Pages tagged “mark ronson”

Whether called “Intro,” “Overture” or “Prelude,” you know the song. It doesn’t behave like the others on the album. It’s usually instrumental. And iTunes’ singles chart laughs in its general direction.

“The intro song might be traced back to the overture in Western classical music—a preliminary instrumental piece often preceeding an opera which sets the tone for the drama to follow,” explains Conrad Keely, frontman for Austin rock band …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. “Since records are essentially dramas, an intro song is similar to the rolling of credits at the beginning of a movie when everyone grabs their popcorn and settles down into their seat to await anxiously for what is to come.”

In pop music, the concept was once relegated to live recordings and deluxe packages of marquee albums. (“Hear the alternate intro to your favorite song!”) If used on studio albums, it was usually by theatrical nerds (Rush, Spock’s Beard, ELO) or metal heads. Rappers proliferated the intro in the ’80s, and it now seems a prerequisite for hip-hop. The intro largely disappeared from rock music in the ’90s, as pomp and circumstance became enemies number one and two. But in recent years it’s come storming back on albums by everyone from Gorillaz and Hot Hot Heat to Michelle Branch and Dave Matthews.

Producer/DJ Mark Ronson included an intro song on his 2003 record Here Comes The Fuzz, but even he thinks intros are often superfluous. “I think an intro song is usually a rubbish idea, and often a byproduct of hip-hop’s excessive nature,” he says. “Unless you have a brilliant sense of humor like De La Soul on their first few records, or are as entertaining as Ghostface, leave it alone.”

In recent years, intro songs even opened albums by Panic! At the Disco, New Found Glory and Hanson—bands expected to fill album slots with hits. Especially now that albums are usually stripped and sold for parts, intros seem a little nostalgic. Which may be the point—the intro is retro.

“I love downloading individual tracks, but albums that are just collections of singles seem kind of depressing to me,” says Moby, who included an intro on his latest album, Hotel. “Intro songs are there for the dwindling percentage of people who continue to listen to albums in their entirety.”

Richard Swift - Dressed Up For the Letdown
I heard him play live last year in a tiny club and was pretty much counting down the days til this came out. It's got lovely Lennon-ish songwriting and warm and fuzzy bass lines.

The White Stripes - Icky Thump
Even if "You Don't Know What Love Is..." was the only song on the album, it would still be in my top 10.

The Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
I only like it cause they're trendy. And amazing. Of all the young bands out there, they're my favorite live show as well.

LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
The dance-y stuff you expect from him is still great, and there are also heartbreakingly lovely songs like "Someone Great."

The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes
It's the slightly more sugar-y side of the 60's sound that me and Amy Winehouse were going for, and it's fucking wonderful.

The Go! Team - Proof of Youth
A lot of the reviews seem to focus on the fact that it's not much of a departure from the first record. I really don't care, the formula is so good and no one else gets near what he does.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Yeah, me and everyone else.

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - Beggin': the Ultimate Collection
It’s probably the 17th “best of” of theirs, but the first to have the Pilooski re-edit of "Beggin'" and the first time I realized there was much more to them than "Walk Like A Man" and all that.

Candie Payne - I Wish I Could Have Loved You More
I came in at the end and produced one track, "One More Chance." But the whole record is an incredible collection of slinky 60's Dusty-style UK songs.

Radiohead - In Rainbows
I've only listened to it twice so far, but I probably wouldn't even have to listen to it all to know it would be in my top 10. When are they ever not the best?

Mark Ronson is a DJ/musician/producer who has worked with such artists as Lily Allen, Kanye West and Robbie Williams. He produced Amy Winehouse's 2007 album Back to Black, which clocked in at #13 on Paste's Top 100 albums of 2007. His most recent solo outing, Version, was released in July 2007.