The Avalanches - "Since I Left You" Quiz

Answer: Since I Left You

"Since I Left You" was originally envisioned as a concept album telling the story of a man chasing a love interest around the world. This concept was eventually abandoned, and the title track is one of only a handful of songs that hints at this concept.

It starts the album off with a celebratory feeling and features prominent samples from multiple artists. The chorus was lifted from "Everyday" by the Main Attraction, and was the final element to be incorporated into the song. Interestingly, that original track used the line "Since I met you, I found the world so new." This line was rearranged by The Avalanches using other samples so that the word "left" replaced "met".

The Main Attraction would be sampled again on "Radio". The single released in United States featured remixes from Stereolab, Prince Paul, and Cornelius on the B-side.

Answer: Madonna

The Avalanches sampled the baseline from "Holiday" from Madonna's 1983 self-titled debut album for both tracks. Darren Seltmann from the band said in a 2002 interview with Sound on Sound that the sample was initially included into the track as a joke that they did not intend to keep in or seek clearance for.

He said, "It ended up where we couldn't live without it so I guess we just had to make that one work." The sample was reportedly approved by Madonna herself, who listened to the CD in her office before reaching a decision.

Answer: Summer Crane

"Oh Oh Chéri" appeared on Hardy's 1962 debut "Tous les garçons et les filles", which has become somewhat of a cult classic. Vocal samples from "Oh Oh Chéri" are infused throughout "Summer Crane". The American release of "Since I Left You" had a flute sample taken from War's "H2 Overture" removed from "Summer Crane" due to clearance issues.

Answer: Two Hearts in 3/4 Time

"Two Hearts in 3/4 Time" is in a waltz time signature, and one of the dreamiest songs on the album. The most prominent "la-la-la" vocal sample comes from "Yu-Ma" by Marlena Shaw. The title may have been inspired by a 1930 German film of the same name when translated into English ("Zwei Herzen im 3/4 Takt"), or potentially a song from the 1958 album "Happy-Go-Lucky Sound" by The Three Suns.

Answer: "You have the perfect voice to sing calypso."

This quote actually comes from "Frankie Sinatra", their first single from 2016's long-awaited follow-up album "Wildflower". "Frankie Sinatra" featured rappers Danny Brown and MF DOOM.

"Frontier Psychiatrist" is a track that should not work. The Avalanches blended samples from random records they found in stores in Melbourne, including everything from comedy duo Wayne and Shuster, a golf instructional, horse and parrot sounds and an orchestra sample from the Enoch Light Singers' "My Way of Life". The result is a brilliant pastiche of sounds that work wonderfully together and create non-sequitur phrases like "tighten your buttocks/pour juice on your chin/I promised my girlfriend I'd-/the violin..." The song demonstrates the group's compositional skill, and features some excellent scratching throughout. As the second single from "Since I Left You", it was accompanied by a music video directed by Tom Kuntz and Mike Maguire featuring re-enactments of the scenes implied by the words, which placed at number 19 on Pitchfork's list of the best music videos of the 2000s.

Answer: A Different Feeling

This sample was lifted from Debbie Reynold's "Tammy", which was written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans for the film "Tammy and the Bachelor" and earned a nomination for Best Original Song at the 1957 Academy Awards. Reynold's version peaked at number one on the US and number two on the UK charts in 1957. "A Different Feeling" also includes prominent orchestral samples.

Other identified samples include "If I'm Wrong" by The Main Attraction, "Love in C Minor" by Cerrone and two different samples from Paperclip People ("The Climax" and "Slam Dance"). Paperclip People would go on to provide a remix of "A Different Feeling" in 2002.

Answer: Avalanche Rock

"Avalanche Rock" is a brief 23 second interlude that bridges the preceding "Two Hearts in 3/4 Time" with the following "Flight Tonight". The "avalanche rock" sample continues into "Flight Tonight". It was taken from Raekwon's first verse in "Glaciers of Ice", which also featured Ghostface Killah, 60 Second Assassin, and Blue Raspberry. "Glaciers of Ice" was a single from Raekwon's iconic debut album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...", one of many notable albums from Wu-Tang Clan alumni.

Answer: Electricity

Released on 13 September 1999, "Electricity" was the group's first single for prominent Australian label Modular Recordings. Initially intended as a one-off release, the band decided to incorporate it into "Since I Left You" at the last minute due to their lasting enjoyment of the song.

This made it the album's first single. The track features guest vocals from Sally Russell and Antoinette Halloran, the latter of whom provided the opera vocals that play throughout the track. It also includes a sample of "Rapp Dirty" by Blowfly.

Answer: Tonight

"Tonight" is a gentle song that makes prominent use of a piano sample and the sound of vinyl crackle. This line was sampled from "Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life" by Nancy Wilson, a 1964 jazz hit. "Tonight" by The Avalanches was later sampled by US rapper Mac Miller in his track "Aliens Fighting Robots". Following "Tonight" in the track-listing is the short interlude "Pablo's Cruise", which then transitions into "Frontier Psychiatrist".

Answer: "Ever since the day I left you"

"Extra Kings" proves The Avalanches' attention to detail. The introduction track had the phrase "Since I left you I found the world so new" repeated. "Extra Kings" brings things around with the words "I'm trying, but I just can't get you/Ever since the day I left you" repeated until the song fades out. This line was taken from "Let Me In" by The Osmonds, from their 1973 album "The Plan". Astute listeners might also notice two samples from earlier in the album making their way back in; namely, "H2 Overture" by War and "Oh Oh Chéri" by Françoise Hardy (both from "Summer Crane").

The incorrect options are all other samples we hear throughout the album.