They Just Couldn't Shut Up Could They? Quiz

Answer: Kraftwerk

The robotic voice effect in this and many other Kraftwerk songs was produced by an instrument called a vocoder, which along with synthesizers, and custom made instruments of their own design, helped Kraftwerk to form their unique and innovative sound which crossed over and influenced artists in many different genres.

Even if you don't know their work directly, I guarantee if you are a fan of 1980s popular music you do know many acts who were heavily influenced by their sound.

Answer: We don't need no education

This one was doomed right out of the gate in the quest to remain wordless as it is pretty hard to write a protest song without words. They held out until right near the end where they made their feelings known (without naming names) about certain songs being overplayed into oblivion at that time on MTV (yes, once upon a time that channel did actually play music videos).

The Replacements were active through most of the 1980s and though they themselves never achieved huge commercial success, they are cited often as one of the pioneering acts of the alternative rock genre and influenced many more well known bands which followed in the late 80s and early 90s.

Answer: Listen

From their 1985 hit album "Songs From the Big Chair", "Listen" almost slipped by without public notice and without words. It gets pretty wordy toward the end but in some ways it is one of the best examples of the quiz theme. The song has two very different halves.

The first half is instrumentally dominated with only two short lyrical couplets breaking the music. Shortly after the second of these, the song title is whispered, ushering in a dramatic shift to the second half of the song, with operatic guest singer Marilyn Davis pleading to the listener: "soothe my feeling", over the repeated chant "Cumpleaños chica, no hay que preocuparse" which translates roughly as, "No need to worry birthday girl." Don't ask me what that is all about, I didn't write it, I just think the song sounds cool.

Answer: Tequila

"Tequila" was recorded in 1958 as a B side to a song "Train to Nowhere" which got a lukewarm reception on the radio and has since faded into obscurity. However, when a DJ in Cleveland played the B side, it was an instant hit.

The Champs did not exist before the recording session which united the artists who played there and "Tequila", the last song recorded, was a semi-impromptu afterthought which very nearly never happened. It was written by Danny Flores who played the well known saxophone solo on the song and who also spoke the word "tequila".

Answer: Metallica

Cliff Burton was the original bassist for Metallica. He died in a tour bus crash in 1986. "To Live Is To Die" was on Metallica's ensuing album "And Justice For All." The song was originally over ten minutes long but it was shortened so that the entire album could fit onto the maximum length possible on a CD. The album version still clocks in at over nine and a half minutes and has only a scant few spoken word lyrics near the end.

It is a fitting tribute in many ways as even beyond the lack of singing, it has a quiet opening tone but is said to feature some bass lines not used previously by Cliff which he had intended to incorporate into future works. A portion of the lyrics comes from Paul Gerhardt but it was a quote Cliff liked and which he had apparently fused into a poem of his own, which is the entirety of the lyrics of the song.

Answer: Radiohead

A passing listener may mistake the words for just random vocal sounds but there are actual words under the reverb and distortion. Some live recordings have the words spoken more clearly and in retrospect, having seen them written, I can make out the words in the original track.

As is often the case with distorted or otherwise hard to hear lyrics, there are plenty of misheard alternate interpretations floating around in the world and things also get changed up a little in live performances but the official lyrics are:

"You are not mine
And I am not yours
And that's okay
Please don't judge me"

Answer: Pink Floyd

From their 1971 album "Meddle", only one line is spoken through the whole song by drummer Nick Mason: "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces."

The song achieved an odd manual stereo effect by having two different bass guitars played simultaneously by David Gilmour and Roger Waters which were recorded onto two different channels on the left and right split. The oddity was further compounded unintentionally as, according to Gilmour, one of the basslines is dull sounding due to the use of old strings. Supposedly they did not have good strings for a second bass guitar at that recording and a roadie sent out to acquire some new strings opted instead to visit his girlfriend.

Answer: Hey!

Recorded in 1972 by Gary Glitter, it is a true Part 2, not one of those cutesy situations where a song is identified as part 2 (or higher) but there is no preceding part 1. The line between the two songs is unclear since the music is the same, part 1 just has considerably more singing. It doesn't help that Glitter frequently merged and mixed them together in live performances.

At sporting events the song became popular where the upbeat tone of the music lends itself well to a celebration when the home team is flourishing and can be punctuated perfectly by the audience singing/chanting along, "Hey!" emphatically.

Sadly, Glitter ran astray of the law with some serious convictions involving child pornography, and though the song remains in popular use, many venues and sports franchises refuse to use the original recording and have gone to cover versions.

Answer: Sadeness part 1

The description in the question sounds like a disaster waiting to happen on English speaking popular radio but the song was an international hit in 1990. It probably pushes the bounds of this quiz's theme as it is certainly the most lyrically heavy song of the ten and I admit including it is probably a bit of bias on my part borne out of speaking neither Latin nor French. It does have long wordless stretches though and even beyond the language barrier, Gregorian chants have always had a somewhat mystical quality to me and sound more like music than words at times.

There was some initial trouble as the sample used by Enigma for the Gregorian chants comes from a work called "Procedamus in Pace" by Capella Antiqua München and was used without permission. A settlement was reached however.

It was a common misconception that the title was "Sadness" rather than "Sadeness" and this was augmented by the song being initially released to the US and UK with the former, altered spelling. "Sadeness" is correct as the French lyrics carry out a hypothetical interrogation of the infamous Marquis de Sade.

Answer: False

The song has been remade numerous times in numerous countries, languages, and with or without lyrics, throughout the bulk of the 20th century. Its exact origin is not known but it is generally regarded as having come from somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean region, most likely Egypt.

Dale's version remained popular for a time even after the American surf rock genre was wiped out by the British invasion. It found a new audience due to its use on the soundtrack of the movie "Pulp Fiction" in 1994.

This song comes the closest on the quiz to being a true instrumental but the masterful guitar playing is broken sporadically by Dale's vocal sounds which sound close enough to words to just let the song into this quiz.