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:
  • 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.")
Yes, you could just say, "Please leave a message after the tone," but if you're inclined to put a spark into the greeting, at least one of these four tunes should work.