How do you describe a song when there's no way to get across the tune?
Believe this to be a mid-to-late-eighties number by either Eurythmics
or Annie Lennox: Up-tempo, disco-flavored. Begins with the fast,
straight-ahead 4/4 pounding of the bass drum. A synthesized note is
played once, then twice, then three times, then four times, all on the fourth beat.
Then the the first lyric comes in. Clueless about the lyric and not
altogether sure whether it is indeed Eurythmics or Lennox. Tried the
whole Eurythmic/Lennox catalogue on iTunes. No luck. But it sure
sounds like them. Any help? |
Clarification of Question by
mccook-ga
on
26 Sep 2004 09:41 PDT
Sorry, for what it's worth, I was just informed that the synthesized
note is played on every eighth beat, not fourth.
mccook-ga
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Request for Question Clarification by
markj-ga
on
26 Sep 2004 10:00 PDT
mccook --
Do you recall whether that rhythmic pattern continues throughout the
song, or does it appear only at the beginning of the track?
markj-ga
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Clarification of Question by
mccook-ga
on
26 Sep 2004 20:09 PDT
Good to hear from you, markj-ga. (I have not gotten an e-mail about
this request for a clarification; saw your message by just checking
in).
I'm think that halfway through the song the whole business stops,
there's a quick little break, and the pattern repeats once.
I seem to recall, too, that a woman sings it without any background
help at all. It's quite sassy and triumphant and it may have to do
with how great a lover the subject is. Have sworn up and down to
anyone who would help that it's Lennox singing, but even after
listening to ten seconds of everything iTunes sell of her or
Eurythmics, I hear nothing that sounds even remotely like that very
distinctive opening riff. It's infectious, and it's killing me
(softly). But that, of course, is not the tune.
A proportionally generous tip for your help, natch.
mccook-ga
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Request for Question Clarification by
googleexpert-ga
on
26 Sep 2004 20:38 PDT
Hi mccook,
Do you remember where you first listened to this tune?
...also, can you describe the song structure?
For instance, are there any lyrics that repeat in the song?
was it something like verse, chorus, verse, bridge, break, verse?
Thanks.
-googleexpert
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Clarification of Question by
mccook-ga
on
27 Sep 2004 11:04 PDT
googleexpert-ga: Good to hear from you too. I seem to recall first
hearing it on the radio (so it would have been a Top 40 hit) in the
early to mid-1980s. The maddening thing is that beyond that first riff
(and the suspicion that there was a break after which the riff began
again) I recall nothing of the structure or lyric.
I grow increasingly convinced, though, that this can't be Eurythmics
or Lennox. Pretty sure it would have wound up on any best-of albums
either one put out. But to my ear, that's what the song sounds like.
Very up-tempo. Danceable. With that infectious synthesized chord
which, for want of any scholarly way to reproduce it, went: *Bomp*
(eight beats) "bomp-bomp* (eight beats) *bomp-bomp-bomp* (eight beats)
*bomp-bomp-bomp-bomp*: lyric and tune.
It's not actually costing me sleep, but . . . .
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Request for Question Clarification by
pinkfreud-ga
on
27 Sep 2004 11:19 PDT
This is totally a wild-ocelot guess, but could one of these songs by
Ellen Reid be the one? She reminds me of Lennox sometimes.
http://www.msellenreid.com/2.0/music/main.html
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Clarification of Question by
mccook-ga
on
16 Oct 2004 19:17 PDT
Thanks to everyone for trying. The Yaz suggestion was helpful -- real
close in terms of genre and sound -- but no dice. One glorious day
I'll hear the song and all life's mysteries will be solved. If I
figure ever figur it out, I'll post the answer as a question.
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Clarification of Question by
mccook-ga
on
25 Oct 2004 09:54 PDT
juliacollins-ga: I entered this in the Comment section. Probably
should have entered it in the Clarification to get your attention:
Willikers, Julicollins-ga, YOU'VE DONE IT!
There was an element to the song that I had completely forgotten,
which was the referee whistle. That would have been a huge tip-off. I
cannot tell you how grateful I am to you. If I can now find a place to
purchase and download this song -- iTunes does not seem to have it;
any ideas? -- I will be able to give The Boyfriend the birthday
present of the year.
Are you a Google researcher? If so, please post as an official answer.
To all other contributors to this effort, thanks for your creative
thinking. You've turned me on to good music and musicians that I
otherwise would never had heard of.
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Clarification of Question by
mccook-ga
on
26 Oct 2004 06:07 PDT
julicollins-ga: Well, I hope you get the Google gig, because you did
me a wonderful favor figuring this one out. The tip would have been in
the billions.
mccook-ga
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