Music

[rhfarmer]

I was thinking about your hatred of Bruno at Harris Teeter just now. And then Maroon 5 came on their store audio and I thought surely these guys are a more hateable pop group than Bruno.

Also, Anderson Paak is legit.

 

[Pantone287]

Bruno Mars is my least favorite pop star of my life time. So I'm looking forward to hearing about how great he is.

This is quite a take considering how many legitimately terrible pop stars there are. I'd like 3 paragraphs on this in addition to @rome8180 three paragraphs on music theory.

There's no explanation. It's irrational. All I know is, every time I see him or hear him, I want to punch him.

I actually think it has something to do with his diminutive stature juxtaposed with his ultra-cool persona. It gives me strong fraud vibes.

What are your feelings on the bastion of manly testosterone known as Prince?

 

[ZackM]

Bruno Mars is my least favorite pop star of my life time. So I'm looking forward to hearing about how great he is.

This is quite a take considering how many legitimately terrible pop stars there are. I'd like 3 paragraphs on this in addition to @rome8180 three paragraphs on music theory.

There's no explanation. It's irrational. All I know is, every time I see him or hear him, I want to punch him.

I actually think it has something to do with his diminutive stature juxtaposed with his ultra-cool persona. It gives me strong fraud vibes.

What are your feelings on the bastion of manly testosterone known as Prince?

He's pretty rad.

 

[rome8180]

Beyond Mars's obvious singing ability, the songwriting is far beyond what's going on in 99.9% of pop music. This song is a good example of that, but there are many others. He does do generic pop songs, and I'm not that into those.

The chorus has an abrupt key change which gives it an exciting lift. But then the B section of the chorus transitions back to the new key so seamlessly that you don't even realize it's happened. At the end of the chorus you get an A7 b9/b13, which is the kind of complex and dissonant chord voicing that usually only happens in jazz. It's exciting to me every time it happens. The bridge introduces even more key changes and uses that b9/b13 device as a way of making those repeated changes. The song also ends on a repetition of the bridge section, which is very unusual.

But if you don't get excited by stuff like this, you can just listen to it as a groovy soul song. Anderson .Paak has incredible feel as a drummer. Basically the song works both as a piece of nostalgia-flavored pop and as an elegant jazz composition. It has something for everyone but Zack. I promised three paragraphs, so I'll stop here.

 

[rhfarmer]

@rome8180 I listened to Uptown Funk recently and really don't think very much of it as a song. It's basically a one part song, much like every pop song coming out today, and nearly every single Talking Heads song.

 

[rhfarmer]

I do like Uptown Funk, but it's a pretty pale Prince imitation, IMO.

 

[rome8180]

I think "Uptown Funk" is fairly sophisticated songwriting. Not structurally, but musically. And Talking Heads were a very smart pop band despite their repetitive structures.

I wouldn't rank "Uptown Funk" among the best Bruno Mars songs, however.

 

[rome8180]

I mean, ultimately we're comparing it to stuff like "W.A.P," which has some pretty clever lyrics, I guess, but is the musical equivalent of Down Syndrome. "Uptown Funk" looks like it was written by Mozart in comparison.

 

[rhfarmer]

I guess I just have a hard time accepting songs without distinct verses, choruses, bridges etc. Like, I love Talking Heads, but the difference structurally between most of their originals and Take Me To The River (an Al Green cover) is pretty striking.

 

[Pantone287]

Beyond Mars's obvious singing ability, the songwriting is far beyond what's going on in 99.9% of pop music. This song is a good example of that, but there are many others. He does do generic pop songs, and I'm not that into those.

The chorus has an abrupt key change which gives it an exciting lift. But then the B section of the chorus transitions back to the new key so seamlessly that you don't even realize it's happened. At the end of the chorus you get an A7 b9/b13, which is the kind of complex and dissonant chord voicing that usually only happens in jazz. It's exciting to me every time it happens. The bridge introduces even more key changes and uses that b9/b13 device as a way of making those repeated changes. The song also ends on a repetition of the bridge section, which is very unusual.

But if you don't get excited by stuff like this, you can just listen to it as a groovy soul song. Anderson .Paak has incredible feel as a drummer. Basically the song works both as a piece of nostalgia-flavored pop and as an elegant jazz composition. It has something for everyone but Zack. I promised three paragraphs, so I'll stop here.

