“One, two, three, four”
It’s the first thing you hear when you start the track: a clipped British voice, low in the mix, counting. But only for a moment— then the guitars rush in, anxious, like they’re late for work. The bass lick shows up first, followed by a blurt of lead guitar, back and forth. Beneath it all a kick drum alternates with a hi-hat/cymbal combo, a herky-jerky rhythm that repeats throughout the song. By the time George Harrison shows up ten seconds in complaining about the government taking all his money, you can’t stop listening. It’s the start of “Taxman,” of course, and one of the greatest hooks in the history of recorded music.
Some songs are like that— you know seconds in that this one is going to be a banger, an instant playlist add, a new favorite. And since we are at the start of something new here¹, I thought it would be appropriate to look at a few songs I loved from the very beginning.

“Smells Like Team Spirit”-Nirvana This is one of those songs where I knew exactly where I was when I first heard it. I was working at a group home (second shift, reserving my day hours for college classes) and all the residents had gone to sleep, leaving me alone in the office. I had a little clock radio on a shelf to keep me company while I churned out progress notes or caught up on my homework. I usually kept the radio dialed to a classic rock station, and that’s what the first few strums of “Spirit” sound like— classic rock, someone practicing an unplugged mutant variant of Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” in their bedroom. But then the drums hit, sounding all the world like someone kickstarting a motorcycle, and I stopped what I was doing and listened. The combined roar of the guitars, the muted chords which made the little “chicka-chicka” noise you hear throughout, the louder/quieter/louder dynamic Cobain cribbed from the Pixies—I loved all of it, immediately. It certainly didn’t hurt that radio music was in a bit of the doldrums², and “Spirit” felt exciting, felt new (even if it wasn’t— Cobain was more of a synthesist than an innovator, and wore his influences on his sleeve). There was an urgency here that was unlike what I was hearing in music at the time. The first thirty seconds of “Spirit” got me (and everybody else) to purchase Nevermind, and the grunge explosion quickly followed. “Spirit” isn’t my favorite Nirvana song, or even in my top five, but it is the song that hooked me and made me a fan.

“Dreams”—Fleetwood Mac I didn’t know for years what this song was called. I saw a copy of Rumors at my aunt’s house and didn’t connect the radio hit with the title. But I loved “Dreams” from the first triad of drum notes. The beginning of this song is all drum and bass notes (for five seconds anyway), then a mournful keyboard, then Stevie. There’s a sparseness to the beginning of this song I adore, a sense of space—the beginning sounds like it hangs in the air. It is all immaculately produced³, Stevie provides one of her best lyrics, and Lindsay Buckingham’s backing harmonies are perfect. But what puts it over is the little hiccup in the bass (right where Stevie sings “wrap around your dreams”) in the second verse of the song. It is one of my favorite grace notes in one of my favorite songs⁴.

“Breakdown”—Tom Petty Another song that starts with a drum lick. You would think the drum was in an empty room, except for the barely there bass beneath it in the mix. Then two piano notes, a guitar riff a second later, and eventually Petty, who doesn’t stroll in until 30 seconds in, with one of the best narrative hooks in music: “It’s alright if you love me; it’s alright if you don’t.”⁵ I also loves how he uses “afraid” and “away” as a slant rhyme, but that’s the English major in me talking, I suppose. “Breakdown” is the first song that comes to mind when I think about songs with only one verse⁶— Petty says what he has to say and gets out, the rest of the song trailing him out the door.

“Fake Plastic Trees”—Radiohead Thom Yorke, three seconds in: “A green plastic watering can, for a fake Chinese rubber plant.” Yes, there’s a few guitar strums first, but the beginning of “Fake Plastic Trees” is all about Yorke’s voice, which I’ve always felt sounded both pretty and desperately lonely at the same time. Eventually we get guitar solos and big strings like the end of some sad movie (perhaps set in a supermarket, like the now iconic video). Unlike Nirvana, who tend to alternate loud and soft parts, Radiohead frequently go for the build, gradually adding musical elements until you have a big finish. It all works here. This was the first Radiohead song that really landed with me; they have since become one of my favorite bands.

“I’m Not in Love” —10cc There is nothing at the start of this track for four seconds, then that wordless ahhh (accompanied quickly by a keyboard) that swells and swells until 36 seconds, when the singer starts. I have a thing for wordless choirs⁷, and this is my favorite. Yes, Eric Stewart’s lyrics are clever (most of 10cc’s lyrics were clever), and the theme of lovelorn denial is one I appreciate. But it’s that haunting choir that I’ve loved ever since I first heard it on my little portable radio when I was a child. Nothing else 10cc ever did would resonate as much as “I’m Not In Love,” but it doesn’t matter—this is my favorite song, and has been for fifty years. All it took were the first few notes.

 

1. Hi. I’m Greg. Welcome to my music blog. ↩︎
2. Case in point: the number one song on the pop charts the week “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was released was “Every Thing I Do (I Do It For You)” by Brian Adams. ↩︎
3. This is my candidate for the best produced track in the history of recorded music. ↩︎
4. But is it my favorite Fleetwood Mac song? “Beautiful Child” would probably having something to say about that, and is another Mac song with amazing harmonies. ↩︎
5. Yes, I punctuated the sentence correctly— I can hear the semicolon in Petty’s delivery, even with the pause between the lines. ↩︎
6. The Smiths don’t count, because most of their songs are only one verse that Morrissey keeps repeating. ↩︎
7. Other songs with great wordless choirs: “Just The Way You Are” by Billy Joel, “Star Me Kitten” by R.E.M. (a 10cc homage), and “Holding On To Yesterday” by Ambrosia (if only for just a few seconds) ↩︎