This is drum week at songwritinghooks.com, and we're going to feature hooks that are percussion-based. First off, a song from Sade's breakthrough album:
Hear the hook: Sweetest Taboo MP3, killer drum hook Copyright info
Ah, so sweet, and incredibly addictive. I love how distinctive this hook is, and it's the very first thing you hear. (Actually, there's about 8 seconds of near silence on the track before the drums come in -- just a faint hiss -- which I think, based on the video, is supposed to be the sound of rain. Playing on the lyric in the chorus about a "quiet storm." Oh cheesy '80s, I forgive you.)
Virtuosity is a hook that we haven't discussed much. If someone is doing a darned fine job with their musicianship, that can be powerfully hook-y. The drum hook in "Sweetest Taboo" has a nice puzzling complexity to it, like a riddle I'm still trying to solve it 24 years later. And yet, like all good, complex hooks, there's something accessible in it: in this case, the last two snare hits. If I'm playing on the steering wheel in the car, I can fumble around and botch up the rim shots and kick drum hits, but I can still make those last two snare hits and feel like I'm part of the music.
Still at the beginning of the song, right after the drums have their solo moment, the second hook comes in hard:
Hear the hook: Sweetest Taboo MP3, drums followed by synth hook
Both the synth hook and the drum hook get repeated throughout the song, and the song closes out with the fading drum hook. Nice.
Here's a bit of trivia for you: Sade was the only African-born artist to perform at Wembey Stadium for for the Live Aid African famine relief concert. Insert racial/political indignation here.
(Image borrowed from what appears to be Sade's official North American site, SadeUSA.com, one of the worst official sites around. But at least the links work, unlike Sade.com).
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