# \*Can't Believe\* I just found this out **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2017, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464 "2017-03-18T03:41:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/1 "2017-03-18T03:41:30Z")
Baker Street. “Winding your way down Baker Street…” The song they played to death, to death, when I was growing up. The song I always hated/loved, except I couldn’t stand that %&\*#$@!! saxophone. I said as much, in a comment on YouTube. And some kind soul pointed me to the Foo Fighters version, which is so awesome… _ **That** _ Baker Street. That street in the song is the _ **same** _ Baker Street that Sherlock Holmes lived on. This wouldn’t happen with “Pico and Sepulveda.” –_but that was before my time._ ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/2 "2017-03-18T03:54:31Z")
Uh, yeah, gonna disagree. The sax hook is what makes _Baker Street_ such a great song. It’s not _Baker Street_ without Raphael Ravenscroft’s mastery of the instrument. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/3 "2017-03-18T04:09:08Z")
Well, I can respect that view. Certainly the melodic line of the sax riff is what makes the song a hit, it’s a great big giant hook. I just don’t much like saxophones.😉 But, the 70’s monster hit/ Victorian monster (literary) hit connection is what blows my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/4 "2017-03-18T04:11:54Z")
[So what if the most meaningful day of your life was a simulation operating at minimum ca-braaaaap-pacity?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6egiLH_ag8k) Lame and forgettable without the sax. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/5 "2017-03-18T04:36:36Z")
I’m biased because I played the saxophone in high school, so it’s my favorite instrument. I like rock saxists like Richie Cannata, Mark Rivera, Johnny Colla, and Walt Parazaider. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/6 "2017-03-18T05:00:22Z")
The first eight notes of that song are the same as the I Love Lucy theme but at a slower tempo. It always annoyed the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/7 "2017-03-18T05:11:35Z")
I’ve always hated the saxophone. I’m not sure why, but in my mind, it’s got an indelible association with “smug douchebag.” Like, I imagine that wherever Martin Shkreli goes, he’s accompanied by a saxophone solo. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/8 "2017-03-18T06:24:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’ve always hated the saxophone. I’m not sure why, but in my mind, it’s got an indelible association with “smug douchebag.” Like, I imagine that wherever Martin Shkreli goes, he’s accompanied by a saxophone solo. How do you feel about violins? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/9 "2017-03-18T06:31:14Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’ve always hated the saxophone. I’m not sure why, but in my mind, it’s got an indelible association with “smug douchebag.” Like, I imagine that wherever Martin Shkreli goes, he’s accompanied by a saxophone solo. Saxophone and light synth organs, with some synthesized drums whenever he’s being especially douchebag dramatic, like finding a way to finding a way to make extra profit while burnishing his brand, by which I mean getting on TV, by which I mean indirectly killing people. However, I also agree that the saxophone solo is the reason “Baker Street” exists. It’s like “Layla” and the extended piano/guitar interlude at the very end, so I expect Eric Clapton agrees with **brujaja** and considers both to be too cocaine-fueled to continue to exist in this modern world. It’s Prog Yacht Rock, and I happen to like it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/10 "2017-03-18T10:10:52Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’ve always hated the saxophone. I’m not sure why, but in my mind, it’s got an indelible association with “smug douchebag.” Like, I imagine that wherever Martin Shkreli goes, he’s accompanied by a saxophone solo. > [@cochrane](#): > > How do you feel about violins? 😃 Or Mumford and banjo? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/11 "2017-03-18T11:02:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Or Mumford and banjo? 😃 Whoosh. Sax and violins go together like sex and violence. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/12 "2017-03-18T11:13:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’ve always hated the saxophone. I’m not sure why, but in my mind, it’s got an indelible association with “smug douchebag.” Like, I imagine that wherever Martin Shkreli goes, he’s accompanied by a saxophone solo. Smooth jazz saxophone sucks, sure. That’s true about smooth jazz _anything_ 😉 so no need to hold a grudge against one specific instrument ;). If I played a wind instrument, it’d be sax. Good sax, mmmm. Anyway, I listened to the Foo’s version. Speaking as a guitarist, that part should be played by sax :D. It’s fine, but doesn’t compare to the wonderful thick tone of the original sax so why sub in a cliche guitar? And the dynamic drop for the verse bugs me, too. I love the Foos, but this isn’t working for me. This song isn’t from the 90’s and doesn’t need that drama. And no, I had no idea it was Sherlock’s Baker Street. How irregular. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/13 "2017-03-18T11:16:07Z")
