Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with music and songs

"This is the..." forgotten song!

broadway bill — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:46:44 -0800

ForgottenSongFilter: I am trying to help a friend recall a song, with dismal results (so far). All we know is that it is a hip hop/R&B/radio-pop type song, likely from the mid-1990s, with a female vocal in the chorus. The chorus is something along the lines of "This is the..." with a spelled out phrase following that, likely beginning with the letter L. There may or may not be "party sounds" in the background. HELP!?!

Best of the Web of Sound 09

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:46:58 -0800

What are some amazing virally-disseminated music songs from the internet from 2009? Every year I put together a blog post of "the list of the best/weirdest/catchiest internet-disseminated and -popularized songs from this year. They don't necessarily have to have been recorded this year, nor do they have to have an amusing video or animation associated with them, though that certainly is a major bonus.

The more obscure and memey the better: I'm not looking for just the most popular, though I can guarantee Kutiman's Thru-U is probably #1.

Thanks in advancement!

Please help me arrange rock songs

DMelanogaster — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:20:13 -0800

How can I find out the arrangements of well-known rock songs, so I can learn how to create arrangements myself? I am trying to create rock songs using Ableton software. That is, I'm singing on a track and then I'm adding midi tracks using midi instruments that emulate guitars, percussion, etc.

Except I've never been in a rock band so I don't know what I'm doing. I was a music major eons ago and know how to orchestrate music, but I can't figure out how to do rhythm guitar, etc. for my own songs.

I look up songs on You Tube and try to see what they're doing, and I've gotten a tiny bit of the knack of "scoring" "percussion" (i.e., playing fake drums), but my songs don't sound like rock songs.

For example, does a rhythm guitar just go "chord, chord, chord" to the beat? when I try to do that my song sounds muddy.

Are there any sources on the web or elsewhere that will show me what instrument is playing what on some rock songs?

I'm going to try to upload a song onto -- something -- so maybe people here can listen to it and tell me what's missing.

The fish part, I'm sure of.

Solon and Thanks — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:52:06 -0800

Argh! Please help me figure out this song fragment stuck in my head based on a clue or two. I heard it on the radio during a commercial. The song had an upbeat indie-pop sound. Male singer. I'm unsure of the lyrics I heard, but they involved blind/deaf/other disability blowfish (or other kind of fish.) I think the next part was "just doing their own thing" or "doing" something. I've tried googling a combination of the above lyrics, but clearly no dice.

I'm hoping that indie songs involving disabled fish are rare enough that the above will ring a bell.

The Birth of Rock and Roll

netbros — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:50:03 -0800

What was the really good music of the fifties and sixties? Even though I am a child of the fifties, I didn't really start paying attention to music until I was in high school in the late sixties. I know... my head was somewhere else.

So what did I miss? Who were the really good groups, bands, singers, musicians and songwriters of the fifties and sixties? It's never too late to learn and enjoy.

I've seen a million faces

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:27:36 -0800

What are some good songs about being on tour? My band's tour is coming to an end and I'd like to make a goodbye mix for all the crew and other bands we've been rolling with for the past month+.

They could be classic (American band, various zepplin), obscure (humble pie's 30 Days In The Hole [my personal favorite]) or modern (living legends' Creative Differences). They don't have to entirely be about touring as long as at least one verse or so specifically talks about life on the road as a musician.

TIA

A song where the main refrain is "That's my girl (hey!)"

meadowlark lime — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:19:28 -0800

A lo-fi song with the main lyric "That's My Girl (Hey!)"? Heard this song twice at a comedy club, but google and youtube have failed me for what I think is the first time on a song-related query.

The song has a '60s garage-rock sound, although it could be a '70s track or a modern song trying to ape the lo-fi sound of that era.

The main refrain is "That's my girl (hey!)" The hey is very echoey and sung by a backing chorus. I couldn't make out any other lyrics.

No, the song is not "My Girl" by the temptations, or "That's my Girl" by Charlie and the Nightcats, or "That's my Girl" by the Monks.

Anyone?

