What Makes an Epic Song?

[Hadokenchild]

But it has to be timeless. If it's forgotten by all but the most ardent fans a few years after it was released, it can't be an epic song. On the other hand, if people who generally aren't music fans know the song, decades later, it's generally the sign of an epic song - unless the only reason people remember it is because it was so annoying and overplayed (Macarena and Don't Worry Be Happy, I'm looking at you).

I would have to disagree here. My reason is simply because of the generation gap involved. There was a person on this forum who claimed The Who were overated simply because nobody in his school knows who they are and have never heard songs by them. Unless the music is passed on to the next generation, even a band as epic as The Who could fade into obscurity just as it did for this guy. And that my friend is an absolute travisty.

I do agree about the whoa factor. There has to be a part, or parts, of the song that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and make you stop whatever else you're doing and just listen, that make you grin in anticipation knowing it's coming up - like during the synth part in Won't Get Fooled Again when you know Moon's drum solo is coming up.

Yes exactly. I love songs where you physicaly grab a freind and say "YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS!!". The live version of "Long Distance Runaround" by Yes off their Yesongs album is a great example. I was stunned when I figured out that what I initialy thought were skips in the audio turned out to be meticulously rehearsed off time beats that last a mere second.

[OldFogey]

Since Zidane started this thread (good one, Zidane!!) -- I'm curious what he thinks about about the ideas that have been tossed out:

• Does it have to have heavy guitars or can an acoustic song be epic?
• How important is length?
• Do long solos over the same chord changes that make a song long count (e.g., Down By the River), or does the song have to have noticeably different sections with changes in dynamics, tempos, rhythms, instrumentation or whatever (e.g., Bohemian Rhapsody, Stairway)?

In other words -- are we close to your original intent, Zidane?