Best Closing Tracks, Pt. 1

For this month’s feature, I’m doing another list. However, instead of focusing on albums, I’m going to focus on specific songs. I have a special place in my heart for closing songs, since they tend to be some of the most beautiful, sad and emotionally affecting tunes a band has to offer. They are also literally the note an album ends on, coloring the listener’s perception of the album as a whole. This week, I’m counting down fifty of my favorite closing tracks from throughout my entire music collection.

#50: “Another One Goes By”
The Walkmen
A Hundred Miles Off (2006)

The Walkmen’s retro-vintage sound has had its fair share of high and low points. When the band is on, they’re great, but all too often, they get bogged down in murky upright pianos and guitars that sound like they were recorded in another county. However, the last track off A Hundred Miles Off is one of the band’s best moments, with Hamilton Leithauser’s Dylan-y wail crooning mournfully over a marching, minor-key melody. Nostalgia just found its perfect soundtrack.

#49: “Yeah”
Kyuss
Blues For The Red Sun (1994)

Ok, maybe this is cheating. These desert-rock legends ended their greatest album with a four-second song, consisting of a single word: “Yeah…” Is it stupid? Yeah. Does it fit the abrasive, stoned vibe of the album perfectly? Yeah.

#48: “505”
Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

Arctic Monkeys haven’t recorded too many ballads, but when they do, they tend to be killer. “505” ranks as not just their best slow song but one of their best songs period. Alex Turner’s ode to longing and returning burns slowly across four minutes, leading up to the inevitable guitar-led wig out. Meanwhile, a gentle keyboard coos in the background, creating a mood both romantic and ominous.

#47: “Raining Blood”
Slayer
Reign In Blood (1986)

The final song from one of the most belligerent, blistering metal albums ever recorded manages to save the best for last. After a quick burst of hyperspeed shredding and hoarse, barked lyrics, the song’s instantly identifiable core riff kicks in and it’s off to the races. Good luck keeping up.

#46: “Capital Kind Of Strain”
Autolux
Future Perfect (2004)

Many bands have ripped-off Sonic Youth, but few do it with the grace and deftness of Autolux, who have given the world only a single album so far. “Capital Kind Of Strain” is that album’s elegant, tension-filled closer, built around a twisting, liquid bassline and Eugene Goreshter’s trance-inducing voice. The song’s long running time pays off when the song soars back from a deathly quiet interlude, stronger than ever.

#45: “A Day In The Life”
The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Is this cliché? You better believe it. However, it’s a cliché with substance behind it. “A Day In The Life” is truly an accomplishment, especially for its era. Even Paul McCartney’s obnoxious middle section of the song doesn’t detract (too much) from Lennon’s haunting melody and ambitious orchestral arrangement, spiraling into oblivion before finally falling off a cliff.

#44: “Scenario”
A Tribe Called Quest
The Low End Theory (1991)

This whole song is enjoyable, but its greatness can be distilled down to one moment, when Busta Rhymes intones “Rawr! Rawr! Like a dungeon dragon!”

#43: “Parade”
Magazine
Real Life (1978)

Howard Devoto’s decision to leave the legendary Buzzcocks right when they were becoming huge was a decision that many probably sneered at. However, one listen to this track from his first album with his next band, Magazine, proves that he couldn’t stay in the Buzzcocks happily. Instead of buzzsaw guitars and adolescent whinning (not that either of those are bad things), “Parade” is a creepy, piano-led number, straight out of some Weimar-era cabaret owner’s nightmare.

#42: “For Your Pleasure”
Roxy Music
For Your Pleasure (1973)

All of Roxy Music’s drama and theatric excesses are beautifully contained within this stunning title track from their greatest album. Bryan Ferry’s shaky croon is balanced by Paul Thompson’s strong drumming and a quick, twangy guitar riff. Brian Eno adds the requisite “weird noises” and the whole thing finally rides off into the distance with a chorus of voices chanting “ta-ra…ta-ra.”

#41: “Hurt”
Nine Inch Nails
The Downward Spiral (1994)

Before Johnny Cash immortalized this song with one of the best covers in music history, it was the sole property of Trent Reznor. While Cash’s broken voice and weariness made it an anthem for growing old, in Reznor’s hands, it’s solidly for the emotional, youthful crowd, with Reznor’s howling vocal delivery on the chorus and it’s eventual disintegration into an ocean of noise and static.