Rai Talks Music. Go Post Songs.

[.Rai]

Post tracks. We talk about them. It's like that metal thread, but for, like, anything you want. I'm also analysing songs with music theory if you want. Applied music theory, mind, so it makes sense in a non-pretentious context.

Response Archive
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I Explain Cool Tracks
Lana Del Rey - Video Games
Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)

Looking For... (Music Recommendations)
#1 | #2 | #3 | #4
 
Rai's Album of the Month (May)
San Fermin - Jackrabbit
San Fermin is the musical project of New York-based Ellis Ludwig-Leone. Part band, part musical collective, under the name of San Fermin, they make rather charming baroque pop. Jackrabbit sees their male vocalist, Allen Tate (who sounds eerily like the guy from The National), return from their debut, and a new female vocalist in Charlene Kaye (who has some great material in her own right), and they alternate vocal duties across the album tracklist, occasionally converging on certain tracks. It's a hugely maximalist record, stuffed with tons of blaring horn arrangements and interludes, and probably is hard to sit the whole way through. The album's saving grace comes in the form of its singles: magnificent title track, Jackrabbit, and Parasites, a whirling off-kilter pop beastie.

[Sunn O)))]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtgIQU-q06o

 

Really like stuff like that.

[Elijah~]

http://youtu.be/oncmL69ZEJ8

[.Rai]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtgIQU-q06o

Really like stuff like that.

 
That was actually really nice to listen to. I do not know enough shoegaze bands, so this was a find. The track's pretty much the same 30 second thing looped for 5 minutes, but simplicity's great with shoegaze.
 

http://youtu.be/oncmL69ZEJ8

A friend of mine says that the final exam of her contemporary music diploma this year required recognising and writing out all the chords of Viva la Vida. It's pretty hard when you're listening to it, since they're all made of like 5 or more notes.

[Night]

http://youtu.be/zQxg-JHoPJU

[mitchermitcher]

http://youtu.be/q6yyWKzPBCM

 

http://youtu.be/t6tfTJ4I31g

 

I'm sorry, all I know of music(Excluding animu/gaems) are the so-old-its-famous bands...

[Sunn O)))]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHdFTxu5M38

 

I'll just leave this here before I leave to go do other stuff.

[Northern Sage]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NDdnPQ4ZSo

I just adore the rhythm and organ here.

[Makο]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xXpeN5-v48A

 

Cowbell aye

[.Rai]

I wanna listen to all of the stuff people have posted, but I'm gonna quickly talk about some of the ones that jumped out at me.

http://youtu.be/zQxg-JHoPJU

I was expecting a standard house chorus, but got a garage breakdown instead. That was unexpectedly sweet. In general, the synths in this are icy precise. And, obviously, Daft Punk style vocoders never hurt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NDdnPQ4ZSo
I just adore the rhythm and organ here.

This is one of the few songs from AM that I actually like (alongside Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? mostly and a select few other singles). AM in general didn't do anything for me; all of the interesting quirks of the Arctic Monkeys' previous albums went in favour of American rock 'n' roll pastiche. Which they do well...sometimes. They don't have enough catchy tunes to pull it off.

Best thing about Fireside is that bass though.

[Agro]

I'm legally required to get your opinion and music theory analysis of this song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85MSsYK6l2Y

Because it's one of the only songs in existence that I just can't grow tired of no matter how many times I hear it.

[.Rai]

I might do a full analysis of it later on, but I might say a few things now. It's a fun track, after all. Even this short one is my first proper analysis.

The chord progression's pretty constant throughout (classic 4-chord song for the most part) , but it's distinctly weird.

