“One two three four five! /
Break down baby”
Those are the first vocal samples you hear when playing this song, and it fits the tone of the track real quick. Immediately after comes the loud and crashing drum sample and a groaning bass drone. This, my friend, is a perfect example of Plunderphonics
Now, what is plunderphonics, you might be thinking. Well, simply put, it means a song composed of ONLY sampling other musical works or various other media (plunder as in plundering other works to use as your own creation). It was first coined by musician John Oswald for his album titled Plunderphonics in 1985. Now that sounds like stealing, and yeah pretty much, BUT there is an art to it, and it’s not just ripping an entire song from something else and calling it your own
In September 1996, Californian turntablist Josh Davis, better known as DJ Shadow released his first studio album Endtroducing….. . The reason for the title is that this was the last piece he created for his label, using a sound towards the future even though the sound was present in his prior EPs and through the rest of the album. Hence the combination of “End” and “introducing.”
The third track, “The Number Song,” is the most upbeat out of all of Shadow’s tracks on the album, thanks to the main drum sample used being “Baby Don’t Cry” by The Third Guitar, and a bass drone coming straight from “Orion” by Metallica. A key feature in almost all Shadow’s songs is that he does not sample drums with a simple loop. From “Baby Don’t Cry,” he takes the drum sections in between the lyrics and chops it up into a pattern that he wants, and this goes for almost all his songs, where he will chop a drum loop into a unique pattern instead of just taking the drum break and looping it
“C’mon and get wit it! ONE TWO THREE FOUR HIT IT /
What is this? This is — the number — song — before I start, let’s have the countdown. One two three four-or-or-or”
Now, that lyric above shows why the song is titled the way it is. Using multiple vocal samples of counting throughout. Shadow also shows off his turntable skills, with various scratching samples and chopping skills using his MPC60 with a variety drum samples throughout the song.
About two minutes in, the song switches gears, and goes into a new distinct vibe, anchored by a sample that contains a vocal that says “won’t you please let me rock your mind,” yet sounds like they are saying “one two three” instead of “won’t you please.” A few seconds later, there is another switch up, with a new drum sample until it goes back into The Third Guitar’s drums and Metallica’s bass with a count back in. At 3:20, the entire rest of the song is a single, un-edited drum solo by the band HE-6 and their cover of “Get Ready,” ending off this phenomenal song. About 20 samples are currently known according to WhoSampled, though many vocal samples are still unknown.
This song is one of my favorite songs on this album, with its high energy and complex drum chopping and vocal splicing. This song, along with the rest of the album, helped cement Shadow as one of the greatest DJ’s and innovators in my lifetime.
