Ok. There is Flavor Flav’s non-rhyming testifying in songs such as “Don’t Believe the Hype”.
There is a beginning swoon in “Oh Sheila” by Ready for the World (What happened to these guys??).
There is a famous country song “Hello Darling”, in which the singer alternates speaking and singing.
Duran Duran - “I Don’t Want Your Love”
“I like noise, ‘coz I like wakin’ up the house. Cannot sit down. Can’t shut my mouth. 'Coz when you understand me, you might feel good around me.”
David Bowie - “Modern Love”
“I know when to go out. I know when to stay in. Get things done.”
David Bowie - “China Girl”
“Oh, baby, just you shut your mouth. She says, ‘Shhhhhh…’”
Talking Heads - “Once in a Lifetime”
"And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful
wife
And you may ask yourself-Well…How did I get here?
And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!
Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was…
Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was…
Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was…
Water dissolving…and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!
And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right?..Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD!..WHAT HAVE I DONE?
Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was…
Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was…
Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was… "
Then there’s the Bangles’ “Manic Monday”…
“He tells me it’s better to voice
c’mon honey, let’s go make some noise…”
“He tells me in his bedroom voice…”
Good grief! We need some standards if this thread is still going to be about talking in songs. That doesn’t mean low-key delivery, or a particularly un-inflected line. And “Once In a Lifetime” is not simply a spoken lecture (though it does resemble a sermon).
Besides, nobody’s mentioned Nineteen. N-N-N-N-Nineteen.
Guess who?
By the way, if you need evidence that this is an 80s band . . .
In 1965 the most common insect in Texas was the cockroach.
*In 1985 it was *
the pillbug
Pillbug
Pillbug
Puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-pillbug
[hijack]
I wouldn’t say “Once in a Lifetime” qualifies as “singing”. There are some unusual fluctuations that one might not find in everyday conversation, but I still think it’s “talking.” The “I Have a Dream” speech contains such unusual fluctuations, and that is “talking.”
I never thought I would make a David Byrne - MLK, Jr. analogy in my life.
Perhaps that’s an issue for Great Debates… ok, perhaps not.
[/hijack]
B-52’s - “Love Shack” (1989)
“Tin roof… rusted!”
OTOH, without some standard, every 80’s rap song might qualify for this thread.
[Comic Store Guy from Simpsons]Pithiest…line…ever.[/Comic Store Guy from Simpsons]
mblackwell: “Baby Got Back” came out in '92.
Arguably, the entire song “88 Lines About 44 Women” was talk.
I thought I was the only one who saw that movie…
When did Chris Deburgh record “Spanish Train”? The tune about the devil playing chess with the Son of God? Does that count since it’s almost entirely a narrated tale? Was it 70s or 80s?
Moon Zappa - “Valley Girl”
Pretty much the whole damn thing.
“We Built This City” by Starship was released with the DJ talking over the bridge. I remember the song clearly because, in Baltimore, the DJs at one station wiped it and had one of their characters – the intensely Italian mother of John Panzarella, the newsreader – talking in this high-pitched stereotypical voice about her baby boy and the trouble he gets into.
Yeah, some things you just can’t flush from the ole brain pan…
Great thread, Legomancer . The older I get, the more I like the 80s. I guess I’m just an old :wally
I saw that movie back when it was an album. But I did also have to suffer through the movie, or more correctly bits of the movie, repeatedly for the campus film society I worked with when it first came out. “Come on everybody, we’re doing a makeover!” Ugh.
Let’s see, what was that Frank Zappa song where he said “ram it, ram it, ram it, ram it up your poop chute”?
There was this song by Suicidal Tendencies, in which the lead singer has two verses of talking soliliquy–I think it was “Institutionalized”.
I can set the standard since I am one of the biggest rap fans on this board. The idea for this thread is that the spoken word part is more conversational and generally non-rhyming, or, if it is rhyming involved, it is underemphasized.
“Make it Happen” by Will to Power will be another good example of what we are talking about.
There was this song by Suicidal Tendencies, in which the lead singer has two verses of talking soliliquy–I think it was “Institutionalized”.
I think can set the standard since I am one of the biggest rap fans on this board. The idea for this thread is that the spoken word part is more conversational and generally non-rhyming, or, if there is rhyming involved, it is underemphasized, like a good poetry reading. Also, the spoken part should be integral and unique to the song–so no shout outs, or giving chanting or cheering instructions to the crowd. It could be idle chatter or everyday speech.
Some songs, such as “Tonight is The Night That You Make Me A Woman”, by Betty Wright, has a very famous live version containing spoken word discussion about the song. So does the Bruce Springsteen and the E Strret Band’s live version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. Those songs can be included.
“Make it Happen” by Will to Power will be another good example of what we are talking about.
The album Spanish Train and Other Stories (which, of course, contained the song) was released in 1975, so I’d say this one is a bit too early.
Madonna - “Express Yourself”
“Come on, girls! Do you believe in love? ‘Coz I got somethin’ to say about it, and it goes somethin’ like this…”
Van Halen - “Hot for Teacher”
“Oh wow, man !”
“Wait a second man. Whaddaya think the teacher’s gonna look like this year ?”
“My butt, man !”
…
“Hey, I heard you missed us, we’re back !”
“I brought my pencil”
“Gimme something to write on, man”
…
“Oh man, I think the clock is slow”
“I don’t feel tardy”
“Class dismissed”
Why, ** AEIOU Sometimes Y** by EBN-OZN, what else would it be?
Chris W