• It's in Mixolydian mode (probably); in only slightly less confusing terms, the seventh is flattened. Gives the song a slightly jazzy (and Eastern) flavour. Royals has the same thing going on, if you were wondering why that song is a bit different to the standard pop song.
• The second chord of the four chord sequence are just totally odd. You expect an F♯ Major chord, and get a D Major chord instead. In layman's terms, it's another trick for making it sound odd and jazzy; resulting in a heightened and otherworldly feel to the track. Common trick employed in dance music, because dance music is naturally more repetitive; you need something to compensate.
• The entire melody centres around one single note. I mean, the melody itself is crazy simple - 4 bars of music repeated, and 3 of those bars are exactly the same. Hence why it's so catchy.
• In general, it's just an instrumentally diverse track. You've got the best of all worlds.
  • A string ensemble. On another note, that really high violin note playing throughout a lot of the track is a classic dance trick. Dance music isn't floaty. That constant drone grounds the music and stops those weird chords from distracting you too much. Known as an inverted pedal point, if you're interested. [Taylor Swift does the same thing in 22; check closely for a guitar; pretty much the same reason as here]
  • Synth arpeggios plucked straight out of the 80s (starting about 1 minute in, in the background). Find a keyboard, press the arpeggio button, and you have basically defined the entirety of the 80s era.
  • And, apparently, a dubstep-inspired drop. Nothing dirty, cute and contained.

[Agro]

I should force you to analyze the whole ost. It's making me feel something weird that I can't really explain, and I like it.

[.Rai]

I'm always available. Stick a few in the thread over time and I might get around to it. I'm pretty much forcing myself to listen to everything here since I'm being open.

Obviously, everyone can talk about any track posted here. It ain't just an analysis thread. Talk about music you like.

[Tentacruel]

Someone's a music major. 

 

I was learning this song on guitar cause it's in Rocksmith and I liked it a bit, apparently it's pretty obscure.  I couldn't manage to find a video that was just music but here.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8MhZarum5w

[Astolfo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajfxf3djwBU

[Night]

http://youtu.be/yYDmaexVHic

[Susie]

ill just leave this here

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N5_R0xQuz8[/media]

 

and this

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_mM8tvfZLM[/media]

[Zauls]

Was talking about this song with my guitar teacher a couple of days ago. I am gonna be writing an album that is influenced by similar styles to Dimmu, so yeah

 

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw_T9pJ728U[/video]

[.Rai]

Going through the batches. Gonna spoiler the whole thing, so it doesn't overload the thread. Still, everyone should have a listen of everyone else's music and judge them with all of your fervour. And be much harsher than me.

[spoiler=HERES SOME RESPONSES]
 

Someone's a music major.

I was learning this song on guitar cause it's in Rocksmith and I liked it a bit, apparently it's pretty obscure. I couldn't manage to find a video that was just music but here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8MhZarum5w

Perhaps surprisingly not.

I mean, the guitar's pretty decent. It's pretty unabashedly pop-rock though. Those sort of lilting ascending chord progressions until you reach some climactic high note: Broadway musical material right there. Piano's interesting in it, and the bass has got a simple but pretty interesting (musically) riff going on. As for lead guitar, straight out 80s guitar solo there. For interesting titbits, it comes out of Baroque and Classical traditions (replace the guitar with a piano, and you have a rough estimation there; showing off is always a thing). Mozart would be proud.
 
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajfxf3djwBU

Right, this was odd. I have no idea of context, but I'll assume an anime. Japanese anime stuff always is. It always sounds like it's come out of a mid noughties sitcom. One of the biggest trends I notice in Japanese music is basically that there's an obvious love of other genres. Soundtracks borrow generously from all sorts of styles and genres - and, in a lot of cases, like here: mix them.

What have we got? Bossa nova -> 80s pop-rock -> 70s R&B and funk -> Broadway -> chiptune -> back to the bossa nova -> odd flamenco Classical guitar imitation from the lead guitar about 2:30 in.

Say what you will about anime, I can always expect crazy and often brilliant themes, because there is no limit to the whole "Throw everything in the pot" approach.
 
 

http://youtu.be/yYDmaexVHic

I'm a big fan of Gorillaz, so let's talk about this. I can talk about music theory with legitimacy here, if only because I know Damon Albarn works in the same way. He knows his way around a pop melody at its heart, but it's that interesting blend of Britpop and hip-hop clashing against each other that make Gorillaz and this song. It's pretty much two chords looped, but there's a lot of interesting clashing notes and chromaticism (rightfully adding colour to the song). Damon Albarn's a deft hand when it comes to Oriental music too (he scored an opera revolving around Journey to the West) - influences are obvious. Even his synths sound like Chinese zithers.
 
