Songs that contain a full stop? A momentary pause of any sound-making?
October 25, 2014 6:20 PM   Subscribe

I'm looking for songs (linkable to full versions such as by YouTube) to listen to that contain what I call a full stop, whereas the production of sound halts completely for a moment before resuming. Metal, Rock, Country, Klezmer, K-pop, Mariachi, or whatever you prefer.. Examples within.

If you don't have a YT link (or soundcloud, etc), perhaps go ahead and mention it in case it would one day have one :-3 The full stop needn't be sudden, but just dissimilar enough to rest of the song to seem like one to your own ear..

I don't know very many examples to start off; had heard these few recently and just noticed it and wondered if a list could be made of them since I could find no such list :-3

Examples:

"YYZ" by Rush, here at appx 00:34
"The Book of Heavy Metal" by Dream Evil here at appx 00:49
"Genie" by SNSD, here at appx 2:55
posted by Quarter Pincher to Media & Arts (92 answers total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
Previously.
posted by John Cohen at 6:22 PM on October 25, 2014 [3 favorites]


I Melt With You by Modern English?
posted by mermaidcafe at 6:27 PM on October 25, 2014


Wow the previously is pretty extensive. A great one that's not in there is Cake's Short Skirt, Long Jacket.

Edit: pause is at about 0:50, but just listen to the damn song.
posted by stinkfoot at 6:30 PM on October 25, 2014 [5 favorites]


There's a song by the Alan Parsons Project that does that near the end, but I can't remember which it is, or even which album except that it's at least 20 years old. I heard it on the radio one time and it fooled the DJ, who started talking only to have the music pick back up again.

Maybe someone else can be more specific?
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:30 PM on October 25, 2014


Tillman County, at the end.
posted by clavicle at 6:37 PM on October 25, 2014


The 'Tin roof... Rusted' part of Love Shack by the B-52s
Around the 2:02 mark of Gotye's Learnalilgivinanlovin
Around 2:40 of Ben Folds Five The Last Polka
I could play this game ALL DAY but I'm under a really big deadline.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 6:42 PM on October 25, 2014


If you're so inclined, Phish always puts a long pause in live renditions of Guelah Papyrus and Divided Sky (and everyone takes the opportunity to go nuts).
posted by stinkfoot at 6:47 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Sober by Pink

The Little Girl I Once Knew by the Beach Boys
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 6:52 PM on October 25, 2014


Response by poster: Bittersweet on the previously as far as originality of thread (I really did look, I swear =P) but perhaps this list could serve to permit addendums to that list since comments are closed to it :-3
posted by Quarter Pincher at 6:53 PM on October 25, 2014


John Cage - 4'33"
posted by sammyo at 6:56 PM on October 25, 2014 [9 favorites]


Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" has a 3-second pause.
posted by gladly at 7:01 PM on October 25, 2014


Compromise by the Indigo Girls (more than once!)
posted by tuesdayschild at 7:08 PM on October 25, 2014


Hello, I Love You by The Doors. Can be mind-blowing, depending on your state of mind.
posted by JimN2TAW at 7:12 PM on October 25, 2014


Dave Matthews does this a lot, especially live.

Here's a link to the one that is most prominent: Warehouse.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:16 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Wild NightVan Morrison
posted by effluvia at 7:17 PM on October 25, 2014


The last 10 or 15 seconds of the Sibelius 5th Symphony...
posted by BillMcMurdo at 7:19 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


I immediately thought of chococat's The Best Place In Town Is Also The Darkest.
posted by vegartanipla at 7:21 PM on October 25, 2014


Belle & Sebastian - Like Dylan in the Movies
posted by Rumple at 7:22 PM on October 25, 2014


Radiohead - Just
posted by synecdoche at 7:23 PM on October 25, 2014


Fwiw the musical term for this is "grand pause" and sometimes "fermata" which is the notation to do the thing to which you are referring.
posted by chasles at 7:25 PM on October 25, 2014 [2 favorites]


Backstairs, by the New Pornographers
posted by msali at 7:31 PM on October 25, 2014


Alanis Morissette, "All I really want"
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:43 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Turn Down for What - 2:14
Faith (Scarface) - 5:04
Diamond (Lorn) - 3:05
By the Time I get to Arizona (Public Enemy) - 4:19

Tuned Mass Damper (El-P) - 2:20 is pretty close.
posted by cashman at 7:44 PM on October 25, 2014


I believe you're talking about the Clearmountain Pause. The podcast Pitch did a great episode about the history of the Pause and the effect on listeners.

