Opening Lines — Weekly Track Roundup (from the Archives)
Foreword
It’s no secret that everyone at Aural Wes last year was super busy elsewhere, with what was frankly too much work. As such, a fair few things have not been published. To make up for lost opportunities to fill up space at the Squarespace data centers, we’re dusting the cobwebs off some old Weekly Track Roundup prompts and finally publishing them over the coming weeks, which should kindly lead us into the next semester!
The opening line has to go hard, ok?
At the end of 2023, we had corralled from our members a list of opening lines and verses. Tone-setters. Attention-grabbers. Something-somethings. Here are our picks, presented unchanged!
Cannibal Ox — “Iron Galaxy”
[Vordul Mega first verse]
Life's ill, sometimes life might kill
Vordul Mega, five digits grab mics, mic strike type ill[Vast Aire first verse]
Crack heads stand adjacent
Anger displacement from food stamp arrangements
You were a still born baby, mother didn't want you
But you were still born
One of the best written hip hop songs ever. Not only is the sample at the beginning sick, but the first spoken words loop and they’re also super interesting. The opening words of both Vordul Mega’s first verse and Vast Aire’s verse are some of the best writing ever, highly recommend this underground rap classic.
—Lily Lazar
Tom Waits — “Come On Up to the House”
Well, the moon is broken and the sky is cracked
Come on up to the house
Above all, Tom Waits is known for his deep growling voice. With such a specific vocal niche it would seem that he’d be pigeonholed into a particular type of music and writing. But that’s not the case. His growl can be exhilarating. It can be horrifying. It can also be incredibly comforting. This song makes me feel safe. I don’t know what “the house” is. I do know that despite the troubles of life, even if the moon breaks and the sky cracks, there will be a worn, deep, and safe voice to welcome me there. I listen to this song all the time but it’s most impactful when I’m at my lowest. When I feel my worst I can bask in Waits’ words and be called up to the house.
—Bennett Gottesman
Chlöe — “Body Do”
“Do you ever wonder, like who else is fucking your man?”
Not the craziest opening line ever, but it was just not at all what I expected to hear when I played this for the first time.
—Nolan Lewis
The Band — “The Weight”
I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin ‘bout half past dead
The Weight is an iconic song and the opening line is a sneak preview of the narrative driven content of Robbie Robertson’s lyrics. Plus Levon Helm’s voice complements the portrayal of the weary traveler extremely well.
—Graham Glassner
Jeff Rosenstock — “NO TIME”
Did you learn to make amends with your pile of flaming shit?
I'm still trying my hardest with that one.
—Elijah Davis
System Of A Down — “Sugar”
The kombucha mushroom people
Sitting around all day
Who can believe you
Who can believe you
Let your mother pray
Big fan of system of a down, and yet I still have no idea what they meant by this. However it perfectly sets the tone for the insanity that is sugar.
—Emmett Favreau
They Might Be Giants — “Let's Get This Over With”
The drumbeat never changes tempo
It's steady like a rock
And like a rock, it crushes you as it gets louder
The drum gets louder and louder
And you know there is no parking on the dance floor
I Like Fun is not my favorite TMBG album by a fair shake, but it's so morbid that it's probably the one that's lingered in my head the longest. Point 1: John Linnell hits you with this verse immediately after you hit play. Who doesn't love a little upbeat ditty about the existential horror of this mortal coil?
—Max Levin
Panic! At the Disco — “Lying is the Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off”
Is it still me that makes you swear?
Okay so is the opening line cringey? Absolutely. But is it one of the most iconic Emo opening lines of all time? Absolutely. Now I’m sure you’re asking, “but isn’t the most iconic opening line of Panic! At the Disco from “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”?” But I would argue, the opening line is not the most iconic part of that song, the chorus is, making “Lying is the most fun…” the true iconic opening line.
—Alexandra Taylor
George Clanton — “Livin' Loose”
Can we take the long way home?
despite the fact that it's one of my favorite songs ever made, "livin' loose" never struck me as deep. i never took this opening line as meaning anything more than the text itself. a narrator who doesn't want the night to end. who wants to stay close to someone, stay in this moment. but that's what i like about it. the song is ethereal and idyllic, already feeling like a perfect representation of that sort of dreamy, only partially lucid evening before that line comes in and puts words to that feeling. creates a story around it. it captures the dreamy nostalgia of clanton's music better than anything else i've heard. it's simple, but it doesn't need to be anything else. it's perfect.
—Cassandra Weigle