Songs similar to Spring Awakening's "Touch Me?"

mellifluous — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:24:35 -0800

I love the song "Touch Me" from Spring Awakening. Are there more like it? I don't know if I can fully articulate everything I like about the song, but here's my best attempt:

- A moderate to largish group in vocal harmony: I like the vocal interplay between the group, e.g., everyone building into a crescendo, which quickly segues into a solo, or when the group emphasizes particular parts of a phrase by coming in to sing it in unison.
- A melancholy, yearning tone, and sparse instrumentation (I don't want anything too operatic or saccharine, like songs from Disney musicals or something.)
- Pretty lyrics.
- A de-emphasis on showy vocal gymnastics.
- I think I also kind of enjoy that all the solo singers are male, but this isn't necessary.

Your suggestions needn't come from other musicals (especially since I don't care for the stupid speaking interlude in the original cast recording.)

Thanks.

There's this song in my head. What is it?

MattMangels — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:35:47 -0800

Songfilter: help me find out what this early 90s era pop song that is stuck in my head is This song running through my head I have heard many times on bland corporate radio, and I'm fairly certain it's from the late 80s/early 90s. Its main hook is 3 repeated (and sycopated) notes sung by a girl, either "stuck in love" or "so in love". I'm sure this will only help the real music nerds out there, but these three repeated notes start on the 'and' of beat 2 (the song is in 4/4). From what else I can remember, there's a lyric that goes like "it's why I think of you, (synth-generated orchestra hit here), baby)".

If any of you have a clue about what I'm talking about, your help is greatly appreciated.

Music listening as puzzle solving

martinX's bellbottoms — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:15:53 -0800

Nick Hornby wrote an essay p15 where he compares listening to a new song over and over to figuring out a puzzle. Can you point me towards any other writing about this same idea? Any type of writing would be great. I'd love to read personal essays from other music fans, music reviews, neurology papers, fiction, you name it.

"I got all five senses and I slept last night..."

Inspector.Gadget — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:06:35 -0800

Soundtrackfilter: Please recommend to me mostly-instrumental, sometimes dark, contemplative soundtrack albums (or even compilations or regular albums) in the vein of Michael Andrews' work for Donnie Darko or Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd's soundtrack for Mysterious Skin. As you might imagine from me citing Donnie Darko, I'm also open to soundtracks with a considerable 80s synth cheese element - even better if the songs are tweaked a bit a la M83 to not be so cheesy. Anything on the brooding <> inspired spectrum is especially welcome. As a point of reference, I very much enjoyed the recent movie Brick and would like to find soundtrack or ambient songs that capture that sort of "pieces fall into place, and it's awesome/terrible" feeling.

Thanks in advance, hivemind! My guess is that anyone with broad exposure to ambient, modern classical, guitar-based instrumental, electronic shoegaze, post-rock, etc. albums is sitting on at least a few recommendations.

What are the canonical "cocksman" blues performances?

Joe Beese — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:42:44 -0800

What are the canonical "cocksman" blues performances? i.e. Howlin' Wolf - "Back Door Man". I'm planning a "mixtape". That's what we called 'em. And we wore onions on our belts... which was the style at the time...

What songs do you know about St. Louis?

AgentRocket — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:45:54 -0800

What songs are about St. Louis? Is there a list somewhere? I recently stumbled on this wikipedia list of songs about Boston, and it made me wonder if there is a list of songs about St. Louis. Assuming there is not, what songs are out there? This would make a good playlist.

By "about St. Louis," I mean ones that reference the City in some way (rather than just name check it once in a list of city names). The ones I can think of from the top of my head are:

Heavy Metal Drummer, Wilco ("...we used to go see, on The Landing in the summer")
Meet Me In St. Louis
Talkin' Baseball (St. Louis Cardinals Version)
St. Louie, Nelly (and a host of other Nelly/St. Lunatics songs)
Missing Missouri, Sara Evans (sort of: she talks about "the Cardinals playing on tv" in the bridge)

Songs of the City

sandraregina — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:29:06 -0800

I think my question might be too vague to google properly, so I turn to you. I'm looking for a wide variety of songs about cities. Not necessarily about a specific city, but in general. A couple of examples of the type of song I'm looking for is Dread the Day (Ghosts of Lemora) and Take Back the City (Snow Patrol). I don't care about musical genre. I'll listen to just about anything. :)