Can we get a post per week or so of you breaking down a song you think is interesting musically? I will happily pay you your standard rate in e-cash.

 

[torontoduke]

I'll second that

 

[rhfarmer]

Beyond Mars's obvious singing ability, the songwriting is far beyond what's going on in 99.9% of pop music. This song is a good example of that, but there are many others. He does do generic pop songs, and I'm not that into those.

The chorus has an abrupt key change which gives it an exciting lift. But then the B section of the chorus transitions back to the new key so seamlessly that you don't even realize it's happened. At the end of the chorus you get an A7 b9/b13, which is the kind of complex and dissonant chord voicing that usually only happens in jazz. It's exciting to me every time it happens. The bridge introduces even more key changes and uses that b9/b13 device as a way of making those repeated changes. The song also ends on a repetition of the bridge section, which is very unusual.

But if you don't get excited by stuff like this, you can just listen to it as a groovy soul song. Anderson .Paak has incredible feel as a drummer. Basically the song works both as a piece of nostalgia-flavored pop and as an elegant jazz composition. It has something for everyone but Zack. I promised three paragraphs, so I'll stop here.

Is the chord progression that you are referring to eerily similar to the one in "After The Love Is Gone" by Earth Wind and Fire?

I really dig what Silk Sonic is doing, and I hear a similar music style to EWF and Quincy Jones.

 

[rhfarmer]

Beyond Mars's obvious singing ability, the songwriting is far beyond what's going on in 99.9% of pop music. This song is a good example of that, but there are many others. He does do generic pop songs, and I'm not that into those.

The chorus has an abrupt key change which gives it an exciting lift. But then the B section of the chorus transitions back to the new key so seamlessly that you don't even realize it's happened. At the end of the chorus you get an A7 b9/b13, which is the kind of complex and dissonant chord voicing that usually only happens in jazz. It's exciting to me every time it happens. The bridge introduces even more key changes and uses that b9/b13 device as a way of making those repeated changes. The song also ends on a repetition of the bridge section, which is very unusual.

But if you don't get excited by stuff like this, you can just listen to it as a groovy soul song. Anderson .Paak has incredible feel as a drummer. Basically the song works both as a piece of nostalgia-flavored pop and as an elegant jazz composition. It has something for everyone but Zack. I promised three paragraphs, so I'll stop here.

Can we get a post per week or so of you breaking down a song you think is interesting musically? I will happily pay you your standard rate in e-cash.

How about we submit songs for your review?

 

[Pantone287]

First submission:

 

[rome8180]

Beyond Mars's obvious singing ability, the songwriting is far beyond what's going on in 99.9% of pop music. This song is a good example of that, but there are many others. He does do generic pop songs, and I'm not that into those.

The chorus has an abrupt key change which gives it an exciting lift. But then the B section of the chorus transitions back to the new key so seamlessly that you don't even realize it's happened. At the end of the chorus you get an A7 b9/b13, which is the kind of complex and dissonant chord voicing that usually only happens in jazz. It's exciting to me every time it happens. The bridge introduces even more key changes and uses that b9/b13 device as a way of making those repeated changes. The song also ends on a repetition of the bridge section, which is very unusual.

But if you don't get excited by stuff like this, you can just listen to it as a groovy soul song. Anderson .Paak has incredible feel as a drummer. Basically the song works both as a piece of nostalgia-flavored pop and as an elegant jazz composition. It has something for everyone but Zack. I promised three paragraphs, so I'll stop here.

Is the chord progression that you are referring to eerily similar to the one in "After The Love Is Gone" by Earth Wind and Fire?

I really dig what Silk Sonic is doing, and I hear a similar music style to EWF and Quincy Jones.

I'll have to give that song a listen. It definitely borrows heavily from that era, so it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Pantone287]

The bridge also borrows pretty heavily from Mercy, Mercy Me.

 

[childress22]

Every single Baylor game this gets stuck in my head.

 

[physicsfactor]

A few years old but I still watch it once a month. An absolutely incredible performance.

 

[rome8180]

@physicsfactor here's a drum video I watch once a month. I don't understand how he's human.

 

[physicsfactor]

I just laugh when I watch stuff like that. My mind doesn’t work that way to play that, and I don’t even know if I could make that pathway in my brain with months of practice.