The Funeral- Band of Horses

I love this song so much. It starts off with a beautiful guitar melody, which is later joined by bass, drums, and vocals. I think this song is very good when you're going through rough times. When you feel like people are "coming up only to hold you under," this is the perfect song to make you feel better. Things can always be worse. It really helps me to move on from whatever is bothering me. -JTM

Ennio Morricone: "Gabriel's Oboe" from The Mission (1986)

                            

                           This evening I had the pleasure of watching the movie from which this wonderful song 

                           comes. I can remember hearing this song when I was young as four years old, and now 

                           after many years I have finally been able to watch the film.

                           My Brother's middle name is inspired by Jeremy Iron's character in this film, which

                           I highly recommend. The film is an emotional story of two men, a former mercenary and 

                           a Jesuit priest who struggle to save the native Guarani peoples from slavery in the 18th

                           century. In my opinion, Morricone's score is as memorable as the story itself.

                           -JD   

Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture-Tchaikovsky

I had the pleasure of playing this once and it is absolutely beautiful. Those who are familiar with the Shakespearean play can follow the story through the alternation between the intense melody and the famous love theme. -JA

Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, III: Adagio

Eric Carmen: "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again"

                                  Happy Valentine's day. here is probably the most romantic single movement of

                                 Classical Music of its time. Immediately after hearing this, look up the 1976 Eric 

                                 Carmen song. In Fact, Carmen was so interested in Rachmaninoff's music,

                                 he used the melody of the adagio from the composer's 2nd Piano concerto for

                                 his hit single, "All By Myself." Both are great songs, if a bit contrived, but the source 

                                 material deserves mentioning as well.

                                -JD

"Learn To Be Lonely" - Andrew Lloyd Webber (sung by Beyoncé)

"Learn to be Lonely" is a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart for the 2004 film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera. The song is performed by Minnie Driver during the closing credits, and is found on the film's soundtrack.
Another song using the melody of Learn to be Lonely entitled No One Would Listen (also with lyrics by Hart) was originally included in the film, to be sung by the Phantom, but was ultimately cut.
This is the only song in the film or on its soundtrack to feature Minnie Driver, who played Carlotta in the film, actually singing; the character's opera voice was given by Margaret Preece (who played Carlotta in the stage musical at one time and had a bit part in the film as Carlotta's confidante).
Beyoncé performed the song at the 2005 Oscars with Webber accompanying on piano. Minnie Driver performed the song during her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
This is the video of Beyoncé performing it at the 2005 Oscars. I personally favor her version over the original, but the song itself is beautiful, whoever its sung by. I hope you enjoy it!
~AM

Saint-Saens, Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, "Organ" : Part II finale , Maestoso

  Great music to use as an alarm clock, I guess.If anyone has seen the 1995 children's movie Babe, you will immediately recognize this melody. However, it is only played twice. The organ and the orchestra combine to make classical music epic, especially the coda. You can actually feel the rumbling of the 32' pipes.

                         -JD

Má vlast (Vltava)-Bedřich Smetana

This was on the mixtape I got from the Tri-M CD swap and it is absolutely beautiful. Thanks Riley :) -JA

M83-Midnight city

Okay so I'm doing another one because I couldn't decide. This one I just heard recently and I thought it was an awesome anytime song. I could literally listen to this in any setting doing anything. I seriously don't even know why it's so good. It's also in the new movie Warm Bodies. -AM

Delta Rae-Bottom of the river

I really like this song because there are a lot of elements to it. This particular group is so unique because every time the record or preform live they do something different. They all blend so well and communicate in a way so that they know what direction they want the sound to go in. Defiantly check out their other stuff because they are just so talented. Hope you enjoy:) -AM