Monday, January 29, 2007

From a Distance

Today i chose to look at a Bette Midler classic, "From a Distance," number 15 on the list.

Feeling as manly as ever as I played the song a few times I actually found some Fibonacci stuff. For instance the singing starts 13 seconds in, there is a dramatic pause 55 seconds in, and there is a sharp high note 89 seconds in. I dont know how many fibonacci numbers we need in order to call them Fibonacci songs, but I think this one fits the bill.

The song is 278 seconds long, and the climax comes in my opinion at 179 seconds in for a ratio of 1.55. Not exactly a golden section song, but considering the Fibonacci sequence that i found in it, the song overall is one that I would call interesting, if not a success.

PS Any comments on how many Fibonacci numbers we want to see before granting it "Fibonacci" status?

Sunday, January 28, 2007

MARIAH CAREY BLOCK

I thought it might be interesting to see if there were any connections or correllations with a few different songs from one artist on the list. At first glance i noticed a few Mariah songs so i picked three of them.

The first one I picked was ''Someday" which was number 13 on the list. As it turns out this song was pretty bland in terms of fibonacci stuff. I didnt notice any pattern or any real dramatic points at any of the fibonacci numbers. The climax was 168 seconds in. Since the song is 248 seconds long, that ratio of 1.47 is off the mark from the golden section.

The second song was number 22 on the list, "Emotions." This song made me think for a while. I found no Fibonacci numbers in it, but the interesting part has to do with the climax. The first time i ran through the song i noted that I thought the climax was at 170 seconds in. At this point Mariah hits what is certainly the highest note in the song. However once I went back and checked the point where the Golden section climax would be, I had to take a second look. Since the song is 249 second slong, the climax should be right at 153 seconds in. At that point in the song there is a dramatic pause. So I listened to the song again straight through and while the highest note is at 170 seconds, what i really considered the climax was indeed at this 153 second mark, for a ratio for 1.62, right on the golden section. This served as a warning to make sure you take note that the climax not nessecarily be the highest note in a song.

The last song i looked at in this block was "I dont wanna cry," number 25 on the list. I marked the climax at 166 seconds in, at a point where Mariah's singing is backed up by drums that are not as prominant throughout the rest of the song. The track I had was 270 seconds long which would make the ratio a little far off the mark, however, i noticed the end of the track gets cut off, so the version I had was not the entire lenght of the song. Depending on how many seconds are left, perhaps this could be a golden section song also.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

The Motown Song

I would like to start by saying that this is perhaps my favorite Rod Stewart song. In addition, the music video is one of the most entertaining I've ever seen. Now that I've professed my love for the work of Rod Stewart....let's get to Fibonacci!

The song is 3:58...There is a clear climax to this song that takes place when Rod emphatically screams "Bring over some of your old motown records!" This occurs at 2:31, however the final build up to this climax commences at 2:27 when Rod says, "I know what we're feelin' can't be wrong!" and ends at the chorus being reintroduced...

3:58/2:27 = 1.619!

This is EXTREMELY CLOSE TO FIBONACCI, within a thousandth...

As far as the alternate sequence, another strike out because the song is 238 seconds long, closest to 233 but that doesn't really help us.

MORE ROD TO COME..

Something to Talk About

This gem by Bonnie Raitt, "Something to Talk About" appears at number 55 on the list.

The song is 225 second long. I noted the climax at 169 seconds in, giving a ratio of around 1.3, not near the golden section. The point where a golden section climax would occur is 139 seconds in. At this point there is an instrument solo, however, I would not consider this the climax.