What are some really great music tutorial websites?

rongorongo — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:16:29 -0800

What are some really great "learn by example" music tutorial websites? Somebody gave me a ukulele and I have been having a great time with tutorial sites like Aldrine Guerrero's "Ukulele Underground", Jim Rosokoff's "Doctor Ukulele", and the songs of "Ukulele Mike" (Michael Lynch). They are free, informative and entertaining enough (I think) to appeal even to people who are not studying to play. So what are the great sites out there for people studying other instruments? I'm thinking, in particular, of ones where somebody includes audio or video of them playing or singing.

My neighbors will kill me if they hear "PYT" one more time.

zoomorphic — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:37:48 -0800

I need to update my dance-y indie music selection. My playlist is so 2007. Due to a change in jobs, I no longer listen to Pandora/Last.fm stations, so my awareness of recent music has plummeted. I like a pretty wide range of songs, but right now I'm specifically looking for upbeat, catchy indie music that I can play on a Friday night when friends come over for a drink, or for when I bring my iPod on a run. Right now this playlist includes stuff like MGMT, Black Kids, the Tings Tings, Handsome Furs, old Michael Jackson, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc. This question was interesting but still too electronic-heavy. As I am the most predictable, low-brow listener when it comes to locating the most single-ish single on an album, it would help plenty if you could specify songs rather than just albums and artists.

My roommates, friends, and headphones thank you in advance!

That boy needs therapy

benzenedream — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:34:19 -0800

What are some of your favorite obscure electronic music singles? I'm looking for the kind of stuff where an otherwise unremarkable or unrecognized artist managed to release one perfect song. I am not interested in one-hit wonders as Wikipedia defines it -- I don't care if the song was ever popular or a club hit, just that it's good and interesting. Songs that creep onto your playlists despite not knowing or liking anything else by the same band are what I'm looking for, perhaps an excellent remix that managed to redeem a weak song. I tend towards artists such as Negativland, Lionrock, Aphex Twin, Prefuse 73, Amon Tobin, Girl Talk, DNTEL, Autechre, Avalanches, Jason Forrest, etc. but am looking for stuff far off the Pandora similarity radar.

Are You Ready For Some (or rather, "a" question about) Football (songs)

ericthegardener — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:18:11 -0800

I am charged with finding music for a work party. The theme is "NFL Draft Day" so I need songs relating to American football. The association to football can be pretty loose and tenuous. Any suggestions? That the songs be enjoyable in their own right is also pretty important because people will not be listening too closely. It's more of a subliminal thing.

Ideally these songs should be available via iTunes or the Amazon music store but I'll do all the searching. Thanks!

guitar squeaks

jschu — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:08:10 -0800

What is that squeak that guitars sometimes make, and where can I hear more of it? You know how sometimes a song that includes guitars will make the occasional squeaking sound? (heard in the first few seconds of this song, all over the place in this song, and throughout this one too.) What causes that? And can you please point me towards some more squeaky-guitar songs?

I am musically ignorant, but I love that squeak.

Which recording of "Cup of Loneliness" is used in the closing credits of Mad Men 2.12?

teem — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:11:17 -0800

Which recording of "Cup of Loneliness" is used at the end of Mad Men season 2 episode 12, "The Mountain King", and where can I get it? Every source says it's "Cup of Loneliness" by George Jones, but none of the Cup of Loneliness recordings I've found — George Jones or otherwise — sound the same. On the episode the version is faster and higher pitched than this version, but the way the lines are sung (particularly "where the way is dark and dim") sound as though it's not simply the original sped up.

I don't have an online clip of the show, but if you've got it at home it's played as episode 2.12 closes to credits.

Pantey Songs

MrMisterio — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:17:01 -0800

We made a magazine all about pants. Not a fashion magazine or anything, just people writing/drawing/doing poems abut pants. Now it's time to launch it and I seem to need some pants-related songs for a radio show. Seems like a perfect question for the hive-mind. Any ideas?

let it fall down

Potomac Avenue — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:25:44 -0800

What music came out soon (within a year) after September 11 2001 that was uniquely affected, either in perception or creation, by the terrorist attacks? This thread got me interested in whether or not there was a marked shift in cultural priorities or possibilities in the period after 2001, specifically expressed in pop or underground music.