 

ill just leave this here
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N5_R0xQuz8[/media]

and this
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_mM8tvfZLM[/media]

I don't know how I feel about that first track. The distorted, obnoxious guitar riff was vaguely Muse-like. It was actually pretty cool. I'm not a fan of screamed vocals, but those were fairly contained and sharp. Main issue comes from those totally odd tempo changes between the heavier and light bits of the track. There's nothing particularly satisfying about it, and neither serves to emphasise the actually lovely floaty melody or the interesting instrumentation (saw this recently with Lana Del Rey, West Coast; great instrumentation, decent hook, but the song goes half-speed during the chorus and absolutely ruins any sense of the momentum the song had).

March rhythm in the drums is the most interesting thing here for me. Has always been used to accompany longer pieces in Classical music history or indeed long military processions (see Ravel's Boléro; same snare rhythm and melody for 15 minutes). Weirdly, it just goes halfway through the track in favour of an African-influenced drum beat. Both are fine, but it quickly went from funeral dirge to post-Graceland jam. I kinda have to ignore the vocals and guitar; it's pretty standard fare. I guess we could talk about the weird Eastern scales in the guitar solo near the end. You know, basically what makes every movie set in some Middle Eastern desert sound foreign. Fun. If you play guitar, try odd notes and make your solos sound cuckoo.
 
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8x0kFa3yho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr2nK06zZkg
if you can only do one, the one on the top takes priority for this post.

Nice seeing a composer on here. A game composer, no less! Actually loved reading your description notes on the song. Yeah, game music has to be evocative and blending the vague Egyptian vibe with other ethnic instruments: the shakuhachi is a cool touch. I'm aware that starting out on small game projects like this mean having limited music resources, but you do the best with what you've got. Melody's nice and I'm glad you kept it to this simple, hypnotic little loop. Dungeon themes in games sometimes have the trouble of being too crowded: I've found that the best ones are literally those that just stick to the basics. Tension is definitely the most important element about dungeon themes; and drones and ostinatos capture that perfectly (here, it's the constant, thumping drum pattern throughout).

I love me a good bit of Shadow of the Colossus. There's a soundtrack. I'm unaware of where this plays in the game, but it's immediately recognisable from other game soundtracks: especially those of Western action games. Both Japanese and Western RPGs love a good old orchestrated soundtrack, but Japanese composers come from a tradition where they're trained far more towards good melodies. Compare that to more avant-garde Western influences focusing on atmosphere and texture (straight from Hans Zimmer, Phillip Glass or go back to Debussy).

And obviously perfectly suited for a game like Shadow. It's a game about big action scenes, but each boss fight is beautifully tragic. It's a game made on epic proportions to tap into your inner ;-; and :C - you really need lyrical singing melodies for that. You could replace the violins with a voice if you wanted.
 
 

Was talking about this song with my guitar teacher a couple of days ago. I am gonna be writing an album that is influenced by similar styles to Dimmu, so yeah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw_T9pJ728U

That was oddly melodic. Remove the screamed vocals, and maybe replace the chugging guitar with cellos, and you've got a video game theme right there. Symphonic metal guys really love their Romantic composers, don't they? Wouldn't be out of place in a Wagner opera (basically think of the Harry Potter theme and you've got his style in one) (who, after checking the Wikipedia page, seem to cite as an influence as well as Dvorak and Chopin; expected). I do wish these bands would hire real orchestras instead of synthesising them though. I'm not well-versed in metal, but I always feel like interesting drum rhythms never crop up. Compared to pop and rock where people are always experimenting with African rhythms and Japanese taiko rhythms and whatever else, it seems a bit of a shame that the go-to metal thing is "drum a tom relentlessly".[/spoiler]

[Kyng]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohaWhG5XBVE

[.Rai]

I'll backtrack to earlier songs I missed later.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohaWhG5XBVE

I've seen playthroughs of Hammerwatch and it's a nifty cute little game. Free and online so I can't expect humungous budgets with the music - the production on the strings here is fairly awful, but not much you can do on a low budget.

