"It's My Party," Lesley Gore (:54-1:00; 1:39-:45)

Lesley Gore as proto-riot grrl?

These two are super subtle little moments, but give this otherwise simple bubblegum song a weird little edge. I'm not sure if these inflections are audible in the original recordings or are just now present due to remastering and getting to hear all the little details.

If you listen verrrry carefully to the song, you'll hear Ms. Gore deviate from her otherwise very smooth singing into a slight little snarl. In the first clip there's the line "Til Johnny's dancing with me/I've got no reason to smile" where the words "I've got" and "smile" are given an angry inflection with a bit of a scratchy-throat distortion.

The second snippet is even better I think, but even more subtle. The line finishes with "Judy's wearing his ring." The way "ring" is sung is just great. It's more like "ringg-uh" - you can really hear it in the back of her throat, almost like she's spitting out the word.

Maybe I'm just hallucinating, but I really like these weird little details. It gives a different dimension to the song, the performer, and even the era from which it was from.

"Soul Fracture," The Haunted (2:37-:48)

Sometimes a single part will be enough to change my opinion of an entire song.

"Soul Fracture" was one of those songs where the opening riff just bugged me and I never let it play past the first few seconds. At some point, I just let the whole album play through without paying attention to which song was which. Once I heard this monstrous breakdown, I had to rush back and check which song it was.

For a while it was the whole reason to listen to song. It was the climax of what was otherwise a lackluster song. Eventually I came around to appreciate all its charms - especially the shouty, hardcore-esque chorus, and another of my favorite screams - but those ten seconds remain a highlight.

Mutiny in Heaven, by The Birthday Party (1:50-:58)

The scream to end all screams.

In his tenure in the Birthday Party, Nick Cave unleashed a flurry of howls, screams, shrieks and wails never imitated and never to be heard again (Even the relatively vicious From Her To Eternity is much more subdued vocally compared with the Birthday Party). This brief moment, in the middle of "Mutiny In Heaven," is probably my favorite. I think it has to do with the intensity, the timbre, and the odd context in which it is found.

"Mutiny In Heaven" is a song pockmarked with screams; the opening sound is a jagged, prolonged yelp, and what follows is one of the most convoluted and tortured vocal lines in the band's short history. What makes it special, is that it appears to have three distinct vocal tracks, each with different lyrics and deliveries, all being sung at the exact same time creating a unique din.

As for the line in question: just before the 1:50 mark, there's the line "Fuckin' wings burst out my back/Like I was cuttin' teeth/Huh!" followed by a wail so disturbed and alien-sounding it almost sounds like a theremin. All the while, the other vocals soldier on.

Do-over

I'm currently unemployed, so in an effort to feel productive and to do a little self-analysis I will be documenting my favorite moments of every song I like. Anywhere from 3 seconds to probably a minute. We will see how it goes.