Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2015 July 25

= July 25 =

Theme song
Hello Reference desk assistant:

Re: Name of theme song and the name of the singer

What is the name of the song and the singer's name for the t.v. show "Stole Voices: Buried Secrets from the Information Discovery network that aired from January 2011 and for three seasons.

Sincerely,

Julie D.F. Tallahassee, Florida 32317
 * Here is the IMDB page for the TV show. Maybe you could search around there for the name of the song.  There's also a discussion forum for the show at the IMDB page.  Maybe someone knows there.  -- Jayron 32 16:49, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
 * The theme song is "Mad World". I believe this is the Gary Jules version, not the original by Tears for Fears. Tevildo (talk) 20:03, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes, this is definitely the Jules version (AKA the Donnie Darko tune). InedibleHulk (talk) 04:49, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Kenny G lyrics?
This study states that Kenny G comes last among 99 top-selling artists in terms of vocabulary size. That makes sense: the guy plays the saxophone. But the study also states his songs still use 809 words. That I really don't get. Are there any songs where Kenny G sings? Cause I'm not aware of any. If not, can anyone explain? Contact Basemetal   here  17:59, 25 July 2015 (UTC)


 * A number of his songs have guest vocalists - e.g. his eponymous debut album includes "Here We Are", which has guest vocals by Greg Walker (and some backing vocalist(s), I think). -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 19:57, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

Tin Man (song)

 * ''And cause never was the reason for the evening
 * ''Or the tropic of Sir Galahad

Am I hearing this right? Any conjectures on what, if anything, it means? —Tamfang (talk) 20:23, 25 July 2015 (UTC)


 * No idea. The best answer on this forum - Tropic of Sir Gallahad was: 'Don't expect anything from the band America to make sense. They also talk about "alligator lizards in the air" and "the ocean is a desert with its life underground."'  Alansplodge (talk) 20:41, 25 July 2015 (UTC)


 * I have seen a suggestion that it uses tropic from a rare adjective form of tropism which has a secondary meaning "natural inclination". Sir Galahad was known for being "pure of heart". Rmhermen (talk) 20:46, 25 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Note that it is possible for an ocean to be a desert, if you ignore the part of the definition where a desert is on land, since a desert is defined by amount of rainfall. As to the "life underground", I suppose that can mean "below the surface". StuRat (talk) 20:59, 25 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Many bands seems to want their lyrics to seem "deep", but lack the inclination or ability to actually write deep lyrics, so just throw random phrases together in the hopes that those unable to decipher them will assume there is some deep hidden meaning, and keep buying their songs to attempt to figure it all out. Reminds me of the TV series Lost, which took the same approach. StuRat (talk) 21:07, 25 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Most importantly see Prosody (music). Some composers write melodies and rhythms to fit words; others start with the melody and rhythm and fit words to it.  Some songwriters aren't terribly concerned with the meaning of the words, but rather how they work in the music.  Scat singing is an extreme form of this, but other songwriters incorporate the "words for their sound regardless of their meaning" mentality, much of Kurt Cobain's songwriting has little meaning of itself, but is written for it's prosody, also one things of Steve Miller's nonsense word "pompatus" or Shock G's "luptid" as other rather famous examples of making the word fit the music.  Sometimes, songs lyrics have meaning.  But they don't always have to, and there's no need to assume the songwriter intended any deeper meaning than "this collection of syllables sounds just right here..."  -- Jayron 32 22:22, 25 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Jimmy Webb described the way he wrote songs in Making Music, a book edited by George Martin and it was to write the music first and then fit words to it. That's how he came up with MacArthur Park, a song about as clear as this one to any innocent bystander. Contact Basemetal   here  22:57, 25 July 2015 (UTC)


 * MacArthur Park is a bit different. The metaphors, such as the cake "melting" in the rain, are understandable, just rather saccharine (sickeningly sweet).  Tin Man is beyond understanding, as it's just random nonsense. StuRat (talk) 01:35, 26 July 2015 (UTC)
 * "Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn't already have" makes sense. What it has to do with the rest of the song is hard to tell. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:23, 26 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Tamfang, I can confirm two things: (1) You're not the first to wonder about this; and (2) My kind and I Me and my kind have no truck with tin men. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  05:49, 26 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Then don't buy any aluminum siding. :-) StuRat (talk) 13:47, 26 July 2015 (UTC)