Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck

Album: Cleansing (1994)
Charted: 80
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • One of the most popular tracks by Prong, the lyric to this song came to frontman Tommy Victor when he was riding in the subway. "It's one of those songs that comes from being in the moment," he told us. "That's what it's about: you want to enjoy what's going on right now instead of worrying about these things in the past or worrying about the future, really." (Here's the full Tommy Victor interview.)
  • The song juxtaposes the anodyne act of snapping your fingers with the brutal image of snapping your neck as a metaphor for extremes: either is fine as long as you're doing it mindfully and with passion.
  • This song owes a debt to a Canadian group called Front Line Assembly. When Tommy Victor worked as a soundman at the club CBGS's, patrons would sometimes give him tapes hoping he would play them. One of these tapes was a recording by Front Line Assembly that he later used as the musical basis for this track (although he made it much more metal). Victor says that the band knows all about this, and are cool with it.
  • One of Prong's forebears is the British band Killing Joke, and many of that group's trademark elements appear on this track, including percussive guitar, overtones, and a flange effect on the chorus.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."