Blog 4: My Favorite Recordings, by Armen Vardanian

My favorite song of 2012 and my all-time favorite, by Armen Vardanian

One of my favorite songs recorded in 2012 was a song called “Panopticon” by alternative band “Smashing Pumpkins.”  What I like the most about this song is that its heavy and aggressive music riffs are covered by enormously soft lyrics, which leaves the listener wondering – what happens next.  Panopticon is a type of prison where the prisoners can be observed all the time by the guards.  The song reflects some sort of hope that inmates cherish all the time, by showing that there is a beautiful soul in every human, despite the fact that the transgression was committed.  The main theme of the song is “There’s a sun that shines in.”

The first time I heard this song was when I purchased the CD of “Smashing Pumpkins” in 2012.

Here is the link to the YouTtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxT8DxeGwXM

My all-time favorite song is called “Comfortably Numb,” by rock band “Pink Floyd.”  The song was released in 1980, and had a great influence on me since then.  The song is about certain hallucination that goes back to the childhood memories, and the experience of calmness despite the pain and sadness.  The songwriter draws lines between his recollection of similar feelings from years ago and the current state of being.  The best part of the song is the guitar solo composed and played by band’s guitarist David Gilmore; this solo is ranked number two of all rock guitar solos in the rock music history.

I heard this recording in 1981 on LP, because the CD’s did not exit at that time.

Here is the YouTube video of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrOQC-zEog