The TVTropes Trope Finder is where you can come to ask questions like "Do we have this one?" and "What's the trope about...?" Trying to rediscover a long lost show or other medium but need a little help? Head to Media Finder and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at You Know, That Thing Where.
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openSpoken verses, sung choruses Music
I know a song that is spoken rather than sung is called a recitation. What do you call a hybrid, where verses are spoken and choruses are sung? Charlie Daniels with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" being one notable example.
openOne verse and a half Music
That standard song structure where the second verse is half the length of the first… is there a trope for it?
openDramatic Key Change Music
When a song hits a climax (usually in the last or second-to-last chorus if it's a verse-chorus structure) and indicates it with a key change.
openInstantly Recognized Music
Epic Riff meets All There Is To Know About The Crying Game, so to say. Music titles you can recognize by hearing literarily only the first note. Or maybe two. (Some offhand examples: Satisfaction, Supervixen, Amateur Hour, Action...) Not necessarily limited to music (bet you know the beginning of Moby Dick or The Metamorphosis, so add some Wham Line to the mixture), so in general: Any work that is instantly recognizable from its start.
openVillain Music, but not exactly. Music
Hi, I'm searching for some genres of music to start up a Villain Music but Not Exactly playlist (or, not exactly Disney villain music due to sheer lack of Disney). I'm seeking music similar to the following, and I would like help finding similar genres/songs/musicians. When I look up "villain songs" all I get are Disney songs, and while they encapsulate the vibes I want from these songs, they are certainly not the songs I want. I want new things, for my cravings for these songs has become almost like a Mad Scientist seeking forbidden knowledge... or rather, what the Youtube algorithms don't think I want but I absolutely do. Now, behold, the Examples List!
Villainous Thing by Shayfer James - Genre unknown to me. Love the vibes and direct villainous references. Any song with direct villainy within is a bonus.
When You're Evil by Aurelio Voltaire - Definitely some kind of tango. Is very nice. Stalker's Tango by Autoheart - Another dark tango thing. Very enjoyable.
Birth to my Creation from Frankenstein, A New Musical - Genre unknown; I'd love to know this genre, as it gives me immaculate Mad Scientist vibes.
That's... all I have. I just need more villainous-vibed songs, if anyone has them. I don't know genres very well at all, but these seem to almost surpass those... Any help for improving this villainous endeavor of absolute jams would be much appreciated.
openBackwards Music Music
Music played backwards, not for backmasking/speech-related, and not note-by-note (e.g. Bach's Crab Canon). I even know a few examples offhand: the beginning of "Hooligan" by the Heart Throbs; bit of the Charlatans; the Beatles used it either. Immediately spottable by the somewhat eerie sound. Tropable?
openGeographical error? Music
Trying to find a trope for Music.Little Mix:
- On a radio station website's interview with Little Mix, one of the members said they'd done an arduous road trip to Nottingham, 100 miles away from London. But the math says that, by road, Nottingham is either 130 or 148 miles away by road, contradicting what one of their members said.
and also would this be an example of Writers Cannot Do Math or another trope entirely:
- If you put your postcode on the Auto Trader UK website, the distance quoted is "as the crow flies" rather than by road. This has proven controversial on some car websites.
Is this a case of Writers Cannot Do Math, Artistic License – Geography, Artistic License – Statistics, Not Drawn to Scale or an entirely different trope before I put this on the work page itself?
Edited by Merseyuser1resolved "Purple People" Eater (SOLVED) Music
Is there a trope about the joke format wherein an adjective doesn't refer to what the viewer thinks it does? Like, a Great White Hunter is just someone who hunts great whites, a man who shot an elephant in his pyjamas wasn't wearing pyjamas (the elephant was) and so on
Edited by Mac_RopenFriendly band saves the day! (Music video-related) Music
A trope I tend to associate with '80s hard rock and metal videos, it features a down on his luck protagonist - a nerdy high school kid being picked on by jocks, who also court his love interest, a not-so-nerdy kid getting a hard time from his teacher, or a rock-loving worker getting the same from his boss; magically, the band appears, kicks the villains' butts, and helps the protagonist get out of his problems, possibly also winning the affection of the girl he desired; a variation might include the band transporting the protagonist to another dimension, where he usually gets starry eyed and has a great time.
Twisted Sister's I Wanna Rock and We're Not Gonna Take It are prime examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRwrg0db_zY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9AbeALNVkk
ZZ Top's Sharp Dressed Man and Legs are also good examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUDcTLaWJuo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wRHBLwpASw
Also Madam X - High in High School
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo3uMMge8uA
Nelson's After the Rain is an example of the "transporting to a different dimension" variation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFLggqjddKM
openPart of a different song at the beginning of the studio track Music
I thought this might be a supertrope of Spoken Word, or that the two may be subtropes of the same supertrope, but I couldn't find anything.
Anything, as the title implies, it's about a part of a different song being tacked at the beginning of the track - it might be a song by a different artist (Accept's Fast as a Shark is a good example of that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTeXBTStek0 ), but is often also an earlier song by the same artist - in that case, it is often a song considered to be the artist's signature song; it might also be accompanied by gramophone or radio noises (which could actually have a trope of its own...).