Perfect dungeon crawling music though, even though I have no clue where this track plays. If it plays during fighty bits, go for it. It's called Armory, although I really hope it's not being played during a shoppy, passive bit. Although there are few. Composer's template for dungeon crawlers and roguelikes and other fast-paced games is just make sure your music's always doing something. Best ones are the soundtracks that sound busy - this doesn't have to mean hire 120 orchestra players, as many indie retro games prove. Maybe it's not the right vibe for the game, but changing up the solo, um, viola (could be anything, it's in a weird pitch) to a synth would be brilliant. Not to piss on Hammerwatch or anything, but here's an enemy-slashing soundtrack-and-a-half.

[Susie]

Going through the batches. Gonna spoiler the whole thing, so it doesn't overload the thread. Still, everyone should have a listen of everyone else's music and judge them with all of your fervour. And be much harsher than me.

[spoiler=HERES SOME RESPONSES]
 

Perhaps surprisingly not.

I mean, the guitar's pretty decent. It's pretty unabashedly pop-rock though. Those sort of lilting ascending chord progressions until you reach some climactic high note: Broadway musical material right there. Piano's interesting in it, and the bass has got a simple but pretty interesting (musically) riff going on. As for lead guitar, straight out 80s guitar solo there. For interesting titbits, it comes out of Baroque and Classical traditions (replace the guitar with a piano, and you have a rough estimation there; showing off is always a thing). Mozart would be proud.
 
 

Right, this was odd. I have no idea of context, but I'll assume an anime. Japanese anime stuff always is. It always sounds like it's come out of a mid noughties sitcom. One of the biggest trends I notice in Japanese music is basically that there's an obvious love of other genres. Soundtracks borrow generously from all sorts of styles and genres - and, in a lot of cases, like here: mix them.

What have we got? Bossa nova -> 80s pop-rock -> 70s R&B and funk -> Broadway -> chiptune -> back to the bossa nova -> odd flamenco Classical guitar imitation from the lead guitar about 2:30 in.

Say what you will about anime, I can always expect crazy and often brilliant themes, because there is no limit to the whole "Throw everything in the pot" approach.
 
 

I'm a big fan of Gorillaz, so let's talk about this. I can talk about music theory with legitimacy here, if only because I know Damon Albarn works in the same way. He knows his way around a pop melody at its heart, but it's that interesting blend of Britpop and hip-hop clashing against each other that make Gorillaz and this song. It's pretty much two chords looped, but there's a lot of interesting clashing notes and chromaticism (rightfully adding colour to the song). Damon Albarn's a deft hand when it comes to Oriental music too (he scored an opera revolving around Journey to the West) - influences are obvious. Even his synths sound like Chinese zithers.
 
 

I don't know how I feel about that first track. The distorted, obnoxious guitar riff was vaguely Muse-like. It was actually pretty cool. I'm not a fan of screamed vocals, but those were fairly contained and sharp. Main issue comes from those totally odd tempo changes between the heavier and light bits of the track. There's nothing particularly satisfying about it, and neither serves to emphasise the actually lovely floaty melody or the interesting instrumentation (saw this recently with Lana Del Rey, West Coast; great instrumentation, decent hook, but the song goes half-speed during the chorus and absolutely ruins any sense of the momentum the song had).

March rhythm in the drums is the most interesting thing here for me. Has always been used to accompany longer pieces in Classical music history or indeed long military processions (see Ravel's Boléro; same snare rhythm and melody for 15 minutes). Weirdly, it just goes halfway through the track in favour of an African-influenced drum beat. Both are fine, but it quickly went from funeral dirge to post-Graceland jam. I kinda have to ignore the vocals and guitar; it's pretty standard fare. I guess we could talk about the weird Eastern scales in the guitar solo near the end. You know, basically what makes every movie set in some Middle Eastern desert sound foreign. Fun. If you play guitar, try odd notes and make your solos sound cuckoo.
 
