and what about "Sweet Child o' Mine"?!?!?
Boffins prove Queen ballad 'world's most catchy song'
Enterprising "music scientists" have declared Queen's 1977 cheesy power ballad We are the Champions as the world's catchiest song after thoroughly analysing it. Certain features of Freddie Mercury's voice stir a primal urge in us, gush the boffins, and make us more likely to raise our voices in a chant and then, er, follow him …
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Thursday 29th September 2011 12:11 GMT TeeCee
Unfortunately for them.
As soon as I read "world's catchiest song", I immediately thought of "Echo Beach" by Martha and the Muffins.
That's now on permanent repeat loop in my head (curse you) AND IT'S NOT EVEN ON THEIR BLOODY LIST!
<headdesk>
<headdesk>
<headdesk>
Nooooooooo.......make it stop........please........
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Tuesday 4th October 2011 19:23 GMT Michael Wojcik
Yes, but does it support the theory?
If I had a bit of free time (OK, a bit more than is required to respond to irrelevant Register articles) I'd read the paper, or the original dissertation. It does sound like there's some real research here in identifying the common elements of these supposedly-catchy songs.
But the whole "lead into battle" bit sounds suspiciously like sociobiology, perhaps the least-rigorous pseudo-science this side of homeopathy. (I've read actual peer-reviewed sociobiology papers published in research journals, and believe me, they are an awesome vein of utter bullshit. If we could figure out how to extract it we'd have a great new source of phosphorus. Is Worstall reading this?)
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Thursday 29th September 2011 12:11 GMT James O'Shea
I must be old
I only know three of those songs, the Queen, VP, and Morrison songs.
And 'We are the Champions' isn't even Queen's catchiest song, that would be 'Hammer to Fall'. 'Under Pressure', ''39', and 'The Prophet's Song' all rate higher than 'We are the Champions'. (Why, yes, I do have every Queen album ever released, why do you ask?)
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Thursday 29th September 2011 12:19 GMT Code Monkey
Most Infectious Earworm
The most infectious earworm is Spanish Flea by Herb Alpert. It also has the advantage of not getting on my tits, so is great as brainwash (as is the A-Team theme and Monkey Man by Toots and the Maytals) for shite like We Are the Champions (a rare rubbish Queen song, I'll grant you).
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Thursday 29th September 2011 13:01 GMT Pete 2
One missing attribute
... the people judging the singers and songs must have actually heard (of) them.
Who's to say that these, all english/american-language songs contain the _world's_ most catchiest tunes? Other cultures have completely different musical scales and would presumably therefore be attuned to different musical attributes to stir their loins into battle - or football.
Given that this is just an attempt to appear "down wiv' da kidz" to try and convince them that science is "cool" I can see why they've skewed their results in such a startling manner. However, as a piece of science it does appear lacking (in the whole history of music - all the entries, ALL of them are from the past 50 years) in any sort of rigour and I really can't see how this could possibly be worthy of a PhD.
Maybe I should write up my list of top 10 favourite power ballads and submit that, so I can be known as Dr. Pete 2 - I'm sure I could come up with enough random psychobabble to convince whoever dished out this degree.
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Thursday 29th September 2011 13:23 GMT alain williams
Why all so recent ?
The oldest song listed is Brown Eyed Girl of 1967. There are huge numbers of catchy songs from before then, eg: 'Land of hope and glory', 'Happy Birthday', 'Rudolph the red nose reindeer' (& similar), 'Hello Dolly', 'My old man's a dustman', lots of music hall stuff,... quite appart from being entirely English language biased!
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Thursday 29th September 2011 13:25 GMT disgruntled yank
actually
I have to agree with them on "Teenage Dirtbag". And if I'm attacked by a co-worker for humming it constantly today, it will be all your fault.
The rest, not so much. YMCA seems to spur the immature of all ages to make strange contortions. "We Are the Champions" is sort of Lawrence Welk for the disco age, isn't it?
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Thursday 29th September 2011 13:35 GMT Bassey
There is currently a debate where I live as to whether students studying university courses without any obvious benefit to the community should receive funding. The general consensus has been that it would be impossible to judge which courses might lead to future jobs. After all - as one "expert" pointed out - who would have thought, just ten years ago, that computer and e-gaming would become viable careers?
I think "PhD in Singability" might well swing the argument
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Friday 30th September 2011 12:58 GMT John H Woods
Nice one ...
