# What are your favorite "hooks" in music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 8, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642 "2006-07-08T17:16:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/21 "2006-07-09T22:55:41Z")
Damn…did quote tags when I should have done italics. Can a mod fix for me? Sorry! This always happens if I don’t preview. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/22 "2006-07-09T23:04:26Z")
The guitar intro to “Between Days” by the Cure. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/23 "2006-07-10T01:17:39Z")
If it qualifies, the opening of Beethoven’s fifth symphony. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/24 "2006-07-10T01:31:25Z")
The beginning rhythm of Rush’s instrumental “YYZ”: it’s those letters in Morse Code. More trivia: YYZ is the airport code for Toronto, ON, Rush’s hometown. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/25 "2006-07-10T06:27:17Z")
The guitar riff that opens Edgar Winter’s _Free Ride_ gets this white boy dancing. God, I love '70s rock. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/26 "2006-07-10T12:51:48Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > If it qualifies, the opening of Beethoven’s fifth symphony. Absolutely, it qualifies. I tried to suggest in the OP that any music, no matter the genre, no matter when or where you may have heard it, is okay for this sort of recollection. Another way I might have worded the OP so as to be clearer about the project would be “Name (or identify) those little snippets of music, too brief to be the whole piece, that qualify as your favorite “hooks” or fragments.” Other such items from Classical (as in “serious”) music that appeal to me are: The repeating figure in _The Sorceror’s Apprentice_ That segment of _Ride of the Valkyries_ they play everywhere The little repeating figure in _Fingal’s Cave Overture_ The _Omen_ theme from _Carmina Burana_ (yes, I know one is based on the other but they do sound enough alike that I like them both) The opening bars of _Clair de Lune_ The repeating figure in Ravel’s _Bolero_ Again, I could list dozens before slowing down. Even if the “hook” is from some kid’s tune or TV theme or radio show, if it’s a favorite of yours, it’s fair game. This was supposed to be more for fun than anything. Z ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/27 "2006-07-10T13:06:11Z")
Best Looking Boys - Promise Ring Float On - Modest Mouse Such Great Heights - The Postal Service the singing in the chorus from _Somewhere Only We Know_ by Keane. the “other” hook in _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ (i.e. the two-note one. It changes the character of the song entirely.) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/28 "2006-07-12T00:14:35Z")
> [@](#): > > the singing in the chorus from Somewhere Only We Know by Keane. I forgot two :smack: – The main\* theme to _The Wall_ – Messages by OMD. Somewhere Only We Know, The Wall Theme, and Messages all sound fairly similar, encompassing hope, sadness, and despair at the same time. There’s a fourth hook that sounds like this and is just as good as them, but I created it and I’m not sharing 😉 \*There’s another theme (counterpoint?) that figures a bit in The Wall but plays a major role in _The Final Cut_. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/29 "2006-07-12T01:51:34Z")
_Mannish Boy_ by Muddy Waters (or if you prefer, _I’m a Man_ by Bo Diddley, since they are essentially the same song.) (or any of the approximately 3,716,589 other songs composed of the same five note riff.) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/30 "2006-07-12T01:58:53Z")
The song “The Hook” by Blues Traveler has the best hook and explaines the concept. > [@II Gyan II](#): > > If it qualifies, the opening of Beethoven’s fifth symphony. [PQ Bach] Really it’s more of a motiff that he uses to explore the theme." [/PDQBach] ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/31 "2006-07-12T06:42:36Z")
The intro to Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry (I can’t believe I’m the first to say that) The intro to Boys Don’t Cry by The Cure I don’t know if this is a hook, but the part in New Order’s Blue Monday where the drums speed up and then stop. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/32 "2006-07-12T06:44:18Z")
:eek: How could I forget this? David Bowie’s Station to Station, when the song switches to dance mode. I think it’s at the line in my sig. It’s even better than Take Me Out. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/33 "2006-07-12T14:43:41Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > If it qualifies, the opening of Beethoven’s fifth symphony. And the beginning of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/34 "2006-07-12T14:45:08Z")
And the beginning of “Badlands” by Springsteen. This big orchestral burst that promises an amazing anthem to follow. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/35 "2006-07-12T14:51:38Z")
The middle section of Paranoid Android (Radiohead). The “hook” that follows the lyrics “ambition makes you look pretty ugly” and “kicking squealing gucci little piggy”. Gets me every time. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/36 "2006-07-12T16:50:10Z")
There seems (to me) to be some confusion about what a _hook_ is, I’d call a lot of what’s been listed _riffs_ (something that’s repeated), a hook is a catchy bit that makes the song and pulls you in. Anyway: The augmented-chord guitar intro in **Kiss** (the Prince version) that gets repeated just before “Kiss” through the song --sort of nicked from **No Particular Place to go** which has something very similar. George’s guitar part that he plays under the last “Help” in, um, **Help** (go and have a listen). The intro to **Drive my Car** , and “Beep beep, um-beep beep yeah!” I’ll stop on the Beatles 'cause you can find two or three great hooks in just about anything they wrote. The descending two-note slide(?) part in **How Soon is Now** you know, the sort of wailing guitar part. The chiming guitars in **Underwater Moonlight** by the Soft Boys, the part that comes after the line “All those tiny insects look like _you_…” The intro to **September Gurls** and the “Oo-oos” at the end of the chorus(es) The “whistling” part in **Walk Like an Egyption** The flat-fifth intro to **Purple Haze** That’s enough for now. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/37 "2006-07-12T18:24:27Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Another way I might have worded the OP so as to be clearer about the project would be “Name (or identify) those little snippets of music, too brief to be the whole piece, that qualify as your favorite “hooks” or fragments.” > > [snip] > > The repeating figure in Ravel’s _Bolero_ …but that _is_ (almost) the whole piece! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/38 "2006-07-12T18:59:13Z")
> [@ErinPuff](#): > > …but that _is_ (almost) the whole piece! 😉 That’s true, but you could hum that “hook” to somebody you were wanting to have help you with the name of the piece and they would likely guess “Bolero” from that one little fragment. Yes, Ravel built a longish work from a repeating pattern, and maybe “hook” isn’t technically correct, but it’s the idea behind this thread. Since I haven’t found a totally adequate definition for “hook” and since I assumed that Dopers would know what the term meant to them, I figured I’d use this thread to zoom in on the generally understood meaning. Is that cheating? If so, spank me. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/39 "2006-07-13T09:35:13Z")
> [@Small Clanger](#): > > The chiming guitars in Underwater Moonlight by the Soft Boys, the part that comes after the line “All those tiny insects look like _you_…” Argh! :smack: It’s from _Kingdom of Love_ not Underwater Moonlight. No Soft Boys fans in the house? ---
**Author:** ![clnilsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecccb3/32.png) [@clnilsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clnilsen)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/40 "2006-07-13T14:56:42Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > The beginning rhythm of Rush’s instrumental “YYZ”: it’s those letters in Morse Code. > > More trivia: YYZ is the airport code for Toronto, ON, Rush’s hometown. :smack: I can’t belive I never made the connection. and I’ve been playing it on bass (albeit badly) for years. AND I know morse code. :smack: :smack: :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642.md?page=1)