It has come to my attention from various sources that there is a saxophone epidemic on our hands. I think the interesting thing about it is that the saxophone has always played an odd role in pop music. You have your Kenny G., the late Clarence Clemons (of Bruce Springstein’s outfit), INXS’s Kirk Pengilly and a slew of other sunglass-wearing guys swaying in the background waiting for their time in the spotlight. I never really thought the saxophone was consider cool in rock and hip-hop but somehow it creeps in there from time to time. Is it making a comeback?
So I can’t decipher if today’s artists are using this instrument ironically in their music or not (I’m guessing a yes for Macklemore).
Let’s have a listen to some saxophone soundalikes:
(note: one of the producers on “Problem” is Max Martin. He has made numerous appearances on this site)
Some similarities here as well:
In a previous post I compared Macklemore vs. Le1f
I thought it was fitting to bring The Beastie Boys into the mix. Their song “Brass Monkey” features a sample from Wild Sugar. I included them both here:
And finally in I thought there was a hint of the melody and rhythm of C&C Music Factory’s famous track in Grande’s riff.
Attention! If you want to listen to 10 hours of THE MOST EPIC SAX OF ALL
then hop over to
Also worth checking out:
“The 25 most awesome saxophone songs of all time” at DeathAndTaxes
