My Top Drummers, Pt. 3

#6
Name: Stephen Morris
Associated Bands: Joy Division, New Order

Drums are usually associated with a certain raw, primal energy and drummers are expected to tap into that with an appropriate passion. However, there are those drummers, like Stephen Morris, who seem perfectly content to play like a human drum machine. Steady as a metronome and often utilizing odd combinations of drums and electronic percussion, Morris’ work in both Joy Division and New Order formed unrelenting musical bedrock. There’s not much soul or power in his drumming, but that stark, mechanical coldness proves to be just as compelling.

Required Listening: “She’s Lost Control”, “Atrocity Exhibition”, “A Means To An End”

#5
Name: Brann Dailor
Associated Bands: Mastodon

Metal has long been the natural habit for insanely virtuosic drumming. The speed and sheer heaviness of the music lets drummers really showcase their dexterity and chops. However, the first metal drummer to really separate himself from the rest of the double-bass-drum-pounding pack was Mastodon’s Brann Dailor. On one level, he’s just ridiculously fast. Dailor’s drumsticks whip around that kit faster than the human eye can really track. At the same time, however, there’s a weird and not-always identifiable oddness to his drum patterns that really makes them stick in your mind. His stuttering, off-rhythm snare hits and ominously skipping cymbals help Mastodon create their uniquely masterful sound.

Required Listening: “March Of The Fire Ants”, “Seabeast”, “Crystal Skull”

My Top Drummers, Pt. 2

#8
Name: ?uestlove
Associated Bands: The Roots

Needless to say, as one of the few full-time rap drummers, ?uestlove has a unique style. The Roots identity is built around the fact that they’re a live band, not just a series of programmed beats and ?uestlove’s heavy percussion really drives that point home. While he still provides the sharp, crisp rhythms you’d expect from rap, his clattering drumming also has an organic, immediate quality to it, far removed from the slightly stale cut-and-pasted feel you get on normal rap beats. Add in his penchant for unorthodox drum sounds, like the trash-can-like crashes throughout “In The Music”, and you’ve got a wonderfully compelling and original drummer on your hands.

Required Listening: “The Seed (2.0)”, “In The Music”, “Get Busy”

#7
Name: Ginger Baker
Associated Bands: Cream, Blind Faith

Ok, so, sure, Ginger Baker has unleashed more than a few horrendously long drum solos in his lifetime. He’s definitely part of an older generation of drummers, who held showmanship and extravagance higher than the post-Bonham crowd might. But what separates Baker from the rest of those showoffs is his thunderous, tribal rhythms and intricate, jazz-influenced syncopation. In many ways, he’s just not a rock drummer. His patterns and fills are too nuanced and expressive to fit into the stereotype of the snare-pummeling lunkhead. Inventive and hard to predict, Baker has rightfully been given a place in the pantheon of great drummers.

Required Listening: “We’re Going Wrong”, “Deserted Cities Of The Heart”, “Had To Cry Today”

My Top Drummers, Pt. 1

So far here on Pretzel Logic, I’ve covered my all time favorite bassists (and instrument I play proficiently) and guitarists (an instrument I dabble around with). Therefore, it’s time to move on to an instrument I can’t even attempt to play well: drums! This month, I’m showcasing ten of my favorite drummers, drawn from a wide range of diverse musical styles. Now, as a non-drummer, I’m not really in a position to say how these drummers match up from a technical standpoint. All I know is that these ten men (female drummers seem few and far between) have managed to stick out in my mind over the years. While you won’t find any John Bonhams or Keith Moons here, these are the drummers who’ve lifted themselves beyond simple rhythm to become an integral part in my musical enjoyment of their bands.

#10
Name: Levon Helm
Associated Bands: The Band

While I may not nessicarily agree with Levon Helm’s hilariously stereotypical, “the south shall rise again” politics, there’s no denying that the man can absolutely make drums sing. Of course, he also sings himself on many of the band’s songs, but it’s his expressive flourishes and tendency to fall behind the count ever-so-slightly that really gives his patterns and drum riffs character. The Band thrived on their rural, curled-in-front-of-the-fire vibe and Helm’s charmingly simplistic drumming really added to that atmosphere.

