There's a scene at the end of "Lost in Translation" when Bill Murray chases down Scarlett Johansson on a crowded Tokyo street for a last goodbye. After Murray whispers something frustratingly indiscernible into her ear, a distinct drum pattern begins playing as the two walk away from each other forever.
The best way I can describe the simple pattern is: kick [pause], kick, kick, snare (clearly, I'm no drummer). Soon, a bassline and distorted guitars layer on top of the drum beat, and the song unfolds into a soft, shoegaze anthem.
That song is called "Just Like Honey" by the Jesus and Mary Chain, and that drum pattern was forever etched into my memory. As I listened to more music, I came across that same pattern, which I will refer to as the "Chain Pattern" in honor of the Jesus and Mary Chain, in many other pop songs throughout history.
The earliest example of the Chain Pattern that I found was "Leader of the Pack" by the Shangri-Las that came out in 1964. The four girls harmonize beautifully over the Chain Pattern while lead singer Mary Weiss laments her troubles. The song, in which a girl finds forbidden love at a candy store, is instantly catchy and paints the kind of all-American teen melodrama that is often associated with the '50s and '60s. "Leader of the Pack" is exemplary of the kind of music that the Shangri-Las, one of the most underrated groups of the '60s, were so good at making.
In 1977, Elvis Costello released his debut, "My Aim is True" (the album that this column is named after). Sure enough, the Chain Pattern is found multiple times on that album. The pattern makes its most prominent appearance on "No Dancing," a trademark Costello anthem. One of the most notable parts of the song happens after the chorus when the song reaches a sonic climax and then drops to nothing but Costello wailing over the Chain Pattern.
There is a reason, however, why I'm not calling the drum pattern the "Costello Pattern." In 1985, the Jesus and Mary Chain released "Psychocandy," one of the best pop albums ever, in my opinion. Four of the albums best songs ("Just Like Honey," "Cut Dead," "Some Candy Talking" and "Sowing Seeds") all use the Chain Pattern.
Initially, I thought the band was either really lazy or just had a bad drummer who only knew how to play one pattern. Upon repeated listening, I realized that the Chain Pattern gives the album coherence and exemplifies the simplicity that makes "Psychocandy" so unique and groundbreaking. In this way the album is a kind of accidental masterpiece, as if the band stumbled into a recording studio and someone threw instruments at them and hit record. "Psychocandy" is the one album that truly celebrated and utilized the Chain Pattern.
And bands today are still using the infamous pattern to create great songs; just this year, both The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (on "Gentle Sons") and Girls (on "Ghost Mouth") used it for their debut albums. So, if you are in a band and having trouble writing songs, start with a particular drum pattern that has stood strong for four decades and, who knows, you may end up making the next "Psychocandy."