There's Nothing Like a Well-Placed Horn

    I'm a sucker for certain things, musically speaking, and a well-placed horn part is one of them. It doesn't have to be a big solo or even all that prominent. It simply has to be an integral part of the the song.

    See, it occurred to me that lately I've featured a bunch of songs that have horn parts and that maybe I should mention them in one post. Both Teitur's "Catherine the Waitress" and "We Still Drink the Same Water" have wonderful trumpets in them (see here). "Blind" by Hercules & Love Affair does too (see here). And Devotchka, well, the entire album A Mad & Faithful Telling is rife with trumpets and even some tuba.

    The fun, fun band I'm From Barcelona has a multitude of players in it (29 at last count), including at least one who plays the trumpet. I love the trumpet line in "This Boy" even though it's not all that pronounced.

I'm From Barcelona--"This Boy (Feat. Loney, Dear)" mp3 off Let Me Introduce My Friends (buy)

    I'm quite partial to a young Swedish singer named Bjorn Kleinhenz and what do you know but he's got a new single out and it features a lovely horn motif throughout.

Bjorn Kleinhenz--"A Quest For Your Heart" mp3 off Quietly Happy and Deep Inside (buy--album comes out this fall) 

    Of course, Broken Social Scene makes wonderful use of brass, for example in the last minute or so of "Ibi Dreams of Pavement." When I saw them a couple of years ago, they had a whole horn section on stage when they played and it blew me away.

Broken Social Scene--"Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)" mp3 off Broken Social Scene (buy)

    And last but not least, perhaps my all-time favorite trumpet solo is in Cake's cover of "I Will Survive."

Cake--"I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor Cover)" mp3 off Fashion Nugget (buy) 

    Here's a little story that might help illuminate my attraction to all things brass. When I was in 5th grade we were deemed old enough to begin learning to play instruments. I had a hard time choosing which one (some things never change) and I finally settled on the French horn. Aside from thinking it was extremely cool, the deciding factor was that my brother's friend Bill, who was really cute and funny, just happened to play it too and it meant that I'd get to sit next to him in band practice. Hence the beginning of my lifelong romance with horns.

tags: horns horns and more horns  

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