Spring is finally upon us, so that means one thing…it’s time to get drunk! Don’t look at me like that; all of us are excited to welcome the spring the only way we know how: going out for Saint Patrick’s Day! I’m sure many of you plan on chugging Irish Car Bombs while being serenaded by bands singing about how they can’t see straight. While we’re on the subject of drunken musicians, here are eight unique and odd solos that bands could have only thought up while drunk.

 

Andrew Bird- “Scythian Empires”
From the album - Armchair Apocrypha (2007)
Drunken solo - “Whistling”

     Okay, I know this one isn’t too crazy, but we haven’t heard much whistling in music since Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” I note this song more for its originality, rather than absurdity. Rarely is whistling a prominent sound in music, and Andrew Bird is an expert on implementing his whistles seamlessly into his music. The whistling theme can be heard twice after the halfway point of the song; a wonderful ending to a beautiful song. I’m just warning you, this may be one of the most peaceful songs you’ve ever heard.

 

Tenacious D - “One Note Song”
From the album- Tenacious D (2001)
Drunken solo- One guitar note played the entire song
    Here’s one example where it’s incredibly realistic that the artists actually were drunk at the time of recording. “One Note Song” is a skit in which the hilarious Jack Black and Kyle Gass write the easiest song ever created by man. The song is essentially one long solo, in which only one note is strummed the entire time. A twist comes when they “brilliantly” bend the note at times to change the sound. The resulting song is both masterful and mindless. NEXT SONG!  

 

Queen - “Bicycle Race”
From the album- Jazz (1978)
Drunken solo- Bicycle bells
    It’s about time we get to the more ridiculous solos. By the time Jazz was released, Queen had already cemented themselves as one of the greatest rock bands of the seventies. People were (pleasantly) surprised when Queen showed off their humorous side in this album with “Fat Bottom Girls” and “Bicycle Race.” When it appears the song is about to end, a breakdown of different pitched bicycle bells is played right before the energetic ending.

 

Pink Floyd - “Corporal Clegg”
From the album - A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
Drunken solo - A kazoo
    Yeah, the instrument we annoyed our parents with when we were five years old is featured in a Pink Floyd song. I’d like to give you a fair warning, as this is an early Pink Floyd song that sounds drastically wilder and stranger than anything you’d expect to hear. The song is a standard early Pink Floyd tune until the chorus, which actually sounds like they’re starting to implement the more atmospheric sound we hear in their later albums. Then, the band goes back to its wild ways with a loud and ridiculous kazoo solo.

 

Pink Floyd- “Seamus”
From the album - Meddle (1971)
Drunken solo - A dog
    Yep, that’s right. I said a dog. Pink Floyd ups the ante a few years later by allowing a dog in the recording studio. While it’s not technically a solo, a hound howls in the background during the entire song. His bellowing may not match the key of the song perfectly, but it surprisingly fits the mood.

 

Jimi Hendrix- “Taking Care of No Business”
From the album - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000)
Drunken solo- A trumpet…kind of
    Much like Queen’s “Bycicle Race,” this song shows a more humorous side of one of the most influential and mesmerizing guitar players. Hendrix tells us a story about his life as a bum who must fight an alley cat for food. Halfway through the song, a trumpet joins the standard blues progression; only you realize it doesn’t sound quite right. If you’re listening along with me, you’re correct; that’s Jimi Hendrix miming the sound of a trumpet with his mouth.

 

Dan Deacon- “Snookered”
From the album - Bromst (2009)
Drunken solo - Sine waves
    It turns out those graph curves you never quite fully understood in high school can make some really awesome music. Baltimore-based Dan Deacon’s complicated music can easily be summed up as a sound collage. In many of his songs, he plants a theme that builds upon itself as the song continues. More parts are added until every component is heard at the apex. The sine waves that are heard after the first bell part sound like a keyboard, but still provide a unique sound. Also, this song is pretty wild; so brace yourselves…a blown mind is coming.

 

Led Zeppelin- “Dazed and Confused” (Live)
From the album - The Song Remains the Same (1976)
Drunken solo - A whole damn song and a guitar played by a violin bow
    The live version of this song is epic. Sorry, I must correct myself. Every live Led Zeppelin song is epic. The live version of this song is EPIC. After jamming and rocking out for about five minutes, the song quickly changes form entirely. Simply extending the solo isn’t good enough for Led Zeppelin, so the only logical next step is to play a whole song between the one you just started. Guitarist Jimmy Page then displays his virtuosity by playing guitar for five minutes…with a violin bow. They then continue playing from where they last stopped as if the whole middle of the song didn’t even happen.