The five greatest opening lines in indie rock
In every genre, be it rock, folk, rap and all else, it’s difficult to write an opening line; however, it seems particularly tricky in the world of indie rock.
Indie rock isn’t a genre where words can be passed off as mere additions to a track, as the whole foundation of this style of music relies on accessibility and reliability. Listeners want bands and artists to speak to them on a deep level, as normality is made poetic, and complicated emotions are laid out in language which is easy to understand.
Luckily, despite it being a genre which lyricists might sometimes struggle to navigate, there are some opening lines that remain timeless, that still resonate, provoke intrigue, and make us laugh to this day, despite originally being penned years prior. It’s a skill that can never be understated, as the power of a good lyric remains, regardless of how genres might alter.
So, let’s celebrate some of these excellent indie writers and what lines they delivered which immediately got us listeners hooked.
The best opening lines in indie rock
Baxter Dury – ‘I’m Not Your Dog’
“I’m not your fucking friend, trying to be though”.
Who doesn’t love a bit of misdirection? Considering so much of Baxter Dury’s music is made up of extended lyricism, it’s interesting to see how he can do a lot in so little with the opening line of ‘I’m Not Your Dog’. Talk about reeling in the listener with a pinch of intrigue, the minute you hear these words, it’s hard not to be somewhat interested in what’s happening.
“I’m not your fucking friend” is incredibly aggressive and suggests we’re about to listen to a real damning indictment of whichever individual this targeting track is aimed towards. “Trying to be though”, well, hang on a minute, suddenly the different directions that this song can take are opened up, and all we can do is sit back and allow things to unfold.
Arctic Monkeys – ‘I Wanna Be Yours’
“I wanna be your vacuum cleaner, breathing in your dust”.
Alex Turner is one of the greatest poets that indie music has ever seen. It still baffles listeners how anyone can take a boozy night in Sheffield and turn it into the kind of thing you’d expect between the pages of romantic novels. His ability with words is second to none, and yet, arguably, Arctic Monkeys’ greatest opening lines aren’t actually written by him.
The music for ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ can all be attributed to the indie rockers; however, the lyrics were gifted to them from acclaimed poet John Cooper Clarke. They’re direct in their imagery, and yet incredibly sweet with their intent, making for the perfect blend of obscure and understandable, and there are very few indie rock songs out there that capture as much with one line.
Pulp – ‘This Is Hardcore’
“This is hardcore, you make me hard, you make the drama, and I’ll play the part”.
One of the best things to ever happen to Jarvis Cocker was falling out of a Sheffield window. Well, not literally, obviously, as the Pulp singer sustained some pretty serious injuries, but being helped by paramedics and spending time in hospitals gave him time to realise the real beauty of the world was all around us, and his music should reflect that, rather than be overtly obscure. It was this revelation that helped him write the album Different Class, a record which captures the heart of the everyday listener wonderfully.
However, his greatest opening line comes in the form of one of his later albums, This Is Hardcore, as the beginning of the titular track highlights how hard it can be working in the entertainment industry. While his multiple odes to normality are much more relatable, the cut-throat nature of ‘This Is Hardcore’, mixed with that iconic Cocker humour, makes for a truly great piece of lyric writing.
“‘This Is Hardcore’ is a bit about fame, actually… I ended up watching a lot of porn – hah! – on tour. If you get back to the hotel and you’ve got nothing to do, you put the adult channel on and have a look,” said Cocker, “It’s the way that people get used up in it. You’d see the same people in films, and they’d seem to be quite alive, and then you’d see a film from a year later, and there’s something gone in their eyes.”
He continued, “You can see it that they’ve done it all, and there’s nowhere else to go. There seemed to be something really poignant about that to me. It seemed to be very similar to the way people get used in the entertainment business.”
Miles Kane – ‘Colour of the Trap’
“If you just get it together and read my mind, then sleeping would be easy”.
If you’ve ever been to a Miles Kane gig, you know just how much energy he packs into his performances. The man never stops moving, owning every inch of the stage with the panache of the coolest of rock stars, but in the midst of those heavy gigs, he takes a moment every show to give fans a breather, as he plays the sweet serenade that is ‘Colour of the Trap’.
The song is only made up of two chords, but that’s all you need when you create something so beautiful. The track begs its muse to become a mindreader, as it would make the process of confessing love so much simpler. We’ve all been in the messy grey area of having to confess feelings but not wanting to say anything, and this song highlights that predicament wonderfully, all within its opening line.
Courtney Barnett – ‘Pedestrian at Best’
“I love you, I hate you, I’m on the fence, it all depends whether I’m up, I’m down, I’m on the mend”.
Between 62 and 54 BC, Roman poet Catullus was writing poetry, and in doing so, he came up with a verse that highlighted the fine line between love and hate, and the impossibility that surrounds both extremes. He said, “I hate, and I love. Why I do this, perhaps you ask. I do not know, but I sense that it happens and I am tomented”.
This short poem forms the foundation for the million love songs that came after it, and perhaps the closest anyone has come to capturing the essence of the Roman poet was Courtney Barrett on ‘Pedestrian at Best’. Those opening lines ring the same as BC penmanship, and it’s something that must be acknowledged in a piece about great opening lines.
