If I were younger, I could see "Cross My Heart and Hope to Die" being a favorite summer jam. Wicked fun tune, with some beautiful hooks.
(Image swiped from MuchMusic; I hope they don't mind too much.)
The hook device used most dominantly, and it's used a lot, is the breakdown, by which I mean: the song is clicking along until a particular spot where some or most of the instruments drop out (except drums, which usually stick around in a breakdown).There are a lot of breakdowns in "Cross My Heart," though somehow it doesn't feel over used. Here's a selection:
Continue reading ""Cross My Heart and Hope to Die," Marianas Trench: Hook-y Summer Jam" »
First, work out this rhythm, emphasizing the bolded hits:
ONE and two AND three and FOUR and
one and
TWO and
THREE and four and...
1Got it? That's the hook of the day. Now let's work our way back on the pop charts to see it in action, starting at 1982:
Hear the hook: I Want Candy MP3 (Bow Wow Wow version), Bo Diddley beat #3
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Now let's try 1957:
Continue reading "Drum Week, Part 3: Everybody Bo Diddley on the Count of 4" »
It's drum week at songwritinghooks.com, but I wanted to do a non-drum-related shout out about a podcast that you should hear.
I'm not a huge Dylan fan. Never really felt connected to his music. But I am a big Paul Simon fan, because I think the man farts more genius than most songwriters can muster with a lifetime of straining. (That was too graphic, wasn't it?)
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