So it’s taken you so long to find out you were wrong when you thought it held everything? mmm ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/14 "2017-03-18T11:45:27Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Smooth jazz saxophone sucks, sure. That’s true about smooth jazz _anything_ 😉 so no need to hold a grudge against one specific instrument ;). > > If I played a wind instrument, it’d be sax. Good sax, mmmm. > > Anyway, I listened to the Foo’s version. Speaking as a guitarist, that part should be played by sax :D. It’s fine, but doesn’t compare to the wonderful thick tone of the original sax so why sub in a cliche guitar? And the dynamic drop for the verse bugs me, too. I love the Foos, but this isn’t working for me. This song isn’t from the 90’s and doesn’t need that drama. > > And no, I had no idea it was Sherlock’s Baker Street. How irregular. 😉 That’s how I feel about Metallica’s cover of Bob Seger’s _Turn the Page_. It’s nothing without the sax. And yes, I like that song. Please don’t hurt me. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/15 "2017-03-18T11:54:31Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > That’s how I feel about Metallica’s cover of Bob Seger’s _Turn the Page_. It’s nothing without the sax. And yes, I like that song. Please don’t hurt me. It’s funny: I was thinking of the haunting guitar bit on Seger’s Main Street, and how the wrong sax tone for that could make it sound smooth-jazzy. Ew. Sometimes a certain hook needs a certain tone, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/16 "2017-03-18T13:33:22Z")
I always heard it as being an odd Holmes riff, and thought it was just my interpretation. Love the sax, too. Almost as much as Junior Parker’s dirty riffs in “Urgent”… ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/17 "2017-03-18T13:55:52Z")
No discussion of sax solos is complete without reference to this track (Tim Capello-I still believe) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/18 "2017-03-18T15:29:18Z")
Baker Street is one of the rare songs with two different instruments doing killer solos. Why would anybody want to eliminate one? Being a Sherlockian (that’s Holmsian to you Brits) I automatically made the connection. I kept studying the lyrics to try to figure out what I was missing, since there obviously had to be a Holmes reference hidden in it. But no. Baker Street is just a basic, short residential street in Marylebone, but central and a quick hansom ride from anywhere important. Today it’s ritzy and swank and gentrified up the wazoo and nothing that a poor widow taking in boarders could come within a mile of. Back in 1978, though, it wasn’t as thoroughly altered. Even so, Rafferty didn’t live there. A friend of his that he stayed with did. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/19 "2017-03-18T15:54:15Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Baker Street is one of the rare songs with two different instruments doing killer solos. Why would anybody want to eliminate one? > > Being a Sherlockian (that’s Holmsian to you Brits) I automatically made the connection. I kept studying the lyrics to try to figure out what I was missing, since there obviously had to be a Holmes reference hidden in it. But no. > > Baker Street is just a basic, short residential street in Marylebone, but central and a quick hansom ride from anywhere important. Today it’s ritzy and swank and gentrified up the wazoo and nothing that a poor widow taking in boarders could come within a mile of. Back in 1978, though, it wasn’t as thoroughly altered. Even so, Rafferty didn’t live there. A friend of his that he stayed with did. Growing up I heard a story that the song Baker Street was dedicated to a street not 5 minutes away from where I grew up in Scotland. Gerry Rafferty was walking by the area one morning and noticed the high number of bakers on this small street. The tale didn’t sound very impressive(or likely) to me back then either. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/20 "2017-03-18T16:04:15Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > It’s funny: I was thinking of the haunting guitar bit on Seger’s Main Street Sure you’re not thinking of that amazing pick-up halfway through “Night Moves”? I always pause and hold my breath waiting for that masterfully-timed moment. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464.md?page=2)