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

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Penny Ford of Snap!

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.

Crystal Waters

Crystal WatersSongwriter Interviews

Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.