Obsession About F Sharp

[SeRoX]

It surely is an unique thing and amazing all the way but what's the big deal?

11 min. long song and most just got impressed by the f#? It's just not fair.

Thoughts?

[Phoenix87x]

I feel like the F# is the icing on the cake that pushes the song into legendary status, but even if it were absent, LTL would still be one of my top 5 favorite DT songs.

   and when no one's around, I try and sing it, usually poorly.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

It surely is an unique thing and amazing all the way but what's the big deal?

11 min. long song and most just got impressed by the f#? It's just not fair.

Thoughts?

The big deal is when it occurs. The context is what makes it a great moment. It occurs at a climax of the song. Otherwise there'd be nothing special about it. It's one of the best moments of the album.

[ResultsMayVary]

I choose the option "the song fucking rules and the F# makes it rule even more."

[TheSilentHam]

I choose the option "the song fucking rules and the F# makes it rule even more."

^

[rumborak]

I don't care much for it, and live it's never been really good. There's an ancient recording of I&W times where he nails the note with ease and grace, but it's the only time I've ever heard him do it.
Song-wise, I find the guitar solo right after way more glorious.

rumborak

[Mladen]

I choose the option "the song fucking rules and the F# makes it rule even more."

Yeah, I'd like this one. But I had to go with the first option, because even though the entire song is awesome, F Sharp is probably my favorite part of it.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

It's the climax of the song, amazing musical moment.

[wasteland]

I don't care much for it, and live it's never been really good. There's an ancient recording of I&W times where he nails the note with ease and grace, but it's the only time I've ever heard him do it.
Song-wise, I find the guitar solo right after way more glorious.

rumborak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvSWzXSD42Y&t=445

[rumborak]

Actually, this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prU0GcKUEkM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

rumborak

[senecadawg2]

More exciting is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYdCVHWfixg

[MajorMatt]

I love the vocal solo over the guitar solo on this version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwKhd67XQqM&t=1m58s

[antigoon]

This is the best one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsw32l34hNY

completely effortless sounding.

[Jaffa]

I don't think any of these options work for me.  Option two is the closest, but I cannot in good conscience say "I don't care for the F#", because I do think it's a great moment.  But the F# is not my favorite moment of Learning to Live.  It is not even my favorite vocal moment of Learning to Live (although admittedly it is probably the most impressive vocal moment).  And I certainly don't feel like the song would be bad without the F#. 

So, my vote is that the F# does add to the song, but that the song is greater than the F#.

[rumborak]

This is the best one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsw32l34hNY

completely effortless sounding.

That's actually the video I was looking for.
But yeah, since then I find JLB has never recaptured that ease.

rumborak

[Mosh]

I never cared for it. The guitar solo is awesome though. Now his Octavarium scream is more awesome and adds more for me.

[Zook]

I choose the option "the song fucking rules and the F# makes it rule even more."

[2Timer]

It surely is an unique thing and amazing all the way but what's the big deal?

11 min. long song and most just got impressed by the f#? It's just not fair.

Thoughts?

The big deal is when it occurs. The context is what makes it a great moment. It occurs at a climax of the song. Otherwise there'd be nothing special about it. It's one of the best moments of the album.

I think the F# makes it the climax. I've been trying to imagine the part without the vocal ad-lib, and I can't think of much else that would have filled in that little segue. Dt doesn't seem to do ad-libs much, either. Maybe that's part of why it's so cool. And yeah, I can't find an appropriate option in the poll either. If it doesn't matter much to me, I'm forced to choose not caring for the vocal.

[Shattered Glass]

That note is in the middle of a sopranos range and he still hits it with no falsetto.  That's awesome. Sure, he used to make it look easier but 99.99% of people can't do that. It is a singular moment of viryuosity in a virtuoso band.

[BlobVanDam]

The F# is the most interesting part of the song. Never much cared for the song anyway, but at least that part impressed me.

[?]

