Songs with the sound of a radio being tuned to different stations

[Sunhillow]

Radio: 'Forgotten Sons' beginning (you even hear 'Market Square Heroes' shortly)

Telephone: 'Moonshine On Heights' from Clepsydra's 'More Grains Of Sand' (and it's Pendragon's Nick Barrett talking on the phone).
Plus: Mike Oldfield, all over 'Amarok' ('BUSY')

[Steve F.]

Silver Apples - Program (off their debut, s/t album)

which uses it throughout and in a really clever way that works with the lyrical content. My absolute favorite of this sort of thing.

[Sunhillow]

Telephone:



2:45 (Sinclair: 'Hello?')

[walt]

Telephone-(call in show)Butthole Surfers-22 Going On 23....hold on for Paul Leary's guitar in the middle of the track...outtasight.

[nosebone]

We did it on the tune Lesser Beings from our second album.

radio starts around 32:05

[klothos]

This is from the band(?) that does the cool cover of ELOs '10538 Overture'

[Gryphon-kl]

Helloween used radio tuning at least twice, first on 'Starlight' and later on one of the songs on Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy ('Occasion Avenue', I think).

The Ramones use it in 'Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?'

Queens of the Stone Age use it on several of the tracks on [i]Songs for the Deaf[i], although that's more song dividers than part of the songs proper.

[bob_32_116]

I've spoken to a number of people who used to like ELO but got to hate that song "Telephone Line", which at one point in the late 1970's appeared to be on the radio every 10 minutes.

[Jefferson James]

Radio station surfing intro (not my idea).

[GuitarGeek]

Telephone conversation? How about Pink Floyd, Young Lust? Reportedly, that's an actual telephone operator.. They actually arranged to place a transatlantic phone call, with the intent of recording the operator's reaction to hear a man answer a phone when presumably the caller's wife was expected to pick up. I believe I read they had to do it two or three times, because the first one or two operators didn't come back with an interesting enough response (or perhaps didn't respond at all, other than the say the connection was broken or whatever).

[GuitarGeek]

Telephone conversation? How about Pink Floyd, Young Lust? Reportedly, that's an actual telephone operator.. They actually arranged to place a transatlantic phone call, with the intent of recording the operator's reaction to hear a man answer a phone when presumably the caller's wife was expected to pick up. I believe I read they had to do it two or three times, because the first one or two operators didn't come back with an interesting enough response (or perhaps didn't respond at all, other than the say the connection was broken or whatever).

[viukkis]

Yoko Ono has recorded pieces that contain nothing but a radio being tuned to different stations for over 12 minutes (Radio Play from John and Yoko's Unfinished Music Vol. 2: Life with the Lions - OK, that one also features the on/off switch of the radio being flicked rapidly) and her answering the phone (Telephone Piece from the album Fly). So that's 2/2 for Yoko.

[rcarlberg]

Radio Tarifa's first album, the concept is this is supposed to be what one hears when tuning across the dial in some mythical country. Tuning sounds between every song, including some snippets of songs that aren't chosen to listen to. Kind of a hokey concept but it more-or-less works.

[kayfabe58]

Thomas Dolby's Screen Kiss

Bill Nelsons Everyday is like a new drug

[presdoug]

A song on side one of Hard Stuff's Bolex Dementia album from '73.

[bob_32_116]

Telephone: At the end of "Dislocated Day" by Porcupine Tree, we hear what sounds like Steven Wilson speaking quickly to someone on the phone, before hanging up.

Of course the Big Bopper probably started things off with his one side of a phone call to his "baby", in this song:



Here's an astonishing piece of music trivia: according to the internet Accuracy Project:

J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson .... was a rock 'n roll innovator who was the first to record a rock video. He also coined the term "music video" in an article back in the fifties.

So you see, the idea didn't start with Michael Jackson.

[Scott Bails]

Genesis - "Illegal Alien"
Barenaked Ladies - "Enid"

[Rickenbacker]

[GuitarGeek]

Re: JP Richardson

J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson .... was a rock 'n roll innovator who was the first to record a rock video. He also coined the term "music video" in an article back in the fifties.

And apparently he also unintentionally invented hip hop.

[Halmyre]

Telephone - Pink Floyd's "High Hopes".

[ThomasKDye]

The "speaking-clock" at the end of Vangelis's "Pulstar."

[yoyiceu]

Tortilla Flat (German jazz-rock from the mid seventies). The start of the album. (Great album, by the way... like a jazzier Supersister).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muvc-6W7PpU

[Rune Blackwings]

Hawkwind:




Dave Brock also has one in the beginning of "Words of a Song"

[JKL2000]

Jim Croce - Operator
Not a real phone convo but it's supposed to be.

[Progbear]

There’s also a call to a radio show near the end of the long (23 min.) track “Concepción” off of Home’s IX. Members of the band call into this radio talk show and then play this funny song called (I guess) “Girls Don’t Like It When I Touch Their Butt.” I have no idea if it’s a prank, for real, or a for-real prank.