Author: Pablo Cain

by Pablo Cain on Reviews

Songs About Telephones and Phone Calls

New York Times culture and music critic Lindsay Zoladz released her list of favorite songs about telephones on September 29, 2026. Here is the list:

“My Favorite Phone Songs” track list

  • Blondie, “Hanging on the Telephone”
  • Tommy Tutone, “867-5309/Jenny”
  • Erykah Badu, “Cel U Lar Device”
  • The Kinks, “Party Line”
  • Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé, “Telephone”
  • R.E.M., “Star 69”
  • Chuck Berry, “Memphis, Tennessee”
  • Electric Light Orchestra, “Telephone Line”
  • Glen Campbell, “Wichita Lineman”
  • Jenny Lewis, “On the Line”

It’s the diverse list you might expect from a wisened culture critic. The Gen X kid in me is happy to see Tommy Tutone (my first album at age 10.)

Here’s Pablo’s Take:

Missing:

  • Blondie, “Call Me”
  • Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”
  • Adele, “Hello”
  • Pink Floyd, “Young Lust”

That last one, Floyd’s Young Lust is famous for the missed connection at the end of the song, perhaps the turning point in The Wall. Pink is touring in the United States and tries to contact his wife in England, via the operator:

Hello?
Yes, a collect call for Mrs. Floyd from Mr. Floyd
Will you accept the charge from the United States?
Oh, he hung up
That’s your residence? I wonder why he hung up
Is there supposed to be someone else there besides your wife there to answer?
Hello?
This is the United States calling, are we reaching?
See, he keeps hanging up, and it’s a man answering

I also researched Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” because I remember references to a phone there. Turns out that “Just Dance” is about dancing away the pain of heartbreak. Gaga mentions early on that she has lost her phone somewhere on the dance floor. The lyric I thought was in there was “can’t hear my phone when you don’t call,” a poignant sort of double-negative. Turns out this gem appears in Gary Go’s excellent cover of “Just Dance.” Check it out below.

I also tested Bing’s new image creator. I asked for “1988 sad phone call where the person’s head is down.” The chuckle-worthy results are blow. Notice the AI’s background decor choices, the preponderance of feathered hair and the wacky phones with what appears to be a handset at the ear and another on the cradle.

Sad phone call in 1988
What do you think? Comments and additions welcome!