- Big Time-Peter Gabriel (If you want to be especially brief, you could limit the greeting to the spoken opening, "Hi there." For a humorous or ironic effect, you could let it play a little longer, to include the "I'm on my way, I'm making it" and "So much larger than life" lyrics.)
- Everybody's My Friend-Kansas (Fit for a nine-second greeting; there's time for the sung "Hello, hello" intro and a short greeting over the guitar line, before the vocals come in. This 1983 tune isn't usually played on the radio today, as it was a departure from the band's "Carry On Wayward Son"/"Dust In The Wind" sound of the '70s.)
- Thank You For Calling-Don Conoscenti (The greeting is self-contained in the opening lyric; Conoscenti sings it with the optimism of John Denver.)
- When Sly Calls (Don't Touch That Phone)-Michael Franks (Franks sings subtler, more mysterious lyrics fit for a greeting, including, "I am not here, I'm makin' my escape," and, if you don't mind sounding dated, "The me you hear is magnetized on tape.")
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Fit for an answering machine
Although answering machines aren't used as often as they once were, four songs strike me as especially fit for a person's answering machine or voicemail greeting: