One song to represent your favourite music genre

[MindBullets]

Few of the people I've met seem to share my taste in music and that sort of inspired an interesting thought: Suppose hypothetically that you're debating someone who doesn't think your favourite music genre has any merit. But they are open minded and willing to offer you the chance to try and change their mind and convince them it's awesome.

You have to pick one (and only one) song which shows off everything that makes your favourite genre great. It has to be the single best and clearest example of what this type of music is uniquely capable of. They agree to listen to the song all the way through, so they can't bottle out if they aren't instantly convinced.

So let's hear it: What's the genre, what's the song (link to it if possible), why did you choose it and how effective do you think it will be? (If you think your favourite genre is a bit vague, I encourage you to go into a more specific sub-genre, if you want to. EDIT: Or if you can't pick a favourite genre, pick a favourite band.)

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My own choice to represent metal would be Hessian Peel by Opeth:

Spoiler: YouTube vid of it...

Because it seems like a perfect blend of both sides of metal: the beautiful yet dark melodies and the sheer awesome heaviness. And it also shows off an intelligent, progressive approach to the genre. I'm not entirely sure how well it would convince them though, since the heavy part that drops around 5:45 might put them off a bit. I'm hoping, though, that everything before that will make them realise that it's not just stupid barbaric screaming and distorted guitars, that it actually has some artistic thought behind it.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

You screwed your own thread dude... no-one's gonna be able to top Opeth

 

[Elexia]

Me being a little left-of-centre in my musical taste, my song of choice would be 'Now' from the musical 'Doctor Zhivago', sung by Anthony Warlow.

I love serious, thought-provoking musical theatre and I heard this song first out of context. It made me cry and sent a shiver down my spine. The emotional effect of music is why I listen to it, and 'Now' hit the spot the first time I saw it. Then I saw the show. Turns out half the song is a letter to a loved one, read by the doctor when the soldier dies. The doctor uses it to tell his lover how he feels about her, and it becomes a song they both share whenever they're together throughout the show. That being said, it heightens my emotions more now, knowing where the story of the song comes from.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Rock.


Yeah... you know it.

 

[Harlemura]

Is game music that's very obviously game music a genre? If so, I choose this;

If not, I can't choose a favourite genre and will thus leave this thread with minimal discussion added.
Good day, sir or madam.

 

[MindBullets]

You screwed your own thread dude... no-one's gonna be able to top Opeth

Well, at least that means I made the right choice!

 

[WrongSprite]

You screwed your own thread dude... no-one's gonna be able to top Opeth

Haha, my thoughts exactly.

Since you've taken prog death and Opeth OP, I'm gonna slide in with my second fave, some atmospheric black metal.

<youtube=nCAsN09ZAzE>

This is a cut version of the song, but perhaps a little easier to get your teeth into. The songs got a nice blend of melodic singing, and that harsh, bleak black metal style. Inspired by nature, and you can tell, it pretty sums up my favorite aspects of atmospheric stuff.

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

Glitch hop/electronic.

This is some good shit right here.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Rock.


Yeah... you know it.

Generic rock more like.

No way in hell that represents Prog Rock.

AC/DC is Hard Rock/Blues Rock (This song is more (Blues Rock)

Ick, Progressive.

 

[Crazy_Dude]

I dont really know if you could count Japanese Metal as a genre on itself.

<youtube=N332h6U-gEo>

Synchronized headbanging you cant get more badass then that. This also is the song to the 2nd Death Note intro for any of you wondering.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

Representing Eurobeat music, here is Only My Railgun!

 

[Lopsided Weener]

For Progressive Metal: Ayreon, Age of Shadows.

 

[Dasrufken]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8WP7aOD_9Q

easily.

 

[DustyDrB]

Off-kilter rock with folk and punk sensibilities. I love Joey's guitar sound in this song...

 

[cutecuddely]

This song. Nothing is like the stones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcCTKtyzaXc

 

[IamQ]

For Orchestral music, I choose:

 

[IamQ]

Double post. Ignore this.

 

[unoleian]

Live Jamtronica.

Spoiler: The original track I had up here. This genre can make for very diverse sounds even from the same band, so I'll leave this one here as a counterexample to the one above.

I don't know if I can describe why I like this kind of music so much. I think it's just the depth and layers of the sound, and the way they build these lush harmonies from so many distinctive sounds. No one instrument is out to rule the stage, and due to the slightly (or even heavily) improvisational style, you're not very like to hear the same song played the same way twice. Every show, even when you know the setlist, will be a new musical adventure, and should the band in question provide their live shows for download, all the better. I love this stuff.

ed- added some words as per the OP request, and changed the song to one more diverse overall.