Happy Music Monday! Because it's summer, we've all got a lot of time to sit around. That's why today Scott's decided to talk about those glorious songs with the super-long intros. You know, the kind of song they play when the DJ has to give concert details or a traffic report! Get comfy, turn on your black light, and lie back. Here's the first one:
The intro to this Joy Division song is the kind of thing you'd normally expect from a band like Genesis, where the lead singer might be changing his costume backstage. But the late, great Joy Division wasn't a costume sort of band. Don't think it indulgent, though. Without the slow build, this song would lose a lot of its atmosphere.
Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance to the YouTube! A nice change from last week's Fitness Week theme. See you after the jump?
It doesn't matter if it's a gift to a DJ that needs to use the bathroom or an producer's concession to an indulgent rock star. Sooner or later, every pop band tries the long intro.
Not many songs move so effortlessly from acoustic to electric. Heart's got plenty of signature hits but this one covers all the bases. It's memorable, it's got a guitar chorus anyone can sing, it's got that deedley-deedley-deedley part, and it makes you feel like you've accomplished something when you beat it in Guitar Hero. Also, the intro is almost 50% of the song!
In this video, we get to see the band members arriving for the sound check. The song has already started yet they still have time to leisurely walk from the van to the stage. From start to finish, this intro is only slightly shorter than The White Stripes hit Fell In Love With A Girl IN FULL. That's one heck of an intro.
U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name
U2's intro comes in two flavors, the one with the keyboard lead-in that I linked above, and the one that's just guitar. Even if you pick the shortest one, it still ends up long enough to squeeze in an entire news bulletin about their live show being shut down by the cops. Well played, U2. Well played.
The Temptations - Papa Was A Rolling Stone
A lot of funky songs have that slow Shaft-like intro, but The Temptations take it to the absolute limit. And you know what? It never, never gets old. Even in the edited down radio-friendly version, the intro takes up nearly over half of the song. That's a real commitment to the intro most bands just aren't willing to make.
It's your turn now. Throw a few long intro songs into our comments below, and help us find the longest intro in existence! After that, hit up our Turntable.fm room for the regular Music Monday enjoyment. Also, let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use.