Awesome Music/Other

Awesome Music that doesn't fit in any other section.

Works with their own page:


 * Homestuck
 * Homestar Runner
 * Hyadain
 * Vocaloid

Advertisements

 * Adidas's new advertising campaign is an epic montage of sports and music, but the most epic part of said advertisement is the background music: Justice's Civilization
 * The Segata Sanshiro Theme Song. It was so popular that a single of it sold 100,000 copies.
 * While being a remake of an old classic song, the Discovery channel commercial never gets old. And then of course, we have the other version of this song...
 * Some would call this an Ear Worm instead.
 * It also doubles as a crowning moment of heartwarming for Discovery, just for the sweet lyrics and sense of unity it brings with it.
 * If not for Optimus Freakin' Prime in the 2009 version. Boom-da-yada, boom-da-yada, boom-da-yada, boom-da-yada...
 * This Japanese advertisement for 24 is truly a crowning music of awesome.
 * RHYTHM! OF! LIFE! OF! LIFE! OF LIFE! "Pleh." Ska-dwidit-DWEE-DWEE doodle-oo-doo deh BWEEEE!! Notable for taking the best bits of the best song from Sweet Charity, and mixing them to funny, clever visuals.
 * This.
 * This Nike advertisement, using the "Promontory" theme from Last of the Mohicans. So. Fucking. Badass.
 * Don't forget the all-too-brief Rolex theme composed by Vincent Pope (the linked video is a compilation of many different arrangements).
 * Gatorade's "Evolve" song, as it's presented in their commercials and in its full length. Motivating and Crowning Music Of Heartwarming as well.
 * A good example of how presentation is everything: Rescue Me makes "Empire State of Mind" awesome. (Alicia's vocals are fairly incredible to begin with, but combined with the visuals, it's enough to give you goosebumps.)
 * The FreeCreditReport.com songs, from Pirates, to Cars, to Girls, to Rockstars, to Bikes, to Renaissance Faires, to Cell Phones, to Rollercoasters, to Reno, they can write a song about anything! Too bad they're replacing the band...
 * This HBO intro is so preposterously over-the-top it loops back around and becomes legitimately awesome.
 * The new Blackberry torch 9800 Advertisement.
 * The U.S. Army commercial music.
 * This Kia Sorento ad has some of the best music I've ever listened to.
 * Japan Break Industries. Best company jingle, ever. (Or you might try its sped-up version).
 * The BBC's version of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day", originally done for a licence fee spot to illustrate the wide range of music played on the Beeb, later released as a Children in Need single. You will never hear all those people doing one song ever again...
 * They may just be shoes, but damned if Air Jordan commercials don't have some epic music. Case in point, and even Lacrimosa.
 * GRAB YOUR GARMIN!!
 * This advert for the Sony Walkman.
 * This Warner Home Video promo from Sweden.
 * This commerical for J. G. Wentworth.
 * This original version from japan and yuyoyuppe made awesome version here.
 * In 2006 the BBC turned the hype for an upcoming nature documentary into one of the biggest ad campaigns on British TV that year. How? By relying heavily on this song.

Comic Books

 * In V for Vendetta, there's an original song, "This Vicious Cabaret" with written music and really great lyrics. And the fact a recorded version exists is just the icing on the cake. I've told you too much already; the unexpectedness factor is part of what makes it so awesome, but it really is pretty epic on its own.
 * The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910 more-or-less follows the plot and tune of The Threepenny Opera. The finale in particular is awesome.
 * In Countdown to Final Crisis, Pied Piper sacrifices himself to destroy Apokolips by playing "The Show Must Go On" by Queen.
 * GUUUUUUTA LAALAAA SUUUUUUUDA LALAAAAAAA!!!!
 * The Joker's irritatingly catchy yet still pretty funny showtune during Gordon's torture in The Killing Joke is this as well as an iconic moment for the character. Someone also attempted to make a recording of it, substituting the Joker's lyrics for the real lyrics of the song he used.

Demoscene-related

 * Viznut and PWP:
 * All...
 * ...haii-ool wario-oor!
 * ...mechanical creatures under humiliation, combine together and fight for Robotic Liberation.
 * And of course their headbangable VIC-20 music in Impossiblator 3
 * It is worth noting the third segment has its music based on Summer Lameness
 * S4B
 * Doctor by Trilobit. Nice to see limited Atari 2600 sound capabilities being put to test.
 * And so does Tom Jones by the same author.
 * Even NES gets some groove with Quantum Disco Brothers by Wamma.
 * Atrium anyone?
 * The Future Crew are masters of this:
 * Fishtro
 * Panic!
 * Unreal
 * Second Reality
 * Catch That Goblin
 * Triton Productions have also produced some awesome music:
 * Crystal Dream
 * Crystal Dream II
 * Then there's BRD's Hybrid song (also alternatively known as "Funky Stars"). And yes, the song is a one half of the Barkley Shut Up and Jam Gaiden theme song (which in itself deserves a mention as well).
 * Pretty much anything by Crusaders, although the Space Deliria demo and the Bacteria music disk stand out. Especially "Twelfth Warrior" and "Who Knows" from the latter.
 * Lifeforce.
 * The Junkyard Opera.

