What's this song?

December 12, 2005 12:39 PM

OK music geeks. I was having lunch the other day and this song came over the speakers. I knew that I'd heard it before, but I didn't know who sang it. Sorry about the lousy recording quality, but it was loud in Chipotle and the recorder on my phone is crappy. Anyway, if you can make it out and identify this song for me, that would be great... because it's stuck in my head! Click here to listen.
posted by lunarboy to Media & Arts (20 answers total)

I can barely hear the song. Do you have a better quality recording or is there a way to get rid of some of the background?
posted by LunaticFringe at 12:44 PM on December 12, 2005

Response by poster: Sorry, that's all I got. I even did a little EQ on it to bring it out more from the background noise. I think if you know the song, you should be able to recognize it.
posted by lunarboy at 12:47 PM on December 12, 2005

What we need is one of those magic guys on CSI: Megalopolis that takes a recorded snippet like this, and turns it from unintelligible junk to crystal-clear, high-fidelity audio.

But really, that recording is really bad. Any chance you can at least give us a couple lines from the song, here in text, that you might remember?
posted by teece at 12:47 PM on December 12, 2005

it sounds kind of like hanson or britney spears, to me at least.

I can't make out any discernible words.
posted by Flamingo at 12:48 PM on December 12, 2005

Sounds like Britney Spears? It sounds like Nirvana to me!
posted by jdroth at 12:51 PM on December 12, 2005

Sounds like Modest Mouse to me?
posted by unknowncommand at 12:53 PM on December 12, 2005

Can you maybe narrow it down a little bit? Was the vocalist male or female? Was the genre more "mainstream pop", "rock", "dance", or what?
posted by matildaben at 12:54 PM on December 12, 2005

Best answer: The song is "Goodnight Moon," by Shivaree. Verify with sample (and purchase) here.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 12:55 PM on December 12, 2005

Okay, my co-workers tell me I'm crazy and that it sounds much more like Brintey than Kurt. I'll yield on that.

I have no idea what this is, primarily because I can't even decipher a single word. However, I'll pass along J.D.'s Sure-Fire Music Identification Tip: Google is Your Friend.

Whenever I face a similar musical dilemma — which is often — I jot down a word or two or three (the more the better). I try to jot down words or phrases that are unusual. Then I google for matches. This method has a 95% success rate over the past several years, and I've found dozens of songs using the technique. Next time, don't take a sound clip, but take a few quick notes.
posted by jdroth at 12:58 PM on December 12, 2005

Lunarboy: monju_bosatsu gave you a fish, feeding you for a day, but learn how to fish from jdroth. :)
posted by agropyron at 1:08 PM on December 12, 2005

Kylie Minogue - "Can't Get You Out of My Head"
posted by glibhamdreck at 1:25 PM on December 12, 2005

sound like merzbow to me.
posted by 3.2.3 at 1:26 PM on December 12, 2005

Nevermind, probably not.
posted by glibhamdreck at 1:26 PM on December 12, 2005

Kylie Minogue - "Can't Get You Out of My Head"

Bzzzt! Wrong answer. Not even close.
posted by jdroth at 1:27 PM on December 12, 2005

I'm waiting for the OP to give us more info. What is this Chipotle in which the song was recorded? What kind of song was it? Male or female vocalist? Throw us a bone! The "Goodnight Moon" sounds like a close match, but I'm not convinced it's the answer.
posted by jdroth at 1:30 PM on December 12, 2005

Response by poster: monju_bosatsu is correct!

Thanks for everyone's help. Again, sorry for the bad recording; it was a crowded restaurant, at lunch, with no sound dampening materials. It was even hard to hear the lyrics then!
posted by lunarboy at 1:32 PM on December 12, 2005

I'm impressed that jdroth keeps stats on music recognition via random phrase matching. An excellent hobby.

Since the question has been answered already, can I derail and ask if there is any chance of getting some tips on how to clean up recorded sound files to make them more audible/clear?
posted by blue_beetle at 1:57 PM on December 12, 2005

I'm impressed that jdroth keeps stats on music recognition via random phrase matching. An excellent hobby.

HA!

Obviously, I pulled the 95% out of my ass. A non-mathematical way to express would be "I've been doing this several times a month for the past few years, and there's only maybe one or two songs a year that I can't identify with this method."

95% seems like a good guess.
posted by jdroth at 2:16 PM on December 12, 2005

For future reference, the music played at Chipotle is all selected by the main office and distributed to the stores. You can hear samples of all the songs on their website.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 3:01 PM on December 12, 2005

Goodnight Moon was used in Kill Bill, by the way, played in the end credits when The Bride is driving down the road in her convertible.
posted by Khalad at 3:58 PM on December 12, 2005