The song by Rickie Lee Jones called On Saturday Afternoons in 1963. The speed of the song is 83.6 beats per minute. The average beat=718 milliseconds. These are a list of songs at similar speed from the website meanspeed.com courtesy of Meanspeed Music™-

The song reminded me very much of what looked to be Susan Fannery’s final day on the soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful. In order to show the spirit of maudlin loneliness that the song expresses, I placed music histograms on top of these fantastic actors in this, the WORLD’s most popular television drama. In fact it is the only program that has a live feed internationally.

When we talk to our parents as we get older, we have something to talk about beyond the “family” itself. Where my dad and I have always been able to kill two hours talking about why the New York Jets always draft such poor players, I had no point of reference like that with my mom. Enter d.v.r. technology and CBS’ two dramas, the Young and the Restless® and the Bold and the Beautiful®. We never lack for conversation, and here are two family dramas that I do not need an HBO subscription to access. In regard to those pictured on this most excellent song’s meanspeed music™ charts, all hail: Ron Moss, Susan Flannery, John McCook, Jack Wagner and the rest of teh BB team. Of course, when you are gossiping about that of the Forrester’s, Logan’s, Maroni’s, Newman’s, Chancellor’s, Abbott’s and of course the Fisher’s, led by the mother who one cannot help like despite her manipulating ways – I speak of course of Gloria Fisher Abbott Bardwell Bardwell [sic].

I recently came across a WordPress blog that talked about this in newborn baby/feminist terms, and it certainly is emotional. From the kitchen table: http://kitchentable.wordpress.com/2007/01/25/on-saturday-afternoons-in-1963/
Meanspeed’s label “the speed of loneliness” for songs averaging 79-84 bpm does not mean that such songs that emote loneliness need be *sad*. Loneliness can bring out strength and optimism in the face of such solitude in life changes. I let the lists of songs and their tempi speak for themselves. I also think the Bold and the Beautiful display these emotions on a daily basis with their fantastic writing, acting and story-telling. The most important story lines are *family* oriented. Sexual perversion is free and out in the open on the tv channels hosting such shows. Ironically, now that graphic sex acts cannot be avoided when one channel surfs, the regular television dramas have moved to the *story* and *emotion* areas of life.

Ian Andrew Schneider