It probably didn't hurt Hall & Oates that "Rich Girl," in addition to mocking the trappings of wealth during the most prolonged and severe recession since the Great Depression, timed out at a mere 2:23. In an era in which songs were approaching and often far exceeding the four-minute mark, this gave DJ's a nice, quick option to squeeze in before news, traffic, ads...
Hall & Oates - Rich Girl Solid groove on this and Hall's voice is excellent. I love how hooky this song is, every section has a good hook. I do think it's too short, needs a bridge or something different. That's a minor nit pick, though. Really good song.
I think that if a song is good, it doesn't matter how short it is. Listening to "Rich Girl", you don't even notice that it's short.
Rich Girl- I find this song timeless because it doesn't rely on any trends of the era. It's beautufully arranged and recorded song that holds up today as it's not stuck in a bygone era. It could easily come out today and nobody would think any different.
I remember being both shocked and amused that "Rich Girl" included the b-word so prominently. Sure, Elton John had already been there but as I recall his song didn't get nearly the mainstream airplay that "Rich Girl" did. I guess with those smooth-as-silk harmonies they could have gotten away with almost anything.
I think "Rich Girl" got away with it because the woman wasn't called a bitch, but rather the situation was. I wasn't crazy about this song at the time--it was OK, I didn't hate it--and think I like it bit more now than I did then. Still not among my favorite H&O tunes. JcS
I love how Darryl Hall's voice blends with the electric piano at the beginning of the the song. It really catches your attention and sets things up nicely.
Rich Girl As I get older and look back on my younger days, it amazes me the random memories that I associate with certain songs. There are songs that I heard hundreds of times back then, but I only associate hearing them with one particular memory. This song is one of those. When I was in High School one of my grandparents (mother's side) got sick. My Mom was going to their house (they lived about an hour away in the country) on the weekends to help clean up, cook for their week coming up, etc. I ended up going with her one Saturday, I had just started driving with a permit and the chance to drive for a couple of hours was too good to pass up. Anyway, I remember this one particular Saturday sitting in their living room listening to the radio and this song came on. It's a memory that is clear as day. Its the only thing I remember about this particular day and, weirdly its the only time I actually remember hearing this song on the radio. Its a great song. I've put it on any number of playlists. One of my favorite Hall and Oates songs.
As they always say, leave them wanting more. I would rather play again than have a song go on too long. This song is well arranged and tight, so as you said, it doesn’t feel short. It does everything it needs to do as a four minute song but they did it in just over two. Kinda genious.
I don't think Hall & Oates sat around thinking about how short or how long a song is. They just did it. I am not one of those listeners who want everything to go on forever.
Right, and that's part of my criticism of the disco tracks of the era. Yes, I know that when on the dance floor and getting into the groove, a 2:30 song doesn't work so well, but since I didn't do that often then (and not at all now), a repetitive ending is annoying to me. JcS
Some songs work being longer, some don't. If a song's arrangement requires that it take its time, i'm fine with it. But, if an artist (or someone after the fact) decides that they can make something longer for the sake of making it longer, then I have a problem with it. I never liked Roger Nichols' extension of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" on the "Big Chill" soundtrack.
Honestly I think given the fact that hip hop music dominates the culture in 2019, making ASIB 2018 about an Americana artist was actually far more ballsy because the only format that actually plays that style of music is AAA/NPR type stations (too "rock" for country stations who still play pop music all the time anyways, and too country for rock stations), not exactly the market that reaches tens of millions of listeners on a given week. The fact that "Shallow", something much more akin to a Jason Isbell/Lukas Nelson (both guys who wrote songs for the movie) type of track went to #1 makes it far more out of left field than a hip hop retelling which is far more easily commercial. It made sense having Gaga (or Beyonce prior) to the role because the female character has always been played by a veteran but still thriving diva, Barbra and Judy were both well into their careers by that time and I'm sure if we'd gotten a 90s movie as well it probably would've had someone already at least ten years into her career as well, perhaps a Whitney Houston or Madonna (as Evita showed she could actually sing when she wants). It's become standard for that role to be played by a diva whose been around the block awhile, kinda like how Edna Turnblat in Hairspray always has to be played by a man, just because that's tradition.
Hip-hop does not dominate the culture in 2019. It shares that equally with modern "country" (if you can call it country). The most recent version of "A Star Is Born" fits right in and was a natural choice. I agree with this.
Hip hop supplanted rock in terms of what the younger people care most about long time ago. The streaming chart is almost entirely hip hop with a little sprinkling of pop. Its the hottest and most relevant thing musically and that's why a lot of old rockist people foam at the mouth at the "nightmare" and keep hoping something like Greta Van Fleet will save the children from rap music. I'm not even looking at it in a "why can't the kids like Zeppelin again?" mentality and like a lot of hip hop, but I don't see how you would argue it's not #1 and the most popular genre of music in the present. The ASIB soundtrack looks "country" on the outside to someone who doesn't listen to AAA music but it definitely fits far more in with a hipster AAA/NPR type of audience. Artists like Jason Isbell and Lukas Nelson are more cult artists who appeal more to rock audiences than they do the country market. It was pretty ballsy to make the newest ASIB about a niche genre of music that has a strong cult following but doesn't get any airplay outside of niche radio stations mostly hipsters listen to.
Not quite. I don't base my distaste on long dance songs on my dislike of going to dance clubs or (the inability to) dance.
I like 'em long and I like 'em short (stop snickering!). It's on a case by case basis. The advent of the 12 inch single and artificially extended tracks was an interesting experiment but by the 90s, got completely out of hand. We are coming up on a seminal Disco song that initially repelled me but eventually drew me into the fold. Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah! More to come.
I didn't say anything about having a distaste for it. I said I didn't do it much when I was younger: but since I didn't do that often then (and not at all now), a repetitive ending is annoying to me. I'd go to the dances at college after football games and other occasions. There weren't that many places to go for an under-21 guy in Russellville, Arkansas in the 70's. After I got married during law school, we didn't go clubbing. Example: "Disco Inferno" on the dance floor was OK for about 11 minutes. Listening to it in my car or at home--I prefer the shorter version. "Got To Give It Up" at nearly 12 minutes--fine on the floor, nothing I care to sit through outside that setting. JcS
Rich Girl I don't like this as much as "Sara Smile", or maybe even "She's Gone", but it's still a great pop song. It was originally going to be called "Rich Boy", which I bet has been mentioned already. I think "Rich Girl" made the song sound sexier, for lack of a better word, perhaps.
Yeah, leave them wanting more. Some Top 40 songs became too long in the 70s. Although, there's one coming up where the long version is the best. And, it's loooong. But, the song is such a killer groove that it seems short. Okay, I've said too much, Got To not Give It Up.
