To me, it basically sounds like a tresillo (3+3+2) type of rhythm, just that the snare sound doesn’t hit on the first group of three. So perhaps not quite what you’re looking for. That particular rhythm has been in pop music everywhere the past few years.
Incidentally, I’ve been paying close attention to songs on the radio trying to find other examples. In the past few days, I’ve heard a number of delayed 4s (today I heard The Meters’ "People Say,"and over the last two or three days James Brown’s “Cold Sweat,” and even every other bar on John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change”) but it’s hard to find those anticipated 2s. It’s a bit weird, though, as the beat a la “The Freshman” with the snare on the 1a and 4 does groove really nicely and doesn’t particularly feel weird or otherwise “off” to me. It seems like a beat that should be easier to find examples of.
I’d say the 6/8 time from the Modest Mouse song doesn’t really count – it doesn’t add the funk/tension than an anticipated 2 does for a straight 4/4 rock backbeat.
Similarly, Dame tu Cosita doesn’t count – Caribbean and Latin beats have so many snare hits and polyrhythms that any 1a beats are interesting, but don’t really stand out.
Usually, when I post these kinds of questions here, all this odd music comes out, with bands and songs that I’ve never heard of. EinsteinsHund will pop in with some German band and Snowboarder Bo with some punk band.
Anyway, obviously the answer is to make our own. Track down the best musicians on the SDMB, get our songwriter to put together the chords and lyrics, have our drummer lay down that rhythm, have our bass player add on a bass track, same with keyboards and guitar. I’ll play triangle or something.
It’s a maddening quest indeed. The funny thing is that, speaking from recent experience learning the drums, there’s nothing at all difficult about playing that kind of beat. It’s not counterintuitive or difficult to maintain timing consistently. It’s a very simple nuance.
Soul to Squeeze was a huge hit, in 1993, so I’m thinking other bands HAD to have emulated its distinctive beat - I’d suggest listening through the deep tracks of other bands or artists from the same era that were associated with the Red Hot Chili Peppers or shared the same fan base: Jane’s Addiction, Pearl Jam, the Smashing Pumpkins, Beck… someone else during that timeframe had to have heard Soul to Squeeze and said “hey, that’s cool, I think I’ll do that too.”
Yeah, that one has your standard 2 & 4 backbeat with an off-beat snare accent on the 16th before the 3. That one is pretty common in popular music (as well as the variant that also includes a hit on the 16th right after the 3.)
That one’s in 7/4 time though and the snare hit is on the 7th beat. It’s a weird beat but still not the same as what the OP is about. Great song all the same.