# The Most Efficient Pop Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979 "2012-05-24T18:18:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/21 "2012-05-25T18:06:33Z")
_Efficiency?_ Nothing beats Dale Hawkins’ “Susie Q”. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/22 "2012-05-25T18:17:18Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > _Efficiency?_ > > Nothing beats Dale Hawkins’ “Susie Q”. On what basis? I play that song, complete with James Burton’s guitar lick - it grooves really well, but it isn’t easy to play (well, it isn’t easy to learn, but once you do there is a “riding a bike” aspect to it) - but I wouldn’t call it efficient. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/23 "2012-05-25T19:56:28Z")
The Police’s _De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da_. Choruses are fiddly, as is the middle eighth, but the majority of the song is six notes on the bass, and Andy Summers playing the same note on guitar. VU’s _There She Goes_: I was dicking around on my six string one day, messing with bar chords, and realized I was playing the song. Stumbled on it completely by accident! ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/24 "2012-05-25T20:02:57Z")
The most efficient song ever, although calling it a Pop song is probably a stretch, is [John Cage’s 4’33"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3). Personally, I liked the radio edit, 4’11", better. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/25 "2012-05-25T20:17:35Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > Based on the evidence in front of me I believe that Brian Eno should be put in charge of managing the world’s resources. He would leave ample supplies for our distant ancestors whilst providing enough for us to explore the solar system and also live harmoniously in peace and plenty. We would go to our graves will full bellies, but not _too_ full. Death would be an opportunity for us to ponder the universe for all eternity. Our children will be strong and beautiful. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/26 "2012-05-25T20:22:21Z")
> [@HoboStew](#): > > The most efficient song ever, although calling it a Pop song is probably a stretch, is [John Cage’s 4’33"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3). Personally, I liked the radio edit, 4’11", better. Have you heard the dance remix? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/27 "2012-05-25T23:18:22Z")
“Need You Tonight” by INXS ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/28 "2012-05-25T23:54:29Z")
Len’s [Steal My Sunshine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1fzJ_AYajA) is pretty sparse, the one disco sample over and over throughout although there’s some instrumental overdubbing in the chorus. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/29 "2012-05-26T03:58:18Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”. Eleven minutes, two chords and the truth I’m almost certain that “Papa” is in fact a one-chord song. > [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > “Tomorrow Never Knows,” although drony, does change from G to Fadd2 (or something like that) at some point. “It is not dying…” Or the guitar plays one, anyway. TNK has two chords: C, and Bb. I think. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/30 "2012-05-26T04:22:30Z")
I’ve always been partial to [Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeMFqkcPYcg). ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/31 "2012-05-27T02:02:30Z")
“This Song Is Just Six Words Long” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/32 "2012-05-27T02:10:46Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Harry Nilsson’s “[Jump Into the Fire](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QghwNqlCRE)”. One two-bar riff. Fantastic song. Also I believe Nilsson’s “Coconut” only has one chord throughout. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/33 "2012-05-27T16:33:53Z")
> [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](#): > > The Verve spun a 12 note sample of Andrew Loog Oldham’s interpretation of the Stones’ “the Last Time” into [“Bittersweet Symphony”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=1lyu1KKwC74http://). Also has a pretty efficient video: just Richard Ashcroft walking down the street for the whole song. Why did he have to knock that nice lady down? That’s a good one - it’s a bit like “Once in a Lifetime”, in the sense that the music is a simple loop that repeats throughout the song, with the variation coming from the vocals. I’m sure Talking Heads were thinking of world music when they did _Remain in Light_, presumably The Verve were thinking about drone-rock, and yet conceptually they’re very similar. World music, there’s a thing. A lot of the stuff on Paul Simon’s _Graceland_ has a similarly groove-orientated… I don’t like to say “groove-orientated”. It’s not right. Groovy is more correct but that word has been tainted by its association with chest hair and medallions. Curse you, chest hair and medallions. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/34 "2012-05-27T19:19:26Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > That’s a good one - it’s a bit like “Once in a Lifetime”, in the sense that the music is a simple loop that repeats throughout the song, with the variation coming from the vocals. I’m sure Talking Heads were thinking of world music when they did _Remain in Light_, presumably The Verve were thinking about drone-rock, and yet conceptually they’re very similar. Again, “Once in a Lifetime” is not as much of a simple loop as you are saying. The bass and drum parts and synth play the same parts for about 4 minutes or so, but the guitar part contains chord changes and there is a coda at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/35 "2012-05-27T21:18:19Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Most efficient in terms of use of studio time and instrumentation was The Flying Lizards’s version of “[Money](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHs-6xnMEdE).” It was recorded in a single take, supposedly for a cost of less than $10. The drum and piano parts are basically the same riffs repeated. It’s just a tinny cover of the original, with the same basic variation on a 12-bar blues chord progression (the chords more sparely represented, but still there), with the “Money” riff on top of the chorus. Just like the original (in its basic elements). If it’s efficient, so are about a million other 12-bar blues progression songs. How about [Helen Wheels](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLzL17Qe5k0), by McCartney & Wings? Other than the intro riff (repeated at the end of each chorus), it’s one chord. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/36 "2012-05-27T21:25:12Z")
Or “Run Through the Jungle” by CCR. One chord, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/37 "2012-05-28T12:32:32Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > It’s just a tinny cover of the original, with the same basic variation on a 12-bar blues chord progression (the chords more sparely represented, but still there), with the “Money” riff on top of the chorus. Just like the original (in its basic elements). If it’s efficient, so are about a million other 12-bar blues progression songs. I think the poster was referring to the fact that it only cost a few bucks to record. That’s pretty efficient. And while it follows the original song, the weird arrangement (iirc they used a piano with phone books or something on the strings) and the upper-class-white-girl louche vocals just sound great. Back in the day, it sounded fun. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/38 "2012-05-28T12:41:20Z")
John Peel, the legendary UK radio DJ, one explained why he loved The Undertones’ single Teenage Kicks so much. There was nothing you could add to it that would improve it, he said, and nothing you could take away that would improve it either. That sounds like a pretty good definition of efficiency to me. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/39 "2012-05-28T14:04:36Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I think the poster was referring to the fact that it only cost a few bucks to record. That’s pretty efficient. > > And while it follows the original song, the weird arrangement (iirc they used a piano with phone books or something on the strings) and the upper-class-white-girl louche vocals just sound great. Back in the day, it sounded fun. Oh, I like that version. It’s a fun arrangement. And I love the song in general. I have played it in bars about a thousand times. I was missing the “efficient 'cause you could record it in one take for $10” angle, I guess–I processed this thread in my head as “efficient compositions.” ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979/40 "2012-05-28T14:55:42Z")
Oingo Boingo (who grew increasingly efficient with their name) had moderately efficient songs, given the size of their band for some of them. They might not quite fit because there tend to be a number of embellishments. Although [“Can’t See (Useless)”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-6NxW1qHlE) is just four repeated notes for most of the song. There are some other guitar parts (that also repeat themselves) and a bit more in the mix toward the end. Of those that charted [“Just Another Day”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utD0Ow_44gw) is way too complex by the OP’s standard, but I’d call it efficient in the sense of not using that much to achieve that complexity. Danny Elfman’s more famous themes follow a similar pattern - The Simpsons is just a short theme with variations and some messing around in between repetitions. Batman is the same way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-efficient-pop-songs/622979.md?page=3)