Outkast
I want to point out a few things about the song "Hey Ya!" by Andre 3000 of Outkast because I'm a nerd and these are the things I think about when I'm listening to a song.
First, when he says, "1, 2, 3 (snare) My baby don't mess around...", what he really should say is, "2, 3, 4 (snare) My baby don't mess around..." because "My" starts on two. Listen to it. Try and continue the counting through the first few measures (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3, 4; etc. don't make me hold your hand.)
Second, every sixth measure, save the very begining of the song, is in two (1, 2, 3, 4 (x5); 1, 2; 1, 2, 3, 4 (x5); 1, 2; etc. hand holding is for the next point only) Again, listen to it, count to it.
Third, and the one that made me question my musicianship until tonight, when he says, "Then why are we so in denial when we know we're not happy here" and then there is a break he does something very mean. When I first heard it I thought that I was counting it wrong but then it kept happening. "Can I not count 8 quarter notes?!?" I would ask myself angrily. That's just it though, there are only 7 1/2 beats in those two measures. Why does he do that? Because he is mean, that's why. I will try to explain it for the musically impaired. In a normal measure there are four quarter notes and eight eighth notes (obviously). There's a lot of other crap but nobody cares. So a measure can be broken up into: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. What Andre does is instead of starting back at 1 he puts 1 in place of the 'and of 4'. Make sense? Keep following, I'll spell it out for you. In those two measures this is what happens: and is represented by the letter 'a'
When we know we're not happy here...
(break)
1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a 1 a 2 a 3 a 4 1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a
Did you catch it? Did you listen to it? Try clapping that to yourself. Make 1 the strongest, 3 a little weaker, 2 and 4 a little weaker still, and 'a' the weakest. Give it a couple of tries. Now go back and listen to it. There, you've got it now.
Go impress everyone else who doesn't care with your newfound knowledge of music.
First, when he says, "1, 2, 3 (snare) My baby don't mess around...", what he really should say is, "2, 3, 4 (snare) My baby don't mess around..." because "My" starts on two. Listen to it. Try and continue the counting through the first few measures (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3, 4; etc. don't make me hold your hand.)
Second, every sixth measure, save the very begining of the song, is in two (1, 2, 3, 4 (x5); 1, 2; 1, 2, 3, 4 (x5); 1, 2; etc. hand holding is for the next point only) Again, listen to it, count to it.
Third, and the one that made me question my musicianship until tonight, when he says, "Then why are we so in denial when we know we're not happy here" and then there is a break he does something very mean. When I first heard it I thought that I was counting it wrong but then it kept happening. "Can I not count 8 quarter notes?!?" I would ask myself angrily. That's just it though, there are only 7 1/2 beats in those two measures. Why does he do that? Because he is mean, that's why. I will try to explain it for the musically impaired. In a normal measure there are four quarter notes and eight eighth notes (obviously). There's a lot of other crap but nobody cares. So a measure can be broken up into: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. What Andre does is instead of starting back at 1 he puts 1 in place of the 'and of 4'. Make sense? Keep following, I'll spell it out for you. In those two measures this is what happens: and is represented by the letter 'a'
When we know we're not happy here...
(break)
1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a 1 a 2 a 3 a 4 1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a
Did you catch it? Did you listen to it? Try clapping that to yourself. Make 1 the strongest, 3 a little weaker, 2 and 4 a little weaker still, and 'a' the weakest. Give it a couple of tries. Now go back and listen to it. There, you've got it now.
Go impress everyone else who doesn't care with your newfound knowledge of music.