Fan Fiction

 * Believe it or not, the mixed medium fan production Neon Genesis Evangelion R actually has some of this. Take, for instance, The Human Complement.
 * Neon Genesis Evangelion fanfic Retake manages to surprise with it's music. Especially "Asuka" (name of the piece) and "Retake After". Which are both AWESOME. Especially if you watch "Asuka" with the sacrifice in volume 2.
 * There is a link in youtube somewhere, under "Asuka's sacrifice".
 * Found it here. "Asuka" the piece starts around 1:20
 * DC Nation - The "J" plot (Nationverse's take on bringing Jericho back...and restoring him as one of the heroes)! Already we have a musician at the center of the plot, and the mun ran with it. Sara Fimm's "Be like Water" during a flashback with some overt Jericho/Raven shipping. Oracle announces her triumph over the villain from inside cyberspace by blasting Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" over the Calculator's computer system. Plus, enough Journey to make a Cold Case theme episode. The multiple nods to Journey were Shout Outs to Tron, as the band provided the only non-Wendy Carlos tracks in the film.
 * Check out the score for With Strings Attached, listed in the back of the published book and on the website.

Literature

 * Soul Music. A book about Crowning Music of Awesome. Also, with a guitar.
 * In the Animated Adaptation, the Big Stadium Production of "The Messenger" at the Ankh-Morpork Free Concert is the most awesome of several Crowning Musics of Awesome. Especially since (as in the book) it's recognisably the same tune as the quiet and haunting "Sioni Bod Da".
 * "We Can Rule You Wholesale", the national anthem of... Ankh-Morpork. Seriously. That it's also a Crowning Moment of Funny goes without saying.
 * Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. A thousand times over, with music references everywhere. The use of the Bob Dylan track Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again is most awesome.
 * The work John Bergin did for Dan Abnett's Traitor General is pretty impressive and it fits the spirit of the setting perfectly. It can be downloaded for free from his official site here.
 * While Awesome, the music is so moody, ominous, and Grimdark that it counts as Nightmare Fuel. The track "Nine Wounds" has lyrics sung by Saint Sabbat describing her gruesome martyrdom. "Mindlock" does nothing less than Mind Rape the listener. "Too Many Ghosts" sounds like something out of Silent Hill. And "Sabbat" makes it clear that in this setting, saints don't guide you to heaven, they promise "rivers of blood and oceans of sorrow." In conclusion, Warhammer 40,000 is 'effing metal.
 * Your Mileage May Vary.... some people like that kind of thing.
 * Eric Flint's 1632; the Siege of the Wartburg. Obviously based on the US Army using rock music to chase Noriega out of the Vatican Embassy in Panama, but made AWESOME by using classical music: Wozzeck, Night on a Bald Mountain, Bydlo, In the Hall of the Mountain King, Arise ye Russian People, Battle on the Ice, Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.3 3rd Movement, Rite of Spring, Liebestod, Ride of the Valkyries, Entry of the Gods into Valhalla, Wotan's Farewell, Siegfried's Funeral March, Immolation of the Gods, Shostakovich's Eighth, and then the Crowning Moment: The Lark Ascending. If that doesn't break your will, nothing will.
 * If you can't TASTE the win dripping out of The Absence's 'World Divides'... You don't deserve ears.
 * Anytime Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" starts playing in The Dresden Files - and it's happened twice thus far - it means Miss Gard is about to do something appropriately awesome.
 * The fact that one of these involved a helicopter a la Apocalypse Now just made it that much more awesome.
 * Three words: Beasts of England
 * John Ringo's A Hymn Before Battle. The ACS assault at the end uses a massive hologram and playing Immigrant Song (led zepplin) on max volume to break the morale of moronic aliens (read zerg)
 * The multimedia project Shadows of the Empire has a [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Shadows_of_the_Empire_
 * Xizor's Theme is magnificent. And The Seduction of Princess Leia is just a crazy, whirling, utterly romantic waltz that demands listening.
 * "Leia's Nightmare" actually makes an original Star Wars piece much more epic, by making a far louder crescendo of music, accompanied by CYMBAL CRASHES! where the original had nothing.
 * In "The Hunger Games", Rue's lullaby definitely qualifies as Crowning Music of Heartwarming.
 * In Life, the Universe and Everything, Arthur once, on a video tape, hears the people of Krikkit sing a happy song and thinks about Paul McCartney "sitting with his feet up by the fire on evening, humming it to Linda and wondering what to buy with the proceeds, and thinking probably Essex".
 * They later sing a ballad "which would have netted McCartney Kent and Sussex and enabled him to put in a fair offer for Hampshire".
 * This is all topped, when, during the climax, someone at the back of a (real) crowd starts singing a tune, which would have enabled McCartney to buy the world.

Radio

 * Adventures in Odyssey's theme music: Dum Duuuuuum Dum dum dum dum duuuuuuuuum...

Nature

 * The superb lyrebird
 * The call of loons
 * The nightingale
 * The northern mockingbird
 * Whales
 * RAIN.
 * Jupiter. Yes, that giant planet makes its own music.
 * CAUTION Incredibly Lame Pun alert! Link.
 * Get enough Cicadas together, and it sounds like a 1950's horror movie!

