search: pop songs with weird time signatures and metric shifts

I know it's not radio-friendly enough for the original question but how do you guys count Sunny Day Real Estate's "Seven?" I hear it as alternating between sections in 4/4 and sections in 5/4 (e.g. the bit that begins at 0:13, switching back to 4/4 around 0:40), but with tempo shifting at the same time so that one bar of 5/4 takes as long as one bar of 4/4 (allowing them to sometimes use similar riffs over both sections.) (I'm a little disappointed that none of it is in 7.) Am I off?

-- Sundar, Saturday, 5 May 2007 14:28 (Yesterday)

Revive on the back of Starless being all 13/8 and polyrhythmic and such.

I'll also chuck in Gorillaz's '5/4' just to sound clever.

"Wanderlove" by Claudine Longet, which alternates 6/4 with 4/4, I think. Extraordinarily pretty tune, written by Mason Williams though her version is much better.

Not a huge hit, but De La Soul - Stakes is High

Also it's more of a strange number of bars per phrase for a hip-hop song than a strange time signature

50 Cent's "Like My Style" is in 7/8, if I remember correctly.

Genesis: "Turn It On Again". Some of their earlier material with weird time signatures may not be called "pop songs" but that one is, no doubt.

oh POP. Bugger. I was about to go on a big Yes fondleftest.

fest

Ha, some youtube commentator refers to Take Five as being in 2/5.

"Play 'Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries' in 5/4, man."

I found that while looking for the Al Jarreau vocal version.
(xpost)

Punchline to one of my favourite jazz anecdotes: "Kid, you don't have to play all that Elvin Jones stuff, you're making it too hard on yourself - it's just a simple backbeat on the two and the five."

(Nine Inch Nails') "March of the Pigs" has one of the most unusual meters of any song to enjoy popular radio play, alternating three bars of 7/8 time with one bar of 4/4 time (in effect, a 29/8 time signature). The song has a BPM rate of 269.

Andrew Lloyd Webber actually tended to do this:
"Memory" does some weird metric stuff during the bridge. "Take That Look Off Your Face" has some strange metric instances during the chorus.

I think everything's a pop song so I'm staying outta this.

National anthem as pop song: Flower of Scotland. It has something odd between the 'when will we see' and 'your likes again' lines. Not sure if it's a bar of 2/4 in a 3/4 song, or just the second vocal line jumping in early. In any case, it's another reason why this is a dreadful choice as a sporting anthem, because crowds can't sing it and immediately go out of time with the band.

The only song I liked in Once was the one in 5/4.

Amerie's One Thing has a curious rhythm that always seems to sidestep me.

The Who's "Happy Jack" has some strange metric shifts, switching between 4/4 and 5/4. And it was a chart hit in the US (their first), at #24.

Amerie's One Thing has a curious rhythm that always seems to sidestep me

It's just 4/4, surely?

I'm sure you're right, chap, as I'm no expert, but to a layman's ears the rhythm gallops in a pleasingly fucked up way.

It is a good funky beat, I won't contest that.

Jona Lewie 'You Will Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties' - 4/4 but the chorus comes in half a bar or so early which is odd, and then there's the bizarre switch to ragtime style (or whatever it is).

Was System of a Down's "Question!" a hit anywhere? Lots of odd stuff going on there.

The only song I liked in Once was the one in 5/4.

That was a cool one.

Also, The Music Next Door by The Lucksmiths has verses in 7/4.

Haha, MVB, I posted that joke here once. I'd like to believe that that is where you learned of it.

(Nine Inch Nails') "March of the Pigs" has one of the most unusual meters of any song to enjoy popular radio play, alternating three bars of 7/8 time with one bar of 4/4 time (in effect, a 29/8 time signature). The song has a BPM rate of 269.

I love it when people who have no concept of music theory invent little math games in their head. I had someone do this with "Hey Ya" once to me. Tried to tell me it was in 18 or something. I was like "No, there's just a measure of 2/4, guy" If you handed someone a piece of sheet music with 29/8 on it, they'd laugh you out of the room. It would be the dumbest looking piece of music ever.

"I Will Always Love You" is in 29/8 time.

f you handed someone a piece of sheet music with 29/8 on it, they'd laugh you out of the room. It would be the dumbest looking piece of music ever.
That's why I thought the 2/5 comment was funny. It would have to come from some bizarro planet where the base case was to assume 5 beats per measure.

Yeah, that sure would be dumb. But it would still be easier to look at than something in 29/8!

Haha, MVB, I posted that joke here once. I'd like to believe that that is where you learned of it.

Nope, sorry! I got it from Jazz Anecdotes by Bill Cole. (At least I THINK so - can't say for sure 'cause I just skimmed without buying.) And that bizarro planet was in fact Greece!

Well

In any case I just recently a variant answer to "How many bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?"

"one, five, one, five"

The more common answer being: "None, the keyboard player can do it with his left hand."

Since there is no "natural" notation for a 5th note, 2/5 is pretty much impossible to notate.

True. You might as well call it 2/4 (or maybe 2/2) and spare yourself the agita.

Unless you are in the Cyclops's cave in the Aegean Sea and they only understand 5.