The coolest songs that sample "The Nutcracker"

Including over-the-top video breakdowns of said samples. I couldn't help myself!

Dec 20, 2024

Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is my favorite piece of music. I’m talking, like, take-one-album-to-a-deserted-island favorite. There aren’t many songs that sample it, and there are even fewer songs that sample it in ways I actually find very interesting. I’d like to show you those songs now.

Contained in this newsletter are videos breaking down some of these samples measure by measure. Please know I had so much fun making these videos, and I had to stop myself from doing videos for the entire thing.

This is Part 1. Later this weekend, I’ll share my favorite albums and songs that do not sample but are instead covers and interpretations of pieces from The Nutcracker.

Act II, Scene 14c: “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”

We’re about to get a little sample-Inception, so walk with me here.

First, follow along with the famous arpeggiated celesta solo from “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” You’ll recognize it:

In 1975, composer for The Shining and famed electronic music pioneer Wendy Carlos would do her own version of The Nutcracker Suite with a synthesizer.

Wendy’s version of the Sugar Plum Fairy snippet sounds like this:

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Decades later, Detroit producer and rapper J Dilla would take Wendy’s sample and use it in a beat called “Jey Dee’s Revenge.”

“Jey Dee’s Revenge” - J Dilla
Spotify | Apple | YouTube Music | TIDAL | Amazon

There’s a pretty cool remix with Danny Brown rapping over it here on YouTube.

Act I, Scene 9: “Waltz of the Snowflakes”

“All Star Chuck Taylors” - Andre Nickatina (2002)
Spotify | Apple | YouTube Music | TIDAL | Amazon

Act I, Scene 8: “A Pine Forest in Winter”

“Soft Serve Rip Curl” - Panda Bear (2012)

Experimental artist Panda Bear of Animal Collective never officially released this song on any album or LP. It’s only been recorded live. You can listen here on YouTube. He really has an ear for the most gut-wrenching parts of The Nutcracker, because:

Act 2, Scene 14a: “Sugar Plum Fairy and Her Cavalier”

This is the song that introduces the Sugar Plum Fairy, two songs before she has her famous dance solo. The cello line I highlight in this next video is so beautiful that it sometimes makes me sick to my stomach. Follow along here:

It seems Panda Bear is a Nutcracker freak like me. In 2015, he officially released a song with a Nutcracker sample on his album Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper. (He really only uses the harp part.)