Ulterior Motives (song)

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"Ulterior Motives"
A photograph of a reflective magenta NextPlay "Glitz and Glitter" boombox with a white AC or DC cable that is on a fuzzy magenta sofa with pink pillows.
This image of the NextPlay "Glitz and Glitter" boombox has become closely associated with the song.[1][2][3][4]
Song by Christopher Saint Booth and Philip Adrian Booth
Published1986
Recordedc. 1986[5]
StudioChristopher and Phillip Booth's home studio, Encino, California
Genre
Length2:50
Original snippet
The original 17-second snippet of the song that was uploaded to WatZatSong by carl92 in 2021

"Ulterior Motives" is a pop song recorded by filmmakers Christopher Saint Booth and Philip Adrian Booth around 1986.[5] It gained popularity online after a seventeen-second snippet of the song, at the time unidentified, was posted online in 2021. Initially, users referred to it as "Everyone Knows That" (often abbreviated as EKT)[8] or "Ulterior Motives"—both from the previously debated lyrics of the snippet.

The snippet of the song was uploaded to the song identification website WatZatSong in 2021 by Spanish user carl92,[6][9] who claimed to have discovered the recording amongst files in an old DVD backup and speculated it was a leftover from when he was learning to record audio.[10] Since it was uploaded, users searched for the full song and information regarding its origin and artist. In February 2024, The Guardian called it "one of the biggest and most enduring musical mysteries on the internet".[8]

On 28 April 2024, Reddit users identified the song's name and creators, and that the source of the snippet was the 1986 pornographic film Angels of Passion.[4][a] As of May 2024, the existence of the original[b] soundtrack is unclear.[11]

Background and composition[edit]

"Ulterior Motives" was recorded by Christopher Saint Booth and Philip Adrian Booth at their home studio in Encino, California[12] around 1986; at the time, they were members of the band Sweeney Todd. Because they were "doing anything to make money", they worked as production assistants in films. One of their friends, who made pornographic films, needed music for one of their works and, according to Christopher, "[t]hey gave us quite a bit of money just to give them some music to use behind the scenes". As such, "Ulterior Motives", which was originally recorded as a pop song, was used in the soundtrack of the pornographic film Angels of Passion (1986).[5] Christopher said that the lyrics of the song were inspired by "a girl that cheated": "She was saying one thing and you found out that she did another thing".[5] The song has been described as being of the new wave[6] and synth-pop genres.[7]

Online search[edit]

On 7 October 2021, user carl92 uploaded a 17-second snippet of the song to WatZatSong and asked for help in identifying it. He labelled it "Mid 80s, bad quality"[13][c] and claimed that he "rediscover[ed] this sample between a bunch of very old files in a DVD backup. Probably I was simply learning how to capture audio and this was a left over."[14] The song was theorized to have been recorded in the 1980s due to its 'stylistic similarities' to pop music of that time. The LinnDrum drum machine and the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer were theorized to have been used throughout the song; as such, the release date was theorized to be after 1983.[8][15] Some users created reconstructions from the original snippet to have an idea of what the entire song could be like, while others theorized that the song was a hoax "planted by a troll".[14] It became WatZatSong's "most infamous and enduring submission", receiving the most comments since WatZatSong launched in 2006.[14]

The song gained popularity online in late 2022 and 2023, with a subreddit dedicated to finding the song and its artist being launched in June 2023.[6] On 7 January 2024, two members of the subreddit were interviewed by French commercial TV network TF1.[16]

The search for the song was initially slow to gain traction, but gained a dedicated following over time.[6] Possible theorized sources for the song included a 1990s MTV broadcast, a piece of production music, or a commercial jingle;[6] theorized artists included Roxette, Savage Garden, and Jason Paige.[8] In August 2023, searchers found a registered song by the name "Ulterior Motives" in Canadian music database SOCAN under the shareholders' names "Booth Christopher David" and "Booth Philip".[4][17]

Discovery[edit]

On 28 April 2024, Reddit users u/south_pole_ball and u/One-Truth-5867 identified the song, including its name and artists.[18][19] The snippet was discovered to be from the 1986 pornographic film Angels of Passion.[4][1] The users found that the Booth brothers had an entry in a copyright database for a song called "Ulterior Motives".[1] From there, they discovered that Christopher Booth was a prolific songwriter for pornographic films, and watched his repertoire of films until they found the movie with the song.