People

 * Once again, Ludwig Van Beethoven. The Fifth and Ninth Symphonies are just the tip of the iceberg.
 * "Ode To Joy", when not affected by Soundtrack Dissonance (see Neon Genesis Evangelion for an example).
 * Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, aka Moonlight. Best motherfucking song in the history of creation. The first movement is pretty famous, but you must listen to all three to get the full effect.
 * Sonata No. 12 is the really awesome one for him.
 * Screw it. John Williams is one of the best, if not the best composer of the modern era. Seriously, look at how many times he's been mentioned above. All the Star Wars music, the Theme from Jaws, Call of the Champions, Superman's Theme, the list goes on and on. There's a reason that, at least since 1984, this guy has gotten a call every time the United States has hosted the Olympics. And received so many Oscar nominations it's quite sickening.
 * When approached to do the music for Schindler's List, he protested that he wasn't good enough. Spielberg replied "Anyone who might be better is dead."
 * If you like Williams, listen to Richard Wagner (the man Williams took most of his music from). Tristan und Isolde is a good one to start with.
 * What you want to look at is, "The Chairman's Waltz", from Memoirs of a Geisha. Then watch the season 3 dance on So You Think You Can Dance that goes with it.
 * Go to the Crowning Music of Awesome Film page. There's a reason John Williams has his own section.
 * Presidential inauguration, anyone?
 * But that's just an arrangement by Williams. The original was written by Aaron Copland. Still.
 * John Williams is the man.
 * Speaking of John Williams the LA Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned Williams to compose some music for the opening of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003. Needless to say, it was epic.
 * Verdi's Va Pensiero Sull'ali Dorate. Not to mention La donna è mobile, which Verdi was Genre Savvy enough to not have the song rehearsed until the day before the debut so it wouldn't be sung everywhere before its bebut.
 * Bernard Herrmann. He wrote film scores for a veritable who's who of famous (and sometimes infamous) movies. He is considered "the greatest composer of cinema" (he disliked the term 'film composer'). From the likes of Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams and down to Danny Elfman, he is considered their greatest inspiration and a big contribution to their careers. He composed EACH ONE OF THESE PIECES, a testament to his unique and incredible musical vision that resonates even till today. Many people maintain that Bernard Herrmann was the greatest film music composer who ever lived. His legacy, in terms of musical structure, use of innovative instrumentation, and compositional style, is unmatched, and his impact on the way in which films were scored is incalculable.
 * Frank Zappa. Why say anything else?
 * Pick an R&B or Soul tune made from the mid 50's to the late 70's. Any R&B or Soul tune made during that time. Chances are it was written by Smokey Robinson, and if not, then it was probably written by Curtis Mayfield, both of which wrote dozens to possibly hundreds of songs, and started when they were teenager, and both of which who were innovative bandleaders who inspired artist after artist for decades, from tunes of the pains and wonders of love, to deep songs about the anguish of poverty. It's no wonder they're considered two of the greatest songwriters and composers of the 20th Century.
 * ALAN MENKEN. If you grew up in the era of Disney Animated Classics of the 90's then you will definitely recognize his masterpieces. The sole reason Disney reinvented itself is largely due to his man, thus giving him the moniker, The Disney's Musical Renaissance Man. AND HOW. Menken has received dual Academy Awards for Best Score and Best Song on four of the Disney animated film projects he's involved. His eight awards overall from only eleven feature films scored give him one of the highest Oscar-to-film ratios of all film composers. His last project for Disney so far was scoring and composing songs for the 2007 Disney film, Enchanted. A sample of some of his works.
 * And as of 2010, Tangled.
 * Hans Zimmer, responsible for a lot of the orchestral scores of these and other films, is pretty awesome, too.
 * Duke Ellington, and his Man Behind the Man Billy Strayhorn.
 * James Horner. Or you may address him by his full title, Admiral James Horner, Composer Exemplar. If you want to get a true idea of his excellence, watch one of the movies he's scored on mute. Then buy the soundtrack and listen. You'll find the following true; images minus Horner music = blah. Horner music minus images = in some ways, a greater experience of the movie.
 * Jerry Goldsmith. Damn you, Author Existence Failure!
 * Jerry Goldsmith theme for Star Trek the Motion Picture is one reason so many people became Trek fans after the original show. It was so awesome, it was reused for The Next Generation.
 * It goes without saying that film Westerns wouldn't have been the same without the great Elmer Bernstein. He kick-started the genre when he composed The Magnificent Seven, the theme that would become synonymous with cowboys and Midwest deserts.
 * Art Tatum. There's a reason why many consider him the best pianist of the 20th Century, and the best jazz pianist of all time. Hell, there's even a scientific term named after him (the fastest tempo possible that is still recognizable as a rhythm).
 * Nobuo Uematsu is one of the best video game music composers ever. Final Fantasy? He wrote for almost all of it, including the entirety of I through IX.
 * If Uematsu isn't the best, then Koji Kondo is.
 * Or Motoi Sakuraba.
 * Or else Kenji Yamamoto, solely on the merit that he gave us the Phendrana Drifts music from Metroid Prime, which is quite possibly one of the greatest and best-fitting video game songs ever.
 * By that logic, we should also mention Mahito Yokota, who did the majority of the soundtrack to both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
 * Keich Kobiyashi deserves mention among this crowd for his masterful work in the Ace Combat Series
 * And what about Yoko Shimomura, the composer for Kingdom Hearts and Legend of Mana? And if you think those are amazing, look up her compilation album, Drammatica.
 * And in an even more mindblowing revelation, Yoko Shimomura did almost the entire original soundtrack to Street Fighter II. Her tracks have been the arcade anthems for millions of gamers in the 90's, and most of them don't even know.
 * Several composers for the Sonic series could deserve a mention. Among several others:
 * Jun Senoue (Crush 40 guitarist; and one of, if not the main composer for the series since Sonic 3)
 * Tomoya Ohtani (Sonic Adventure 2 onward; the lead composer for the Sonic '06 and Sonic Unleashed soundtracks)
 * Fumie Kumatani, Kenichi Tokoi (both Sonic Adventure onward, as well as Unleashed, the Sonic Riders games, and the NiGHTS series)
 * Mariko Nanba (Knuckles Chaotix, and several games from Sonic Heroes onward; as well as other SEGA games )
 * Tommy Tallarico deserves a spot here.
 * Whoever did the soundtrack to Pokemon Red/Blue should get an Oscar. Honestly, is there a single gamer who grew up in the 90's that DOESN'T have the Battle Theme branded on the inside of their skull?
 * That person would by Junichi Masuda, and screw the Oscar. He deserves a fucking statue constructed of gold and chocolate for giving my, and millions of others of childhoods a soundtrack.
 * Go Ichinose, who also did the series, is rather under-appreciated.
 * Hideki Naganuma. Jet Set Radio series. Sonic Rush Series. That is all.
 * Jun Ishikawa, the mastermind behind the soundtrack to most of the Kirby games.
 * Arata Iyoshi, composer for the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, which (especially the Explorers series) rivals some, if not most, Final Fantasy games in quality.
 * Michael Giacchino is quickly becoming the Heir-Apparent to John Williams' Crowning Music of Awesome throne. Lost, Alias, Cloverfield's "ROAR!", the Medal of Honor series, The Incredibles, Up, even Star Trek, though the track titles, err...
 * John Barry and his damn Out of Africa and Somewhere in Time scores, and that doesn't include all the amazingness that is the James Bond music...
 * Ennio Morricone's entire lifetime has been one sexy piece of music after another. Try to imagine The Good the Bad And The Ugly without that score...
 * John Carpenter. Not only did he direct some of the scariest damn movies ever, he composed fantastic scores--the chilling Halloween theme, the insanely badass '*Assault On Precinct 13'' theme, and more. and of course.
 * Yoko Kanno. This sums it up pretty nicely.
 * Rob Dougan. Clubbed to Death alone would have given him immortality, but then add Furious Angels, Chateau, and whatever else he's got coming for us.
 * Technical excellence piano-wise doesn't make up nearly half of what Tom Lehrer will forever be remembered for: anyone who doesn't laugh on first hearing Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, not to mention most of his other works hasn't a funny bone in their body.
 * Danny Elfman. That is all.
 * The Dark Knight Trilogy soundtracks are awesome in their own way. Danny Elfman's Batman score was big and full of John Williams-esque Hollywood fanfare, where Hans Zimmer's score is subtle, atmospheric and minimalist. And creepy. And while on the subject of Hans Zimmer: Pirates of the Caribbean (but see aforementioned Hollywood Fanfare, and the first movie being credited to Klaus Beldt, Zimmer's protage). Zimmer's section on the Film page is almost as big as John Williams'.
 * Harry Gregson-Williams. Responsible for the soundtracks of Armageddon, the Metal Gear Solid series, and more.
 * Jeremy Soule. One of the best guy for video game soundtracks.
 * Just the sheer list in Lord of the Rings entry: Howard Shore.
 * John Powell, especially his scores for the Bourne movies. "To The Roof" from The Bourne Supremacy, is enough to make anyone want to engage in some international intrigue.
 * His work in How to Train Your Dragon is also just as awesome, but in a different way, see "Forbidden Friendship"
 * Frank Klepacki, composer of the Hell March songs (essentially THE song for Armies Are Evil and for the Command and Conquer: Red Alert series.
 * Yuki Kajiura, the genius behind Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, most of the .hack series, Noir, Madlax, El Cazador De La Bruja, Kara no Kyoukai and several others.
 * Yuki Kajiura is a GODDESS. Period.
 * There's a reason she has her own category on the Anime page.
 * Leonard Cohen.
 * Kristin Chenoweth. You might know her as Olive Snook from Pushing Daisies. Her crowning moment of awesome of choice (and she has a wide range from which to choose) is "Glitter And Be Gay," from Candide. Watch. Just watch. This is the woman who sang a few notes before going on stage at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and received a standing ovation.
 * "If You Hadn't, But You Did." See ya later, Joe!
 * Charles Mingus. He inspired Yoko Kanno's work on Cowboy Bebop. An incredible bass virtuoso, the greatest jazz composer after Ellington, and a man who truly lived and loved through music. Try for yourself!
 * The Pavarotti.
 * Joe Hisaishi, known for his works on films from Studio Ghibli and a few others such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Russo, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea among many others.
 * Perhaps deserving special mention is his music in the Beat Takeshi film Kikujiro. The main theme, "River Side" is wonderful.
 * Imogen Heap is a legend. Not only does she have a fantastic voice, but her songs are so frickin' awesome. "Hide And Seek" is just amazing, "The Moment I Said It" is incredible, and the stuff she did while part of Frou Frou is just as good.
 * Tim Minchin. His songs... his piano... and his hair...
 * Toshiro Masuda. Especially Grief and Sorrow.
 * Tenacious D. Their songs are awesome.
 * Rock and roll couldn't have been possible at all if it wasn't for the king of rock and roll himself- Mr Elvis Presley. Every song he sang was GOLD. Elvis is THE king of this trope. For the end of the 68 Comeback special he performed a particularly awesome closing song titled If I Can Dream
 * David Bowie.
 * U2 manage to pull off a Crowning Moment Trifecta with the song "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad". Not only is it an incredibly awesome (not to mention out-of-character for U2) song in its own right, Bono wrote it as a gift for Frank Sinatra on his 80th birthday/ And if that isn't enough, the original intention was for Sinatra to sing it himself, but he was not well enough.
 * Hell, U2's entire catalogue is a lot like that. How did they advertise the release of a U2 Greatest Hits album? Just a title card with the album cover ... over which the Edge's opening guitar riff from "Where the Streets Have No Name" is playing. The crowd goes wild.
 * must...resist...urge to gush about anything and everything by U2...GAH!
 * Larry Mullen Jr. When his drumming is particularly powerful, it's the equivalent of a Let's Get Dangerous moment for the lads. For validity's sake, here is @U2's Top 10 U2 Drum Songs.
 * Howza bout Eric Whitacre? He writes achingly beautiful choral pieces and then he goes and writes a freakin' techno-opera about fallen angels engaging in gladiatorial battle!
 * Godzilla Eats Las Vegas. 'Nuff said.
 * His two "YouTube Virtual Choirs" were created by Whitacre posting a video of himself conducting, while contributors posted videos of themselves singing accordingly. Hours of careful video-editing later, and voila: Sleep and Lux Arumque, consisting of singers from all over the world.