... I laughed in agreement. But actually I disagree. Expanding all human knowledge is an important cultural objective, by my reckoning the overarching one. Science and engineering have often done themselves a disservice by suggesting their PhDs are *useful*, and that Arts degrees aren't. Sooner or later, the result of such thinking is bad for blue-sky research or other interesting stuff which may only become technology in the far distant future. With the consequence that such technology retreats further from 'far distant future' to 'never'.
If you stick to what is 'useful to the community now', on paper that has to be management degrees. Can you see where I'm going with this?
If you think about it, 'singability' is an interesting hybrid of musicology, neurology, psychology and anthropology. Doesn't quite sound so airy fairy when you put it that way.
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Thursday 29th September 2011 13:39 GMT Anonymous Coward
Univeristy of the Bleedin Obvious!
"They believe that singing along to a song is "a subconscious war cry" that keys into an inherent tribal part of our consciousness."
I think that was Mr May and Mr Mercury's point, especially when, well you know, R.T.F.L.! The whole point in writing it, was an attempt to stir people up!
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Thursday 29th September 2011 13:40 GMT Spiracle
Bit of a quandry
I don't recall ever having heard 'Fat Lip' by Sum 41 and now I don't know whether to risk exposing myself to it. Just reading the word's 'Final Countdown' has me reaching for the iPod for something (anything) to drive it out of my head.
This is dangerous stuff. A while back I switched on the radio first thing in the morning and heard about half a bar of 'Long Haired Lover From Liverpool' by 'Little' Jimmy Osmond before I could switch stations. That was a whole day ruined.
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Thursday 29th September 2011 13:42 GMT Anonymous Coward
A catchier song
"This is the song that doesn't end. Yes it goes on and on my friends. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because this is the song that doesn't end. Yes it goes on and on my friends. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because this is the song that doesn't end. Yes it goes on and on my friends. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because this is the song that doesn't end...."
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Friday 30th September 2011 00:11 GMT Anonymous Coward
It becomes obvious that the researchers haven't got a clue when a list of the catchiest songs of all time fails to include anything by the Beatles. Or the Rolling Stones. Or from more recent times: any of the rubbish generated by Stock, Aitken and Waterman; any of the manufactured stuff from bands like the Spice Girls which are designed to be catchy.
Here's a few additional thoughts to get people running:
Hey Jude
Help
Yesterday
Yellow Submarine
Paint it Black
(I can't get no) Satisfaction
Or even things like:
I should be so lucky - Kylie
Wannabee - Spice Girls
Millennium - Robbie Williams
I'm sure the list could go on. But the list the trick cyclists came up with is weak at the extreme.
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Friday 30th September 2011 08:00 GMT Ben 42
Sweet Caroline
My anecdotal evidence suggests that Sweet Caroline is the runaway winner in the category of "most likely to trigger spontaneous singalongs". The fact that it's not even on the list tells me their research is seriously flawed.
Also, Livin' on a Prayer kind of shoots holes in their theory about catchy songs having a small range so they're easy to sing. I don't think I've ever met anyone with the vocal range to sing that (properly, anyway :-).
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Friday 30th September 2011 08:01 GMT Diogenes
What about
"The wheels on the bus go round & round" or "I know a song that will get on your nerves" - I used these at work all the time when idiots would get sing the same stuff over again ...
Then again there have to be some classical earworms as well - Waltons Variations on a Theme by Tallis (and the original theme) - ride of the valkyries, opening bars to Beethoven 5 , close of 1812, nessum dorma etc
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Friday 30th September 2011 08:10 GMT Gordon 8
Chicken Song
Damn, not the first one to remember it, thanks for getting it back in my head ;-(
'Its the time of year
Now that Spring is in the air
When those two wet gits with their girly curly hair
Make another song for moronic holidays
That nauseate-ate-ates
In a million different ways
From the shores of Spain
To the coast of Southern France
No matter where you hide
You just can't escape this dance....
Aggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh stop it stop it..
Champions is probably the best Crowd song that Queen did, although not their greatest work. Can't believe Lennon & McCartney did not get a mention.
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Friday 30th September 2011 13:22 GMT Jon 52
footballs coming home
I think fotoball chants are a good pointer, and what is more iconic than Frank Skinenr et al "3 lions".
Just try getting "footballs coming home" out your head now. Yes, this was deliberatly written to be catchy and it succeded. So well that many of the "catchy" football songs of following years, where just utter failures compared to this monolith with fans opting to sing "its coming".