# What are the itty-bitty bits you love in certain songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 19, 2019, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368 "2019-03-19T14:23:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [March 19, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/21 "2019-03-19T17:52:15Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Phil Collins’ [In the Air Tonight at 3:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkADj0TPrJA). > > How do you link a video at a certain time? > > Also, The Beatles [3:28](https://vimeo.com/216725710). Add the following to the end of your YouTube urls (don’t know if it works with Vimeo): &t=3m14s &t=3m28s (You can also do &t=194s if you know how many seconds have elapsed.) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/22 "2019-03-19T17:58:25Z")
> [@Labtrash](#): > > I listen for “squeaks” from the re-positioning of the guitarist’s fingers. Is there a musical term for this? > > Notable squeaky songs would be Wish You Were Here, and Every Breath You Take. Lots more, but those are two of my favorites. Yes! I don’t know what they’re called either but I like that too, especially on WYWH. Sort of related is a sound toward the end of _How Your Remind_ Me by Nickelback (shut up man, it’s a good tune :o). He sings “This is how you remind me” then there’s a rest and a subtle (strum? pluck?) of a string. Just seems very well placed and I always listen closely to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/23 "2019-03-19T17:58:39Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Add the following to the end of your YouTube urls (don’t know if it works with Vimeo): > > &t=3m14s > > &t=3m28s > > (You can also do &t=194s if you know how many seconds have elapsed.) Or, you can right click on the video at the appropriate moment and then left click on “Copy video URL at current time.” Your computer will automatically record the URL for you to transfer to your post. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/24 "2019-03-19T17:59:49Z")
The song Pepper by the Butthole Surfers has a line that I’ve always loved. _I can taste you on my lips and smell you in my clothes Cinnamon and sugary and softly spoken lies_ If the song is on when I stop my car I always wait to here that line before getting out. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/25 "2019-03-19T18:13:49Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I am not fluent in music terminology. > > There’s a part in “Tempted” by Squeeze where the drummer does something very different from what he has been doing up to that point that is my favorite part of that song. [This](https://youtu.be/vZic9ZHU_40?t=226)? ---
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/26 "2019-03-19T18:16:32Z")
That final, higher pitched “ting” at the end of the acoustic guitar refrain from Fleetwood Mac’s Never Going Back Again. ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/27 "2019-03-19T18:22:56Z")
In the 1982 Patrick Cowley remix of Donna Summer’s I Feel Love, there is a little synth motif that kicks in after the the first vocal line after the big instrumental in the middle. I freaking love it. You’ll find it round about the 2:52 mark here, but I’m posting the link from 2:40 so you can hear it in context. [https://youtu.be/Y4chZqsyobg?t=160](https://youtu.be/Y4chZqsyobg?t=160) ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/28 "2019-03-19T18:23:55Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Add the following to the end of your YouTube urls (don’t know if it works with Vimeo): > > &t=3m14s > > &t=3m28s > > (You can also do &t=194s if you know how many seconds have elapsed.) Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/29 "2019-03-19T18:24:22Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Two notes in Yes’s “Yours in No Disgrace” at just the right time, at 8:12 into the over 9 minute song. > > [https://youtu.be/1fUudna1Xuw?t=485](https://youtu.be/1fUudna1Xuw?t=485) From that description, I _knew_ which two notes it was going to be. In a 9 minute song. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/30 "2019-03-19T18:26:19Z")
Two bits from “Do Ya,” one of my favorite songs, by one of my favorite bands (Electric Light Orchestra): [The ascending series of vocal notes after the bridge (at 2:29), backed by the strings](https://youtu.be/p1Y-rfbzmgY?t=148): “But I (I! I! I! I!!!)” [The drum fill, with the sound of a jet plane in the background (at 2:48)](https://youtu.be/p1Y-rfbzmgY?t=168) ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/31 "2019-03-19T18:34:07Z")
The spoke intro in David Bowie’s **Modern Love**. What does it mean? Why is it there? Why is it simply discarded for the rest of the song? It puts an interesting bit of chaos into an otherwise mechanical repetitive song and somehow makes the whole piece shine more brightly. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/32 "2019-03-19T18:34:31Z")
In Rage Against The Machine’s “Freedom” when Zach whispers “anger is a gift” right before the song explodes back in. [At 3:42 here.](https://youtu.be/L4zo_A9axKQ?t=220) Also in the Black Keys’ “Tighten Up” where the guitar is played backwards or melts or some shit, I don’t even know. [At 3:00 here.](https://youtu.be/mpaPBCBjSVc?t=177) ---
**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:** [March 19, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/33 "2019-03-19T19:28:31Z")
Mine is actually a transition between two songs, “Ashes of American Flags” and “Heavy Metal Drummer” on Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”. The last part of Ashes of American Flags kind of devolves into a series of random noises and sound clips, ending with a very distorted version of the piano riff that starts Heavy Metal Drummer. Then a brief pause, a couple of beats from a drum machine, then the \* actual\* intro to Heavy Metal Drummer. My description sucks, but it’s very well done, and fun to listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/34 "2019-03-19T19:32:56Z")
In CCR’s “Down On The Corner,” someone lets out a whistle during the instrumental break. ([1:22 in this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clJb4zx0o1o).) Just a single note that lasts a fraction of a second - but somehow that whistle makes the whole song for me. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/35 "2019-03-19T19:51:22Z")
The Hooters’ _And We Danced_: after the mandolin/keyboard soft intro, the song proper begins with a SHOUT and the rocking beat begins. Pumps me up every time. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/36 "2019-03-19T21:16:26Z")
That little pause is called a break and I also love it whenever I hear it. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2019, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/37 "2019-03-19T21:58:54Z")
Two favorites: Stones, **Satisfaction** : Keith, expecting his guitar part to later be overdubbed with horns, is a little sloppy with the fuzz switch, hitting it too late at 1:39, then overcompensating by hitting it too early at 2:37. Doesn’t detract at all from the finished product, and puts you right there in the studio with them. _[- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7MdZcYwEQ8)_ Zappa, **You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here** : the momentary break at 3:02 is puncuated with a hilariously understated tambourine ( tap ) that has made me grin, without fail, for 50 years. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5Q1xRZERXlM/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGH8gNihNMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBy76R_98SrzbG1hburUaCe0M_SjQ "Frank Zappa - You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q1xRZERXlM) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/38 "2019-03-19T22:47:51Z")
Dylan’s “Ballad In Plain D”… “constant scrapegoat.” ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/39 "2019-03-19T22:53:56Z")
In ‘All You Need Is Love’, in the second-to-last beat of the first verse, there’s a a single-note banjo solo. I think it’s the only place the Beatles ever used a banjo. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368/40 "2019-03-19T23:11:13Z")
Right at the beginning of the [Sgt Pepper reprise](https://youtu.be/6hMy0ByBiKM), John, sounding sort of sneaky, interjects “Bye!” during the count-in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-itty-bitty-bits-you-love-in-certain-songs/831368.md?page=3)