I can think of some, but I'm sure I'm missing lots. This is too generic, and doesn't cover the more underground genres. Also I don't mean stuff explicitly written about War like Neil Young's Let's Roll, or about the attacks like Springsteen's the Rising.

Here's some examples of what I mean:

The Strokes album was a huge hit. Even though it was recorded before September 11, part of the hype leading up to its release was the controversy over the song New York City Cops, but also the fact that they came from Manhatten seemed to give the Fuck You attitude of their record a certain significance.

Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was also a breakout hit for them--the cover depicted two towers, and several of the songs seemed tailor-made to address war, faith and tradgedy (even though that record also was recorded before 9/11).

The rapper Fabolous released his first single in December 2001, helped by a video saturated in American flags and positive references to American mainstream culture.

I'm sure there are more within that first year (or so). Right?

Similar songs of Malcolm McLaren's "Club De Narcisse"

yoitsfrancis — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:31:27 -0800

Hi, I would like to know song's that are similar to Club De Narcisse (some websites display the song name as Club Le Narcisse). This is from Malcolm McLaren's album Paris. By similar I don't mean songs by Malcolm McLaren. By similar I mean songs that have the same musical structure, beat, flow, rhythm and genome attributes. I have no access in Pandora's music service so I need specific answers. Song titles and artist's name will do. Similar songs with distinct drum beats and have dark theme behind it are appreciated. Although I appreciate songs from Pandora, I appreciate more if you can come up with your own answer using your intuition and brilliance. Thanks in advance for any help on this matter.

Let's have bizarre celebrations

Jaltcoh — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:34:00 -0800

I'm compiling a list of the best songs of the 2000s. The ones that aren't just "Ah, that's kinda nice," but that you have to stop yourself from listening to on a repeat loop. The songs you'd make sure to put on a mix CD for a friend who hasn't paid attention to new music in this whole decade and wants to know what they missed. (This is for a blog post.) Yes, this is ridiculously subjective, but I'd love to hear anyone's suggestions.

Caveats:

1. I'm already including these bands/artists and don't particularly need any more suggestions for them:
- The Arcade Fire
- Camera Obscura
- Cut Copy
- Death Cab for Cutie
- Decoder Ring
- Dntel
- Dresden Dolls
- Franz Ferdinand
- Frou Frou / Imogen Heap
- Goldfrapp
- Hot Hot Heat
- Hanne Hukkelberg
- MGMT
- Mika
- Ms. John Soda
- My Brightest Diamond
- The Notwist
- Of Montreal
- The Postal Service
- Psapp
- Radiohead / Thom Yorke
- Rilo Kiley / Jenny Lewis
- Shout Out Louds
- Regina Spektor
- Spoon
- St. Vincent
- The Strokes

2. By "song," I mean a piece of music that is sung. So instrumentals are out.

3. Please, no suggestions of bands or albums, just songs.

4. The original version of the song must have been released in 2000 or later. For instance, Alien Ant Farm's cover of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal would not qualify, since the original version is from before 2000 (even though the cover is from after 2000).

5. As you can see from the aforementioned artists, my tastes run toward the indie and electronic, but you don't need to try to fit it within any particular genre -- I'm open to all suggestions. I'll just specify one restriction, which is that I'm not a big fan of hip-hop (sorry).

6. I would especially like to include something by the Flaming Lips (I unfortunately can't include any of the great songs from Soft Bulletin, which is from 1999).

My eMusic account for this month just refreshed, so I plan on buying a whole playlist's worth of songs based on the answers I get here!

Similar songs of Jennifer Lopez's "Let's Get Loud"

yoitsfrancis — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:33:54 -0800

Hi, I would like to know song's that are similar to Let's Get Loud. By similar I don't mean songs by Jennifer Lopez. By similar I mean songs that have the same musical structure, beat, flow, rhythm and genome attributes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Music_Genome_Project_attributes). I have no access in Pandora's music service so I need specific answers. Song titles and artist's name will do. Thanks in advance for any help on this matter.