Come, Get Happy! Elemental Speeds of The Partridge Family's 16 Greatest Hits, symbolizing a decade of American ease, joy & love

SpeedVisual ©2007, Meanspeed Music

SpeedVisual ©2007, Meanspeed Music





For several year now, one cannot go into a book store without being bombarded by the Doomsday books, most of which analogize the contemporary United States to The Roman Empire on its decline—everything from “Collapse” by liberal Jarred Diamond to “State Of Emergency” by conservative Patrick J. Buchanan talks about how we are on our proverbial last 2 or 3 hairs before the once “great American Empire” will essentially fall in on itself. I am 44 years old and therefore I grew up, then, as a boy at the “height” of this American Empire everyone seems in the process of mourning—from nuclear proliferation to AIDS to global warming to new genocides every day: No, Virginia, This Is Not The 1970s. For one moment in time in the mid 1970s in the United States, everything seemed right with the world. We were finally out of the Vietnam war, the nation was rich, at peace, relaxed. Even the war we were “fighting” was a Cold War that did not kill anyone. Sexually transmitted diseases did not kill you, and praise Jesus: there was no need for reality television—as reality was pretty darned good itself. Ah, the good old days. Now we are fighting 2 wars at once, the cultural wars are everywhere, the socioeconomic struggle between the “haves” and the "have-nots” has gotten wider and uglier every year…I need not go on. This is now. Ah, but for one brief shining moment in the 1970s: The Partridge Family, starring Shirley Jones, David Cassidy, Susan Dey and Danny Bonaduce! The world was at peace, and the United States was so comfortable and laid back that we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the speeds of the songs of the time. From the album The Partridge family’s Greatest hits, these are all 16 track numbers, song titles, meanspeeds and meanemotions. (For more on this you might visit Meanspeed.com). Are all the songs great? I do not know that. Keep in mind, though, what we are always saying at Meanspeed: sometimes just finding a song you like exactly at a speed of another song you completely love but do not want to “PLAY OUT” is difficult. A fantastic way to keep the songs from getting overplayed is by switching where they appear on Playlists—and what better way to begin construction of a Playlist than pure musical speed?


1. "Come on Get Happy"
meanspeed=142.2 beats per minute
meanemotion=[mixed fast]

2. "I Think I Love You"
meanspeed=102.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=natural

3. "Doesn't Somebody Want to be Wanted"
meanspeed=142.2 beats per minute
meanemotion=lust

4. "I'll Meet You Halfway"
meanspeed=110.9 beats per minute
meanemotion=lust

5. "I Woke up in Love This Morning"
meanspeed=137.5 beats per minute
meanemotion=[mixed fast]

6. "Cherish"
meanspeed=97.9 beats per minute
meanemotion=natural

7. "It's One of Those Nights"
meanspeed=92.6 beats per minute
meanemotion=enthusiasm

8. "I Can Feel Your Heartbeat"
meanspeed=95.7 beats per minute
meanemotion=enthusiasm

9. "Am I Losing You"
meanspeed=138.9 beats per minute
meanemotion=[mixed fast]

10. "Could It Be Forever"
meanspeed=87.4 beats per minute
meanemotion=renewal

11. "Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque"
meanspeed=97.4 beats per minute
meanemotion=enthusiasm

12. "Echo Valley 2-6809"
meanspeed=109.1 beats per minute
meanemotion=lust

13. "Summer Days"
meanspeed=140.7 beats per minute
meanemotion=[mixed fast]

14. "Looking Through the Eyes of Love"
Meanspeed=114.8 beats per minute
meanemotion=foreboding

15. "How Long is Too Long"
meanspeed=120.3 beats per minute
meanemotion=victory

16. "One Night Stand"
meanspeed=152.3 beats per minute
meanemotion=[mixed fast]

Ian Schneider
With
William O’Brien and Sarah Anthony
Meanspeed Music
March 8, 2007