That note sounds impressive, but it's not the top moment of LTL for me and the music itself is so awesome that the song would be great even without it.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

As a listener, singing a high note by itself is just like playing the high E string on the 24th fret. It's just a high note.

[me7]

Here's a good compromise between vocal performance and recording quality:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S72RmOXiyRw&t=6m55s

[Silver Tears]

The F# is the most interesting part of the song. Never much cared for the song anyway, but at least that part impressed me.

You don't care for one of DT's best songs? Blob, I am disappoint.

Also,

I choose the option "the song fucking rules and the F# makes it rule even more."

[BlobVanDam]

The F# is the most interesting part of the song. Never much cared for the song anyway, but at least that part impressed me.

You don't care for one of DT's best songs? Blob, I am disappoint.

HOW DARE YOU CLAIM OBJECTIVITY ON OPINION!

Pretty overrated imo, especially given the fact that every other song on IaW is so amazing.

[Silver Tears]

To be honest, I was actually quite surprised to see how much love it gets here too, I didn't expect it to be so popular. But that doesn't change the fact that I love it, it took me a while for it to click but now it's a top song for me.

[ZirconBlue]

As a listener, singing a high note by itself is just like playing the high E string on the 24th fret. It's just a high note.

Except, of course, that, unlike a guitar,  hitting high notes with your voice is actually more difficult and requires a lot of training.  It's more like playing a brass instrument.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

As a listener, singing a high note by itself is just like playing the high E string on the 24th fret. It's just a high note.

Except, of course, that, unlike a guitar,  hitting high notes with your voice is actually more difficult and requires a lot of training.  It's more like playing a brass instrument.

That's why I said "As a listener"

[Sigz]

Why are you even comparing vocals to guitar? They're completely different things and they serve completely different purposes in the song.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Why are you even comparing vocals to guitar? They're completely different things and they serve completely different purposes in the song.

You have a very narrow way of looking at it. Anyway, the point wasn't to compare vocal to guitar, the point was to compare notes to notes.

[wasteland]

Why are you even comparing vocals to guitar? They're completely different things and they serve completely different purposes in the song.

You have a very narrow way of looking at it. Anyway, the point wasn't to compare vocal to guitar, the point was to compare notes to notes.

I don't see your point... It's like you're implying that a printed book should cost the same as a manuscript. The amount of effort needed to create the latter is rightly considered when the price is calculated. The same goes for the F#. You could compare it with an incredibly emotional guitar solo, or to a blistering piano improvistation. But saying it's just as important as any other note is does not seem fair to me.

[El JoNNo]

I think all he's saying is to him a note is just a note. He is not taking into account the difficulty, he is just listening objectively as to whether it fits his taste. I don't think he made a comparison of difficulty between the two instruments.

[robwebster]

I'm kind of with Bullshit on this one. He's not saying it's not a marvellous feat, 'cos it is, but it's looking at the voice as an instrument, really. It's impressive, and a difficult note to pull off, but that doesn't make it sound better than a high note on guitar, any more than listening JP do his warmups should sound any better than, say, listening to JP play Hollow Years.

When it comes to it, the reason it sounds good is 'cos it makes a nice noise. I didn't have a clue it was particularly difficult when I first listened to it. Wasn't godly. Just a nice bit in a song full of nice bits. I prefer the WFS reprise, musically. But yeah, admiring it technically doesn't mean you have to admire it musically in quite the same way.

[KevShmev]

Learning to Live was a top 3 DT song for me for well over a decade before I even know what the hell the F sharp was.

[theseoafs]

As a listener, singing a high note by itself is just like playing the high E string on the 24th fret. It's just a high note.

Except, of course, that, unlike a guitar,  hitting high notes with your voice is actually more difficult and requires a lot of training.  It's more like playing a brass instrument.

That's why I said "As a listener"

A listener with even a fundamental understanding of singing and playing string instruments would know that the two examples are not comparable.