Here are a series of excerpts from recent articles and web sites, mostly music reviews and interviews with musicians: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1. "I think it can be comparable to a band like Nirvana," says Ian, "in as much as it can be comparable to a band like The Beatles, in a way that it's short pop songs with a lot of hooks and a lot of melody, based around melody and vocals." 2. Sometimes I'll sit down with a drum groove and say, "I want to write a tune that feels like this," and I'll let the groove keep playing until I come up with a hook of some kind, and then I'll develop that. 3. And not only did ABBA have the ability to create intense melodic hooks, they often packed several of these hooks into one song alone. Any other respected pop artist would certainly try to spread a sudden burst of song writing insight over an entire album's length. But ABBA couldn't find the time to get them all in. An album wasn't really long enough for ABBA! No, they packed their never-ending stream of hooks anywhere they could: in every verse, chorus, song, single and album. 4. It's remarkable for the colossal number of interlocking melodic hooks throughout: the title track is the best example, but also see the single "Alphabet St.," and "Anna Stesia," a mood-altering masterpiece with dramatic changes in dynamics and an uplifting religious ending. 5. The good news is you get another 11 songs on Just Add Ice that are every bit as good-—fast rockers, slow weepers, hooks, melodies, craft, heart, soul, the whole nine yards. 6. Later in the set comes the very, very fine "Back On Track." It's a performance that would have fit just fine on an Eddie Floyd record, with a killer hook and hot guitar solo." 7. Emilio describes the sweetly silly "Doll Like You" as a song for the grandpaws to sing on the front porch. "I’d Love You To Love Me" is a hook-heavy valentine; while "She Gives" offers a more mature appreciation of love, noting the sacrifices a wife makes and the support she provides to her husband. 8. Their songs have good hooks and are lyrically adequate, plus they have a nice bouncy bass. 9. "It's just like a jam. Henry and I will have a hook and we'll just jam on it," Aguirre says. "Our lyrics deal with life, and we have one political song. "We're mostly a ‘good-times band.’" 10. Well, call me a sugar addict, but I prefer the one or two songs per album that have a really good hook like Into the Fire. 11. Catchy, melodious hooks and a happy day at the beach are my first two thoughts when I think of Limblifter's debut, self-titled release. 12. The latest release by this wonderful band from New Jersey, USA. We're Not Getting Through literally explodes with harmonic pop hooks driven by ringing guitars, ferocious drumming and melodic bass playing. 13. Four guys and a girl are in the band. They play a brand of harmony loaden, hooks filled, Sixties oriented, Britpop style rock music. 14. Some of it's terrific: "Tick Tick Bang" has a ton of hooks including a drum loop from a Jimi Hendrix record, "Joy In Repetition" is a breathtakingly lovely story song, plus the religious rocker "Elephants & Flowers" and "Still Would Stand All Time" with a splendid testifying vocal. 15. Floodland has some darn good hooks (song you may have heard: This Corrosion). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hello? What are they talking about? What do they mean by "hook"? Presumably someone is reading all the above comments and understanding them. Could someone give, maybe, five or six very specific examples of "hooks" from songs I'm familiar witrh? How do you know where one "hook" ends and another begins? I asked this question some while ago and got only ridicule for reply. Could we skip that this time, please? I'll concede in advance that I'm an idiot and a philistine who doesn't understand the average music review. Maybe this should be linked to the music conference.45 responses total.
I agree with you regarding a link of this item to the music conference, especially with Autumn Agora coming up in a few weeks.
A generation or two ago they used the word "catchy". That sure is a catchy tune. Now it has "hooks". Think fish.
This response has been erased.
((( Summer Agora #114 <---> Music #75 )))
If we had a modern, up-to-date hypertext system, one could put in little sound clips of the hooks from well-known pop songs.
