tenessential
Drum Intros
Alternative Press - Editorial Intern on 3/11/09 @ 11:41 AM - altpress.comSelected by Scott Heisel
Pardon the pun, but drummers get the short end of the stick when it comes to having memorable parts of songs. Most people probably couldn't name a single drum beat outside of "Wipeout," which is unfortunate, as there are incredibly talented stickmen in the business today. But while it's one thing to throw in a killer fill mid-song, it's another thing entirely to get the rare, pressure-filled treat of kicking off a song. Sure, you might recognize Fall Out Boy's "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" from Andy Hurley's opening breakdown, but do any of these ring a bell? If not, it's time to freshen up the ol' iPod...
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THE ANNIVERSARY “Sweet Marie” (from Your Majesty) (Vagrant,2002)
With this simple beat played by Christian Jankowski, Kansas quintet the Anniversary completely transformed themselves from Moog-pop to hippie emo. Your Majesty had barely anything in common with the band’s 2000 debut, Designing A Nervous Breakdown, and Janko’s classic-rock throwback intro was the first glimpse into the band’s new mindset-one that probably involved a lot more weed than ever before, and also one that was responsible for creating the band’s best songs yet.
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BRAID “The New Nathan Detroits” (from Frame & Canvas) (Polyvinyl,1998)
Damon Atkinson is easily one of the underground’s most creative, progressive rock drummers (consider this a personal plea for him to get out of tour-managing and back into a band, stat). The kickoff track to Braid’s magnum opus leads with a complex rack tom/floor tom/snare/ride/hi-hat pattern that is absolutely disgusting in the best possible way. It’s damn near impossible to copy, though many have tried (Motion City Soundtrack’s “Time Turned Fragile,” anyone?).
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CRIME IN STEREO “XXXX (The First Thousand Years Of Solitude)” (from Is Dead) (Bridge Nine,2007)
Long Island band Crime In Stereo used Is Dead to start fresh with a heavily Brand New-influenced style of songwriting. So how did they shock their fanbase? Instead of kicking off the album with a roaring melodic hardcore number, they let Scotty Giffin go to town on his kit for the first 15 seconds-then jumped into the roaring melodic hardcore number. Seeing this song live with Giffin’s intro extended is really where it’s at.
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CRITERIA “Prevent The World” (from When We Break) (Saddle Creek,2005)
Formerly of Cursive and the White Octave, Stephen Pedersen has an incredible knack for writing huge rock hooks, but none have been more omnipresent than the lead track from Criteria’s sophomore album, When We Break. Drummer Mike Sweeney pounds home a picture-perfect arena-rock tom fill, setting up the monster riff Pedersen squeals out seconds later. Seriously, this should be played at football stadiums across America to hype up crowds.
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DEFTONES “My Own Summer (Shove It)” (from Around The Fur) (Maverick,1997)
Ask any fan of heavy music to name the first thing that comes to mind when you say, “boo-ka!” and odds are they’ll name this classic jam from Deftones’ sophomore effort. Not only does Abe Cunningham’s simple bass-snare hit start the song, it begins the whole dang album, and will make any self-respecting metalhead air guitar along with the sinister downward-spiral riff Stephen Carpenter delivers a split second later.
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GOLDFINGER “Here In Your Bedroom” (from Goldfinger) (Mojo,1996)
Most music fans could hum a memorable guitar solo or karaoke their way through the chorus of their favorite song, but rarely does a drum fill have such an effect on people as “Here In Your Bedroom”-the peak of ska’s third wave. Darrin Pfeiffer’s shrill snare eighth- and sixteenth-note pattern, followed by two quick crash hits and a modified bossa nova beat, has been aped by high school jazz band drummers nationwide-usually when the director’s at his most agitated.
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HELMET “I Know” (from Betty) (Interscope,1994)
New York City alt-metal band Helmet completely redefined the word “heavy” in the early ’90s with the trio of Strap It On, Meantime and Betty. While Betty may be the weakest of the three, it’s still got plenty of aural boomstick to go around. Drummer John Stanier forgoes finesse in favor of power for the opening to “I Know,” with the biggest-sounding kick drum to come out of the Alternative Nation layered under some swishing hi-hats and a thick-as-hell snare beat.
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MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK “Everything Is Alright” (from Commit This To Memory) (Epitaph,2005)
Long after the current emo trend has died down, Motion City Soundtrack will be remembered for their incredibly strong musical ability, especially stickman Tony Thaxton and his innovative beats and fills. Easily in the top five Motion City songs, “Everything Is Alright” laces its boots to the sound of Thaxton laying down a clever, instantly recognizable groove. The second Thaxton begins the song live, crowds tend to get appropriately stoked on life.
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REFUSED “Protest Song ’68” (from The Shape Of Punk To Come) (Burning Heart,1998)
You couldn’t go to a VFW hall show in the late ’90s without hearing the drummer of some local band trying to impress the handful of attendees by warming up with “Protest Song ’68,” and with good reason: It’s an incredibly snappy intro beat that’s deceivingly simple. Three ride bell hits and a tight snare roll with a quick bass drum underneath from David Sandström set up Dennis “I’m a ponce!” Lyxzén’s spoken-word lyrics and the foreboding guitar line.
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WEEZER “El Scorcho” (from Pinkerton) (Geffen,1996)
Technically, Pat Wilson’s incredibly effective, unbelievably basic drum intro for “El Scorcho” isn’t an intro at all, since there is the brief sound of someone gargling before he comes in with the snare-rack-floor-bass quarter-note fill. Still, we won’t discount Wilson’s surprisingly simple introduction to what is actually a rather complex pop song, featuring hi-hats on the off-beat, a double-time midsection, plenty of falsetto and a fractured guitar solo. You’d never guess all of that was waiting in the wings with his intro, and that’s sort of the point.
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El Scorcho?! Oh man, Thrice's Blood Clots and Black Holes should whoop that ones ass off the chart.
A Certain Romance by the Arctic Monkeys is epic.
GREAT CHOICES SCOTT!