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BEYOND THE SONG: "AMPUTEE"
THE 10 SONGS THAT INFLUENCED “AMPUTEE”
Beyond The Song | “Amputee” is the first in a series of blogs and Spotify Playlists that will showcase the 10 songs that inspired each track on the Rival Waves debut album, TRANSDUCER.
Join us as we feature the 10 tracks Beyond The Song | “Amputee”. The first track off of TRANSDUCER, and the debut single from Rival Waves.
1. FOO FIGHTERS – “FLOATY”
The intro chord progression of Foo Fighters‘ “Floaty” was magical. I wanted to leverage that Emaj7 progression into a central theme for a song of my own. It felt like there was more to explore there.
This became the initial impetus and the skeletal structure of “Amputee”. It kind of grew out of that line of thought. Their self-titled debut album is still one of my favorites by Grohl & co. “Floaty” is one of their most underrated songs – one that provided a real gift to us.
2. RADIOHEAD – “BONES”
OK Computer is often considered the album that made Radiohead one of the most important bands of the last 50 years. Ever the contrarian, I’ve always been partial to The Bends. That album possesses some of the band’s finest rock and roll moments.
“Bones” happens to be one of my favorite songs on the album. So I wanted to include a little tribute to the band on “Amputee”. The distorted tremolo/delay effect found throughout the song is such a great piece of ear candy. It was something we wanted to pay tribute to on our track.
The original idea was to have three electric chords accenting the acoustic intro. As we were recording the song, our producer began playing with panning and delay effects on it. I said: “Hey, it’d be cool to capture that effect from that whole tremolo’d thing on ‘Bones’, can we do that?” The rest is history.
3. THE CLASH – “TRAIN IN VAIN”
Hands down, The Clash are one of my Mt. Rushmore bands. With the integrity and intensity of their ethos, everything we create in Rival Waves aims for Joe Strummer/Mick Jones territory. Even if we never reach this level of integrity, the journey in the attempt always keeps us honest.
To that end, the musical energy and phrasing of “Amputee” stems from one of The Clash’s biggest hits off of the band’s iconic London Calling album. I loved the simple vocal phrasing in the verses between the main lick. The vocal melody is catchy and memorable, and a large reason for the song’s lasting success. It was something I sought to capture in mapping out the vocal phrasing for “Amputee”.
The short bursts of melody in the storytelling amidst a love song about the end of a relationship are definite parallels. “Train In Vain” didn’t happen to be a direct influence on the “Amputee” lyric. But the fact that they are both upbeat songs with such similar lyrical topics is something that is not lost on me.
4. PEARL JAM – “SUPERSONIC”
This track’s influence is all about that punk rock feel wrapped up in modern alternative rock production. The chord attack, the propulsive drums, and the half-time bridge are all influences on what would become “Amputee”. The energy also pretty much sets the sonic palette for TRANSDUCER.
Those who know me (Joel) know the influence Pearl Jam has on me. I’ve been a die-hard fan of theirs for more than 25 years and have attended more shows than I care to admit. 2009’s Backspacer did not prove as timeless as Ten or VS. Nor was it as focused song-wise as their 2006 self-titled album, but “Supersonic” is a highlight. It captures the energy of a band hitting on all cylinders. Something Rival Waves strive for each time we come together to push sound around.
5. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – “BRILLIANT DISGUISE”
Believe it or not, this song was the original lyrical blueprint for “Amputee”.
The self-doubt of being in a relationship is one of the most difficult things to deal with – and one of the most real. Bruce Springsteen used his songwriting skills to capture this in a 4-minute pop song. I aimed to do the same with how one feels not long after “you turn away”.
Exploring the concept of feeling like a part of you is missing. That aspect of a phantom limb that used to be that other person. The idea of a heart removed, of a person left colder, lighter, after the dissolution of a relationship. An idea helped to forge an identity of an “us”.
This is a level of understanding love, and relationships that “The Boss” is capable of expressing in a song. As such, it was the lyrical bar I aimed for in “Amputee”.
6. U2 – “I WILL FOLLOW”
“I was on the outside when you said/ You said you needed me/ I was looking at myself/I was blind, I could not see.”
U2 is another lyrical childhood influence that proved a surefire callback on “Amputee”. Despite their recent missteps, U2 has always been able to write a song, convey a feeling, and put on one hell of a show. They have made a career of converting people from the coldest cynics to anthem-singing true-believers. This is the essence of their influence.
7. PIXIES – “RIVER EUPHRATES”
Surfer Rosa was one of those seminal albums for 10-year-old me. It was an album that a college-aged cousin passed down to me via mixtape. He gave it to me with the following commandment: “Listen to this. this one is important…”
When Kurt Cobain informed the world how important the Pixies were a few years later, I felt like I’d had a head start on the future. Songs like “Gigantic” and “Where is My Mind?” would go on to leave indelible marks on my musical psyche.
“River Euphrates” use of dynamics and intensity influenced the original arrangement of “Amputee.” It also gave a pre-pubescent me the blueprint and muse I’ve been chasing ever since.
8. NIRVANA – “HEART-SHAPED BOX”
It codified everything important in the music I loved. It also showed how to do so without adding any more than needed. While the songwriting was Beatle-esque, the volume and energy rivaled The Stooges and The Who. The aesthetic was more punk than punk and heavier than heavy.
The influence of “Heart-Shaped Box” on “Amputee” shows up in the bridge of our song. By far, the hardest and heaviest part of the 4 minutes and 20 seconds of “Amputee”. The screams, the distortion, and the tom-heavy drum fills on “Amputee” derive influence from this masterpiece.
9. MUTEMATH – “NOTICED”
Mutemath brought a Police-influenced new wave/pop tinge to some great musicianship. With “Noticed,” they do so in the form of a top-notch love song.
They remain one of my favorite bands of the 00s. Their self-titled debut album stands heads and shoulders above everything they’ve done since. Which is saying a lot as they’ve covered so much artistic ground since then.
“Noticed” influenced my writing on “Amputee” more than many of the other songs on this list. While the songs differ, Mutemath’s musicianship and attention to songcraft remain influential.
Anytime I write a song, I ask myself how Mutemath would approach the arrangement or the drum part or the tempo or the intensity or the…
10. FOO FIGHTERS – “HEADWIRES”
The vocal melody for “Amputee” was quite influenced by “Headwires”. I’m pretty sure this came from memories of listening to Nothing Left to Lose on repeat in the early 2000s. It was one of my favorite albums of that era of my life. It also spawned quite a few of my favorite Foo Fighters songs – “Learn to Fly“, “Generator”, “New Skin”, “Aurora”, and “Breakout.”
“Headwires”, seems to capture that loud/quiet/loud aesthetic more than any of their other songs to me. The song was quite the influence on my psyche as I fleshed out the vocals for “Amputee.” It was clear as we revisited this album during our mastering sessions.