What's "wrong" with these songs?

[Pete]

Two songs I love but I think there's something irregular about them. Try tapping your fingers along.

Futureheads: YouTube - The Futureheads - Decent Days And Nights

Genesis: YouTube - Genesis - Turn It On Again

There's something messed up about them and I don't know what it is but I think that makes them the tracks they are.

Is there a musical term for this or am I completely wrong and these tracks are normal in every sense?

[jabis]

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Two songs I love but I think there's something irregular about them. Try tapping your fingers along.

Futureheads: YouTube - The Futureheads - Decent Days And Nights

Genesis: YouTube - Genesis - Turn It On Again

There's something messed up about them and I don't know what it is but I think that makes them the tracks they are.

Is there a musical term for this or am I completely wrong and these tracks are normal in every sense?

most pop songs are 4/4 beat,they are probably 3/4.Alway's hated playing Police songs as they can have some truly wierd rythyms.

[Mibbes Aye]

It's the time signature. You're right, it's 'wrong', or 'irregular'.

The majority of songs that are considered 'popular music' to us are 'four:four', or have four beats to a bar i.e. you can clap (or tap your foot) along to how the music flows and every four claps makes sense as a phrase of the music. Try it at home with almost any popular tune

Some songs (and many styles) are based on three beats however , "Sunshine on Leith" being a fine example.

In the case of 'Turn It On Again', Genesis are revisiting their prog years () and simply having a bunch of different time signatures in one song. I've listened to it a couple of times and they have a straightforward four:four at one point (that is to say, four beats in the bar or 'phrase') while their riff ( the really familiar-sounding bit) is two bars, a six:four followed by a seven:four (or to put it better, there is a 'sentence' of music that has six natural beats, then another 'sentence' that suddenly has seven natural beats). They also have bits of five:four going on, at other parts in the song. All in all, it's clever and if it works well, can make for a memorable tune.

As for the Futureheads, I really like them. They're keen students of how to craft music and as such, many of their songs feature all sorts of experimentation with time signatures and harmonies. The vocal counterpoint on their cover of 'Hounds of Love' is a good example of how they'll create (as much as rise) to a challenge!

[Pete]

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It's the time signature. You're right, it's 'wrong', or 'irregular'.

The majority of songs that are considered 'popular music' to us are 'four:four', or have four beats to a bar i.e. you can clap (or tap your foot) along to how the music flows and every four claps makes sense as a phrase of the music. Try it at home with almost any popular tune

Some songs (and many styles) are based on three beats however , "Sunshine on Leith" being a fine example.

In the case of 'Turn It On Again', Genesis are revisiting their prog years () and simply having a bunch of different time signatures in one song. I've listened to it a couple of times and they have a straightforward four:four at one point (that is to say, four beats in the bar or 'phrase') while their riff ( the really familiar-sounding bit) is two bars, a six:four followed by a seven:four (or to put it better, there is a 'sentence' of music that has six natural beats, then another 'sentence' that suddenly has seven natural beats). They also have bits of five:four going on, at other parts in the song. All in all, it's clever and if it works well, can make for a memorable tune.

As for the Futureheads, I really like them. They're keen students of how to craft music and as such, many of their songs feature all sorts of experimentation with time signatures and harmonies. The vocal counterpoint on their cover of 'Hounds of Love' is a good example of how they'll create (as much as rise) to a challenge!

I know about four:four having briefly played the guitar ...and got frustrated with it. All the beginners lessons were within that structure. I knew about the concept of 3:3 but never really got to the stage of learning songs.
I've listened to sunshine on Leith hundreds of times since it came out and never realised it was structured like that!

Thanks for putting my mind at rest. That genesis track has being doing my nut ever since I heard it...there are no set patterns and doesn't fit into any framework. It's obviously worked because it's a great track that's stuck in my head which is probably the main objective of any song writer.

[Green Man]

That Futureheads song is in 4/4 time, but the accents are all over the place - where normally the emphasis would be on the 1st and 3rd beats of the bar, the Futureheads often put it on the 2nd or 4th, giving the song its odd rhythm. They're a great band, I'm a massive fan.