 * Water Night is probably Whitacre's signature piece, showcasing his dense, luscious harmonies, ability to set text, and tendency to write insanely complicated songs. Most choral songs are written with a maximum of four notes at once (soprano alto tenor bass). This one is written for fourteen.
 * Oh, and one word: Chanticleer. Listen to their Christmas Spiritual Medley. Now.
 * Likewise, Chanticleer's performance of "Loch Lomond".
 * Their signature song, Franz Biebl's "Ave Maria". (It is a tad repetitive, but you can safely skip from 1:55 to 3:38 without missing anything critical.)
 * For those unfamiliar with the world of choral music (and let's face it: who isn't?), Chanticleer is an ensemble that does choiring as a day job. While no hard-and-fast figures exist, it's likely that there are no more than ten choirs in the world who can claim that.
 * Anthony Warlow's voice is almost unparalleled in theatre. He's well known for playing the Phantom in Australia, and was Jekyll and Hyde on the 1994 studio recording, so he's definitely done softer and creepier stuff, but combine "This is the Moment" with his performance as Enjolras in Les Misérables and his incorporation of "Anthem" from Chess into his concert performances, and you cannot help but be awed and inspired by the man's voice.
 * Inon Zur has been quietly accumulating awesomeness under the radar. just check that discography!
 * Motorhead. Ace Of Spades. End of page.
 * Bear McCreary. BEAR. FRAKKING. MCCREARY.. His music is possibly some of the most original sci fi TV music ever written. Taiko drums, erhu, violin and orchestral yodeling galore. His fan following for the Battlestar Galactica music is massive.
 * Not to mention his epically kickass cover of All Along The Watchtower from Season 3.
 * Ron Jones is an unsung hero of TV and video game music. The man got sacked from Star Trek the Next Generation cause Rick Berman thought his music was too epic. Still managed to rack up an impressive amount of credits, including the incredible score for Starfleet Command, as well as Family Guy and American Dad. Have a listen''.
 * Steve Vai.
 * George freakin' Strait. Find one country music fan who doesn't worship him.
 * John Petrucci, anybody?
 * Or the rest of Dream Theater, for that matter.
 * Say what you will about the man, Michael Jackson helped create without doubt some of the greatest pop music of all time. You want proof? Thriller, Smooth Criminal, Black or White....take your pick.
 * Dvorak's New World Symphony. One Piece fans might recognize this one.
 * Asuras Wrath fan's might as well.
 * Lisa Gerrard. Not only does the woman have amazing vocal talent, she invented her own language and sings in it. You really have to hear it to understand. It sends shivers up your spine. She performs in "Dead Can Dance" and has worked on several films..
 * Hey, Enya did the same thing! She calls her language "Loxian", and sings many of her songs in it. And that's not even mentioning all the other songs she's known for, like this one, and this one!
 * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! In particular, the extraordinarily epic aria "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" from Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), which is what most people immediately think of when they think opera.
 * Bill Conti deserves a nod, for his theme to the original "American Gladiators." Oh, and a little thing he did for a movie in 1977, too.
 * Ladies and gentlemen... The Beatles!
 * Fanfare for the Common Man, by Aaron Copland. Now, listen to that while reading the Real Life Crowning Moment page.
 * Not to mention Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's electric version, it's pretty badass.
 * Johann Sebastian Bach, particularly his most famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor and his beautiful and haunting cantatas.
 * Buckethead is the greatest guitar player ever. Ever.
 * Bruno Coulais. Nominated several times for the French equivalent of the Oscars. Often uses Mickey Mousing with the lighting. You might know him from the impossibly awesome soundtrack of Coraline.
 * Johann Strauss Jr. His father wanted him to be a chemist! The 1952 Tom and Jerry short "Johann Mouse" stands as proof that young Johann made the right decision choosing music, and the overture to "Die Fledermaus" (as seen in another Tom and Jerry short, 1950's "Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl") takes the form to another level.
 * Edward Lodewijk Van Halen. He popularized tapping and created shred guitar. So you think that Steve Vai, Buckethead and all of the other guitarists are great? Well, that is because of Eddie Van Halen. There was one man who did make that possible though.
 * Eric Clapton. Nowadays not as cool as in the 60's. But how cool was he then? Well his album with John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers was the first album to feature modern rock guitar and he played in the first supergroup. The sunburst Les Paul, today considered a classic became that after Clapton started using one (it had been discontinued for years before he bought it). There's a reason people wrote Clapton is God all over London. How big of a god? Jimi Hendrix considered him to be the best guitar player ever and the reason he wanted to come to England. Eddie Van Halen mentioned above? To put it simply, Eddie Van Halen said that besides tapping (which came from Jimmy Page) his playing was based around Clapton's.
 * Frédéric Chopin is already on the crowning music of awesome music page, but he really deserves to be under people as well.
 * Clint Mansell, suprised he wasn't on here already. Apart from his well known offering in 'Lux Aeterna' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKLpJtvzlEI), there is also the brilliant gem of 'Dead Reckoning' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa 33 P 9 A 5 i Hs) from, the movie Smokin' Aces. Other things to look at are his work on the films Moon and Fountain.
 * The comedy-music group 'Axis of Awesome' have a brilliant song, 4 Chords Watch it now.
 * John Mackey. Full Stop. Asphalt Cocktail, for example. Another example, you say? How about some Redline Tango?
 * Lalo Schifrin,active in over three decades of music, just TRY to pick a film that he hasn't composed a score to.
 * Gustav Holst's the Planets Suite.
 * Video game composer Jack Wall. Need an example? Look no further than the Suicide Mission piece from Mass Effect 2. Need another example? How about the Main Theme from Jade Empire? Clearly he belongs here.
 * How about Christian praise and worship musicians? Robin Mark deserves a mention here because of his two Crowning Music of Awesome hits: "Days Of Elijah" and "You're The Lion Of Judah".
 * ZUN - seriously, pretty much ALL THE MUSIC HE HAS COMPOSED is on that page (and some that aren't, of course... it's to do with an entire series, and the fact it's spawned many remixes overall is just.... win.)
 * Vangelis is the king of all electronic and new age music. For proof, listen to "Ask the Mountains", "Echoes", "Hymne", and any number of others.