Try this, from the Webster web dictionary, entry 8: Main Entry: 1hook Pronunciation: 'huk Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hOc; akin to Middle Dutch hoec fishhook, corner, Lithuanian kenge hook Date: before 12th century : : 8 : a device especially in music or writing that catches the attention
When I asked this question of a friend in college, the answer I got was that a hook is a phrase that gets stuck in the listener's head, and keeps him humming the song to himself. When we hear a new song, sfter all, we're not like ly to remember the whole thing. What pop musicians do is try to get you to remember a little bit of it, so you'll recognize the song the next time around, and sometimes crave it. Some examples from the British Invasion: "You'd better you'd better you'd bet" from The Who "Jumpin' Jack Flash it's a gas gas gas" from the Rolling Stones "Lazin' on a sunny afternoon" from the Kinks "I wanna hold your ha-a-and" from the Beatles
Re 7. But given the quotes above, that definition doesn't work at all! If you want to know what gets stuck in the heads of millions of people, you'd probably have to ask them. It probably varies hugely from one person to another. Practically every one of those quotes in #0 refer to specific hooks as if each and every one were an objective, tangible, verifiable thing like a note or a riff or a time signature. I have never read/heard anyone disputing over whether something is a hook or not, or about how many hooks exist in a given piece of music. If a "hook" were as deeply subjective as your definition claims, then how would a reviewer recognize a "hook" in a piece of music he or she is hearing for the first time? Or can any reviewer just point to any sequence of three or more notes, say "hook", and be automatically right because the definition of "hook" is whatever a reviewer says it is? I'm sorry, but that makes it pretty damned meaningless; it's the Alice in Wonderland "a word means whatever I want it to mean at the time" kind of nonsense. All the examples you give in #7 are of specifc lyrics. I presume you really mean the *music*, not the lyrics? The examples in #0 and the discussion so far strongly suggest that a "hook" is an aspect of the music or melody, NOT lyrics. If the songs were re-recorded with completely different lyrics, or no lyrics, the hook should be exactly the same part of the music, no? Excuse me for being dense, but this question has bothered me a while.
I find it hard to believe that anybody would try to make sense of a music review. I find that music reviewers (esp. rock music) are like blind people trying to describe elephants. ;)
Re #8: My understanding is that a hook is lyrics and melody together. In fact, I might go so far as to say that it's a specific singer singing a specific set of lyrics with a specific melody. But that's just my understanding, I may be wrong. And yes, it's pretty subjective, since some phrases stick in some people's heads and not others. Still, I don't have too much trouble, listening to a pop song, saying which parts are hooks and which aren't. Often hooks sound louder than the rest of the song, to make you remember them, I think.
You know when a tune gets stuck in your head, how a little piece of it repeats and repeats and repeats? My guess is that that little piece has got you hooked. Obviously these is very subjective. In fact, Mark's examples prove this, because I can only remember having heard one of those sung (though maybe that only means I slept through the British Invasion). Still, there are certainly bits that stick in most people's head. Occasionally artists try to give a song a title that is different from it's main hook, and eventually are forced to put the name everyone knows it by in parantheses after the title they gave it. And there are certainly songs that are perfectly hookless. I think most ballads are hookless - they tell a story not a soundbyte. Hooks cater to TV attention span and they aren't invariably a virtue. I agree with Mark that it's not just the lyrics. The same lyric with a different melody might fall flat. Even the same lyric with the same melody set inside a different song might disappear without a trace. Of course, I know no more about this than Larry does. This is just the best sense I can make of Larry's quotes.
Perhaps a hook is close in concept to a motif?
Sure. That works, I guess. I think I'd define it as a phrase or chord series that's there for the purpose of getting stuck in your head, rather than just getting accidentally stuck in your head.
Before we go on, the music majors need to explain what a 'motif' is. Having been one once, and since the concept was covered in the first-year theory I took, I guess I can do the honor. A motif is a series of notes that are repeated frequently throughout a composition. If I remember right (my textbooks are at my new place at the college I'll be attending in a few weeks), the series doesn't have to contain the very same notes-- they may shift by intervals and the pattern remains the same. A motif is an instrumental concept-- the closest comparison in lyrics is a line that repeats itself a number of times. You may even change a few words, but if the idea remains the same, the pattern remains as well. Indeed, music critics and reviewers are amateurs that often know very little about music besides their dealings with the industry. It's interesting "hook" actually has a musical definition in the dictionary. But the one given, I thought, was a little lacking. Sure, it's an attention-getting device, but what are its parameters? So far, we have agreed upon the following: 1) Hooks seem to be used very frequently in pop music 2) They have both a lyrical and instrumental component 3) If they are used for attention, simple, easy-to-remember, and sometimes even trite words are used for the lyrics; the instrumentals will feature snazzy and ear-catching sounds and riffs. (whoops-- that's my interpretation. Sorry. The consensus was that they were "catchy.") 4) They depend on musical phrasing, and possibly even motifs, which are commonly referred to as riffs. I would state for the record that yes, the lyrics and instrumentals go hand-in-hand for a hook. Now-- if you want some examples-- try listening to some synthpop or dance music. This type of music is so full of sound FX and common lyrics that perhaps you'll see my take.
