Wednesday, March 9

Repetition of song lyrics and/or chorus

I cannot be the only one whom it drives crazy, the 'it' I speak of is the part of a song that is referred to as the 'chorus'. I am assuming that the song writer doesn't determine how many times it will be repeated when the song is played on the air. Am I wrong? Is it the producer(s) of the song that determine the length that the song will play and therefore how many times the chorus gets repeated? I personally feel that one time is enough. I try to help get this point across when Pandora is the provider, by skipping to the next song when the repetition gets to me. I even talk to myself as I'm clicking the skip button as say, "I wonder what the fuck they're going to sing next?" in a sarcastic tone.

10 comments:

They are not aware said...

Oh, so you are obviously not a fan of "Revolution #9," huh?
I think the songwriter/performer does have a say in how many times the chorus gets repeated but then in some cases, particularly with newer acts, the big-wigs make the decision. I can't say that it bothers me much but then I don't listen to music that is excessive in repetition, "Revolution # 9" being one exception.
When I read the title of your blog I thought you were talking about the repetition when a song gets stuck in your head. I have that problem right now. I watched a movie last week and a song that partially played in the movie won't leave me alone. I didn't like the song in 1970 and I don't like it any better now. It won't go away. I have woken up with it *blaring* in my head. Listening to other music isn't making it go away. I even sat through the entire song to see if it was because in the movie it never finished; didn't help. I am going to a whole new level of insanity.

Todd said...

On 3/16/2016 12:01 PM, They are not aware wrote:
> Oh, so you are obviously not a fan of "Revolution #9," huh?

*Nope, don't like that song, although, after the beginning, you pretty much know what you're getting into.

> I think the songwriter/performer does have a say in how many times the chorus gets repeated but then in some cases, particularly with newer acts, the big-wigs make the decision. I can't say that it bothers me much but then I don't listen to music that is excessive in repetition, "Revolution # 9" being one exception.

*It does seem a bit more common in the newer music, but any song that repeats it's lyrics more that a couple of times just gets on my nerves. That's not all the time. There are times when I'm in a really good mood when repetition doesn't bother me. And no, I don't have any particular song in mind.

> When I read the title of your blog I thought you were talking about the repetition when a song gets stuck in your head. I have that problem right now. I watched a movie last week and a song that partially played in the movie won't leave me alone. I didn't like the song in 1970 and I don't like it any better now. It won't go away. I have woken up with it *blaring* in my head. Listening to other music isn't making it go away. I even sat through the entire song to see if it was because in the movie it never finished; didn't help. I am going to a whole new level of insanity.

*That has happened to me as well, but it's been a long time. Well, maybe not that long; a couple of months. Cannot remember the name of the song at the moment though.

They are not aware said...

I forgot to check the "email follow-up comments" box so had to comment again.
And if you are curious as to the song that I mention is stuck in my head, it is "We've Only Just Begun" by Carpenters. I always felt their love songs were creepy. That one in particular is creepier now that I associate it with a Stephen King movie -- "1408." And I will never be able to watch John Cusack again without thinking of the Carpenters. ACK!

Todd said...

That is an OK song, but I can certainly understand why it would be frustrating not to be able to get it our of my head. As for the movie; have not seen "1408." When did that one come out?

They are not aware said...

I disagree that it is an okay song. Karen Carpenter had one of the best voices in music but I was never an "easy listening" type person. Then, even though I was very young at the time, when I found out they were brother and sister instead of husband and wife, the songs they sung became creepy instead of just not my taste. After Karen died Richard married his *first* cousin solidifying the creepiness.
As for "1408," the movie came out in 2007 but I had not heard of it until Amazon Prime kept putting it in front of me and I finally gave in. It wasn't util a bit into the movie I found out it was a Stephen King story. I just found out, when I looked for the date, that it has 4 alternate endings; 2 where John Cusack dies and 2 where he doesn't. It was a good movie. I am not going to tell you which ending I saw though.

Todd said...

She does have a great voice. I didn't know that Karen an Richard were brother and sister. I have to be honest saying that I never really listened to their music much anyway.
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As for the Stephen King movie, this is the first time I'm hearing of it. I have no idea what it's about. Glad you liked it though.

They are not aware said...

I don't know how you could have avoided their music; it played *everywhere.* Which is why I have the unfortunate ability to recall the lyrics to the far majority of their hits. No one in my family had one of their albums so I am not afflicted with any but the hits -- that is bad enough.
Didn't know it was a brother/sister act? Now you understand why I call their love songs creepy?
"1408" is a hotel room number. The guy the story follows is an author who writes non-fiction books, such as, "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Houses," and is starting his 10 haunted hotels book. He gets a postcard that tells him of room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel in NY. He calls the hotel and asks to book the room and is told it is unavailable. The hotel hasn't let that room for something like 20 years. He has to threaten them with a lawsuit to get into the room; there is a civil rights law stating an available room cannot be denied if requested. The hotel manager tries *very* hard to talk him out of staying in the room. The author dude states he doesn't really believe in ghosts and stuff so he has no fear of the room. The manager says the room is not haunted, instead he claims, "It is an evil fucking room." But he can't stop him from staying in it so he escorts the author to the 14th floor but won't even get off the elevator. Crap goes downhill pretty quickly for the author. Of course, the 14th floor is in reality the 13th because in the US we don't have a 13th floor designated in buildings, they go from 12th right to 14th. And if you add the numbers 1 and 4 and 0 and 8 you get 13 also. Yep, it was an evil fucking room.
I wonder if Stephen King, or whomever was responsible for picking that song, thinks the Carpenters' songs creepy too and that is why one was chosen for the film.
It is a good movie if you like that kind of thing. And I do.

Todd said...

I heard of The Carpenters, and no doubt have heard/listened to many of their songs. But I am not one that remembers details of things like that unless someone brings it up in conversation a few times.

As for the movie, it sounds like a good one. I do happen to like movies like that, so I'm pretty sure i would enjoy it.

They are not aware said...

If you like that kind of movie you will really like "1408."

As far as the Carpenters, drop the upper case "T" on the "the" because they were not "The Carpenters" but were the "Carpenters." I am not being nit-picky here, it was a specific point Richard was making when they named themselves. No, seriously. And knowing your age I *know* you are very familiar with their hits, you couldn't not be. Other than "We've Only Just Begun" they did "Close to You" (Why do stars fall off the sky every time you walk by, just like me they long to be close to you), "Sing" (Sing, sing a song, make it simple to last your whole life long), "Hurting Each Other" (We go on hurting each other, making each other cry, hurting each other without ever knowing why), "Yesterday Once More" (When they get to the part where he's breaking her heart it can really make me cry, it's yesterday once more), and "Rainy Days and Mondays" (Rainy days and Mondays always get me down) -- just a small sampling of the ones that come directly to mind.
You are lucky, in a way, not to remember, I still have Disco nightmares. At least that is a point in the Carpenters favor, they weren't Disco. But, all in all I am glad I do remember details of stuff like that, not for Disco or the Carpenters, for other reasons.

Todd said...

OK, I do remember the songs you've mentioned. Thank you for the memories, seriously, I wasn't trying to be a smart-ass.