Per that episode:

“Bernadette” by the Four Tops

“Young Americans” by David Bowie

and “Closing Time” by Semisonic.

Oh also Crazy by Britney Spears.
posted by radioamy at 7:46 PM on October 25, 2014 [3 favorites]


Harvester of Sorrow - 4:52.
posted by ignignokt at 7:47 PM on October 25, 2014


You might find the first episode of the podcast Pitch interesting.
posted by Lexica at 7:50 PM on October 25, 2014


This is a regular, memorable, and recurring feature of Supervixen, the first track on Garbage's debut album.
posted by erlking at 7:54 PM on October 25, 2014 [4 favorites]


I always noticed this very brief silence in the last verse of the great Elvis Costello song "King Horse":
If I ever lose this good thing that I've got
I never want to hear the song you dedicated tonight
'Cause you see I knew that song so long before we met
That it means much more than it [pause] might
I've cued up the verse here. The pause happens at about 2:24.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 7:59 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Fugazi - Waiting Room (around 0:22)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:01 PM on October 25, 2014 [3 favorites]


Hefner - Hymn for the Cigarettes (break at ~3:15, though I always shout the "three four!" in the car).
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:13 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Captain Beefheart did some fun things with pauses. Blabber and Smoke has a really oddly placed one towards the beginning of the bridge, and Big-Eyed Beans from Venus has the long lunar note.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:22 PM on October 25, 2014


Sad But True (Metallica) - 3:07
posted by cashman at 8:32 PM on October 25, 2014


Nirvana - Territorial Pissings at 1:38.
posted by Leontine at 8:36 PM on October 25, 2014


Big Ten Inch (Record) - Originally Bull Moose Jackson and later covered by Aerosmith, who really milked it in live shows.
posted by carmicha at 8:48 PM on October 25, 2014


In the Beastie Boys Intergalactic they're known to let the beat

Drop. It happens at 3:09.
posted by jbenben at 8:51 PM on October 25, 2014 [2 favorites]


Clint Eastwood - (Gorillaz) 3:50
posted by cashman at 8:57 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench. Around 49 seconds in.
posted by O9scar at 9:14 PM on October 25, 2014


My Grandfather's Clock
posted by aniola at 9:34 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Patience by Guns N' Roses! At 4.12
posted by Blitz at 9:34 PM on October 25, 2014


The album version of Born to Kill, by Matthew Good Band, has a hard cut at the end of the song, mid-measure. Doesn't start up again after, though.
posted by Alterscape at 9:35 PM on October 25, 2014


Goodbye Earl by the Dixie Chicks -- "Goodbye Earl, we need a break --"

It's a pun, get it?
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:38 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


The end of Summer Love by Justin Timberlake. ~3:43

(I only know this because my local radio station edited the "full stop" to be way shorter... I guess because it confused listeners, but it threw the beat of the song off.)
posted by AppleTurnover at 10:08 PM on October 25, 2014


Djed by Tortoise
posted by PaulaSchultz at 10:17 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'd even take a look at the pause and reprise section of Bold as Love
posted by stinkfoot at 10:33 PM on October 25, 2014


INXS, New Sensation
posted by foxjacket at 10:38 PM on October 25, 2014


Garbage - I Think I'm Paranoid
posted by joeyjoejoejr at 10:39 PM on October 25, 2014


Don't Tell Me by Madonna
posted by ms_rasclark at 10:48 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Deee-Lite - Groove is in the Heart
The Breeders-Cannonball has at least 2 full stops
posted by stinker at 11:15 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


My stupid mouth - John Mayer
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 11:35 PM on October 25, 2014


Chromeo likes to do this. They've done it in a whole bunch of songs, especially on their most recent album.

