Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2011 March 18

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March 18

Song with the line "oh way oh"

Ok, this is going to be difficult, not least because google isn't helping much, but I heard music piping out of a neighbour's flat that sounded so good, I just had to try and hunt it down. The song had a male vocalist, with backing music that sounded a bit like 80s rock, reminiscent of, say, The Sports (Who Listens to the Radio?), but I couldn't catch any of the lyrics except the oft-repeated hookline, "Oh way oh, oh way oh." That's not a lot to go on, and google keeps giving me some Santana duet with Jorge Moreno, which is nothing like the song I'm looking for. It goes "Oh way oh," with the last word on a high note, building expectation, then "Oh way oh" ending on a low note, resolving the tension. Then it repeats that a few times. Way catchy and upbeat, but I couldn't make out any more of it. Any help appreciated, much very, thanks, It's been emotional (talk) 09:28, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Maybe Mrs Vandebilt from Band on the Run? It's more of "Ho, Hey Ho", but otherwise sounds like what you're saying. youtube link Staecker (talk) 14:28, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Rhythm Is Gonna Get You by Miami Sound Machine. The Hero of This Nation (talk) 16:28, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

My money is on Snow (Hey Oh) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Matt Deres (talk) 18:57, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Based on your comparison to the song by The Sports , I would suggest looking into the various versions of Hot Hot Hot .10draftsdeep (talk) 22:02, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Some good guesses, and some interesting music as well ... bud sadly not the song. The closest in overall feel is probably the Chilli Peppers song, but the closest to the tune is Mrs Vandebilt. The difference is the one I'm after has no real pause after the first "oh" in each line; it's more like they go "oh" on one beat, then "way" just before the beat, then "oh" on the next beat, so the drumming might go "oh-(bass) way oh-(snare)", and the repeat line probably would start on the next bass drum note, with exactly the same rhythm. The McCartney one has a much bigger pause in between the "oh" and the "way oh", sort of like they are two separate elements, whereas this one has "oh way oh" as one phrase, then the immediate resolution of the repeat line as the next phrase, ending on a different note. Thanks for the suggestions, which do match the description pretty well. It's been emotional (talk) 01:41, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Probably not what you're looking for, but a big '80s hit with a repeated "oh way oh" was "Walk Like An Egyptian", though of course those were female voices. It's been covered by male singers. If the guy was singing in German, it was this. —Kevin Myers 04:47, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

It could be Baby By Justin Bieber —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.10.111.110 (talk) 07:32, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

The only other one I can think of is "Hot, Hot, Hot" by Arrow (here)which starts with "oh way oh way" repeated. It's a salsa rhythm though. -- (talk) 10:12, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Sadly none of those, but I think I have enough material for my forthcoming book/PhD thesis proving that "oh way oh" is conducive to more catchy tunes than any other non-lyric, easily surpassing "na na na na na na" (the frightfully uncatchy Shelter by Taylor Dayne) or "Hey oh oo way oh oh oh" which I think was the rather uncatchy start of the otherwise memorable Wild Boys by Duran Duran. Keep those examples coming, just in case someone finds it. Thanks for the effort, It's been emotional (talk) 06:06, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

I've just discovered it wasn't that quintessential 80s band, Duran Duran, whose excellent video also features the first screen appearance by Voldemort (in the extended video at least). Oh well, now I've got myself puzzling over another non-lyric from the 80s. It's been emotional (talk) 06:17, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

If I am understanding the original question correctly, the song does not necessarily date from the 1980s. I am wondering if it is the track Wavin' Flag by K'naan, which seems to fit all the criteria? There are versions in several languages. It's ridiculously catchy, and was used as an unofficial anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Deserter1 (talk) 14:29, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

Now that is what I call an anthem.... not the actual one, but worth asking the question for anyway. Many thanks, It's been emotional (talk) 11:02, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

The first song that springs to my mind with that kind of chorus is The Thermal's song Now We Can See. 15:50, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

I bet it is Tarzan Boy by Baltimora

Outhere Brothers - Boom Boom Boom??