Again, as in Bette Middler's song, I noted a few points on interest only a second away from the Fibonacci numbers, such as when the instruments kick in, and when the singing begins, as well as some dramatic instumentals. I wonder if this is a coincidence or not. But it seems to me as if this song is another that could be considered to follow the Fibonacci sequence of numbers.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Everything I Do

Hey guys. I found some interesting stuff on the number 1 song from 1991, Bryan Adams "Everything I Do." For starters, the track is 377 seconds long, a Fibonacci number. Also unlike many of the songs I've looked at, this one starts with a nice strong note the second it starts out, and 1 is also part of the sequence. The singing begins within a second of the Fibonacci 13. And although those are the only spot on matches I found, throughout the song there are dramatic parts which happen within ten seconds of the other Fibonacci numbers. I think we may have found a solid "Fibonacci" song.

As for the climax, since the song is 377 seconds long, a golden section song should climax right at 233 seconds in. At that point in the song, everything stops and there is a second or two of silence, before the rest of the song kicks in. Sounds like that could definately be considered a climax to me. It's interesting that this was number 1 on the list. Let's keep checking some more songs out, but this one was pretty cool!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Right Here, Right Now

I think most people can remember this song. I would also bet that few could tell you who sang it, I certainly couldn't until looking it up for this project. It turns out this pretty cool song is done by Jesus Jones.

The song is 152 seconds long, a little shorter than most of the other songs weve looked at. The climax comes during a nice high note 137 seconds in. That gives us a ratio of 1.1, nowhere near a golden section song.

However, this is another song that could possibly considered a Fibonacci sequence song. Although not all the points that I marked were exactly on the money, I found four points of interest within three seconds of a Fibonacci mark. The instruments kick in at 8 seconds. The singing starts at 20 seconds in, 1 short of the Fibonacci 21. There is a dramatic symbols crash at 36 seconds in ( the Fib number is 34), and at 58 seconds in, the singer for the first time lets us here the full chorus with an emphasis on the last part of it.

So these things which Ive noted are not exactly on point, but in my opinion they do represent a certain pattern, the pattern that perhaps is captured in the Fibonacci numbers.

Damn Yankees- "High Enough"

I decided to look at Damn Yankee's power ballad, "High Enough." Many poeple might not remember Damn Yankees anymore but it was an 80's hair metal band comprised of Ted Nugent, Tommy Shaw from Styx, and two other guys. This was really one of the last power ballads to reach high up on the charts before grunge took over and killed the 80's metal movement...something I'm still sad about to this day!

Anyway, "High Enough" is close to a golden section song, but not close enough.
The duration of the song clocks in at 258 seconds with the instrumental climax starting at 168 seconds, making the ratio about 1.53. It is also does not conform to the fibonacci numbers.

So far, 1991 hasn't been working out too great...let's hope we get some songs. It's important to go through as many songs as possible so we can hopefully come up with a true relationship between hit songs and fibonacci numbers/the golden section.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Unbelievable

This one from EMF happens to be a personal favorite of mine. It appears on the list at a very respectable number 6. I think most people know this song from all of those throwback 90's CDs that used to be advertised on TV back in the day.

The song is 208 seconds long. At about halfway through theres a piece different from the rest of the song, a little faster, as it builds to the climax. I marked the climax at 113 seconds in, at the "Whoo" after this piece. This gives us a ratio of 1.8. This is a little outside the range we are looking for, but we are getting closer. Let's keep looking guys, we're almost there for this year I can feel it!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Losing My Religion

This 1991 hit by REM, unfortunately, did not have a golden section that corresponded with Fibonacci's sequence. The climax of the 4:28 song is at 3:05 seconds, calculating to 1.3405. This is not even close to 1.618.

I will move on to my other songs from 1991 in hopes of finding something more usable...



On the subject of Hip hop and R&B, I think we may run into problems finding a golden section like you said Seth, so let's keep looking and see what we find....

Motown Philly

For my first song for 1991, I am looking at "Motown Philly" by Boyz 2 Men. Boyz 2 Men was one of the biggest R&B groups of the 90's and this is one of their biggest hits. Although some people might not know the song by just the title, once you hear it, it is unmistakable.

