One Chord Trick

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What is the best one chord tune and why does it work for you?

― sean, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I started a thread on my fave one-chord tune yesterday and as usual nobody answered it. Go on, find it yourselves. Fuck all y'all

― dave q, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Sean!! You just made Dave cry!! This is just awful.

I can't count chords. . . so I can't answer this question.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"one note" by ikara colt. because i'm lazy and it's the first one that popped into my thick skull

― electric sound of jim, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The first thing that pops to mind is Dismemberment Plan's "What Do You Want Me to Say," which is one chord most of the time, but not the entire time. What else? "One Note Samba"? "O.D. Catastrophe"?

― Lee G, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I can only think of Kraftwerk's Pocket Calculator.

― Jez, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The greatest hits of Krautrock are one chord wonders! "Hallo Gallo", "Chain Reaction/Quantum Physics", "Future Days", "Krautrock", et al.

Actually, drone/trance music almost has to be one-chord, so as, you know, not to mess up the drone. See also "Tomorrow Never Knows", the whole of Vision Creation Newsun, In A Silent Way (though there are some subtle variations), Stockhausen's "Stimmung".

― dleone, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Does Tomorrow Never Knows count? Tell me to shut up if this is pedantic, but isn't it two chords over one pedal bass note (changing at "...it is not dying"?

― Jez, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Public Enemy Number 1"

― Nick, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Does Tomorrow Never Knows count?

Yeah, maybe not. I once read how the tune was originally a pure one- chord thing, but then at the last minute they overdubbed some harmonium which gave the illusion of changing chords. So strike it down!

― dleone, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

la monte young to thread please.

― jess, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"One Thing Leads To Another" by the Fixx. "La Grange" by ZZ Top? Actually, I don't really care for either, but they've got but one.

― Andy, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I think "La Grange" changes chords in the middle, for the guitar solo.

― dleone, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

John Coltrane, 'India'

Any 60's James Brown tune without a bridge (hmm, Soul Power perhaps?).

― Jordan, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Isn't Born In The USA just E?

― Kris, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

stereolab, 1990 - 1995.

but seriously, sebadoh's new worship is the best one chord song ever. even at the end when it gets all heavy it's merely different voices and alterations of the same chord.

― fields of salmon, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant. One chord - C# Major

― http://gygax.pitas.com, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

How can you have verse, bridge, and chorus with one chord? It is not a tune if it only has one chord!

― The Ghost of Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It is not a tune

One note != one chord. Although, the "One Note Samba", which definitely had a lot more than one chord but only one note in the melody, is a pretty famous tune. Thus, rules aren't cool.

― dleone, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Electric Avenue" is in A; "Born in the USA" is in B.

Transona Five has a couple great one-chord songs, especially "A Radar Screen" and the "Trucker Talk" songs. And Slowdive's "Rutti" is kind of a one-chord song, though when you start getting into modal stuff with a pedal point the definition of "one-chord" gets a little nebulous.

"One Thing Leads to Another" is definitely up there.

― Phil, Tuesday, 14 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Surfin' Bird" is that one chord?

― 1 1 2 3 5, Wednesday, 15 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Great question.

No the Boss (USA) does not qualify.

Likely winner: Lou Reed.

― the pinefox, Wednesday, 15 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

No the Boss (USA) does not qualify.

Reason being that, iirc, the bass changes notes periodically (if in B, then it goes down to E), effectively changing the chord -- even though nobody else changed!

― dleone, Wednesday, 15 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

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