The Six Best YEAHs in Rock & Roll

The Six Best YEAHs in Rock & Roll

By Ryan Wasoba Tue., Sep. 18 2012 at 11:08 AM

A well placed, well delivered "yeah" can mean so much more than just a lazy "yes." Here are the six best YEAAAHs in rock and roll. Let us know your favorites in our comments, yeah?

6. Usher (feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris): "Yeah!" (0:14)

"Yeah!" may have been the crowning moment of crunk, that downtempo, handclap heavy strain of hip-hop that was infectious enough to make somebody like Lil Jon famous. The great "yeah" in "Yeah!" is actually the last one: "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" (pause, then in a lower voice) "yea-uh." It's a tough word to get two syllables out of. Congrats, Usher.

5. The Beatles: "She Loves You" (0:02)

It's a boring but necessary addition to the list. The Beatles often get credited for adding "yeah" to the rock & roll canon with "She Loves You." Apparently (which means, according to a very brief look at the Wikipedia page to make sure the song doesn't have any "Yeahs" in parenthesis in the song title as I have falsely seen it credited before), "yeah" became a stigma for the young Beatles, who some mockingly called the Yeah-Yeahs. Forty years on, we have the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Flaming Lips' "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song," and "Yeah" by LCD Soundsystem. One generation's insult is the cred play of the next.

4. The (International) Noise Conspiracy - "Abolish Work" (2:07)

Dennis Lyxzen's screams are best known from his work in Refused. On the band's landmark track "New Noise," he alternates badass howls with "woos" and a "yeah" or two, which was not exactly tough guy behavior in the late '90s. After Refused split, Lyxzen started The (International) Noise Conspiracy, a surprisingly funky garage-rock group and transformed from a hardcore frontman into a mod soul singer without even changing his delivery. At 2:07 on the second song from T(I)NC's first album, Lyxzen sets off a series of thrashing "yeahs" that end in one epic "yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhh" scream that can only be topped by the one that tops this very list.

Tags:

collective soul, lil jon, not bruce springsteen much to my chagrin, the who, usher, van halen

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Bob_McMahon

Also, sexiest yeah = Kim Gordon on "Elimintaor, Jr."

Dennis Gaddis

Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast

Jackie Midyett

Roger Daltrey on Baba O'Reilly

Lucas D. Foltz

Winner of the worst "Yeah" award goes to James Hetfield on "Fuel" by Metallica.

Darrel Stluniverse Blankenship

jeff scot soto in the movie rockstar covering dios stand up & shout

Joey Saturn

3.Sebastian Bach in the beginning of Skid Row's Monkey Business 2.Bruce Dickenson in Iron Maiden s Number of the Beast, 1. Tim Owens in Judas Priest's Hell is Home

Bob_McMahon

There's no way you would have known to ask, Mr. Wasoba, but I wish you consulted me on this. Sheer laziness and common sense are the only things that stopped me from once making an annoying song consisting of different rock "yeahs."

I submit White Zombie's "More Human Than Human." Art Alexis' "Yeah" should be mentioned, though perhaps not celebrated. Worst rock "yeah" of all time goes to Lenny Kravitz for "Fly." Best sampled Yeah goes to whoever goes "YEAH, MAN!" in "Devil's Haircut" right before the sick drum break. And I don't know if it strictly counts, but the Brian McCann's "yeahs" as the Twitter Tracker guy on Conan are more rock than anything.

Bob_McMahon

This is Bob McMahon, by the way. I get sick of trying to navigate this new commenting systems and the different usernames that spring from different email/twitter names and such.