Unfortunately, this song does does not conform with the golden section or fibonacci numbers. To be honest, I couldn't even really find a climax to the song. Which leads me to this question: Will finding the golden section be harder in R&B/Rap songs? Since there is no real band playing behind the artists, are there a lot of songs that simply won't have an instrumental climax? I think this will be an interesting point to look at as we go through the 90's and rap becomes more and more popular.

All the Man that I Need

Who doesnt love a nice Whitney Houston ballad. This one, "All the Man that I Need" is number 16 on the list.

I did not find any relationship to the Fibonacci sequence of numbers.

As for the golden section, however, I think this one night fit the bill. Listening to the song the first time i judged the climax to be a fairly long section of instrumentals stringing from 145 seconds to 167 seconds. I used the middle of this as the number that i used to calculate the ratio, giving us 251/156= 1.608. Sure is close enough for me. One note though, while i used 156, that is not the exact point that i feel is the climax, rather the whole piece is in my opinion, but i figure the middle of if is the best single number to use for calculating it. And we can see if we do that here it works out pretty well.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Everybody Plays the Fool

Number 88 on the list was Aaron Neville's take on the classic, "Everybody Plays the Fool." This was the first song i checked out from this year so I was all pumped up to see if 1991 would start off with a bang. No such luck. The climax comes fairly early in the song, at 147 seconds in(as Neville shouts out a nice loud "HEY." The song is 265 seconds long so that gives a ratio of 1.80, too large to be considered a golden section song. An argument could be made for the climax being in the very beginning, when he hits a few nice high notes right off the bat. I hoped these might corresond to some of the Fibonacci numbers, but on this day, I was playing the fool-no relationships here. Great song though. See everyone soon.

The Way You Do the Things you Do

Number 71 on the list is "The Way You Do the Things You Do" by UB40. I picked this song simply because it is one of my favorite songs on the list. This version is great, and it can be enjoyed today by a variety of artists who have covered it.

Not much Fibonacci stuff to report on this song however. The song did not fit the sequence as far as I could tell.

The climax in this song is very subdued but there is really only one point where the singers change the tone of their voices, and that occurs at 126 seconds in. The song is 178 seconds long so the ratio is around 1.4, too far off to be considered a golden section song.

So like I said nothing to exiting here, but one thing I thought of was that maybe eventually we can look at some covers of some Fibonacci songs and maybe we might find something interesting, but that is for the future.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

1991

I have chosen the following songs to research for 1991..

#1 Everything I do - Bryan Adams
#11 Motown philly - boys to men
#33 Losing my religion - REM
#38 Summertime - will smith
#50 Rhythm of my heart - Rod Stewart
#99 Motown song - Rod Stewart


Stay tuned for analysis..

More Than Words

"More Than Words" by Extreme, which sounds very unlike the namesake of the band. It is a very recognizable ballad as well as a song on the guitar that many novice guitarists play to college girls in their freshmen dorms. I'm not saying that I've tried it ;).

All kidding aside, this is definitely what I would consider a hit for 1991. So lets take a closer look. The climax occurs 170 seconds into a 333 second song. The climax is when there is a funky guitar break and the singer says "Won't ever let you go" which leads into the chorus.

333 by 170 equals 1.959 which is far off from the desired 1.618. I guess if we are going to show our successes, we might as well show our failures as well. Hopefully, this is one of the few exceptions to the rule.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

1991- A NEW YEAR

I think we should stick with the hits from different years because the main objective of this blog is to try to find relationships between the fibonacci numbers and popular music. Remember guys, post if the song conforms to: 1) the golden section, 2) the fibonacci numbers 3) the reverse golden section (which is just the golden section but the opposite way-so basically from the end of the song to the beginning.) Here is a website to the list of the top songs of 1991.
http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1991.htm

have fun everybody! maybe we'll find some cool relationships this time...

I agree

I feel as if we are correct in saying the sample size is much too small at this point to formulate any type of conclusion about what type of music or artist may moreso conform to fibonacci's sequence than others. I have done analyzed Pearl Jam's "Ten" and will post about it as we enter grunge rock 1991 and beyond...