Required Listening: “The Night The Drove Old Dixie Down”, “Up On Cripple Creek”, “Jawbone”

#9
Name: Mac McNeilly
Associated Bands: The Jesus Lizard

In the early part of their career, the Jesus Lizard depended on a drum machine to supply rhythm*. Then Mac McNeilly arrived and catapulted the band into the stratosphere. Heavy-hitting and muscular, McNeilly’s tight, virtually lockstep rhythms are integral in holding the Lizard’s chaotic music together. His pummeling snare hits and cacophonous cymbal crashes also give the band’s music a violent, powerful edge, hitting you hard in your chest while the rest of the band attacks your ears and better judgment.

Required Listening: “Nub”, “Puss”, “Destroy Before Reading”

*A sidenote: Big Black’s Roland, a drum machine credited as a full member of the band in press material, was #11 on this list.

Blast From The Past

Artist: Girls

Album: Album

Year: 2009

Grade: 4.5 pretzels

Joining the xx in this year’s sweepstakes for “Indie Band With The Most Un-Googleable Name”, San Francisco’s Girls are definitely one of the most buzzed-about new acts of the year. Their debut album, Album (that was really fun to write), has passed the Pitchfork test and various other publications have been lining up behind them, praising the band’s retro-thinking, insidiously catchy style. While, personally, I’m not quite ready to jump on the “best-band-since-sliced-bread” bandwagon, I have to admit that Album has far too many irresistible songs to be ignored.

I mean, opening an album with the one-two knockout punch of “Lust For Life” and “Laura” is just unfair. The former is all jangle and trebly guitar chords, topped by Christopher Owens’ exuberant vocal performance. To follow that with the mid-tempo balladry of “Laura” creates a brilliant opening. So good, in fact, that the rest of the album struggles to keep pace. The rest of the album is full of songs that harken back to both the fuzzy romance of 50s rock & roll and the nerdish pining of Elvis Costello. It doesn’t hurt that Owens posses the same nasal croon as Costello, either. But nowhere on Album can you find songs that match the opening pair.

Not that the rest is just filler, mind you. The band’s first single, “Hellhole Ratrace”, justifies most of the praise that’s been lavished upon it, even despite the fact that it’s about three minutes too long. The album’s closing trio also put up a solid fight, best heard on the dark, sonically violent (and slightly ironically named) “Morning Light”. It’s on during the album’s middle section that things start to feel a bit undercooked. “Big Bad Mean Motherfucker” is the kind of song you’re amazed hasn’t been written before…and that’s not really a good thing. Likewise, “Summertime” never quite transforms into anything more than a generic, California-obsessed ballad. These missteps are still more than listenable, however. They just remind you that this is, after all, a debut album. Girls still have ways to grow and evolve.

The media overplays Owens’ background, growing up with the Children of God cult. For all the talk about how Album is a dramatic example of someone breaking out of the boundaries that have been placed upon them, the album sounds pretty predictable. It succeeds, however, because it delivers exactly what you’d expect really, really well. These songs sound like they’ve just escaped from a 50s diner, malts and burgers in hand, but in the best way possible. Album does more than just ape the past. It manages the very difficult task of reminding us of the past while still sounding timeless.

Brace Yourself For Disappointment

Well, apparently, the Who are going to be playing at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. I, for one, find this a completely logical choice. When I think about the NFL, I envision a couple of decrepit Brits desperately trying to recapture their former glory. What? You don’t get that image in your mind? Odd…

But seriously…after the dynamic performance Bruce Springsteen (the ageless wonder) turned in last year, how are the husks of a couple of formerly great musicians going to be anything other than disappointing? Townshend will pull out a couple of those guitar windmills and Daltrey will, uh, be Roger Daltrey. But there’s no way around the fact that the Who haven’t done anything culturally relevant in decades. Sit back and prepare to be bored.

Also, I wonder how many younger viewers will hear them and think “Hey! They’re playing the CSI theme song!”