# Pop songs with a slow-shuffle beat. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095 "2011-07-15T03:22:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/1 "2011-07-15T03:22:18Z")
How many pop songs are there out there that use the slow shuffle beat? The only two examples I can think of are: 1. [Black Velvet](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsvzVLTgmVE&feature=fvst), the one-hit wonder by Alannah Myles, and, 2. [Vixen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrGcBVqs64I), by Cement Pond, for the Redneck Rampage soundtrack, which is so similar to “Black Velvet” that multiple people on the video have brought it up. Are there any other notable pop songs with this beat? For some reason it seems to pair well with a breathy female voice. I can’t really imagine it in any other context, but that’s probably because I haven’t heard it in any other context. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmundex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Sigmundex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmundex)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/2 "2011-07-15T05:12:26Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > How many pop songs are there out there that use the slow shuffle beat? > > The only two examples I can think of are: > > 1. [Black Velvet](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsvzVLTgmVE&feature=fvst), the one-hit wonder by Alannah Myles, and, > > 2. [Vixen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrGcBVqs64I), by Cement Pond, for the Redneck Rampage soundtrack, which is so similar to “Black Velvet” that multiple people on the video have brought it up. > > Are there any other notable pop songs with this beat? > > For some reason it seems to pair well with a breathy female voice. I can’t really imagine it in any other context, but that’s probably because I haven’t heard it in any other context. You mean like in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFOzayDpWoI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFOzayDpWoI) video? I’d take the time to figure out how to change the text in the linkie, but I’m too lazy. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/3 "2011-07-15T05:19:46Z")
Talking Heads - [Take Me To The River](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXYB-1KTeh4) is a damn good one. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/4 "2011-07-15T05:31:36Z")
Revolution by The Beatles ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/5 "2011-07-15T06:39:06Z")
> [@Sigmundex](#): > > You mean like in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFOzayDpWoI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFOzayDpWoI) video? That is a great song, but it’s not really a shuffle, is it? A shuffle is the beat in Madonna’s [True Blue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb8akXtOCaI&feature=fvst), for instance. Notice the repeating bass pattern and syncopation of the rhythm. _Black Velvet_ is basically the same beat but slower. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/6 "2011-07-15T08:27:19Z")
Guys, I’m pretty sure he’s talking about swung beats here. So far, all the non-AT linked examples have been straight. Unfortunately, my memory for music titles is crap, so I can’t offer any right now. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/7 "2011-07-15T08:29:11Z")
“Revolution” is a shuffle, no? How about My Baby Just Cares for Me Mellow Yellow ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/8 "2011-07-15T10:56:34Z")
“Shuffle It All” by Izzy Stradlin and The JuJu Hounds. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/9 "2011-07-15T11:15:02Z")
How about “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin” by Journey? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/10 "2011-07-15T11:24:22Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Guys, I’m pretty sure he’s talking about swung beats here. So far, all the non-AT linked examples have been straight. A shuffle is a one-and-a-two-and-a-one-and-a-two beat - SRV’s patented Texas Shuffle on Pride & Joy the most obvious example to my ear. And yes, it is typically swung - hard not to lay back a bit when you get into a shuffle groove 😉 - but swing is a separate concept. **drastic\_quench** , I hadn’t fully processed that Talking Heads’ version of Take Me to the River is a slow shuffle, but as I noodle through it, it is, isn’t it? It certainly makes my backbone slide. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmundex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Sigmundex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmundex)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/11 "2011-07-15T14:47:53Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > That is a great song, but it’s not really a shuffle, is it? A shuffle is the beat in Madonna’s [True Blue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb8akXtOCaI&feature=fvst), for instance. Notice the repeating bass pattern and syncopation of the rhythm. _Black Velvet_ is basically the same beat but slower. I suppose, depending on how strict the interpretation is. I played sax in a jazz band for years, so I’m not unfamiliar. Maybe it’s just because when I replay that song in my head it’s got more a swingy beat to it. Whatever the case, I do like the song. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/12 "2011-07-15T15:08:17Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **drastic\_quench** , I hadn’t fully processed that Talking Heads’ version of Take Me to the River is a slow shuffle, but as I noodle through it, it is, isn’t it? It certainly makes my backbone slide. If “TMTTR” is a shuffle beat, The Pretenders’ [“My City Was Gone”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA56J8zlAdo) must be one, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/13 "2011-07-15T15:23:08Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > How about “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin” by Journey? Wow, I hope the lawyers for Sam Cooke’s estate never heard that song. Because it is very, very similar to “Nothing Can Change this Love”. So that’s another one. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/14 "2011-07-15T16:09:14Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > How about “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin” by Journey? Good example. That is a _very_ slow shuffle. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/15 "2011-07-15T16:12:22Z")
Would these qualify? [Riot in Cell Block #9](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxRyOSz9KJE) [Heartbreak Hotel](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efL17ekQZ5k) [Be-Bop-a-Lula](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDU9FP5_B2M) [Walkin’ to New Orleans](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-eWAuFmjN0) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/16 "2011-07-15T16:16:42Z")
How about [“Rocky Mountain Way”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt75y38J00s)? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/17 "2011-07-15T16:30:32Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Wow, I hope the lawyers for Sam Cooke’s estate never heard that song. Because it is very, very similar to “Nothing Can Change this Love”. So that’s another one. The wikipedia entry for the Evolution album notes that Lovin’, Touchin’ Squeezin’ was inspired by the Sam Cooke song. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/18 "2011-07-15T17:44:00Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > How about [“Rocky Mountain Way”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt75y38J00s)? Yup. Excellent example. ---
**Author:** ![BDoors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BDoors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BDoors)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/19 "2011-07-15T18:30:58Z")
[Genesis - Deep in the Motherlode](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfYYrr-Zt4) ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095/20 "2011-07-15T18:38:45Z")
Does the beat in Murder By Death’s [The Devil Drives](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q03c0YKpWCY) count as a shuffle? It sounds like a…soft-spoken, mumbled version of a shuffle to me, anyway, but I’m not a drummer. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-with-a-slow-shuffle-beat/589095.md?page=2)