The Fibonacci sequence of numbers so far has been a blank for me on all fronts...Any occurrence of it, at this point, would be, as Brandt said, an anomaly....I am skeptical that we will find songs to fit this on a regular basis. Perhaps we should just look up songs that are lengths that allow us to further interpret the sequence's presence...?


Just as a teaser, Pearl Jam does indeed conform to the golden section on several occassions in "Ten" and other albums...

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Analysis

I think the sample size may be too small right now to make any solid conclusions. The lack of real rock bands might because that type of music was in style and therefore not included on the list of top 100 songs of that year. I think we should move onto the next year because grunge rock will soon emerge and maybe bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam will have a golden section.

Pertaining to the Fibonacci numbers, none of the songs I've looked at follow that pattern so even if I found a piece of music with it, I would feel that it is more of an anomaly than a pattern.

Monday, January 15, 2007

1990 comes to an end..

Well I think we've really looked at all of the songs that we thought were hits from the year 1990. We had a pretty good success rate on golden section songs, but NONE of them conformed to the fibonacci numbers.

Here are the songs that conformed to the golden section:
"Hold On"- Wilson Phillips
"Black Velvet"-Alannah Myles
"Love Shack"-B-52's
"Janie's Got a Gun"'Aerosmith
"I Go To Extremes"-Billy Joel
"How Am I Supposed To Live Without You
"Something Happened On The Way to Heaven"-Phil Collins
"Here We Go"-Gloria Estefan

Do we see any relationships between these songs? They are all pop songs, no real rock songs in this bunch. Other than that, I'm not sure if I see anything else of note...what do you guys think?

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Love Will Lead You Back

I have to admit that i had no idea who Taylor Dane was as i downloaded this song. However, once she starts to belt this tune, you recognize it instantly. This ones a little too old for us to have had at many dances or parties, but you can just imagine the ten thousand graduation parties that it must have played at back in the day.

So as for Fibonacci, not much to report on this one. The climax comes too late for it to be a golden section (right around 210 seconds in a 274 second song).

And all the dramatic points that i noted while listening don't match up with the sequence at all.

Oh well, i guess they aren't all going to be winners.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Escapade

Number 15 on the list, "Escapade" by Janet Jackson was a song that happened to catch my eye, as I'm an avid Janet Jackson fan.

I was a little dissapointed however, when i saw that this song is not a golden section song. With the climax coming at 182 seconds into a 284 second song, the ratio that gives us of 1.56 is a little too far outside the range for it to be consdiered a golden section song.

As for the Fibonacci numbers, the only thing i was able to find was a pretty strong "Hmmpf" by Janet which kicked the song off. This makes a few times now that I've found the Fibonacci numbers at the point which i feel really gets the song going. Maybe theres something to the way a song begins, as well as where the climax is...

Friday, January 12, 2007

Opposites Attract

This one by Paul Abdul appears at number 14 on the list, the highest one I've looked at so far.

This one is definately a little bit different than any of the other ones I've done so far. It has a fairly standard Paula sound to it. It's almost techno-ish, defaintely a 90's tune.

The only dramatic thing i found that corresponds to the Fibonacci numbers was at the very beginning. At 8 seconds in there is a shriek-like sound which really kicks off the song.

For this song, instead of picking out a climax and seeing if that ratio was close to the golden section, I found where the golden section climax ould be and checked to see if i notcied anything in the song there. I did this particularly because i was really having trouble determining the exact climax. Anyway, at this point (165 seconds in, since the song itself is 265 seconds), while the chorus is being sung, there is a vocal track in the background which seperates this chorus from every other one in the song. Maybe thats pushing it, but it sure seems interesting to me.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Downtown Train

Another hit from 1990: "Downtown Train" by Rod Stewart

The song starts off kind of slow but really starts to rock during the middle of the song. Having completely recovered from that Giants loss, I could use alittle Rod Stewart who only pumped out hit after hit.

