SongwritingHooks

Zombie, by the Cranberries: Gritty, hook-y and wonderfully Irish

Editor’s note: Tami Hoban is our guest blogger today. Please check out her links, at the end of the post.
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One of the most significant bands I cut my musical teeth on in the '90s was The Cranberries. Delores O’Riordan and I hit it off big in my college days, she just never knew it. One Cranberries song in particular that everybody loves is "Zombie." When "Zombie" came out, everyone wanted to sing it. And it remains one of their best-loved songs.

So what made "Zombie" such a hit? Answer: Hook upon hook upon hook. I’ll name the most significant ones, in my mind, and number them for ease of reference, 'kay?

1. First of all, there was the novelty for us Yanks of trying to sing with that gorgeous, raw-dirty Irish accent. Not a hook, you say? Try singing it like an American. Not as easy as it sounds.

2. The next thing I’d point out is the grinding opening chords that kick in after the first four measures. This chord progression, carried on the electrics, is so tricked out with overdrive it inevitably causes you to scrunch your brow, set your mouth in a Billy Idol snarl and pound it out on air guitar. Try it now, just for fun.

Hear the hook: Zombie MP3, crunchy guitar             Copyright info

3. At the end of that opening, leading right into the first verse, is a very simple, very memorable solo, performed by Delores herself in concert. It's repeated later in the song, too. Easy to play, easy to whistle.

Hear the hook: Zombie MP3, solo

4. The pre-chorus and chorus are extremely repetitious in their melody patterns and in a great range for humming along (or humming without the music). “But you see, it’s not me, it’s not my family…”

Hear the hook: Zombie MP3, Delores O'Riordan gets going now

5. And, of course, the most significant hook is Delores’s signature yodel on the chorus. She actually does this throughout the song, but it’s most notable (and most copied) on the word “zombie” itself, and the echo-y vocalizing she does just after. “zombie-a-eh-a-eh-a-eh-a-eh, oh-o…”

Hear the hook: Zombie MP3, the bit that made Delores O'Riordan famous

…Nice.

About Tami Hoban:
Tami is a singer, songwriter and worship leader in the NW Chicago suburbs. Follow her at: tamihoban.wordpress.com
mylifeasadream.wordpress.com
twitter.com/tamipants

Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Lauren Hill: distinct remake, descending arrangement, dissonant hook

In 1998, Lauren Hill covered "I Can't Take My Eyes Off You," the classic Frankie Valli and the Fours Seasons tune. Eleven years later (oh my, has it been that long?), there are some fun things to pick at here.

First off, cover songs: so much can go wrong here, though a lot depends on the listener's state of mind. If you remake a song I already love, I will hate it. If you remake it note-for-note (like the Uncle Kracker cover of "Drift Away") I will hate it more. But that's me. Best case scenario (for me, anyway, and I think this is broadly true): cover a song that's fallen out of favor, and do it in a unique way.

That's exactly what Lauren Hill accomplished here with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." The original song was something many people were aware of in 1998, but hadn't paid attention to in decades. The faint recollection of a song from the past is a brilliant (hook-y) way into people's heads. And the groove she put to it made it radically different from the Frankie Valli recording.

Arrangement: Descending Chromatic Scale

If you give the ear something that's subconsciously predictable, it's hook-y. Arpeggiated chords as solos fit this description. Melodic sequences that follow do-mi-so or something familiar like that are naturally pleasing. What this song has (in the original and in the Lauren Hill cover) is a descending chromatic scale in the verse, starting with an E and going down a half step each bar. Listen to the organ in the background here:

Hear the hook: Can't Take My Eyes Off You MP3, descending scale hook             Copyright info

I love that! Lots of other songs have descending bass lines -- right now I'm thinking of the first bars of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" -- which is also an arranging technique I love. 

Hook Needs a Name

There's something hook-y I like but haven't heard labelled before. It's when a song is going along nicely, and then the singer just opens right up with a huge belting passage. Something that sounds and feels cathartic almost, it's so big and free and letting out what's inside. The way k.d. lang sings "Crying" is one of these songs. (Or "Hallelujah," as we've covered.) The chorus of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is like that: it takes a big leap up from the dynamic and emotional level of the verse. Though in truth, this is more pronounced in the Frankie Valli version, I think because the whole song sits lower in Lauren Hill's register. Nonetheless, here's Lauren Hill:

Hear the hook: Can't Take My Eyes Off You  MP3, Cathartic Belt

I'm thinking of calling this hook the Cathartic Belt. Or maybe the Hallelujah hook. I'd love your suggestions.

Dissonance as Hook

One last thing. Have a listen to the "bah-da" backup singers in this passage.

Hear the hook: Can't Take My Eyes Off You MP3, dissonance as a hook

There's something a little off about this. Someone is singing out of tune! It's small but it's there. I have no doubt that this is intentional, and it definitely makes the hook memorable. The little flubs, the little human errors that exist in all real musical performance, are good things. Something scientifically precise is cold and ugly -- think of the first drum machines, the first synthesizers: absolutely rhythmically and sonically perfect, and musically hideous.
    In this case, the dissonance pushes the boundary of acceptable. It's off. The kind of "off" to send a choir director into a fit. But since it's small-ish, and the song has a loose funkiness to it anyway, it works.

Please comment below with any suggestions for the hook name! Thanks.

We Didn't Start the Fire, Billy Joel: Patter Lyrics as a Songwriting Hook

On the Storm Front album, Billy Joel (IMHO) used up the last of his songwriting genius. Everything after has been crap. (When the River of Dreams album came out a few years later, I kicked Billy to the curb just like Christie Brinkley had done.) On Storm Front, the biggest hit was "We Didn't Start the Fire," and the hook that made the song work is that is was so damned hard to learn. So many words! So fast! What did he say? Hey, I think I have the first three lines figured out...

Hear the hook: We Didn't Start the Fire MP3             Copyright info

Clearly there's a Patter hook happening here -- learning the patter was a challenge, and for some people (especially music geeks and aspiring singers) that's fun. In the grand theme of things, the speed of the patter here isn't so fast. Contemporary mainstream pop has much faster (Jason Mraz comes to mind), and rap is almost without exception much faster and more verbose. But in its time, this was pretty out there for play-it-safe mainstream pop.

As with many patter songs, the verses beat you up and leave your head reeling, and then the choruses are much simpler to give you a bit of a breather.

I'd argue that the thing that makes the lyrics harder to memorize is that there's no narrative. There are no complete thoughts, just a bunch of events that took place over time. That probably identifies this devce more clearly as an example of Tantalizing Complexity.

Songwriters, it's your turn: Add links to online versions of your own songs, which feature patter or particularly difficult lyrics to master.

And as always, please comment below with your thoughts, and your suggestions for the best patter of all time.