 

Nice seeing a composer on here. A game composer, no less! Actually loved reading your description notes on the song. Yeah, game music has to be evocative and blending the vague Egyptian vibe with other ethnic instruments: the shakuhachi is a cool touch. I'm aware that starting out on small game projects like this mean having limited music resources, but you do the best with what you've got. Melody's nice and I'm glad you kept it to this simple, hypnotic little loop. Dungeon themes in games sometimes have the trouble of being too crowded: I've found that the best ones are literally those that just stick to the basics. Tension is definitely the most important element about dungeon themes; and drones and ostinatos capture that perfectly (here, it's the constant, thumping drum pattern throughout).

I love me a good bit of Shadow of the Colossus. There's a soundtrack. I'm unaware of where this plays in the game, but it's immediately recognisable from other game soundtracks: especially those of Western action games. Both Japanese and Western RPGs love a good old orchestrated soundtrack, but Japanese composers come from a tradition where they're trained far more towards good melodies. Compare that to more avant-garde Western influences focusing on atmosphere and texture (straight from Hans Zimmer, Phillip Glass or go back to Debussy).

And obviously perfectly suited for a game like Shadow. It's a game about big action scenes, but each boss fight is beautifully tragic. It's a game made on epic proportions to tap into your inner ;-; and :C - you really need lyrical singing melodies for that. You could replace the violins with a voice if you wanted.
 
 


That was oddly melodic. Remove the screamed vocals, and maybe replace the chugging guitar with cellos, and you've got a video game theme right there. Symphonic metal guys really love their Romantic composers, don't they? Wouldn't be out of place in a Wagner opera (basically think of the Harry Potter theme and you've got his style in one) (who, after checking the Wikipedia page, seem to cite as an influence as well as Dvorak and Chopin; expected). I do wish these bands would hire real orchestras instead of synthesising them though. I'm not well-versed in metal, but I always feel like interesting drum rhythms never crop up. Compared to pop and rock where people are always experimenting with African rhythms and Japanese taiko rhythms and whatever else, it seems a bit of a shame that the go-to metal thing is "drum a tom relentlessly".[/spoiler]

 

 

Dance Gavin Dance are a band that mixes Post-Hardcore with Prog Rock, so yeah

[Agro]

I'm back for more commentary. 8D hithere

 

I'm gonna ask for you to go in-depth for the song from the Gatchaman OST like you did for the last one.

 

The other two, just your normal comments are fine.

 

[spoiler='Gatchaman OST one']

It was gonna happen one way or another.

 

That main chorus is just too catchy. Dubstep part felt awkward the first time I listened to it, but it starts to sound better the more you expect it, so I dunno.

 

(story note: The song makes sense when you consider that it was first used as a kinda body-armor-transformation theme a-la-sailor-moon (though faster and less glamorized). Though it played both alongside when the first gatchaman made an appearance through the end of the fight he transformed for)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ0I9LQ2EOA

[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler='Other 2']

1.

 

That guitar. Ending theme kinda puts the whole show in perspective. Visuals are f***ing heartbreaking if you've seen the show like halfway through. Music just makes it worse.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV31EHwtayo

 

2.

 

That creepy children choir.

 

(story note: story's about a dystopian japan where children have akira powers, and the society has some dark secrets about its foundation and its past. this theme plays during basically any point where something dark about the history of their civilization is revealed or when something tragic or important happens. Because of course it does.)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1LpZ5I8Iks

[/spoiler]

[Makο]

people love other people's opinions on things they like

 

[spoiler= two more]

other post neglected. I promise I'll stop after these. sorry for having a garbage taste in music ;_;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PHT4S2AbEvE

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-Q0ETZl5Rws[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler= a little dumb OST romp of a song]

http://myfreemp3.eu/l/ebvw26rn0ed1/

 

couldn't find it on youtube, aside form a piano version that someone made[/spoiler]