The climax occurs at the 192 second mark of the 279 second song. The climax is during the chorus when Rod hits the high note on the "you" while singing "Will I see you tonight?" He really flaunts his considerable talent at that point and you can really feel the emotion. As with the Sinead song, this song does not have a goldensection or follow the fibonacci sequence. Both songs however, are more ballads than pop songs so maybe theres something there

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Nothing Compares 2 U

#3 "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor

Yes, that little pope picture ripping Irishwomen ranks #3 with this hit. The video is probably the most powerful and simplistic video of that period as well. You can feel and see the song in the face and tears of Sinead. I do not know an individual that does not at least recognize the quality of this song.

The song is 307 seconds long. The climax occurs at 230 second mark when finishes the last part of the bridge (end on the word "try") and the chorus starts again. This unfortunately is not during the golden section, therefore "Nothing Compares 2 U" does not prove the rule.

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Hold On

#1 "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips

Not a huge Wilson Phillips fan, but it seems like it would be a crime not to look at the #1 song from that list. I think most people have sung this tune while in their car alone. No self respecting individual openly admits this guilty pleasure of a song. The song is fitting for the decade as its heavily produced with echo effects. But when you're in your car, you don't need no stinkin' producer. You just add the echo in yourself.

Now to the climax, it occurs at the 2:45 second mark when the bridge starts. Theres a short drum solo to signify the beginning. I judged this climax by actually belting out the lyrics along with the song and I gave myself chills at this point of the song. (I'm that good.)

267 by 165 equals 1.6182.

On a side note, Giants lose and I'm in a funk now, hopefully another gem from 1990 will lift my spirits.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

Black Velvet

#18 "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles

I'm suprised that this song is rated so low because its definitely a song most of you out there have heard before. It's hard to do posts with the Giants postseason game against the Eagles coming up tomorrow, but I will try my best.

The climax comes around the 3:00 mark when Alannah emphatically belts out the chorus again. It has much more behind it than the other times that the chorus is sung. Much to my pleasure this occurs close enough to the golden section to make it count.

289 by 180 equals 1.6056.

P.S. LETS GO GIANTS!!!!

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Review Shall We?

So what have we learned?

Love Shack, I Go to Extremes, and Something Happened on the Way to Heaven fit closely enough to the golden section sequence to be noted.

None of these songs conformed to the other Fibonacci number set....So far I've struck out..

I Wanna be Rich, Ice Ice Baby, Just Another Day in Paradise, and Blame it on the Rain did not fit the golden section sequence.

We have two very established artists in Phil Collins and Billy Joel that conformed to the Golden section, but the addition of one hit wonder "Love Shack" hurts my hypothesis that time tested artists with proven success better utilize the sequence. However, I think it is fair to say that one may be more likely to come across an occurrance of Fibonacci's golden section in the music of a proven winner such as Billy or Phil.

That being said, I would not discount the possibility of an artist that may be unworthy of idol status fitting the sequence; it may just be less likely .... However, until more research is done, we cannot really come to any conclusions..

So, let's keep searching for more answers!

Good luck gentlemen (and gentlewomen) as we embark on a new year!

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

The B-52s

Love Shack is undoubtedly one of those songs that has survived for nearly 2 decades as a party anthem for many. I chose this song as a hit because it is a song I associate closely with my childhood and my first exposure to mainstream music. The B-52 haven't the longevity of Billy or Phil but are more towards a one hit wonder. I cannot personally name another song by the group so feel free to call me out on a song that I should know but don't!

The song is 5:18 seconds long and the golden section begins at 3:15 when the lead singer belts, "so comon and bring your juke box money!"

318/195 = 1.6205 - feels like knockin on Fibonacci's door..

Since the song is 318 seconds in length, it does not fit the other Fibonacci sequence..

There were no other correlations that I could make out...