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