Counterpoint in Rock/Pop music

Cafe Society
1

At least, I think I’m using the term correctly. I was listening to Pandora today, and the Guess Who came on with, “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature.” I really love the last verse, where, “No Sugar Tonight,” is sung over top of, “New Mother Nature.” You can listen to the last verse here if you’re not familiar with the song.

This is an example of counterpoint, yes? If not, what do you call it?

Anyway, I love when this happens. See also Simon and Garfunkel beginning in the second verse of, “Scarborough Fair/Canticle.”

What are your favorite examples of this in rock/pop music?

2

Return with us now to those days of yesteryear … (second verse).

3

Tubthumping by Chumbawumba - pretty much the last minute of the record. (There’s always a place in the world for a perfect pop song. I therefore recommend you listen to all of it. More than once.)

j

(PS: how do you set up a youtube video to play from a specific point?)

4

Dinner Bell by They Might Be Giants (the part starting at about 0:41).

5

“The Rock” from Quadrophenia takes four musical themes and melds them into one.

6

When you click on the “Share” button in YouTube there is a little radio button at the bottom you can click to start at a specific time.

Or, it looks like you can just append, “t=XXX” to the end of the URL, where, “XXX” is the number of seconds into the track where you want to start.

7

You could also just right click on the video when it gets to the spot you want and select “Copy video URL at current time.”

8

All For the Best from Godspell. The Jesus/Judas counterpoint in the last verse.

9

Thank you carlb and puly - got it!.

(On the other hand, the downside was that I had to think of another example, just so I could demonstrate that I really have got it.)

Here you go: Knowing me, knowing you.

(Actually, I seem to remember Abba doing this a lot).

j

10

Early on the Beatles did a lot of call and response stuff that, at its best, became counterpoint. Help! comes to mind.

Later on, I’ve Got a Feeling was a mashup of a McCartney song and a Lennon song (Everybody Had a Hard Year).

11

Sleater-Kinney do a lot of this, especially on the album The Hot Rock.

12

Does it have to be two separate, actual stand alone by themselves songs? The first thing I thought of after reading the OP is Collective Soul’s December.
Somewhere around 4:30ish starts the bridge

“December promise you gave unto me
December whispers of treachery
December clouds are now covering me
December songs no longer I sing”

And then at 4:57 the chorus (“don’t think about . . .”)is song on top of it. That’s always been my favorite part of the song.

13

I’d forgotten about that! Masterful.

The “counterpoint” is called a Counter Melody… at least that’s what I learned from the liner notes to “From Silver Lake” on Jackson Browne’s first album. Here it is… skip to 2:40 for Jackson and Leah Kunkel playing off each other…

14

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? by The Clash

15

If I understand correctly… Itsy Bitsy Spider by Carly Simon.
It has Itsy Bitsy Spider along with Coming Around Again

16

Not a lyrical counterpoint, but I always thought that the Hawaii Five-O was brilliant musical counterpoint. One of the reasons I dislike the remake of the show is that they cut off the theme song before it really gets to the good part.