SongwritingHooks

"I Got a Feeling," Black Eyed Peas: One Massive Breakdown Hook

 The first time you heard “I Got a Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas, didn't you feel like you already knew it? Ah, simplicity and repetition – making a brand new song feel familiar. Though repetition is probably the meatiest device the Black Eyed Peas bring to this song, the hook I want to talk about is the breakdown and buildup. 

I've mentioned the breakdown hook before (and I keep meaning to do a full post about Neil Diamond's use of the breakdown): basically, after a song has a good bit of momentum, you bring it almost to a halt somehow. Usually, you drop out most instruments except the drums and bass, and then you build the musical elements back until you've regained your momentum, and then some. This is a great hook, and is really suited to anthemic songs. The interesting thing about the breakdown hook in “I Got a Feeling” is that the whole song is basically a breakdown, in a constant state of building, building, building. Listen to this:

Hear the hook: I Got a Feeling MP3, Black Eyed Peas -- break it down right at the start             Copyright info

This is the very first time the vocals appear, and the song is already dropping right into breakdown mode. There's only two percussive synth lines playing, plus the vocals. (Please don't get me started on the vocoder/autotuner.) A full 30 seconds of this before we start layering other instruments. And then for the next couple of minutes, with each pass through the progression, the song builds, builds, builds... That's how you build a feel-good song. And apparently in the worst recession in generations, that's what it takes for a record-breaking #1 song. 

How To Write an Anthem

There was an article in Saturday's Toronto Star on "arena anthems" -- the kind of song that gets the crowd chanting and cheering at major sports events.

My first thought on the subject is that there's two kinds of hooks that matter a lot in arena anthems:

1) easy to remember/easy to join hooks: if there are 47,000 people in the stands, you want 47,000 people to be capable of participating, even if they've never heard the song before. 

2) call and response (or something like it): if there's clarity on when the crowd is supposed to join in, it's more likely that they will. It doesn't have to be a formal call-and-response structure, though (where the singer shouts some line and the audience is expected to reply with a specific answer). 

And there's some validity to that: "Rock 'n' Roll Part 2" by Gary Glitter (known to many as the Dr. Who song) is my top example, becauce all you need is the ability to yell "Hey" at the right time, and it ain't hard to figure out when to come in. Also "Who Let the Dogs Out" (Baha Men), and "We Will Rock You" (Queen; with or without the segue into "We Are the Champions"). 

But there's clearly another category of song that gets played at stadiums and arenas whose appeal or power I just can't figure out. The article mentions:

• Rednex, "Cotton Eye Joe"
• Vengaboys, "We Like to Party"
• the entire Jive Bunny catalogue

I can't dispute that they are played a lot (at least at Rayner's and my home town, Toronto). But I can't for the life of me figure out why they are. Is there something inherently catchy about objectionable, annoying, get-under-your-cortex songs like these? Is it because they make you want to punch somebody, which is a good emotion for a hockey game?

Brief synopsis of Ben Rayner's article:

- crowd-stoking is key
- "There are no hard and fast rules for creating a winning sports soundtrack, but stadiums and arenas are uncannily loyal to the songs they take up."
- "Aim low: A hockey rink during the third period in the playoffs is no place to get arty."
- be "simple and maddeningly catchy [so] that everyone from 4-year-olds to grandmothers get it right away and recognize it." [see my initial point, above]
- "when in doubt, add crowd noise" [see Zombie Nation's "Sports Chant Remix" of "Kernkraft 400" and Gary Glitter's "Rock 'n' Roll Part 2" for examples]. "any music that encourages [mob mentality] is usually an instant hit."
- "Get your 'gay' on: Pro sports have done more to keep the vibe of late-'80s/early-'90s gay club culture – gutsy diva vocals, throbbing house beats – alive than a thousand Pride Parades combined." [examples below] "That's why so many dudes take their shirts off and bounce around together."
- "Mention movement: Once again, you've gotta cultivate that tendency to mob mentality."

Ben Rayner's list of arena anthems:

• Zombie Nation, "Kernkraft 400"
• Baha Men, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"
• Rednex, "Cotton Eye Joe"
• Vengaboys, "We Like to Party"
• Los Del Mar, "Macarena"
• the entire Jive Bunny catalogue
• Gary Glitter, "Rock `n' Roll Part 2"
• Queen, "We Will Rock You"
• Tag Team, "Whoomp! (There It Is)"
• C&C Music Factory, "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)"
• Snap!, "The Power"
• Black Box, "Everybody Everybody"
• everything 2 Unlimited ever put to tape
• Brooklyn Bounce, "Get Ready to Bounce"
• House of Pain, "Jump Around"
• Reel 2 Reel, "I Like to Move It"

What are your suggestions for Best Sports Anthem Ever? Please add your comments.

Songwriters: Have you written a song that you think should be a sports anthem for your favorite team? Add your links!

Purple Rain, by Prince

Was just listening to "Purple Rain." I generally think Prince is great, and I like this song. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't think of any reason why this song is hooky. My only thought: the chorus is so repetitive, you can sing it to yourself after hearing it only once.

Thoughts?

Hey Jude, by the Beatles: The Na Na Na Hook

There's no better way to start an encyclopedia of pop music songwriting techniques than with the Beatles, and with Paul McCartney in particular. And there's no better hook in a musician's arsenal than the sing-along lyric. Take a mediocre song, add a refrain of na-na-na, la-la-la, oo-ee-oo, or anything of the sort, and you've made it catchy. 

The power comes from the fact that everyone wants to be a part of the action. With an easy refrain, they can be. You don't have to listen to "Hey Jude" more than once to be able to join in for a full 4 minutes of "Na, na na, na-na-na-NAAAAA." (In fact, the "na na na" part comes in at 3:08 and continues until 7:08 -- meaning there's more "na na na" to the song than anything else.)

Hear the hook: Hey Jude MP3             Copyright info

No Chorus in "Hey, Jude"?

The heavy use of the na-na hook doesn't take anything away from this tune. "Hey Jude" is the Beatles at their pop anthemic best. And McCartney (and ostensibly John Lennon) use a number of interesting devices in crafting this beast. But here's a question: where's the chorus? The most common structure for pop songs is:

verse-chorus, verse-chorus, bridge, chorus
(or sometimes verse-verse-chorus, verse-chorus, bridge, chorus).

But on the premise that the chorus is the easy thing to sing, that repeats over and over again, there's no chorus in this song! I was almost tempted to say that the first "verse" is actually the chorus, since it repeats at the end of the song.

Verse 1:
Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

But melodically and structurally this part of the song is repeated over and over again with different lyrics, which defines it as a verse. 

Verse 2:
Hey Jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better.

So it's interesting that one of the best, most memorable pop songs by some of the best pop writers of all time a) uses one of the best songwriting hooks ever, while b) completely disregarding the structural conventions of pop music. Interesting.

Songwriters, it's your turn: Add links to online versions of your own songs, which use the "na-na-na" hooks, in the comments.

And please, one and all, let me know your favourite "na-na-na" songs, plus any other thoughts on this post.