Off the top of my head though, Fall back 2u does it at least once.
posted by emptythought at 12:29 AM on October 26, 2014


Foo Fighters do this at around the 3:00 minute mark on White Limo.

The weird thing here is that in the live versions even before the album was out, the silence was replaced by a held squeaky guitar note, which was so awesome that I was disappointed it wasn't on the studio version.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 1:00 AM on October 26, 2014


In Dance Critters by The Colorblind James Experience, there is a pause is at 2:32, between the lyrics ‘the music stopped,’ & ‘and then it started again.’
posted by misteraitch at 2:07 AM on October 26, 2014


Can't Hardly Wait by the Replacements has two, at 1:30 and 2:11. (It was mentioned in the Previously as having one stop. Mentioning it again for the second.)
posted by Woodroar at 2:14 AM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


And, When Problems Arise - Fishbone has three. 2:39 2:48 2:57
posted by humboldt32 at 3:17 AM on October 26, 2014


Another one that hasn't been mentioned yet is Throwing Muses, Hook in Her Head, at 1:39 (though it's perhaps more of a semi-colon than a full stop.

A more recent example: Menace Beach, Fortune Teller, at 0:23.
posted by Sonny Jim at 3:26 AM on October 26, 2014


Outkast - Hey Ya
posted by Dorothea_in_Rome at 3:28 AM on October 26, 2014


Jane's Addiction

Stop
posted by mattoxic at 4:18 AM on October 26, 2014 [2 favorites]


Pointer Sisters - Fire at 1:50
posted by kittydelsol at 4:50 AM on October 26, 2014


Rankin Full Stop by The (English) Beat - it is a sort of meta song about the effect you are looking for.
posted by rongorongo at 6:10 AM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


James Vincent Mcmorrow: If I had a boat (:05, :015)

Imogen Heap: Hallelujah (cover). She stops a bunch, although maybe it doesn't count since it's acoustic.

Here are two questions that are not exactly the same as this but might have some more inspiration. (I linked both of these songs there as well.)
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:17 AM on October 26, 2014


Fela Kuti: No Agreement
posted by coevals at 6:21 AM on October 26, 2014


The pauses might be a little short for what you're looking for, but they do it nearly every 10 seconds: 100 Million by Sunny Day Real Estate.
posted by functionequalsform at 6:54 AM on October 26, 2014


ABC's "All of My Heart", listen for it at about 1:32.
posted by John Kennedy Toole Box at 6:59 AM on October 26, 2014


Blues Traveler - The Gunfighter
posted by thejoshu at 7:04 AM on October 26, 2014


Obligatory mention of Jennifer Egan's "A Visit from the Goon Squad" that features a character obsessed with pauses in songs. There's some other links for this book in the previouslies, and here's a Soundcloud playlist with 12 songs mentioned in the book.
posted by Gortuk at 7:43 AM on October 26, 2014


Two Of Us by the Beatles
posted by Neeuq Nus at 8:15 AM on October 26, 2014


The Rezillos - Destination Venus at 2:57
posted by birdheist at 8:46 AM on October 26, 2014


"Leave" by R.E.M. on "New Adventures in Hi-Fi" - there's a stop at about 1:02 in the song, and an abrupt shift in the tempo/mood of the song. (Coincidentally, my favorite song by the band...)
posted by jzb at 9:52 AM on October 26, 2014


Broken Box by Queens of the Stone age - there are a few moments throughout where everyone pauses at the same beat (about 10 & 25 seconds for example) then the big one at about 1:37.
posted by usonian at 9:55 AM on October 26, 2014


A few people here are doing it, but just a tip for you all about Youtube URLs ...

