I’m having a hard time choosing between all the “Firework” drums covers, so let’s have a smorgasbord.
First, this guy:
Rocking the big-ass Gretsch kick drum! Enough with all those tiny-ass tubular kick drums that look like floor toms lying on their sides — my man is bringing the big ol’ Bonham kick.
It was during the first build-up (1:00) that I started to worry about the fate of that ride cymbal. He’s getting so into that build-up, beating up on that snare so hard, I was like, “That poor ride cymbal is about to get demolished.”
(1:15) I was right. As always. (I’m really good at predicting whether a drummer is about to go completely ape-shit during a song’s chorus, and I’m especially good at knowing exactly which drums and cymbals are in for a rough ride. Somebody please tell the Macarthur Foundation about this amazing talent of mine.)
But as much as I like watching ride cymbals getting knocked around the room, my favorite moment in this video is (2:39) — watch his face. That is the face of a young man finally realizing just exactly how freakin’ hard he is rocking.
Next we have this young woman:
For me, it’s all about (0:50 – 0:55). When she reaches behind her, you know she’s turning the music up.
Umm, I wonder if any shy emo-boys at her school are in love with her very much? “I really like the color of your drum set. Do you want to maybe, like to, umm, go record shopping at the college town 80 miles southeast of where we live? Or maybe we could just study for Ms. Lambert’s trigonometry test.”
Then there’s this fellow:
I was sad that he did the first build-up on cymbals instead of on the snare. I was thinking, “Oh man, why waste such a great crescendo on a bunch of swishy-swashiness?” Well, I guess he heard me, because the next build-up is preeeeeety bad! (2:00) Arrggggh why weren’t his toms mic’d???
And now, our final drum cover. It’s grown-up time.
I know, I know: He makes bad build-up choices. He just messes around on the cymbals instead of whippin’ ass on the snare. But really, how are you not loving this guy? This guy is the guy you want in your band. Practice scheduled for 3:30? “I’ll be there at 3:15.” Also: “Do you guys mind if I play my balls off for three hours and never break a sweat? Because that’s kinda my style.” Look at how freakin’ focused the wear on his snare drum is. He’s hitting it in the exact same spot every time. HE DROPS A DOUBLE-KICK-DRUM INTO “FIREWORK,” FOR GOODNESS SAKE, WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE CROWN HIM THE KING OF ROCK & ROLL ALREADY???