On further thought, I think "hooks" are almost the definition of "popular" music. They certainly seem much less common as you get out of the mainstream.
hooks don't have to have lyrics to go along with them. the drumbeat intro of queen's "we are the champions" is a good example of a hook.
Also, certain sound effects can be considered hooks (such as the thunder intro on "Rhythm Of The Rain" by the Cascades, or the motorcycle crash in the Shangri-Las' "Leader Of The Pack").
It's like trying to tell a stranger about Rock & Roll
Now, Bethoven's Fifth starts with this great hook, that is
repeated a number of times in the piece.
RE #18 And the intro to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, First Movement, has been heard on many popular songs such as "Roll Over Beethoven" by ELO and "A Fifth Of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy. There's got to be more.
As a musician and songwriter, I must weigh in on my definition and
understanding of the word "hook." First of all, a hook is not a lyric or sound
effect. The lyrical equivalent of the "hook" is usually a catchy chorus.
Perhaps the best (and earliest?) example of a hook in the Rock n Roll context
is the "Johnny B. Goode" guitar lick Chuck Berry plays. A quick tour through
some records of mine (randomly chosen) revealed the following notes and/or
chords I would refer to as "hooks":
Truth (Jeff Beck): The opening guitar lick in "Ain't Superstitious"
Pretenders (Pretenders first album): The descending chromatic line after each
verse (and after the famous lyric "But not me baby, I'm too precious, Fuck
off!")
Jumpin jack Flash (Rolling Stones): The guitar lick at the beginning of the
song.
Breakdown (Tom Petty): The guitar melody that precedes the verses
Rock n Roll (Mitch Ryder's version of the Lou Reed song): The opening guitar
and bass unison.
Also, after reviewing my records, I would probably modify my "hooks aren't
lyrics" and restate it to say that what makes a catchy chorus is an underlying
melody that "hooks" the listener. In other words, if you find your self
whistling the melody to the chorus, I would probably categorize that melody
as a "hook." Examples would be:
The Passenger (Iggy Pop): The "na na, na na, na-na-na-na" chorus.
Other hooks thatcome to mind:
Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple): The first lick many would-be-rockers in the
70s ever learned.
Purple Haze (Hendrix): The guitar lick that follows the phrase ("scuse me
while I kiss the sky")
Tears of a Clown (Smokey Robinson): The instrumental lick at the beginning
Satisfaction (Rolling Stones): The guitar lick at the beginning and after each
chorus is actually quite similar to Keith Richards lick in "Jumpin' Jack
Flash" which goes to show that good hooks can be recycled (witness the
aforementioned Chuck Berry lick. Anyway, I could go on, but I need to log off
soon . . .
.
Although I wasn't familiar with all of those examples, I was familiar with enough to get the idea :) Thanks.
... adding to the excellent #20 ... hooks are those tiny parts of songs that encapsulate the entirety of the experience into the part. so that, as was pointed out in #20, just a few words, or few notes brings back the entire song in a jumpin' jack flash. john phillip souza took his hooks to the bank! almost all the music that has 'lasted' (and some that died fast) has a hook in it, of some sort. remember the tv show, _name that tune_? although that show used only the oopening notes, the idea was the same... how tiny of a refernce can you use to identify the entire piece? the morse code 'v' comes to mind also (as was mentioned by a differnet reference, above). "gimme an 'f' ...." country joe and the fish "you can get anything you want ..." sound effect of a single lens reflex camera taking a picture .... most times though, there is something memorable in, perhaps, the chorus (repetition) that brings the song into focus fast ..."take this job and...." even if every other part of the song suckx, the hook (catchy as it is) makes you remember it.
Interesting. Is it possible to write "hookless" music that is still
good music? I take it that every piece of music is going to be different
merely because its arrangement of pitches & notes make it different than
any other piece of music. But a new arrangement of notes isn't a "hook".
From what I read above, a hook has to be repeated frequently & be "catchy"
enough to qualify as a hook.
