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Intros For the Ages

Eight of the best song intros ever, to take you into the weekend. 

via GIPHY

While I will most certainly never know, I imagine there to be nothing as cool in this world as playing a show in front of thousands of screaming fans. Like Freddy said in the movie School of Rock, one great Rock show can change the world.

But while hundreds of artists have played sold out shows around the world, very few have come up with tunes that are so recognizable, and so damn awesome, that they will push the crowd into a frenzy with just a few notes. Inspired by this week’s reading on The Who, this is my very unscientific list of the songs with the best first 10 seconds. For the sake of clarity, the best songs ranked by what you hear before the first lyric. You know these tunes, I know these tunes, and thats the point. When you hear one or two notes, you scream. I scream, you scream, we all… ok you get it. Here we go.

Baba O’Reilly – The Who

The Who provided the inspiration for this list, so only fitting they take the first spot. The keyboard solo at the beginning is as widely recognizable as they come, perhaps only matched by the emphatic guitar that breaks in. The Who rock, and their biggest hit proves why.

Thunderstruck – AC/DC

Most of AC/DC’s jams could have made this list, but Thunderstruck is my personal favourite face melter. After finishing high school I attended a prep school in New England for a year. Easily my proudest legacy was getting to the locker room before any of my teammates for hockey and lacrosse games, and blasting Thunderstruck as loud as the speaker would go. There was a cafe and student hang out space above the locker room, that I was told would start shaking slightly when I would start my routine. Eventually people learned what it meant, and that hearing the song simply meant that the weird Canadian was at the rink. If my tombstone reads “Here lies Jon Donville. The Thunderstruck Guy” then I think I will have lived a good life.

Neon – John Mayer

Neon isn’t a rock anthem. I wanted to include it not only to show I have taste (not to brag) other than famous rock songs, but also because my father is a die hard fan(boy) of Mayer. I am quite sure he will never read this, but life is too short to worry about probabilities.  I actually thought of this very video when I was making the list, because Mayer goes on for over a minute strumming some freestyle riffs, but when he switches to Neon, the crowd picks up on it immediately. That is when you know your tune is iconic, when the audience recognizes immediately that they are about to start crying. Its John freakin Mayer.

Mama, Just Killed a Man – Queen

If I could go back to any moment in history, it might be Live Aid. With Queen, U2, The Beatles and more, it would be great value for my imaginary time travel money. Freddy Mercury defies categorization, which is to say he fits squarely in his own category: The Freddy Mercury category (population: 1). Like AC/DC, Queen has a number of contenders for this list. But if you can excite 72,000 folks with a few taps on the ivory, you belong in the music hall of fame on my list of great songs on Ezra’s Ear.

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

The guitar riff to start this song absolutely shreds. I really don’t know what more I can say. Also I was today years old when I learned that the proper spelling of the bands name was in fact Lynyrd Skynyrd. Here at Ezra’s Ear, we are humble enough to admit our previous spelling shortcomings. We are all learning today!

Jump – Van Halen

The synth keyboard in this song starts it off with a bang. A psychedelic, awesome bang. Eddie Van Halen passed away recently, and the world is worse because of it. RIP to a legend.

Enter Sandman – Metallica

Two of the craziest videos on Youtube, Metallica takes no prisoners. Old School, bad-ass, rock and roll music. Still alive decades later. Enter Sandman belongs on this list.

Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen

This week especially, it seems only proper to end this list with the Boss. There is perhaps no more quintessential American icon, Springsteen is as widely loved as it comes. Born in the USA is probably his best tune, and it starts hotter than most. Drums, keyboards, and patriotism. An awesome combination.

There you have it folks, my list of the best song intros ever. Have a healthy, happy, and stress free (just kidding I know that wont happen) weekend. In the words of AC/DC – For those about to rock, we salute you!”

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Good Morning from Bingalee Dingalee

Every morning, the clocktower rings over the entire campus to signal another day. The chimes and their masters remain an integral part of the Cornell experience. 

A Cornell music performance cannot get more local than the glorious clock tower that rises over the Arts Quad, serenading students every day with its powerful chimes. This past Friday, Emily Liu, a Masters Engineering student at Cornell, began her morning at the bottom of the clocktower steps to meet me. As we breathed in the crisp, morning air and trudged up the 161 steps, she asked me to choose the songs for the concert. I started rambling off some of my favorites, chuckling at my intensely eclectic mix of choices. She nonchalantly responded, “Sure, works for me!” and my heart raced with excitement (and from the steep ascent).

As the chimes came into view, Liu turned to the cabinet and started scouring through the thousands of files of sheet music to fulfill my requests. She then kicked off her shoes, set up the papers on the music rest, and proceeded to adjust the bells.

The clock struck 7:45 and the concert began. Every morning concert starts with the “Cornell Changes,” also known as the “Jenny McGraw Rag.” The level of physical movement shocked me, despite hearing the song every day. The songs seem almost automatic from down below, and one tends not to ponder the lively acrobatics that are actually taking place up above. Liu swiftly glided across the floor with her socks, with frequent one-footed hops to depress the large keys as her arms crossed over one another in order to quickly transition between notes. I could feel each vibration, each undertone of the piece that I had not recognized before. Liu’s rendition was vivacious, and at the same time, heartwarming. As the strings moved up and down, it looked as if they were cheerfully dancing to this lively melody. I could feel the Cornell spirit seeping out of her and onto the bells. 

Up next was my first song request, “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles. This song has a prominent chorus that is repeated throughout, so it required less side to side movement, but Liu’s short height required her to fully reach her legs out to get to the lowest note and operate the hulking levers. Despite the extra time it took to do this, she was able to continue with smooth, effortless transitions. The meaning of the song rang true, and even my not-so-morning person self was happily woken up as the sun was pulled from its own slumber by the echoing chorus.

My bizarre music taste chose “La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin” by Debussey to follow the Beatles. This slower melody still required Liu to move her diminutive frame with energy and expertise, but this time, her movements matched the mood of the song. She looked graceful, and carefully lifted her hands up in the air before softly placing them on the handles. She expressed the emotions of the song through beautiful dynamics, progressing from subdued, calming sounds to more forceful at times. 

To satisfy the Disney fan in me, Liu played “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid. This was the only slightly weaker performance due to a few errors and pauses. I was still impressed that she was able to spontaneously play such a fast-paced song, and again, make it so animated. If I were a student walking by the tower, her performance of this song would have added a beat to my step. 

To end the concert, Liu played “Love Story” by Taylor Swift. The chimes are a loud instrument, but Liu’s command of the different volumes throughout the piece was incredible. She clearly knows the lyrics and the dramatic sentiments of the song, playing with a crescendo as the man in the song “pulls out a ring and says, ‘marry me Juliet.’” I could feel the emotions behind the lyrics, despite it being fully instrumental. Liu perfectly encapsulated the poetic expressiveness of the original through her subtle hesitations and dynamic swells through the song’s different fragments. 

After the performance, we climbed to the highest point where we could see the verdant hills with their first blushes of fall color crossing over the landscape of Cayuga’s Waters. As we overlooked the buildings and students from above, I realized how quintessential this clocktower and its chimes are to the Cornell experience. As the tunes drift through the air and into libraries and classrooms, there is this overwhelming sense of belonging to the common rhythm of Cornell. Liu showed me her talents that day, of course, but her concert also represented how some simple bells can bind a community together.