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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Jun 18, 2019 1:18:55 GMT
Incubus's first two albums are their best to me because they were weirder and more idiosyncratic back then. This song opens with a groovy blues riff, setting up a brief slap bass solo by Dirk Lance that is absolute fire... and I always laugh at Boyd's primal scream that happens afterward.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 18, 2019 19:08:50 GMT
A cliched pick but an instantly identifiable opening and it's actually the drums that make it memorable and of course that drum pattern opening pops up throughout.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2019 19:27:16 GMT
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Post by DeepArcher on Jun 18, 2019 20:34:27 GMT
I know pacinoyes just mentioned 'em, but I had to ... not only an iconic song opening but an iconic album opening, to one of the GOATs ... Happy 40th Anniversary:
And while we're at it I'll make it a two-for-one Joy Division post ... this one has maaaybe my favorite song intro ever, and the track itself would probably rank within my top 10 of all-time:
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Jun 18, 2019 21:48:35 GMT
A cliched pick but an instantly identifiable opening and it's actually the drums that make it memorable and of course that drum pattern opening pops up throughout. That opening drum pattern is a good example of the kind of stock accent patterns that often function as rhythmic hooks in a lot of 80s pop/rock. There it's used in the intro (a slightly different syncopated pattern than what the drums are doing throughout the rest of the song), but here are a few examples of songs that use an expanded version of that rhythmic pattern as a transitional hook in the prechorus. At 0:55: At 0:39: At 0:41
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Jun 18, 2019 22:10:20 GMT
The muted and static, yet propulsive guitar pattern and Grohl's soft, yet urgent singing (speaking to himself) give you the feeling that something is bubbling under the surface, leading to an explosion of activity.
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Jun 27, 2019 23:15:20 GMT
Yes, I'm posting the band's most popular, overplayed song... doesn't change the fact that the first minute is a great, precisely constructed build-up of anticipatory energy. It opens of course with the iconic, sinister guitar riff initially played clean with subdued hi-hat and an interjection of quietly cool wah-wah pedal... the drums play a large part in building momentum here: Ulrich eventually doubles the rate of the hi-hat pulse, and then doubles the rate of attacks again when he switches to the toms and when the bass enters. When the distorted guitars finally come in, Ulrich adds periodic snare accents and cymbal crashes, both of which are syncopated to mirror the rhythmic onset of the guitar riff and suggest an imminent release of pent-up energy.
What really makes this intro cool to me, however, is how the main riff is in constant flux... it's presented in a kind of prototypical form during the clean opening, then fragmented when the distortion kicks in. The remainder of the intro is spent rebuilding the riff to its original form. It almost regains its original construction, but not quite, and becomes a slightly modified version by the end of the intro, when the guitars explode in full force.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Jun 29, 2019 19:36:43 GMT
Disappointed with myself for not including this one in my first post. This whole song is great and the band are hugely underrated, but the opening 15 seconds of this one are just joy to the ear. Sometimes simplicity is all you need to sound magical.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 29, 2019 22:56:31 GMT
Over 4 years since their last single - blocked legally from releasing it - they previewed their (over 5 years delayed) 2nd album with this classic song which opens with Hendrix crossed with Jeff Beck guitar wizardry. Nothing else on the 2nd album quite matched it - but even if the rest was awful - and it wasn't - this song and this opening was worth it. A genuine classic opening and song :
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Jun 30, 2019 3:45:55 GMT
What strikes me immediately in this opening are the guitar's harmonies... Radiohead's adventurous harmonic language is part of what I love about them, and here there's a strangeness in the chord progression made possible through the tonal distance between the chords in the song's first few seconds. The chords are not closely related or part of the same key, and what's cool is that this same kind of chordal juxtaposition is often used in film scores for science fiction films featuring cosmic spectacle, which is motivated by the strangeness of the sound and the sense of remoteness it evokes... and of course it's appropriate here given the title of the song. Bookended by the opening chord progression, the song overall has a transportive quality to it, and you feel like you're floating through space.
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Archie
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Post by Archie on Jun 30, 2019 16:12:10 GMT
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 2, 2019 20:09:06 GMT
The scary marching boots that open the song, the guitar and drum kickoff in the intro - a declarative statement - "A cheap holiday in other people's misery!" ........the only thing better than this opening is the ending where Rotten is being pulled over or under or what's happening - you're not quite sure - it's a form of madness it's clear and yet not understandable either.
One of their very best songs - their last great single too:
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Archie
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Post by Archie on Jul 10, 2019 22:38:07 GMT
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Archie
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Post by Archie on Jul 16, 2019 21:11:12 GMT
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Deceit
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Post by Deceit on Aug 28, 2019 19:29:45 GMT
I mean, this is one of the most iconic Noise Rock/Alt Rock openings of all time (and one of the best album openers ever, no questions asked!)
Edit: this is also one of my favorite intro's to a song/album ever (another Sonic Youth Song - fuck, they were such a great band)
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Post by DaleCooper on Sept 1, 2019 9:51:52 GMT
I'm gonna say Extreme Ways by Moby. Maybe not my absolute favorite song opening, but it's an opening that really stands out to me, maybe because I don't really think the rest of song is all that.
Caring is Creepy by The Shins also has a great opening. That's a fantastic song all the way through, though.
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chris3
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I just ordered a slice of pumpkin pie...
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Post by chris3 on Oct 24, 2019 23:29:20 GMT
This was the first that came to mind. Turn up your speakers!
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Post by Joaquim on Oct 25, 2019 2:17:03 GMT
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Post by Viced on Apr 29, 2020 18:17:21 GMT
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Lubezki
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Post by Lubezki on Apr 29, 2020 19:31:14 GMT
gorgeous song all around but the melodious instrumental intro is a thing of beauty
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cherry68
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Post by cherry68 on Apr 29, 2020 20:37:04 GMT
I'm an 80s girl...
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Lubezki
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Post by Lubezki on Apr 30, 2020 3:42:52 GMT
I love this song and group. One of the members was in the British soap opera “Eastenders” (Martin Kemp) for a while. He played a proper hard man, but was one of my favourite characters. A bit of pointless trivia for you. Talking about 80’s, this one to introduce that great decade is one of the most soothing pieces of music ever made....
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cherry68
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Post by cherry68 on Apr 30, 2020 11:32:57 GMT
I love this song and group. One of the members was in the British soap opera “Eastenders” (Martin Kemp) for a while. He played a proper hard man, but was one of my favourite characters. A bit of pointless trivia for you. Talking about 80’s, this one to introduce that great decade is one of the most soothing pieces of music ever made.... I remember this song On a side note, I never watched East enders, but Gary Oldman 's sister, Laila Morse, was in the cast too 😉
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Lubezki
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Post by Lubezki on Apr 30, 2020 14:28:50 GMT
I love this song and group. One of the members was in the British soap opera “Eastenders” (Martin Kemp) for a while. He played a proper hard man, but was one of my favourite characters. A bit of pointless trivia for you. Talking about 80’s, this one to introduce that great decade is one of the most soothing pieces of music ever made.... I remember this song On a side note, I never watched East enders, but Gary Oldman 's sister, Laila Morse, was in the cast too 😉 Haha Laila Morse (or Mo’ Harris as she was known as)....absolute legend of the show. Don’t mess with the Slaters, you’ll have to go through her first! 😂 She had a role in “Nil by Mouth” too.....probably kept nudging Gaz forever to cast her lol
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Archie
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Post by Archie on Apr 12, 2021 19:18:10 GMT
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