A note I originally included in the comments of the original (and shorter) contributed quiz:
I'm delighted that so many of you enjoy this. After some experimenting with the format, I found you can't just pick any old section of even the most familiar song, play it backwards and expect people to recognize it. So I looked for one of two things in a song: a long-sustained note or quick, short repetitions. For example the "ah hah hah hah" on Stayin' Alive or the "na nana nanana naa" on Hey Jude. The second thing I discovered is that you have to be careful where you start and end the cut. If a song has a rhythm of "1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4" and you flip it to "4, 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1" it sounds completely alien, but if you move it back a measure and flip it to "3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 4" it fools the brain into recognizing it.
So if anyone wants to try a sequel, here are my 3 hints. 1) Use Audacity which has a "reverse" effect. 2) Find the simplest part of the song, the part a 3-year-old can recognize. 3) Stick to extremely familiar songs.
And BTW, after experimenting with Whitney, my respect for her has gone way up. I did several experimental things with that note, including timeshifting the left & right channels and that tone is still as pure as a tuning fork. |
Rolling Stone's Greatest Songs
Margaritaville
Named Bands
