Monday Musical Moment: MMM: Sound of Silence

Sometimes I use this column to talk about musical concepts, composers, or some thoughts I had about music during the week. This week, I thought I would just share one of my favorite songs over the past decade or so.

The song “The Sound of Silence” has long been part of American musical and cultural canon, even being added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, and aesthetically important” in 2012. Since it was first recorded by the duo Simon & Garfunkel in the early 1960’s, there have been several other versions done. In 2015, the normally very hard rock band Disturbed released a powerful version of this classic song that exploded over pop culture, mostly for its surprisingly soft sound with strings and timpani, and the expressive and powerful vocals by lead singer David Draiman. For me, this version is so moving because of the slow, incessant build from the delicate beginning to full power by the end.

Disturbed has been one of my favorite bands since I was a teenager and I’ve always admired the technical and musical skill of the whole band, but especially the lead singer David Draiman. I had the opportunity to see them live here in Houston in 2016 where I became even more amazed. His performances was even better live than on the recordings I had grown up with. Of course, the crowd went crazy when they performed “The Sound of Silence,” which was then at the height of its popularity.

I hope you enjoy this version, sung live on the Conan O’Brien show in 2016.