Up the page a bit, we mentioned Led Zeppelin’s The Crunge. Does anyone know how to count that song? Is it in mixed time signatures, or a fixed one with an odd number?
Definitely check out Pyramid Song by Radiohead, from the album Amnesiac. Quite tricky, especially before the drums kick in.
From “Drum Superstar Series” transcribed by Bill Wheeler, I see a pattern of <9/8 (X8 bars), 4/4 (X3), 9/8 (X1), 4/4 (X3), 9/8 (X1), 4/4 (X3), 5/8 (X1)>, repeat <all that> twice, then 9/8 to the end.
I hope that makes sense to you. It’s been a long day.
(Also that’s just the time signatures repeating, not necessarily the drum part itself.)
A favourite of mine is “7/4 (Shoreline)” by Broken Social Scene.
Would you believe it’s in 7/4 time?
About thirty years back there was a song called Money by a well-known group that my feeble noggin can’t recall (mebbe the Eagles???) that was in 7/4.
Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells starts out in some oddball meter I’ve yet to figure out (something like 15/8 or 21/8; a couple of minutes in the piano enters with chords that are essentially in 3/4 and it syncs with the first theme every several measures). Course, you’ll want to scrounge up a copy of the broadcast mix since the whole piece runs about 49 minutes.
If you’re into show tunes, Jesus Christ Superstar has a song in 5/4 and another in 7/8 (probably the only time Andrew Lloyd Webber challenged himself).
Re: Blue Rondo a la Turk: 9/8 in itself is not an unusual meter - it’s merely the compound form of 3/4 (three groups of three); it’s just that in this piece it’s accented 2-2-2-3. (The most interesting cover I’ve heard it the vocal version by Al Jarreau.)
OK, here’s an weird one, but if Dopers can’t figure it out, who can? Sanctuary, by Hikaru Utada and featured on the soundtrack of Kingdom Hearts II: What is that time signature? It’s incredibly attention-getting, possibly because the rhythm of the singing doesn’t seem to match the beat. Any videogame-loving musicians out there?
Pink Floyd (From DSOTM) that’s the one I came in here to say.
I have an album by Emil Richards and the Microtonal Blues Band called Journey to Bliss. Mostly different percussion instruments. It’s great and there are some very odd time signatures on there.
I have no idea how people are figuring out this time signature thing, but you have solved a mystery for me. I always wondered what the 7/4 in the title of that song meant. (to be honest, though, I like their song “cause=time” a lot more)
I just listened to it, and it sounds like 4/4 to me, but the beats are not accented as they usually are in rock. The stresses in rock are usually on the 2 & 4, wheres here, it’s on the 2, the 3& and 4&. You can also write it out as 3+3+2/8, if you want, but I usually see rhythms like this in 4/4.
Hmm, I think I can hear that now. Thank you for de-mystifying me!
Another great Dead tune is “The Eleven”, named for the fact it’s in 11/8. It’s from their early psychedelic period, and, AFAIK, only appears on the live albums documenting that time.