Add a "t" value to a Youtube URL will cause it to jump to the time of interest. Here are two examples that mean the same thing:

&t=72s
&t=1m12s

Here's an example URL: Tar with "Walking The King", which has about 20 of these stop-starts, in groups of four:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtCP6rUcIc8&t=1m35s

There is no way I'm listening to a damn Cake song.
posted by intermod at 11:19 AM on October 26, 2014 [2 favorites]


The Mars Volta - Goliath at 5:00 (this is only in the video version of the song).
posted by neushoorn at 11:38 AM on October 26, 2014


Well, this one has the pause all the way of 1 second into the song: Metallica - Master of Puppets.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 1:08 PM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


Euro pop from France: J'adore from Philippe Katerine Louxor
posted by Vindaloo at 1:46 PM on October 26, 2014


Gorillaz - DARE, at 2.55. I could've done the marvellously clever &t above (thanks intermod) but then you wouldn't get the effect.

Though it's more kind of a hanging pause than a full stop.
posted by glasseyes at 1:53 PM on October 26, 2014


Camper Van Beethoven - Pictures of Matchstick Men - 2:22
posted by Gev at 2:53 PM on October 26, 2014


Bittersweet on the previously as far as originality of thread (I really did look, I swear =P)

Don't worry — this thread now has as many answers as the previous thread!
posted by John Cohen at 6:14 PM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


King Crimson - "In the Court of the Crimson King" here's a live version
posted by seawallrunner at 9:33 PM on October 26, 2014


Just saw this fellow open for someone this weekend, and was quite impressed. This song has a quite poignant break at about the 4 minute mark.

leftmore- like hell
posted by bluloo at 11:24 PM on October 26, 2014


Novocaine For The Soul by EELS.

Full 3 seconds of sudden dead silence at 1:20. Awesome tune too...
posted by Soap D. Spencer at 4:05 AM on October 27, 2014


Sudden Stop by Colin James.
posted by liquado at 6:32 AM on October 27, 2014


There is no way I'm listening to a damn Cake song.
posted by intermod


Boooooooo
posted by stinkfoot at 11:30 AM on October 27, 2014


Reigning Sound - I'm Trying (To Be the Man You Need) at 1:24 and 2:31.
posted by Turkey Glue at 3:26 PM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


My Name is Mud by Primus, starting at around 3:20.
posted by usonian at 4:41 PM on October 27, 2014


It's probably cheating because from what I understand it was a fortuitous pressing error (but oh what a nice one!), but I like having the excuse to shout out one of my favorite "songs" (really 3 songs strung together, but it means on mix tapes it winds up together as one, and so): Unwound's "Valentine Card/Kantina/Were, Are And Was Or Is." The full break between the first two songs is here. The seam between the middle and last song is much more integrated.
posted by ifjuly at 7:14 PM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


Otis Redding "Pain in My Heart./"

So good.
posted by spitbull at 12:20 PM on October 28, 2014


"Water Pistol Man" by Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.
posted by jzb at 11:54 AM on October 29, 2014


Funny that I found a reference to this on the Twitter of the writer Jennifer Egan, while looking itnto the thread about a story of hers:

WNYC's "Soundcheck" devoted 30 mins to pauses in rock and roll songs; John Schaefer digs up superb stuff. http://bit.ly/djmDGB

that link seems dead but maybe they have archives
posted by thelonius at 10:03 AM on November 1, 2014


J Dilla -- Stop (off of Donuts) -- 0:59
posted by freeform at 12:55 PM on November 10, 2014


NIN - Somewhat Damaged
posted by cashman at 8:17 PM on November 13, 2014


Black Milk - Detroit's New Dance Show (2:36)

And for the NIN song, 2:51. I hadn't been linking the specific times because it kind of ruins if if you get linked to straight where the production drops out.
posted by cashman at 3:09 PM on November 21, 2014


All Them Witches, "Charles William," has a full 5-second pause from 2:33 to 2:38 on the album version of the song. They evidently have fun performing the false ending live, if this is anything to go by (see 2:51 to 3:07).
posted by Sonny Jim at 8:21 AM on November 30, 2014


This is a regular, memorable, and recurring feature of Kill You, the first track on Eminem's second album.
posted by cashman at 8:47 PM on December 3, 2014


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