![]() ![]() ![]() The Who – ‘My Generation’Īlong with tracks like ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks, ‘My Generation’ was instrumental in forging the foundation for garage and punk rock. What’s rather remarkable though is not only the way the rather short demo expanded into a six-minute epic, but the way the themes of the song and most of the lyrics were already in Waters’ head. It’s one of the most famous intros in music and one of the most famous riffs on a centrepiece to one of the most famous albums with one of the most famous covers of all time.īut before ‘Money’ was the track your dad used as an example of “real music” when he came into your room while you were listening to Deadmau5, it was just a crude demo that Roger Waters had toyed around with. While we all know where iconic rock songs come from (one member of the band sitting down with a guitar and a notebook or an impromptu jam session), so hearing an acoustic demo is pretty much par for the course, hearing a manufactured-by-committee pop song designed to shift units can be somewhat confronting and unexpected. Hearing demos of pop songs gives one a strange sense of voyeurism, of hearing something you’re not quite supposed to be hearing, and that you’re not quite sure how to process. When David “The Chameleon” Bowie first donned the red hair and the shiny jumpsuit to reveal Ziggy Stadust to the world, is one not only a defining moment in the rock icon’s career, but was arguably one of the most important cultural flash points in modern music.īut while the concept may have set the course for Bowie’s career, as well as countless others, impacting everything from glam rock, to punk and hair metal, it all started with a simple acoustic demo. Sensing a hit on her hands, Nicki left Mohombi’s deftly crafted pop hooks within RedOne’s Eurodance production and stripped the verses for something a little more her style. “What I want the world to know about Nicki Minaj is, that when you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it,” said Nicki when accepting an award at the 2014 BET Awards, and while the verses to her 2012 hit ‘Starships’ was indeed all Nicki, the bridge and that inescapable chorus came courtesy of relatively unknown singer Mohombi. The vocals are considerably more muted and the track has numerous quirks, like atmospheric harmonics and voiceovers from the characters described in the song. Men At Work always had a white reggae vibe throughout their music, but the original version of what is arguably their most famous hit, ‘Land Down Under’, is pure dub.Ĭonsiderably slowed down from the original and way less upbeat, the track is more concerned with rolling, phased-out bass lines than the released version’s famous flute trills, though they are there, just not in the pitch that we remember them in. But frontman Julian Casablancas’ demo was a far cry from the garage-y original, featuring sleepy vocals and charming Casio keys. The uplifting, melodic indie rocker was one of the defining singles of what many saw as the beginning of the band’s decline and one of the most thoughtful pop rock tunes of the decade. This is that one rap song that just everyone seems to know the lyrics to, and if they don’t, they’re more than familiar with the famous “mum’s spaghetti” line.īefore Drake had everyone hash-tagging #YOLO, The Strokes were reminding us about our own mortality with this heartfelt rocker whose intro sounded suspiciously similar to Queen’s ‘I Want To Break Free’. Besides the fact that you get to hear how a song that would go on to have such a significant impact on popular culture started off (with different structure, including a repeat in the first chorus, and mostly unformed lyrics), but you get to hear a band that has no idea what they’re about accomplish – they’re just demoing a song for their next album. ![]() ![]() Listening to the demo of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ for the first time is a rather extraordinary experience. For one thing, it was entirely a cappella. After all, it comes from one of the most important pop albums of the 20th century from one of its most important artists.īut what separates this demo from the others on the list is that while many of them already had the beat pretty much nailed and it was just a matter of the star injecting their lyrics and/or vocals into the mix, the demo of ‘Beat It’ was radically different. While there’s plenty of famous pop tunes in this list, this one is undeniably the most memorable and iconic of all featured. In some cases, we reckon the demos may even match the originals! Michael Jackson – ‘Beat It’ We’ve compiled a few of our favourite demos. In other cases, unforgettable songs started off in forms that are almost unrecognisable when compared to the ones we know and love in the form of demos. ![]()
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