Do we have this trope?
openAlbum cover reference in music video Music
When the music video features an object, a place or a person (not a band member) that's also on the cover, has the band dressed the same as they are on the album cover, or features a scene that is a de facto reenactment (or possibly the source) of the cover art.
An example would be the car from the cover of ZZ Top's Eliminator also appearing in the video for Sharp Dressed Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wRHBLwpASw&list=TLPQMTcwNTIwMjCpid3-jYdBaA&index=4
The old man on the cover of Fates Warning's Parallels appearing in the music video for Through Different Eyes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDf04d-vTfQ
Mountain king from The Hall of the Mountain King by Savatage, featured both on the album cover and the music video of the title track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOKoLiOkWWQ
Rush's Roll the Bones beginning with the scene from the cover art coming to life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmIynF-59YE
Quiet Riot's mascot from the cover of Metal Health, also featured in the video for the title track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_1ruZWJigo
The same guy would then appear on the cover of the follow up album, and the mask he's wearing was featured in the video for Twilight Hotel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq-vnMUxM6k
David Lee Roth appearing in the same face paint he's wearing on the cover of Eat 'em and Smile in the video for Yankee Rose, around the 1:30 mark or so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgLWTrWgDTI
Two years later, in the video for Just Like Paradise, DLR is climbing a mountain, just as on the cover of the Skyscraper album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4qh_9vH1Ww
The old guy from the cover of Damn Yankees' s/t album appearing at the start of the video for Don't Tread on Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkEbqgbSqs8
Mr. Big's music video for Addicted to That Rush ending with Eric Martin dissappearing and leaving only his boots, hat and staff behind, effectively (re?)creating the picture used as the album cover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoSD0DLQII0
Etc. etc.
Edited by TheGreatDuck2openAlternate Song Interpretation? Music
Is there a trope similar to Alternate Character Interpretation but where a song that's generally thought to mean a certain thing is though by a small minority to be something different? For a personal example: I always found the song missing by Everything but the Girl to be a major Tear Jerker, till I read on some thread someone suggested the protagonist could be intended as a Stalker with a Crush, and the reason they can't find the person is they are actively trying to hide from them, which puts it in quite a different light.
Edited by BootlebatopenSplitting the collab? Music
Is there a trope for when artists collab together but one of the artists also has a full song based on their verse? For example Jay Z and Alicia Keys have song named "Empire State of Mind", but Alicia Keys also has a song based on her chorus. Mackelmore and Mary Lambert have "Same Love", but Mary Lambert also has "She Keeps Me Warm".
openEverybody Singing in a Splitscreen Box Music
Is there a trope for a this? Seen It a Million Times - the characters are all singing a song together, or at least appear in a song sequence even if they aren't actually singing, and they are shown in a series of boxes together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHDBq85J37g - great example starting at 0:50.
openMusical genres Music
Was directed here from here, so here's a copy and paste.
. A genre of hectic, chaotic, and energetic music that feels potentially villainous or mad science-y. Examples: Nasty Habits by Oingo Boingo is the most prominent and "genre-defining" of these, I feel. Some more downplayed (at least, energy-wise? Something wise? I cannot pinpoint it) would be like The Cat With Two Heads by The Aquabats!, though the lyrics help it a lot in that case. I don't think it has the franticness as much but the vocals works in the favor of the lyrics and vibes. The B-52s's Rock Lobster wouldn't count, it doesn't have that energy and franticness except during maybe one part.
2. Whatever genre Devo is. I legitimately have no clue and I want to find more songs that sound like their's other than "Weird Al" Yankovic's Dare to be Stupid.
If anyone has the genres of these and/or songs similar to these, you would be making my day(s)!
openBand member leaves but isn't replaced Music
Is there a trope to describe when someone like Bill Wyman from The Rolling Stones departs a group but the remaining members decide not to replace that person?
Edited by civetcatcoffeeopenAlbum in different languages Music
Are there tropes for these kind of situations?
openFrom ballad to headbang Music
Is there a trope for that particular type of composition where a song starts as a quiet ballad and gradually evolves into a heavy rock tune? Stuff like Bohemian Rhapsody, Stairway to Heaven, One, Welcome to the Black Parade or Buried Alive.
Edited by LyendithopenAlternative censored version of a music video Music
The music video of the song "Beim ersten Mal tut's immer weh" from the band Oomph! comes in two versions: the original explicit featuring a man being tortured and mutilated by a girl (warning, it's rather graphic), and a censored version showing for the whole video only the band playing. Is there a trope for this kind of situation?
Do we have a Late Bloomer trope? For anyone unfamiliar with the phrase it's someone who achieves success in a field later in life than would be considered normal. For example Sheryl Crow had her first big hit at the age of 29 - not old per se, but considering most musicians who "make it" tend to have their first hit in their late teens or early 20s it's older than normal (possibly because musicians who reach their late 20s without breaking through often transition into regular careers out of necessity). Another example is Billy Bob Thornton who didn't have an acting credit till he was past 40.