What is it about these songs? Help me find more!

August 5, 2007 10:33 AM

There was an occasional song or two at first that had something special about them... but once in a while I find another, and I have been able to identify elements that they have in common. Are there other songs out there like these? I must find more!

I first heard it on Elton John's "I Want Love", and then heard the same sound on the Beatles' "Free as a Bird" and Tom Petty's "Walls". I think I can define it as a slow pop/rock beat featuring prominent drums, straight quarter notes on a piano (sometimes guitar), and a slow rhythm of chord changes. The chord progression tends to be pretty simple, and the instrumentation is clean and open. I suppose all of this comes together to allow the melody to stand out.

I'm not sure why I love it, but I want to find more.

Here's what I've found so far. I've been obsessed with each and every one of these and need more! Any others?

- Elton John: I Want Love
- Beatles: Free as a a Bird
- Tom Petty: Walls
- Wilco: Passenger Side
- Tom Petty: This Old Town
- Fountains of Wayne: Mexican Wine
- Fountains of Wayne: I-95
- Badfinger: Come and Get It
- Cake: Waiting

posted by kdern to media & arts (9 comments total)

Also:

- Aerosmith: Pink
- They Might Be Giants: Contrecoup
posted by kdern at 10:41 AM on August 5, 2007

Anything by Tears for Fears
posted by softlord at 11:41 AM on August 5, 2007

You might like Joey by Concrete Blonde (from the album Bloodletting). Also on the same album: Caroline
posted by gt2 at 12:08 PM on August 5, 2007

You might try listening to kdern Radio, a Pandora station I created to answer this question. You can further tweak it by rating the songs thumbs up or thumbs down. Rating songs will splinter the station off into your own version (ie it doesn't matter what I do to the station after).
posted by natabat at 12:44 PM on August 5, 2007

Spoon: much of Gimme Fiction
posted by umbú at 1:20 PM on August 5, 2007

Nick Heyward: Kite
posted by SampleSize at 3:50 PM on August 5, 2007

What all those songs have in common (the ones I know, which is most) is an accented beat on every eighth note at a slow enough tempo that it is possible for the rhythm section to "drag" the beat slightly ahead of 2 and 4.
posted by spitbull at 5:41 PM on August 5, 2007

Strum rock.
posted by rhizome at 10:49 PM on August 5, 2007

Seconding Pandora to give you a better idea of common features of the tunes- good breakdown with further detail if required.
posted by Joe Rocket at 3:30 AM on August 6, 2007