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So somehow I am not yet bored of this song
There are a few features about it that I find interesting
1) The form - it's not a simple strophic form, but actually a sort of binary form. I don't know if this unusual these days or if Spotify is nudging pop songs towards this form.
2) The harmony. So this song is centred around the pitch centre of E. However, it very cleverly uses modal interchange to achieve its emotional release. So we start in a mode with a b9 (quite common in Eurovision songs in fact) with a very clear sequenced riff that sounds like metal if you play on the guitar (and it fantastic fun to do so - see also the Lord of the Lost cover of this song which ROCKS). The vocal is at this point essentially pitchless so these are the only clues we get to the tonality. My ears say Phrygian or perhaps phrygian dominant
When what we may call the 'A section chorus) comes in - cha cha cha cha-cha cha. The thrash metal guitar part comes in under the synths. It plays a classic 1980's Big Four style riff featuring the tritone (Bb5) - the classic 'evil chord' on the upbeat. This reminds of Countdown era Megadeth in particular. Tonally we tilt towards perhaps E locrian - although the pitches sounded are E F Bb - which are all highly dissonant of course and none of which firmly establish tonality. The only consonance is the unison which leaves the modality highly ambiguous. It could be ovctatonic for all we know.
When we get to the chorus the mode brightens to the E Aeolian. A classic pop move is of course to go from a minor verse to a major chorus. Here we do something analogous but using modes.
3) The melody of the chorus - the only true melody we hear in fact - is based on the a Gadd9 tetrachord which plays against the classic Em-D-C-Dprogression (beloved by Adele, Kate Bush, Bob Dylan, Zeppelin etc) which gives us that pop release (with a modern pop texture with autotune etc) while never fully committing to major.
4) Rhythm - notice the use of syncopation and straight rhythm. The only syncopation we hear in the A section is vocal is the cha cha cha hook - which makes it 'pop' even more.
5) Dynamics - the song makes interesting use of dynamic and textural contrasts. Note where we have out dynamic high and low points - it's again not quite what I would expect.
I often think of music like cooking. One can make a very complex dish involving lots of ingredients, but sometimes you can be fed something delicious comprising of eclectic flavours that somehow work together and surprise you. The song pilfers cliches from start to finish that we've heard from 80s thrash, europop, the Prodigy etc etc but it is the combination of those cliches (I prefer schemata) that I find intoxicating. I think that's the thing about pop.
You can learn a lot about how to keep your powder dry as a composer from listening to pop ("don't show your hand too early" - Birtwistle). Simple is not stupid.
Anyway Finland was robbed.
I think I may take a look at the Australian offering next. Djent goes pop!Last edited by Christian Miller; 05-17-2023 at 02:24 PM.
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05-17-2023 05:23 AM
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Eurovision...a grim joke for lovers of valuable music.
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EDIT: The chorus progression is more Em-D-C-D-Em-D-Am-D
Notice the functional substitution C/Am
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Look, I'm sorry the Polish entry wasn't very good. The UK entry was dogmeat as well, so I can sympathise.
Originally Posted by kris
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Look...Yes, a woman from Poland should have won the competition in 1994. No one has ever sung like her... :-) Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_con...ture=emb_title
they’ve got to get points for presentation !
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I liked Poland this year. It triggered 90s nostralgia and reminded me of 90s dance songs like Ace of Base songs, Bailando, Coco Jamboo, All 'bout the money etc.
It even had the Göteborg-ska rythm.
Göteborg-ska is a term that I think I personally coined for the reggea/ska inspired syncopated beat popularised in 90s dance music by Ace of Base (from Gothenburg).
(göteborgska is also the name of the Gothenburg dialect).
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French broadcaster TF1 declined to enter the Eurovision Song Contest for 1982. Head of entertainment, Pierre Bouteiller, explained, "The absence of talent and the mediocrity of the songs were where annoyance set in. Eurovision is a monument to inanity."
Unfortunately, nobody cared.
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[QUOTE=Litterick;1266226]French broadcaster TF1 declined to enter the Eurovision Song Contest for 1982. Head of entertainment, Pierre Bouteiller, explained, "The absence of talent and the mediocrity of the songs se were where annoyance set in. Eurovision is a monument to inanity."