Toughest game show

A question on another desk has me wondering: which game show or quiz show has had the fewest winners? Many seem to promote themselves as being particularly tricky, but ensure one way or another that there are reasonably frequent winners (e.g. by guaranteeing that the best contestant each show wins, or simply by attracting contestants who are very good at the challenges). I don't mean shows on which it is difficult to win a top prize, but easy to win a smaller one, such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire? I recall that the British TV shows The Crystal Maze and the children's show Knightmare both had very few winning teams - are there any shows which were never won, or had an even lower percentage of winners than these? Warofdreams talk 16:47, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

only three people have completed the Ninja Warrior/Sasuke course. Does this count as a game show? --TrogWoolley (talk) 17:36, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Yes, that's the kind of show I mean. With 3 winners in 26 programmes, that's tough, but according to the Knightmare article, that had only 8 winners in 112 shows - an even lower success rate. Warofdreams talk 21:37, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

The Krypton Factor, while it did have a winner each week, was very difficult (and somewhat dangerous in parts, at least one competitor breaking a leg). DuncanHill (talk) 17:46, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Maybe Eggheads, where a team of quiz setters and winners of Mastermind take on teams at general knowledge questions and (almost invariably) win? --TammyMoet (talk) 20:17, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

I'd forgotten that one! According to the article, 64 winners out of 812 shows, making it the toughest yet. Warofdreams talk 21:37, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

In the realm of fictional quiz shows, Let's Take A Quiz must be the most difficult. Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:36, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Unbeatable Banzuke was pretty tough (and was cancelled after two people "broke their necks" in one episode) Rmhermen (talk) 22:53, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

It certainly sounds difficult. I wonder how many winners there were? Warofdreams talk 21:37, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Takeshi's Castle,it's a running joke in the British commentary..Hotclaws (talk) 10:32, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Inter-programme talker-overs

1) What is the job title of the people who used to do the segues between television programmes?

2) Can anyone point me to a good economic explanation as to why they were obsoleted?

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.70.250.255 (talk) 22:01, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

In general, people who talk the audience in a television programme (assuming your in the UK by your spelling) are called Presenter in the UK and "Host" in the U.S. I am pretty sure that the name is the same even for the presenter/host that segues between the shows. There are a few places where they still have these. On Game Show Network, there's Bob Guiney who fills time between programming hosting GSN Live. These brief bits are often called Bumpers. They were likely obsoleted as that time could be sold for commercial advertising revenue, at least on TV networks that operate on commercial advertising revenue. --Jayron32 00:42, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

See Continuity (broadcasting) (the UK uses the term Continuity Announcer and they're certainly not obsolete here). Nanonic (talk) 00:54, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

...and aren't they annoying. Not content with announcing the upcoming programme during the break between programs, they now do their announcement during the credits. Occasionally, I've seen the announcement occur before the credits (squashing the still running current programme into a tiny box). Gahhh! Astronaut (talk) 11:07, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Some TV shows in the US still have hosts, like Elvira's Movie Macabre (now in syndication) and, Elliot Wilhelm, host of "Filmmunity" (yes, I hate that name, too) on the Detroit PBS station: [1]. On Canada's TVO network, they have an even better show, Film 101, which plays a classic movie accompanied by extensive interviews with the actors and directors. And, of course, game shows, talk shows, and news programs have hosts. Many of these hosts also do segues, like "Coming up next, I will be showing you a movie starring Marilyn Monroe, so put on your jammies and join me". StuRat (talk) 19:21, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

In the U.S. on Turner Classic Movies, host Robert Osborne does these segues; TCM has no real commercial programming, and in prime time they will often run series of thematically connected movies, often featuring actors or directors in common, or have some other running connection, and its Robert Osborne's job to recap the prior movie, introduce the next one, or segue the two together. I don't know that he has any special job title beyond "host". --Jayron32 23:50, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, y'all; continuity (broadcasting) seems to cover this. Any leads to stories by professionals as to their obsolescence? 83.70.229.182 (talk) 01:04, 20 March 2011 (UTC)