FYI When The Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin drum sample is covered in over 200 songs. A lot of hip hop from Dr Dre to Eminem to Beyonce. John Bonham was the man
Music Popular songs with awesome drums
- Thread starter Cheimoon
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Thoughts on this one??
I have my own (electronic) drumkit now, so I'm learning about songs that I thought were within my current skillset - and but really aren't. 
Here's one: Bad Religion's Los Angeles Is Burning.
Outside the lyrics, Bad Religion are obviously not know for their complexity, for good reason. But Brooks Wackerman, who played with them from 2001 to 2015 is a pretty good punk drummer who adds a lot of texture to songs. Punk isn't pop so not all of it fits this thread, but Los Angeles Is Burning (from 2004) was a bit of a hit for them and got good radio play. The drumming I think is really quite elaborate: lots of little and different fills everywhere (already in the introduction every tom/snare fill is different), good use of crashed and different cymbals, variety on the kick - there's just a ton going on at the drums while the song is still a really straightforward, catchy punk tune.
(As a fun factoid, I'll just point out that Brooks is the younger brother (17 years difference) of Chad Wackerman, a jazz/fusion/rock dummer who played with people like Zappa and Allan Holdsworth. I wonder if that influenced him!)
Here's one: Bad Religion's Los Angeles Is Burning.Outside the lyrics, Bad Religion are obviously not know for their complexity, for good reason. But Brooks Wackerman, who played with them from 2001 to 2015 is a pretty good punk drummer who adds a lot of texture to songs. Punk isn't pop so not all of it fits this thread, but Los Angeles Is Burning (from 2004) was a bit of a hit for them and got good radio play. The drumming I think is really quite elaborate: lots of little and different fills everywhere (already in the introduction every tom/snare fill is different), good use of crashed and different cymbals, variety on the kick - there's just a ton going on at the drums while the song is still a really straightforward, catchy punk tune.
(As a fun factoid, I'll just point out that Brooks is the younger brother (17 years difference) of Chad Wackerman, a jazz/fusion/rock dummer who played with people like Zappa and Allan Holdsworth. I wonder if that influenced him!)
Ulrich's catchiness is what sets him apart from other drummers. He knows when to embellish and when to take a back seat.
Who doesn't air drum the Sad But True intro or the weird crash placements in Enter Sandman?
Fyfe Ewing (Therapy?'s first drummer) was brilliant. He played something interesting in almost every song and his garbage can sound is iconic.
Anything from Metallica's And Justice For All album.
Really late reply, but since this thread is bumped…Chamberlain and Carey were the first two names I brought up in another favorite drummer thread years back.
Someone who was obviously a drummer told me in a roundabout sort of way to stay in my lane as a guitar player with the Dave Grohl pick as my third favorite (In Utero is just so iconic for me), but I felt vindicated that they agreed wholeheartedly on the other two. And Geek USA is the song listed as an example; his drums there still rock my world.
Hmm, that other drummer sounds a bit snobbish, tbh. Nothing really wrong with that Dave Grohl shout. I'm a massive fan of In Utero too, and his work with Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf is fantastic. Timeless. His triplets at the end of Song for the Dead always get me pumped. The drums that he did on The Colour and the Shape album are also great, with My Hero still sounding pretty huge and the underrated Hey, Johnny Park! being a personal favourite.
Feck the other guy, tbh. If you want Grohl as your third pick, I'd have it. Most people would kill to be in one fantastic rock band, and Grohl has been in 3! He's known these days for being the singer for the Foos, but I will always think of him first as Nirvana's drummer. The amount of people that picked up a pair of sticks or a guitar because of him are probably countless.
Geek USA is such a great song. Deserves more recognition, but I kinda like how it's just beneath that line. It's a classic, without ever having the damage of being overplayed or covered to it. Brilliant song. The Everlasting Gaze is another one where the drums just take it to another level - that final outro is just
. Off the same album, Stand Inside Your love is quite understated. Chamberlain and Carey are by far my favourite two. Stewart Copeland from The Police is another personal favourite. All three are very, very different to each other.Grohl wasn't an overly flashy drummer, but he hits the drums like they owe him money, and I'm fond of a hard hitter. It's particularly noticeable on In Utero and The Colour and The Shape, as mentioned above. His drumming just generally sounds great, even if he's not doing anything groundbreaking. Understandable why he's many peoples favourite.
As I've got older, I've learned to appreciate how many of the greats just sit in that pocket and often refrain from being too flashy, unless it's that right 'moment' for a huge fill or whatever. When I check out YouTube videos every now and again of people showing off their drumming, there are so many that tend to just go for fill after fill, and you lose that sense of rhythm. Grohl kept it very simple at times, and it worked for the music that Nirvana and early Foos were trying to do. Something like Heart Shaped Box is really, really simple, but it sounds great for it. In Bloom off Nevermind is another that sits well. It fits in with what the bass, guitar, and vocals are all doing. Grohl having that knowledge of being able to play those other instruments probably helped him with keeping those drums tight, so they never once felt out of place or took away from the rest of their songs. It's good musicianship. On a semi-related note, I often think of his fills as being written sorta like guitar riffs. You instinctively know which fill belongs to In Bloom, or which one belongs to Heart Shaped Box, or whatever. I feel the same sorta way about Chamberlain's fills.
That album is pretty much the blue print for all try hard metal that exists too day, which is ironic considering how much flack Lars' gets for not being a technical drummer. IIRC Frayed ends of Sanity is Grohl's favorite. Mine is:
I still have to listen to the songs people have been posting this week, but I just wanted to say that I agree Copeland is amazing. There are so many Police tracks worth citing here. Just this week I was listening to Murder By Numbers a couple of times to figure out what the heck he's doing to mess up that simple 3/4-12/8 the way he does.
Somehow that makes me think of Nick Mason. I don't know if he did it on purpose or was actually a rather limited drummer; but he certainly had a knack for doing very little in an absolutely perfect way in Pink Floyd.
Copeland is amazing. It's no coincidence he's been a massive influence on nearly all drummers mentioned in this thread.