# Songs with small annoying sounds that just ruin the whole song for you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342 "2013-11-20T13:55:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/41 "2013-11-22T02:46:18Z")
John Mellencamp’s “[Rain on the Scarecrow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joNzRzZhR2Y)” has a sound throughout the second half of the song that sounds **exactly** like a truck’s back-up beeper. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/42 "2013-11-22T03:16:51Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Beyonce’s _All The Single Ladies_ has an annoying sound that runs through the entire song. It sounds like aliens getting blasted in Galaxian. Back before I was sick to death of Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle,” I never liked the synthesized noise that sounds just like an old Nintendo game (Super Mario Brothers or something like that). It is especially prominent at the very end of the song when the rest of the music goes silent. ---
**Author:** ![Rain\_Soaked](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rain\_Soaked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rain_Soaked)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/43 "2013-11-22T03:56:43Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Back before I was sick to death of Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle,” I never liked the synthesized noise that sounds just like an old Nintendo game (Super Mario Brothers or something like that). It is especially prominent at the very end of the song when the rest of the music goes silent. That beeping sound was left over on the bulk erase tape. Miller and engineer Jim Gaines liked the sound and decided to keep it as it segued into “Wild Mountain Honey.” It was just an accident that the sound was on the tape. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/44 "2013-11-22T05:27:24Z")
> [@Oedipus](#): > > For example, in the Bob Dyl…I mean, Steeler’s Wheel song “Stuck in the Middle With You”, there is hand clapping going on to the beat. Normally this isn’t a big deal, but, for some dumb reason, someone at the studio decided it would be a great idea to pan the sound of the clap pretty much all the way to just one ear. I bet if you look at the liner notes you’ll see the studio intern listed as Q. [Tarantino](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGqB6JIUzBo). ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/45 "2013-11-22T09:56:49Z")
That Cuica sounds like Bender being fisted without lubricant ---
**Author:** ![Shaggy\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Shaggy\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaggy_Z)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/46 "2013-11-22T10:31:15Z")
Jurassic 5 - Work It Out ft. Dave Matthews Band This song has an annoying beeping sound effect that I never noticed until I read the Youtube comments. Now I can’t stop noticing it and it ruined the song for me. [http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUw9Ej5VLnM](http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUw9Ej5VLnM) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/47 "2013-11-22T10:35:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Here’s a video of a guy playing a [cuica](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-IZ0JbgUmY). God damn, the vuvuzela of the percussion world. I wouldn’t mind seeing every one of these gathered up and tossed into the ocean somewhere wonderfully deep. ---
**Author:** ![Fluke\_Starbucker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3e96dc/32.png) [@Fluke\_Starbucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluke_Starbucker)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/48 "2013-11-22T12:38:29Z")
Metallia’s The Memory Remains. Nananananana nananada nanananana nanananadana Nananananana nananada nanananana nanananadana Nananananana nananada nanananana nanananadana Nananananana nananada nanananana nanananadana Nananananana nananada nanananana nanananadana Nananananana nananada nanananana nanananadana it annoys me just copypastaing it. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/49 "2013-11-22T19:00:16Z")
“Sympathy for the Devil” comes up whenever we have a thread about annoying sounds in songs. [This thread for example](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=688070). And yes, I admit hating the “woo woos” too. I hate that “Blurred Lines” song because of the repeated screaming or whooping sound in it. It becomes all I can hear in the song. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/50 "2013-11-22T19:55:33Z")
Anything with auto-tune, anything. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/51 "2013-11-22T20:00:05Z")
_Mercy, Mercy, Me_ from Marvin Gaye sounds like it was recorded on a racquetball court. That repetitive (altered-percussion?) sound works with the recording, and I think it adds to the overall feel and groove of the tune. However, sometimes, if I focus-in on that sound, it dominates my brain and can become distracting. BTW; which one of you guys knows what’s making that sound, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/52 "2013-11-22T22:09:14Z")
Not so annoying, but the sound of a mobile phone ringing halfway through ‘Rock the Casbah’ by the Clash is always distracting, seeing as it was recorded is about 15 years too early ---
**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:** [November 22, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/53 "2013-11-22T22:30:59Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > BTW; which one of you guys knows what’s making that sound, anyway? Sounds like a woodblock to me. It’s swimming in reverb, which contributes to that “racquetball court” effect. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/54 "2013-11-22T23:25:43Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > _Mercy, Mercy, Me_ from Marvin Gaye sounds like it was recorded on a racquetball court. That repetitive (altered-percussion?) sound works with the recording, and I think it adds to the overall feel and groove of the tune. However, sometimes, if I focus-in on that sound, it dominates my brain and can become distracting. BTW; which one of you guys knows what’s making that sound, anyway? Heh. I like that sound and always associated it with a WW2 movie sonar ping (I have no idea if subs make that “Pock!” sound in real life, but they did in the movies.) However, thinking of it as a racquetball does make it sound like a racquetball. It’s cool when brains do that. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/55 "2013-11-23T16:30:18Z")
The guys in the warehouse had a Pandora oldies station on at work this week and [J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers “Last Kiss”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEWW2pMX-g0) came on. Nice old ballad about love tragically lost, right? However, all I can ever hear is the choir-practice Theremin-ish wailing in the background that starts 30 seconds in. An old friend of mine, last name Gillespie, pointed out years ago that his name softly spoken during the 'Hold it now" sample in the [Beastie Boys “Hold It Now, Hit It.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB0NM6reiRE) I can’t swear that’s what is said but there is _something_ in there. [QUOTE=Ellis Aponte Jr.] The garden shears or whatever that is in this song: [/quote] and [QUOTE=TonySinclair] One of the best female vocal performances I’ve ever heard, but it’s spoiled by the decision to have some fat guy slap his stomach all the way through the chorus. [/quote] These have me cracking up. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342/56 "2013-11-24T00:56:04Z")
> [@Rain\_Soaked](#): > > That beeping sound was left over on the bulk erase tape. Miller and engineer Jim Gaines liked the sound and decided to keep it as it segued into “Wild Mountain Honey.” It was just an accident that the sound was on the tape. (WRT Steve Miller’s, “Fly Like an Eagle”) Wow, if true, that’s quite serendipitous. I think it works great with the ending they used. Also, if something’s going to be annoying, that’s the place to put it, as you could fade out early. Another entry: [Steve Vai’s, “For the Love of God”.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okLDkcexiVg) An inspired tune, but [at 5:45](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okLDkcexiVg&feature=player_detailpage#t=345), he just gets too ‘noodly’ for me. It bothered me so much I did something I never did before: I ripped it and edited out the section between 5:45 and 5:53. I got lucky and it was possible to do it seamlessly. Just 8 seconds, but it was jarring to me. It had to go. It doesn’t bother me so much these days, though I still think it’s noodling that is done to the detriment of the song. Who you gonna believe, Steve Vai or some random guy on the internet? 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-small-annoying-sounds-that-just-ruin-the-whole-song-for-you/674342.md?page=2)