Sport

 * The Super Bowl half time show used to be a great place for this having one every year between 1993 and 2004 but the one that has to top all others was the 2000 performance of "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith, they were joined by 'N Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly. However, after the infamous Wardrobe Malfunction in 2004, they cut back on younger female performers to prevent a repeat occurence.
 * It does not even have to be at half time. The Super Bowl XXXIX pre-game show had Black Eyed Peas, Charlie Daniels Band, Earth Wind and Fire, John Fogerty and Gretchen Wilson perform, culminating in them all joining in on "Where Is The Love". It was much better than the actual half time show which just saw Paul Mc Cartney sitting at a piano and singing.
 * Super Bowl XXXVI. The USA is still reeling from 9/11; a memorial to those lost in the attacks goes up during U2's performance. During "Where The Streets Have No Name," Bono opens his jacket to reveal the sewn-in American flag right as he sings the line "And when I go there, I go there with you" -- The implication being, "Don't worry, America. The world has your back. We'll help you get through this."
 * Australian Rules Football's unofficial anthem, Up There, Cazaly
 * And its follow up, ''One Day in September, which incorporates "Up There Cazaly".
 * The traditionalists don't like The Fremantle Dockers theme, but give 'em all the old Freo heave-ho!
 * Same goes for the West Coast Eagles song, We're Flying High
 * For a more traditional, but still awesome, footy song, there's the Western Bulldogs' theme, Sons of the West
 * Good old Collingwood forever, they know how to play the game...
 * Up There, Cazaly, above was created by Channel 7 as an attempt to outdo Channel 9's Cricket theme, C'mon, Aussie, C'mon. Your Mileage May Vary over which is better.
 * The 1983/84 version manages the impressive feat of subverting the Bragging Theme Tune by building up Pakistan and the West Indies as major threats to Australia, while still managing to inspire Patriotic Fervor.
 * This American football ad. Epic music is epic.
 * Snooker Song, bitches! Bill Bailey was right, it's a belter!
 * The NBC Sunday Night football theme, changed every week to fit the players and sung by the lovely Faith Hill. An example.
 * Monday Night Football on ABC had two awesome theme songs, the first Heavy Action by Johnny Pearson. The second, Are You Ready for some Football by Hank Williams.
 * It doesn't get much better than the Official UEFA Champions League Theme.
 * The infamous Hockey Night in Canada theme.
 * Don't forget Roundball Rock!
 * The 2010 World Cup Anthem seen here. Pure, unbridled joy & triumph.
 * Compare and contrast the music on the official South Korean 2010 World Cup hype video.
 * Speaking of World Cup Football, beware the epicness of Vangelis' 2002 anthem, both original and remix!
 * The MLB Network MLB Tonight theme, brought to you by E.S. Posthumus. Compare and contrast with the ESPN Baseball Tonight theme.
 * "Three Lions" by The Lightning Seeds, Frank Skinner, and David Baddiel, so much so that the line "Football's Coming Home" (especially during England's Euro '96 campaign, held on English soil, and where they went out in the semi's, on penalties) can be heard at most England matches these days and the song consistently chart every World Cup, and in some cases, consign the official song to obscurity.
 * Channel 9's cricket theme. Short, but awesome.
 * Some of the most stirring and epic music I've ever heard comes from the soundtracks of NFL Films-- especially those composed by Tom Hedden, David Robidoux, and Sam Spence.
 * Before the running of the Kentucky Derby horse race, it is tradition to play the Stephen Foster song "My Old Kentucky Home." And during this, the entire crowd in the stands (which is usually well over 100,000 people) joins in and sings along. They even put the lyrics on the TV screens, so those watching at home can join in.
 * Whenever you hear this music on an NFL game recap, you know it's going to be epic.
 * The instrumental version of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Theme as well as their Medals Ceremony music.
 * The BBC's outro to the 2010 Formula One season had some pretty epic music to go with the video
 * The old Pride FC opening theme. Good God, that opening theme. If the pure epic scale of that track doesn't make you want to go out and punch brick walls down with your bare fists, you may not be human, observe!
 * A CFL example. For Saskatchewan Roughriders fans "Green is the Colour".
 * It is impossible to hear "Sirius" without immediately thinking of the Chicago Bulls.
 * For Everton fans, it's the theme from Z-Cars. When you hear that song, it's time for the team to come out on the pitch, accompanied by cheering. For Liverpool, their rivals across the park, it's Gerry and the Pacemakers' 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