On 29 April 2024, Booth publicly made an Instagram post regarding the discovery of the song's source and the artists.[20] He later uploaded a reel showcasing the original lyrics for the song within his recording studio, revealing that the original lyrics were "everyone knows it" instead of "everyone knows that".[21] On 1 May 2024, in a Rolling Stone interview, Booth revealed plans to release a new album with songs similar to "Ulterior Motives"; he had already found the song's original "rhythm track" but not the vocal track, which will be re-recorded if not found.[5]

On 3 May 2024, Christopher gave an interview with a Redditor, in which he stated that although he was able to salvage the guitar, bass and drum tracks, he was unable to locate the original vocal or synth tracks.[22] In the interview, he also criticized EKT fans' behavior towards carl92 in light of the Angels of Passion discovery.

Personnel[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The song was not used in the film's German release. Posted by usr_SpankMyMonkey (2 August 2013). "Angels of Passion - 1986". TNAFlix.
  2. ^ As in without the film's sound.
  3. ^ Later changed to "Mid 80s, bad quality (I CAN BYPASS THE 30 CHARACTER LIMIT, LOOK IS THIS MORE THAN 30 CHARACTERS?)". Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. And then it was changed to "Mid 80s, Bad quality. (Everyone Knows That)". Archived from the original on 2 October 2023.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (29 April 2024). "Everyone Knows That: internet music mystery solved via 1986 adult movie". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Lostwave: how the internet became obsessed with lost songs". Dazed. 27 February 2024. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. ^ Breihan, Tom (29 April 2024). "Mysterious Viral '80s Song "Everybody Knows That" Finally Identified After Three-Year Hunt". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Robinson, Ellie (29 April 2024). "Viral Lost Song 'Ulterior Motives' Found In Obscure '80s Porn Flick". The Music (Australia). Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Klee, Miles (1 May 2024). "Their Song Spawned an Internet Mystery. Now They're Ready to Tell Their Story". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Klee, Miles (12 November 2023). "Internet Sleuths Want to Track Down This Mystery Pop Song. They Only Have 17 Seconds of It". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b Partridge, Ken (29 April 2024). "Why An Obscure Synth-Pop Song from a 1986 Adult Film Is Trending on Genius". Genius News. Genius. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d O'Grady, Carrie (28 February 2024). "Everyone Knows That: can you identify the lost 80s hit baffling the internet?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  9. ^ Castro, Bárbara (24 February 2024). "Mistério! Conheça a música "perdida" dos anos 1980 que intriga a internet" [Mystery! Meet the "lost" music of the 1980s that intrigues the internet]. IGN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  10. ^ Raymond, Stephanie (1 March 2024). "Internet is trying to solve the mystery behind a 17-second snippet of a pop song". Audacy. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  11. ^ Abraham, Ellie (29 April 2024). "Origins of mysterious Christopher and Philip Booth song 'Ulterior Motives' found in obscure 80s movie | indy100". indy100. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  12. ^ Helman, Peter (2 May 2024). "'Over 40,000 Sleuths Worked Hard to Get This Song Tracked Down': Christopher and Philip Booth on the Strange Saga of Their Viral Mystery Song 'Ulterior Motives'". Q Magazine. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  13. ^ carl92 (7 October 2021). "Can you help me name this tune?". WatZatSong. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ a b c Carey, Gina (25 November 2023). "Can You Help Solve the Origin of This Mystery '80s Pop Song?". Newser. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  15. ^ Brown, Emily (28 February 2024). "Mystery of lost 80s hit that no one can remember song name or artist for despite everyone recognizing tune". UNILAD. Archived from the original on 28 April 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  16. ^ de Araujo, David; Mignard, Frédéric (7 January 2024). "Musique cherche compositeur : ce morceau dont même Internet ne parvient pas à identifier l'auteur" [Music seeks composer: this piece of which even the Internet cannot identify the author]. TF1 (in French). Archived from the original on 7 January 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Ulterior Motives". SOCAN's Public Repertoire. SOCAN Work Number 13022623, ISWC T0705632310.
  18. ^ u/south_pole_ball (28 April 2024). "EKT IS FOUND (HEAVY NSFW WARNING)". r/everyoneknowsthat. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via Reddit.
  19. ^ Bilderbeck, Poppy (29 April 2024). "Mystery song that everybody recognized but no one knew song name or artist has finally been identified". UNILAD. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  20. ^ From Saint Booth, Christopher [@christophersaintbooth] (29 April 2024). "Well today, my mind has officially been blown:) WOW! #ulteriormotives #ekt #christophersaint". Archived from the original on 29 April 2024 – via Instagram.
  21. ^ From Saint Booth, Christopher [@christophersaintbooth] (30 April 2024). "We hear you and we love you…thank you from the bottom of our hearts. #ulteriormotives #ekt #christophersaintbooth #philipadrianbooth #theboothbrothers #christophersaint". Archived from the original on 30 April 2024 – via Instagram.
  22. ^ https://old.reddit.com/r/everyoneknowsthat/comments/1cjitro/20min_interview_with_chris/

External links[edit]

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