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Discussion: Killer Intros


blue2blue

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Just to stir the songwriting discussion pot a little...

 

Post a brief excerpt* of the lyrics for a song you think has a great great intro hook -- or, if it's a musical hook, maybe a link to the song (or an intro clip at Amazon or Rhapsody, etc)...

 

 

 

*I'm thinking no more than four lines of lyrics or 30 seconds or so of music. Something that really hits the ground running.

 

Since this is the songwriting forum, it seems like a good idea to include the composer(s)'s names. Recordings, of course, ought to have the artist's name. (You can usually look up the songwriter(s)'s name at www.AllMusic.com. If you can't see all of the songwriter's names because of a column, hover your mouse over the name and you should get a tooltip type popup.)

 

Feel free to post your own killer intro song if you got it -- but keep in mind, the competition may be pretty tough!

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There is lots of em..

 

One I always thought kinda got right to the point was Pink Floyds WW2 inspired licks..

 

------------

 

Tell me true, tell me why

was Jesus crucified

was it for this that daddy died

 

And it couldn't of been much fun for them

beneath the 'rising sun'

with all their kids commiting suicide.

 

___________

 

For some reason that one has resonated with me..

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And the meek shall inherit the earth

 

Rush 2112

 

I'm not sure why, but those opening lines have stuck in my brain all these years. I was very young when I first heard that with my brother and I remember becoming impatient with the extended musical opening. I wanted singing, man. But when I heard Geddy sing that, then they immediaetly broke into the next sequence, I was hooked. That's the definition of a hook, though isn't it?

 

It may not rank up there very high in most lists, but for me, it was the one hook that always stuck with me.

 

EG

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I guess we're discussing lyrical intros.

 

Declarative:

"Kick out the jams, motherfu*kers"

MC5 - Kick Out the Jams

 

"Riiightt Nowwwww"

Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK

 

Empathetic:

"When you're down and troubled

And you need a helping hand"

Carole King - You've Got a Friend

 

Suggestive:

"Imagine there's no heaven"

John Lennon - Imagine

 

Although purely based on number of occurrences, the indomitable "1-2-3-4" should win out.

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So are we talking about intros as in instrumental? Or opening lines?

Either or both.

 

 

 

______________

 

 

Boydog -- those are great lines. What are they from?

 

 

______________

 

 

Ram

 

That's what I'm thinking, signature intros that take you smack into the feel of the song. I always loved the intro to that MC5 song and album.

 

______________

 

That said there's something to be said for the stuff that sneaks up on you, too, like the aforementioned Rush track.

 

______________

 

 

How's this one:

 

Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth

 

You pull on your finger, then another finger, then your cigarette

 

The wall-to-wall is calling, it lingers, then you forget

 

Ohhh how how how, you're a rock n roll suicide

 

 

 

... from Bowie's "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide." Of course.

 

http://www.rhapsody.com/player?type=track&id=tra.2784047&remote=false&page=&pageregion=&guid=&from=&hasrhapx=true&__pcode=

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... from Bowie's "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide." Of course.


 

 

 

Pink Floyd , A Momentary Lapse Of Reason.... Song is titled "Sorrow"

Thought I'd throw it in , man I gotta tell ya , there are just sooooo many songs to choose from, I'm thinking of several right now. Do we have the option of adding several or you want us to keep it to one each ?

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I guess we're discussing lyrical intros.


Declarative:

"Kick out the jams, motherfu*kers"

MC5 - Kick Out the Jams


"Riiightt Nowwwww"

Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK


Empathetic:

"When you're down and troubled

And you need a helping hand"

Carole King - You've Got a Friend


Suggestive:

"Imagine there's no heaven"

John Lennon - Imagine


Although purely based on number of occurrences, the indomitable "1-2-3-4" should win out.

 

 

1,2,3,4 gets my vote. No contest. Close the thread. That's the all time classic.

 

Although the variant of:

 

"We got four already and now it's steady and one, two, three, four"

 

from "The Ocean" rates pretty high.

 

EG

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Pink Floyd , A Momentary Lapse Of Reason.... Song is titled "Sorrow"

Thought I'd throw it in , man I gotta tell ya , there are just sooooo many songs to choose from, I'm thinking of several right now. Do we have the option of adding several or you want us to keep it to one each ?

 

Freestyle it, babe! :D

 

 

As many as you like...

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I was just thinking the other day how much I like the beginning to Suede's "So Young". It took me years before I realized that Brett Anderson was actually saying, "She can start to walk out when she wants" at the very beginning.

Youtube link

 

 

As for counting off, the greatest version has to be Joy Division's "Warsaw": 3, 5, 0, 1, 2, 5, go!

 

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Well THIS thread should have legs....

 

A couple from the hallowed halls of classic rock...

 

A great intro and first verse:

Rock and Roll, Led Zeppelin

It's been a long time since I rock and rolled,

It's been a long time since I did the Stroll.

Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back,

Let me get it back, baby, where I come from.

 

Great instrumental intro (couldn't quickly find a clip with the full intro though)

I Need a Lover - John Cougar

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Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth

You pull on your finger, then another finger, then your cigarette

The wall-to-wall is calling, it lingers, then you forget

Ohhh how how how, you're a rock n roll suicide


... from Bowie's "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide." Of course.


 

 

These guys are responsible for two of my favorite song restarts as well: the "1 2 3 4/Highways jammed with broken dreams..." from "Born to Run" and the "aaah wham bam thank you ma'am" from "Suffragette City".

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I met her in a club down in old soho

Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola

C-o-l-a cola

She walked up to me and she asked me to dance

I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola

L-o-l-a Lola

lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

 

 

Ray Davies can write a song.

 

 

 

I know you guys know who wrote some of the lines you're quoting but others -- like me -- may not. Don't forget to tell us who's responsible for what great intro...

 

I did manage to figure out that some band called the Beatles did that 'velvet hand' line... but I had to look it up.

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