If that's the case, one popular group I can think of which has managed to
avoid the pitfalls of hook-centered music is Pink Floyd. People do not]
often walk around humming Pink Floyd tunes, though certainly Pink Floyd
does have songs which contain hooks ("Money," from Dark Side of the Moon,
has that catchy Bass riff played over cash-register noises). And the
progressive rock group Yes (at least in their heyday) managed to avoid
structuring music around hooks, though certainly not as much as Pink Floyd.
I would suggest that yes, there can be good music without hooks. For instance, certain "new age" music has very few hooks. An even better example would be the "minimalists" like Phillip Glass, whose music is often based upon repetitive themes that, in some cases, is then subtly altered. Also, I would suggest that Yes and Pink Floyd have plenty of hooks, such as the the guitar riff and chorus in "Wish you were Here" (Floyd) and many parts in "Long Distance Runaround" (Yes) where the hooks are often found in the bass lines.
Alternately, you could argue that Glass is just one hook over and over and over and over and over again.
re #25 Agreed, and I'm glad minamalism is truely dead.
Amen!
re #23: What about Yes's biggest hit, "Owner of A Lonely Heart"? The lead guitar opens with the hook and repeats it a few times, before it is repeated somewhat differently (as a melody) in the chorus. re #23 and #24: Come on-- Pink Floyd's "Leave The Kids Alone" has plenty of hooks. How else could it be the band's best-known tune? Cyklone's right-- they used hooks, too. re #26, #27: Hrm. I wonder if my music education has been lacking, for I've heard very little minimalist music, and I'm not sure if it was that of Phillip Glass.
Re 28. I find "Owner of a Lonely Heart" to be irritating rather than catchy, and I'm surprised to hear that Yes was responsible for it. The Yes hit that I *do* find appealing (and presumably has hooks in it) is "Roundabout".
Go see Koyanisqatsi <sp?> some time, lumen. It'll be the best three-hour nap you've ever had.
You forget I live in a cultural wasteland :P. The closest place I can go to for big name talent is the Gorge at George. The local scene is usually limited to folk, garage band rock, a little jazz, and school talent.
Mm? I assumed from your name that you're in Ann Arbor...
about phillip glass .. at first hearing it tends to sound 'all the same all the way through.,.' however, a few years ago at the michinga theatre, when i was getting set for some aact productin or other, the phillip glass orchestra was trying to 'get it together' for their show in a few hours., this was not working for them very well ...sound system probs. yeh, ok, mini-hero tale here. i fixed the problem (think it was a ground loop, if i remember right ) and glass invited me to dinner at the indian restaurant, ??shanna-rah?? or something over on william and division as 'compensation.' had a neat meal, met some fascinating musical phd's and subtle intellectuals .. and decided to stay for the show, watching/listening backstage. never had heard of, let alone heard, the name/music phillip glass. the first few minutes seemed to describe 'all the same - all the time' sort of experience ...except that watching from the side, i could *see* the physical changes the players were making, and watch the sound blender (no 'mixer' here !) working hte board and also observe glass conducting the orchestra. connecting these obvious visual activites with the sum of the music ...adn *WOW* ... multiple dimensions became apparent inside teh structure and framwork of the phillip glass orchestra performance. there are amazing changes happening adn when you pay attention just a little bit, you can become intimately involved with the evolution(s) taking place in your ears & head. that experience ranks in teh top 5 of 'serendipitous thrills of all time.' thankxx for triggering that memory <g>!
Raja Rani (the restaurant, t.s.) Intersting story, though. I can see whreee SEEINGwhat was happening would change the experience, since if you're just hearing it, the same old same old gets boring rather quickly.
Sharayar.
I've never seen Glass perform, but I've always found the music fascinating and never repetitive. I like Steve Reich even better though.
anderyn's got it right...the indian restaurant at william and division is raja rani.
Fine, be that way :P Some of Steve Reich's music I do like, particularly Different Trains and Drumming.
re #36, #38 I agree about Steve Reich being more interesting than Philip Glass.
I'm currently borrowing the library's copy of Reich's TEHILLIM. It's only about 30 minutes long, but Wow! Voices, percussion, winds, electric organ, and strings. Background music that kicks.
I suppose a "mere" 30 minutes beats 3 hours....
Hard to say, I went to this Dead concert once and the 85 minute version of Boxcars in Heaven....
Well, I dare say that might be different. But 3 hours of minimalism could kill you.
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I'm still so new to the Internet radio thing. But then I don't have the money.
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