Theme Parks

 * Disney Theme Parks has several, including the scores to Illuminations, Tapestry of Nations, Fantasmic!, "Horizons", and the Jeremy Irons version of Spaceship Earth.
 * World of Color's definitely joined the list, especially with the Villain sequence combining Firebird Suite, Hellfire and Night on Bald Mountain into one dramatic suite.
 * Hallowishes. Once again, the villain's sequence steals the show.
 * Also you're forgettting about "Fantillusion" from Tokyo and Paris!
 * The Phantom Manor, full stop.
 * "Chasing a Dream" from Twice Charmed.
 * Both "Wishes" and "Remember: Dreams Come True."
 * The Space Mountain rides have all had great music over the years, but none of them can hold a candle to "Space Mountain: De La Terre A La Lune". It was the first roller coaster in the world to have an onboard synchronised audio system (SOBAT), and a fully orchestrated soundtrack truly completed the experience.
 * A few attractions (such as Space Mountain, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and California Screamin') have on-board sound systems that play music through the duration for the rides. They all sound really good.
 * The Main Street Electrical Parade has always been awesome.
 * No kidding. During its original run from 1972 to 1996, more floats have been added to the parade, which also resulted in longer parade music. This compilation manages to round up as many float songs as possible in one single music medley. For those who have enjoyed the original parade, time to relive your childhood.
 * Ditto for MSEP's successor Spectromagic
 * The original version of Illuminations was pretty awesome in it's own right, mixing together some of the best-loved classical music from the World Showcase countries -- and even including a version of It's a Small World that's pretty cool!
 * The Theme from Soarin' Over California. Absolutly beautiful.
 * So beautiful that when Jerry Goldsmith (the composer of the song) came down from his first ride on Soarin' with the music he composed, he was in tears.
 * At this point, we should probably just direct your attention to Mouseworld Radio, where you can often hear this music.
 * Alton Towers has a HUGE list of Crowning Ride Musics, of note:
 * Towers Street Mixdown
 * Nemesis
 * Oblivion
 * Air
 * Hex: Legend Of The Towers
 * Th13teen
 * Six Flags Great America played a fantastically tongue-in-cheek creepy song/audio monologue to crowds in line for its horror-themed roller coaster, "The Demon". The original recording was destroyed, and the song believed lost for decades, until a former fan who'd taped it at the park put it up on a webpage just a few years ago; now, they're back to playing it while you wait.
 * Pick any background music from Universal's Islands of Adventure. ANY. Mostly inspired by the score of Hook and composed by William Kid, it's so great, that when the park first opened, a soundtrack was released of the best tracks. Here's a few of the best:
 * The Call to Adventure
 * Ocean Trader Market
 * Banner Science Park
 * The Wacky World of Jay Ward
 * Jurassic Park Calypso (Both Versions)
 * The Cat in the Hat
 * Efteling's Villa Volta
 * How about Fata Morgana's 'Harem' or the beautiful 'Jungle'?
 * And don't forget Vogel Rok!
 * All of the Dreamflight music: Castle Realm, Wondrous Woods, Heavenly Strongholds, Fairie Garden and Squelch Forest.

Web Comics

 * A rare Web Comic example: O buddy Roy, in Order of the Stick. (lyrics)(tune)
 * Homestuck.
 * Don't forget the awesome theme to Problem Sleuth, and its epic remix.
 * A sequence in untitled featured a scene with a gangster and the ghost he doesn't know is following his every move driving along, merrily singing along to "Just What I Needed" by The Cars...right before hitting a cow. As the car flips through the next few panels, we can still see the lyrics playing from the radio.
 * Brawl in The Family's Christmas Special is, while the only piece of music played in the webcomic period, really good.
 * And now we've got the music used for the 200th comic special, Ode to Minions.
 * The three Christmas comics at the very end of their 2010 year all sound good too.
 * Sorry, the Crowning Music Of Awesome has to go to Matthew's long awaited 400th comic: The History Of Nintendo. A webcomic glorifying Nintendo's game history? Cool. Freaking Including the Ultra Hand, Love Hotels and rhyming every major Nintendo employee. Awesome!
 * Fans gives us The Language Of Your Voice.
 * Looking for Group: "After my mayhem I simply don't do - what's the word? - care!" All set to "Part of Your World", to boot.
 * Though it's a rough animation, we still have the epic duet between Cale and Richard: This Is War
 * Dead Winter: Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste.
 * Kickstart My Heart is now in progress, if this page is of any indication. (Read the Alt Text for a YouTube Easter Egg to listen while you rock!)
 * Drow Tales' Tei'kaliath clan gets in on it here. (Dead Link... again)
 * Given its source material, Touhou Nekokayou was bound to have a few. For a start, Edge of Spacetime ~ Navy-Blue Generation, the theme for Meimu aka.
 * Meimu also gets Aperture Girl as her introduction.
 * Rin Satsuki's theme, Strange Bird of the Moon, Illusion of Mysterious Cat ~ On The Shoulder of Hisou Tensoku, a remix of one of ZUN's non-game melodies, is also pretty kick-ass.
 * And this being Touhou, it wouldn't be complete if there wasn't at least one remix mashing up the ZUN canon with something from another work. Here's Maiden's Capriccio ~ Dream Battle mixed with Sburban Countdown.
 * Tessa Stone, creator of Hanna Is Not a Boys Name gives us the main character singing Queen and The (somewhat) Stoic supporting character finishing off the lyric. What more could you ask for?

