Tracy Chapman Made The Perfect Song—And Now Even Science Can Prove It
Audio experts say “Fast Car” is scientifically flawless, but queer listeners knew that long before the data did.
Features image by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
When audio engineers and scientists test speakers, they don’t reach for high-tech sound effects or a symphony. All they need is Tracy Chapman. Specifically, they turn to “Fast Car,” Chapman’s 1988 breakout single that became one of the most beloved songs in the queer canon.
Brent Butterworth, an audio expert at Wirecutter, recently explained why. “Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’ is generally regarded by audio scientists, who have proven this in testing, as the best song for evaluating audio equipment,” he said on The Wirecutter Show podcast. For people who spend their days analyzing sound, Chapman’s composition has all the ingredients they’re looking for.
Related: Tracy Chapman’s Rare Grammy Appearance Brought ‘Fast Car’ To Life Again
“The more the song sort of fills up the frequency band, the better it is,” Butterworth said. “So, it has some bass in it, you know, like some bass guitar, and then it has some acoustic guitar, which is…a lot of high frequency and delicate.”
Then there’s Chapman’s unmistakable voice. “You can hear her voice and the way her voice is recorded on that is really clear, but a lot of speakers start to make it sound kind of distant or kind of a little bit like she’s singing in a cardboard box or something like that,” Butterworth said. “I think for most people, that’s the easiest to evaluate. Voice quality.”
Yes, science has confirmed what queer audiences have known since 1988: “Fast Car” is flawless.
Over thirty-five years after its release, “Fast Car” continues to endure in pop culture, at karaoke nights, and on every road trip playlist. Science can measure its frequencies and prove its sonic achievement, but it can’t quantify that quiet ache in your chest when you hear Chapman’s voice cut through the air.
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“I had so many people come up to me and say that they felt it was their song,” Chapman told the BBC in 2010. “Someone told me at one point that they thought I’ve been reading their mail, they were saying, ‘You seem to know my story.’”
And call us crazy, but we’d argue that “Fast Car” hits just as hard on phone speakers as it does on a top-of-the-line stereo.