Unfortunately, nobody cared.
[/QUOTE]
I don’t care either. He sounds like no fun at all.
Actually the French entry for this year was my favourite.
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I wanted to like them so bad, but there wasn’t really a song. Originally Posted by pingu
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Tbf a lot of the writing is very by numbers. That said I found quite a bit to enjoy musically in this years daftness.
The entrants are more eclectic than I thought as well; you have an Australian progressive metal band and an industrial/goth metal band that tours with Iron Maiden alongside folk singers from Azerbaijan and straightforward pop singers. Sure everyone’s putting this stuff through a kitschy pop filter but that’s part of the fun. Above all it doesn’t take itself too seriously which is exactly why a lot of musicians hate it haha. But you know these guys are players, for example
Last edited by Christian Miller; 05-18-2023 at 04:57 AM.
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As Sylvie Simmons wrote in Serge Gainsbourg: A Fistful of Gitanes: "Poupée . . . " was catchy, and on the surface pretty annoying – perfect Eurovision fodder, in other words – but closer examination revealed perspicacious lyrics about the ironies and incongruities inherent in baby–pop.
Luxembourg's winning entry in 1965, written and sung by French mercenaries, was a critique of the music industry, the fans and the performers. If only we had listened.
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Ah well music journalists have to find something to write about don’t they? Originally Posted by Litterick
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I’ve been suspicious of Eurovision since the Chicken Dance Incident, because as every musician knows, once you unleash the Chicken Dance, you have truly released the Kraken.
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Well, I started watching Eurovision finalist videos...an hour later, I haven't heard anything I liked, and YET I STILL KEEP CLICKING ON THE NEXT ONE!!!!!!
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As long as I can remember the song festival is IMHO not worth looking at/listening to. One country gives another country 12 points and expects to get 12 points from that country back. Last year's Oekraine win was a political statement rather than a exceptional performance. I am from the Netherlands and the Dutch entry - Mia and Dion - prooved to be able to sing solidly out of tune. They had to alter the song to overcome the out of tune singing. Even than they did not pass the half final and were knocked out nonetheless. There was a lot of critisism why this duo came out on top of the National selection.
Hear for yourself..
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Now you’re getting it… Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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I think this could be a good title and idea for next Woody Allen movie
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with all the songs played by a clarinet led traditional jazz band Originally Posted by Jonah
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No! songs will be on credits only! Woody will lead on clarinet though... it will sound like a staccato (arcticulation here!) counterpoint to an accompaniment. But I can live with that Originally Posted by Christian Miller
The film should be just talking about songs...
Woody, Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep... you know whoever is around the shooting area at the moment and dressed more or less properly. We will film it in Toshkent, Uzbekistan (I am here now. not much worse than Barcelona and I could go to Gregory Porter here - why not for the Woody's best film?)
Owen Wilson would be great as the main professor of musicology.
Then someone 'up-to-date' - maybe Rocket from The Guardians of the Galaxy...
And I would really appreciate if late Sean Connery participates
And girls... I don't know who is out there now?
It is actually a great idea - I should have kept it to myself, somebody will steal it for sure (the saddest thing is it is not going to be Woody(((
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I mean - this is a fun movie. Will Ferrell, not Woody Allen though
I hear there are quite a few Russians now in Tashkent. It looks like an interesting place... Good to hear from you in any case!
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Why did you make me watch it? What for?I mean - this is a fun movie. Will Ferrell, not Woody Allen though
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im so. So. Sorry. Originally Posted by Jonah
:-)
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I enjoyed it.
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I like 'freak-ish' comedies... all those Adam Sandler, Jack Black, Owen Wilson etc. stuff.
By the way I believe it is quite interesting genre. It is always a parody but they parody cliches in a way that there is always someone in the audience who begins to believe it is true. Especially sentimental 'family movie' clishes, they make it in a way you cannot understand if it serious or they mock it.
Like in this movie - how can one take seriously all these 'romance' moments? but they are made seriously like in melodrama or romcom and though they are surrounded byt craziest gags the perception of part of the audience is switched immidiately.
So people watch stupid corny comedy but at the end of it they have feeling like it was something more thant that.
It was not.
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