How Two Princes Works

the story of rock in the 1990s is a tale of two  very different vibes. on the one hand, this is the era of alt rock and grunge, from the chaotic  screaming of Nirvana to the depressive vignettes of Pearl Jam to the anxious whining of Smashing  Pumpkins. it's an era of darkness, of angst,

encumbered by the unbearable weight of the modern  world. but it's easy to forget that, at the same time, rock was also witnessing the revival of  the jam band, rejecting that darkness and turning instead toward rock's origins as a music of  celebration. a music of fun. with bombastic live

shows and music that fused elements from other  upbeat styles like country, jazz, and funk, these bands provided an alternate view of the world,  one based not in pessimism and anger but in joy.

and no song captures that moment better than the  Spin Doctors' Two Princes. let's take it apart. (tick, tick, tick, tick, tock) before we get started, if you want  to see my next video a month early or just watch this one ad-free, those  are both live now on Patreon. there's

a link in the description, more  on that at the end of the video. I'm gonna do things a little different this time.  normally, I like to start these videos with the intro, then follow the song as it develops  through verses, choruses, and so on. but here,

I can't really do that, because instead of  the more typical rock approach of building a dynamic contour by moving between sections, Two  Princes borrows more from the funk tradition, which likes to sit in a groove to see  just how deep it goes. put simply, most of this song is a single two-bar loop. (bang)

there's a couple bridges, but they're few and  far between, and their main job is to shuttle you back into that repeating groove. so if  we really want to understand how it works, we can't follow it from start to finish. we  have to take this loop apart piece by piece,

and like any good groove, that  starts with the drums. (bang)

these are played by Aaron Comess, and the  first thing that strikes me is the sound itself. specifically, that snare tone. this  song is famous for its incredible snare tone, and rightly so. it might sound a little lonely in  the isolated track, but in the full mix: (bang)

it's got such a unique, piercing character  to it, unlike anything I've heard elsewhere. and it all starts with gated reverb. this  is the combination of a heavy reverb effect and a noise gate. the reverb adds  a sense of space and power: (bang)

but too much can make it sound washed out and  interfere with other instruments in the mix. the noise gate cuts it off after a bit: (bang) so  you get that massive impact on the actual drum hit

without having to manage the  echoey tail that comes after. gated reverb is, like, the  iconic drum sound of the '80s, the engineering force behind hair  metal's infamous shotgun snares. (bang)