Collection of Mind-blowing Facts
In Italy during the 16th century music was engraved on knives so guests could sing together after they ate. Each side of the blade has musical notations and each knife represents one part for a singer. So, a complete set of knives actually come together to create a harmonious chorus.
Swedish band Roxette‘s success in the US is directly attributed to a Minnesotan who studied abroad in Sweden. He passed off their CD to a Minneapolis DJ and ‘The Look’ quickly became a fan favorite. Other stations followed suit and record label decided to take the act international.
“Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” by the Spin Doctors was about Chris Barron’s stepmother. When he was a kid, she told him that he would grow up to be a janitor and would play his songs for the rats. The Spin Doctors’ debut album sold 5 million copies with this song as the lead single.
Pink Floyd’s The Wall is implied to be an endless loop. The final song, Outside the Wall, ends with the words “Isn’t this where…”, and the album begins with the words “… we came in?” with a continuation of the melody of the last song, hinting at the cyclical nature of Water’s theme.
Country music became popular in America partially through a pirate radio station of a quack doctor based out Kansas who built a fortune on a procedure to implant goat testicles into men’s scrotums.
In 1972 legendary English songwriter Paul McCartney wrote the song, “Give Ireland Back to the Irish.” It was promptly banned from broadcast in the United Kingdom and not played by the majority of radio stations in the United States. However, it was the number one song in Ireland.
While performing in Australia in 1957, Little Richard saw a fireball flying across the sky and took it to be a sign from God to repent from secular music and his wild lifestyle at the time; he wouldn’t return to secular music until 1962. The fireball that he saw was the launch of Sputnik 1.
The prevailing theory behind why humans like music is that we learn patterns and regularities within music, and we unconsciously predict what will come next. When we are right, our brain gives us a dopamine rush. Thus the constant dance between expectation and outcome is pleasurable to us.
Playing dubstep music can be used to ward off Yellow Fever Mosquitoes. A March 2019 study showed when a track by DJ Skrillex was played, female mosquitoes attacked hosts less frequently and delayed blood feeding.
In 2015, French radio revolted against the law which compelled them to air 40% French language music. Due to lack of popular new French music, Just 10 songs accounted for 74% of all French music aired on NRJ radio.