Talk:Message in a Bottle (The Police song)

What effect is used on the guitar in the song? Is it flange or chorus?

What effect is used on the guitar in the song? Is it flange or chorus?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Alawyshous (talk • contribs) 15:31, 28 June 2006

I think andy summers generally used chorus and compression—Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.225.241.120 (talk • contribs) 15:10, 11 November 2006
Chorus I think, from my aural memory.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.50.200.82 (talk • contribs) 16:59, 22 January 2007

Origin of song

There is an apocryphal story that the original song was culled from a half-hour jam session, and that it was not played in the form in which what released on the single until its first performance. Anyone know about this? Philly jawn (talk) 15:49, 18 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Eric Bloom of Blue Oyster Cult claimed in an interview that Sting once told him the song's main riff was influenced by Don't Fear the Reaper. I'm not certain of the accuracy, but the clip can be found here. (Albert Mond (talk) 03:53, 23 April 2009 (UTC))[reply]

Another appearance in media?

A recent chapter of the comic One Piece had a two-page spread illustration with the handwritten text, "We'll send an SOS to the world." Would that constitute a reference to this song? I mean, it could be sheer coincidence, as it depicts six of the main characters stranded at sea, but it feels strongly of an actual reference. I suppose unless Eiichiro Oda comes up and says it outright, there's no real way of knowing. Ron Stoppable (talk) 00:40, 4 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Just to say, I'm a regular editor in the One Piece Wikia, and we do have this song in our trivia section for the page. Oda does seem to be a fan of English bands, so I don't see how this should be an exception.--198.209.161.201 (talk) 16:46, 10 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

How is this a reggae song? Sting even said that it is not a reggae song.

WP:COVERSONG

When you boldly make a change and it is reverted, please discuss the issue if you disagree. [[[WP:BRD]]

Yes, there are cover versions of the song. Yes, a review of the album one of those versions appears on mentions that cover in passing. In general, such covers are included in the article if the cover is notable under WP:NSONG (this one is not) or "the rendition is discussed by a reliable source on the subject of the song". The source cited 1) is not "on the subject of the song" and 2) hardly can be said to "discuss" the cover.

Were a mere mention in an album review sufficient for inclusion, the article for the Beatles' "Yesterday" would list hundreds of covers. - SummerPhD^v2.0 18:13, 7 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@SummerPhDv2.0: I disagree with you reverting my edits. I'm sure that there's a better source that mentions American Hi-Fi's cover of the song. The band that covered the song and the film the cover was used in (Rugrats Go Wild) are both notable and they have their own articles on Wikipedia, so I don't see anything wrong with my edits. It would be nice if the section would be added back with more notable covers of the song. DBZFan30 (talk) 19:13, 7 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The guideline limits inclusions to those discussed in reliable sources about the song. IMO, this is wise. Songs like "Yesterday", "Happy Birthday to You" and others have been covered thousands of times. All-inclusive lists (or lists with low thresholds to inclusion) are pointless bits of indiscriminate cruft.

Of the thousands of covers of "Yesterday" that have been released, our article -- in line with WP:COVERSONG -- mentions one of them specifically; that one charted, meeting WP:NSONG.

If you have independent reliable sources about the song that discuss this cover, there is possibly something to say. Otherwise I simply see no reason to make an exception for this particular one. - SummerPhD^v2.0 21:24, 7 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]