Real Life

 * During the Battle of the Black Sea, US pilot Michael Durant was captured. After 10 days in captivity, he was released. On the way to the medevac plane, the US Ranger Batallion stationed there started singing "God Bless America". That's right: The first music Durant heard after his stint in captivity was "God Bless America" as he's being evacuated. Boo-freakin'-yah.
 * This moment at the 2008 Macy's parade.
 * As The War Approaches.
 * Barack Obama became President while the John Williams composition Air and Simple Gifts, was performed by Itzhak Perlman on violin, Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Gabriela Montero on piano, and Anthony McGill on clarinet.
 * The Youtube Symphony Orchestra. Not just for the music, but for the global auditioning done on Youtube of all places.
 * * Ben Folds playing Chatroulette at a concert. Can double (triple?) as a Crowning Moment of Funny and a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * "Stand By Me" as produced as part of the Playing for Change project.
 * All of Playing For Change is amazing. Here's War/No More Trouble and Don't Worry.
 * The entire Last Night of the Proms.
 * Bagpipes were invented for this very purpose.
 * A Drum Corps' rendition of Mozart's Symphony #40. Not Mambozart. Energetic and just effing awesome.
 * The anthems of sports teams deserve a mention within this trope.
 * Worthy of mention as an example is Leeds United, the English Football team. Alex Ferguson (Manchester United manager) says that to this day despite Leeds' financial troubles and demotion to the lower leagues there is no more intimidating moment in football than when "Marching on Together" is played at the start of games at Elland Road.
 * Also worth saying is HMFC's anthem, the Heart's Song. Doubly so since they won the Scottish Cup in 2012.
 * Another worthy mention is Liverpool FC's anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone". It was central to a seminal Crowning Moment of Heartwarming and Crowning Moment of Awesome. Liverpool and Everton FC have been long time rivals. A few years ago, a 13 year old was murdered by an Everton fan because he was wearing a Liverpool shirt. That weekend Liverpool played Everton in the Premier League. A one minute silence was called in memory of the boy. A few Liverpool fans started singing You'll Never Walk Alone and the Everton fans joined in.
 * Kate Smith's rendition of "God Bless America" famously became an unofficial anthem for the Philadelphia Flyers (ice hockey). The song's effect on the Flyers is legendary; the team has won 77 out of 102 times when the song is played before the game. They even placed a statue of her outside their stadium as a memorial after she died.
 * Not quite a team anthem, but Constable Lyndon Slewidge who sings the national anthems at pretty much all the Ottawa Senators home games is an outstanding singer, among the best to sing anthems at hockey games. Plus, all Sens fans know his trademark salute, blown kiss, and thumbs up.
 * And, of course, the University of Michigan's "(Hail to) The Victors", "the greatest college fight song ever written" - according to John Phillip Sousa, for crying out loud!
 * The 1999 Academy Awards.
 * The 2008 Academy Awards.
 * Don't forget the 2011 tony's
 * If you ever go to a baseball game at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, make sure to get there early enough to watch the roof open. It's accompanied by a truly awesome soundtrack, including a CHOIR. The roof-closing music is equally awesome.
 * The Lavender Song. It sounds like a (catchy, cabaret-swing-style) pissed-off gay-rights anthem - and it is. It was first sung in Berlin, in 1920. "We're not afraid to be queer and different - and if that means hell, hell, we'll take the chance!"
 * Becomes a Tear Jerker when you see the line "Round us all up, send us away, that's what you'd really like to do" and remember that German homosexuals were first arrested, then deported to concentration camps, then sent to death camps, and finally, when WWII ended and the camps were liberated, were released only to be immediately sent back to prison for violating sodomy laws (with the notable exception of East Germany, which did not uphold Nazi-era sodomy laws and eventually rendered all anti-homosexuality laws redundant by the 1960s).
 * This acappella version of Flight of the Conchord's "The Humans Are Dead".
 * Layla by itself probably could use a mention here, but when you include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra...
 * We Are The World
 * The Voyager Golden Record, basically a mix tape for the entire planet.
 * Conan's last night on The Tonight Show. That is all.
 * Weather Report's album Heavy Weather. In particular, Birdland. Keep in mind that as of that recording the band had five members: Manolo Badrena on percussion, Alex Acuña on drums, Jaco Pastorius on bass, Wayne Shorter on sax... and Joe Zawinul on synth making it sound like an actual bid band. In this live video you can see Zawinul's synths. (Acuña and Badrena had left by then; I'm not sure who's on drums; Peter Erskine, perhaps?)
 * "The Holy War" may be from the Soviet Union but it's still awesome as hell.
 * Even a computer virus can provide Crowning Music. Case in point, the techno.com virus.
 * A full version is fine too.
 * Abysmalaria, an original composition by one 8BitDanooct1 of YouTube, was created with FamiTracker, a music maker designed to faithfully emulate the Famicom's sound capabilities (which includes the default 2A03 sound chip; and the Nintendo MMC5, Konami VRC6, and FDS expansion chips). This song is quite possibly the crystallization of pure 8-Bit awesomeness.
 * The 2010 Emmy Opening Number. Also doubles as Crowning Moment of Funny.
 * "Song of the Volga Boatmen". That is all.
 * "No Motherland Without You".
 * "Der Heimliche Aufmarsch" by Ernst Busch, a German actor who was a communist, certainly is this. The fact that he was able to record this song before World War 2 and keep it away from Nazi attention just makes this song all the more awesome!
 * "All You Need Is Love", as performed by people in over 156 different countries at the same time.