
Locating MOG account...
Comments (25)
racey stuff mike!
nessun dorma always sends chills down my spine
one of very few tunes on that list
Always liked a little bit of Wagner in films; Apocalypse Now, Excalibur and of course; Lisztomania. LOL!
This opera film did move me; the Germans meet Adam and the Ants;
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Neil: Are there pop or rock songs on the list?
Neill: Achtung, baby!
"sing me away" by nightranger now as i clicked on this link
yeah yeah i know
depression is a bitch
I have tons of these, but I'll go with Chocolate Genius-My Mom. sniff..sniff..fun post.
of course, rock!
it varies, but most recently i was running on the beach to the thermals new record and their tune "I let it go"
started getting that tingle
was great for sprinting and finishing the run strong
I do like opera, though there are only certain arias and singers who bring me to tears, nessun by luciano being one:) For me, the realisation of music, harmonies, and their effects on my psyche came when I was much younger and listening to Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony. This is purely theoretical, mind you, but i think it has to do with the first 7 years of a persons life (imprinting at an early age). harmony of the spheres, and our archaic/atavistic brainparts so woefully untapped in these modern times. I do feel you, though, on the Hunger. I forget what an amazing film it is and the effects on so much more than my psyche (magick flaut indeed! i prefer a concertina)
Pimpster: Dry your eyes. As the Rasta sang, every little t'ing gonna be all right.
Cody: Mean? I prefer to think of myself as cruel but fair.
Neil: Are you sure you werem't weeping from the pain of exhaustion?
wass: Hey! How you doin'? Interesting anecdote, and probably close to the truth of it. Play that concertina, pal!
This is the last musickal piece to bring me to tears, since I didn't properly answer last time:) It's Peter Christopherson as 'The Threshold HouseBoys Choir' premiering a new track at The Equinox Festival in London this past June. The melody is an offering chant. all is well but hectic. I hope life treats you well, too, mon frere.
Oh, boy, Miguel Stiletto! I've been wondering when I'd have a chance to share this item on Mog.
Good choice, Mike- and one of my favorite Cure songs.
Took a bit of pondering but one that comes to mind is Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy." Singer Jimmy Sommerville's ultra high falsetto was particularly well-suited for that song.
Neill- Fitzcarraldo is a good choice, too (as is the documentary on the making of it- wow, talk about a tough road to hoe).
Fitzcarraldo is an amazing film, for opera and drama alike.
@ Fasted7 - any Herzog/Kinski collaboration was a tough road to hoe; My Best Fiend should be an integral part of any film studies course.
One piece of music can make me cry on a consistent basis, and that is a specific live performance of 'Untitled #1 (Vaka)' by Sigur Rós:
wass: Ah, stately grandeur. And I appreciate the words of support. Tenaciously holding on, man!
Spike 1: Startling!
Fasted: Good one. Jimmy Sommerville's voice is definitely a tear-jerker.
Robin: Sigur Rós is beyond amazing. Almost choked up. Instead, I finished my beer. ;-)
sorry mike, I have not cried in years
That's either very good news or very disturbing, Kevin. Don't bottle up too much angst. It might 'splode.
(had to fix spelling) (this comment should be ^^10 posts up)
The Knife slicing and dicing hearts like a ginsu..
Ha..you made me go listen to that damned song I posted and now I'm bawling..you are mean,Mike.
Seriously, Mike. A few things reduce me to tears every time. Take this Biff Rose song. I was saving this for a post on Biff Rose, but I think we all need to hear it here.
And this Dar Williams song always destroys me.
Finally, Mahler's 2nd Symphony "Resurection". I always let go near the end of this eighty-some minute masterwork, after all of life's turmoils, tragedies and joys are done, and the person is at peace with eternity.
SORRY! Wrong Mahler disc! Can't find the Resurection just now. Poo.
Cody: A little copy-edit on the fly? Why not? (Again I say, mean? No sir. Cruel, but fair!)
Spike 1: Biff Rose! Dar Williams! Gustav Mahler! A veritable troika of emotional power. So cool that you invoked Biff and ran a tune. Always been fond of "Fill Your Heart" and "Ain't No Great Day," but "Just Like a Man" was more than appropos here. And I'm sure I can resurrect "Resurrection" at some point.
Baba O'Riley has done it for me. I watched my uncle sing this when I was younger and it put a whole different spin on the song, considering he was in the Vietnam war.
I've cried or teared up for "Wish You Were Here" by Incubus at live shows many times. My aunt passed away right after Morning View was released and I remember listening to it on the way home from her funeral, always makes me think of her when I hear it live, and it's more powerful then.
The song "Luna" from the Smashing Pumpkins destroyed me after I talked to an ex girlfriend one day.
There are many more, but that's all I have now.
p-wagz: Well, that's plenty. "Baba O'Riley" and "Luna" get a reaction out of me, too - although more excitement than catch-in-the-throat. But I surely get it.
Plenty? You mean you don't want all my emotional baggage spread on your mog page? I'm...I'm shocked!
Hey! Spread away!
This Old Folkie finds Opera fine...as an Internet browser. (Opera, as in "La Turandot" doesn't register, in a "Homer and Jethro" kind of way.) It takes a song to get me close to lachrymose, which explains Alison Krauss & Union Station, I suppose. One that tugs on the heart strings is "Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier," performed by James Taylor and Mark O'Connor for PBS' "Liberty! The American Revolution." (Then there are songs by Harry Chapin, obscure Jim Croce songs, and Eva Cassidy.) Time to go, the owl is calling my name and "Wildfire" is coming.
Aiea: Nice of you to drop by the thread! (Opera love not a prerequisite, or I might not be here myself.) And yes, Eva Cassidy's music really can break a heart.