The List: The Transition

Great transitions in music since 1980 follow. 1980 is important because it is the year I was born, and this would be too complicated if I started looking at everything before that. Some of these are marked by "interludes" like "Parabol" or "preludes" like "Son Et Lumiere." Those two tracks could actually be part of the song that follows them. Some (most) of them are marked by a drastic transition (see Pearl Jam) while others are a simple, slight tempo change (Arcade Fire, Frusciante). All of them mark some of my favorite moments in music. I like this list (in concept) because I feel like listening to an entire album is a lost art. In the age of the digital download I think many people are losing sight of the complete package. Stories are being told, there is rising action, in some cases a climax, and it is the best way to hear great songs, surrounded by what came before and what comes after. Off the top of my head at 8:00 AM:

Tool, "Parabol" > "Parabola" from LATERALUS
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps" > "Y Control" from FEVER TO TELL
The Mars Volta, "Son Et Lumiere" > "Inertiatic ESP" from DE-LOUSED IN THE COMATORIUM
Death From Above 1979, "Blood On Our Hands" > "Black History Month" from YOU'RE A WOMAN, I'M A MACHINE
John Frusciante, "Carvel" > "Omission" SHADOWS COLLIDE WITH PEOPLE
Arcade Fire, "Haiti" > "Rebellion (Lies)" FUNERAL
Pearl Jam, "Nothingman" > "Whipping" VITALOGY
Ben Harper, "Widow Of A Living Man" > "Glory & Consequence" THE WILL TO LIVE
Radiohead, "Airbag" > "Paranoid Android" OK COMPUTER
Maximo Park, "Apply Some Pressure" > "Graffiti" A CERTAIN TRIGGER