The lyrics of this song were co-written by Tony Asher and Brian Wilson. You can read them below:
I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I’ll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I’d be without you
If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
If you should ever leave me
Well life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I’d be without you
This song is a love song, and one of the most touching ever written. Yet you wouldn’t get that from the first line, “I may not always love you,” which may be the most ironic lyrics in the history of love songs. The song follows the singer/character in first who may or may not be talking to his lover directly. But, as we get into the next part of the verse we realize he’s just using the line to try and make explicit how deeps his love is; he will continue to love until his death, because the only reason he would stop would be when the universe ends and there are no more stars existing. And so as long as he is living he will do whatever he needs to prove himself to his lover.
Next comes the focal sentiment of the piece: “God only know what I’d be without you.” It is a line so powerful in that it is so simple. The singer feels absolutely blessed to have his lover because she is what make him him. Had anymore been written, I believe only clutter would have been added and effectiveness lost. I feel McLuhan would consider this a very “cool” lyric because it is so open to interpretation yet universal statement. It makes one wonder what kind of person the singer’s lover is, and allows them to supply to their own beliefs to what makes the perfect soulmate. It makes them think about who shapes them. The lyrics also makes one think that this song is actually more of the singer talking and music to himself rather than talking directly to his significant other. It is implied to be rhetorical and not actually posed as serious question but rather a musing one would make to oneself. Also, as mentioned in the historical background, this was one of the first POP songs to make use of the word “God” both in the title and within the lyrics. This choice, when listening now years later, doesn’t seem out of place. In fact it, only supports the singers sincerity and imbues the song with a sense of spirituality.
The second and only other verse takes up a more melancholic tone. Here the singer dwells upon the thought of being abandoned by his love and the suffering it would incur. He takes on a realist tone in the second line, admitting that “Though life would still go on,” he doesn’t believe he could keep on living because the “world could show nothing to him”. Here it seems that Asher and Wilson seem to be playing word games, probably in the more literal sense. In the second line “life” could be considered a more depersonal metaphor meaning that the world and time continues—people will keep going about and living their lives. The world does not stop for someone’s emotions. But this world would no longer be able to show him anything he states in the third line. While that is not true in the literal sense, I’m sure he could learn facts and other things, he seems to be talking about world in a more personal metaphoric sense—i.e. that his lover is his world and was the only one who could actually “show” him anything of value.
Thus the chorus that follows, though it is the same line seems to take up a new definition. After just considering this prospect and possibly freaking himself out, the singer now has a new sense of relief and appreciation for his lover.
The second verse repeats, possibly implying that this qualm is one deep-rooted in his psyche
The round singing of the chorus builds and reaffirms the singer’s gratitude toward his lover with every repeat until the song fades out.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Virtual Feeling
In terms of the context of virtual feeling, this song, at least personally, plumbs some of my deepest depths. At first I feel relax and buoyed by the bobbing introduction. But then as the sonic space makes room and that first line comes in I become disconcerted me and takes the wind out of my sails. It anguished me to think about having to say to someone that I do love that that may not always be the case. But the music seems to continue oblivious to what is being said and is what anchors us. But as each line comes along and then pauses, I start regaining my initial cheer. The chorus makes me exhale and think about how lucky I am to have known the very few and special people who have shaped me. But this daydream feeling is interrupted by the break that makes me snap back and pay attention. But I slip back and a montage seems roll in my head as sweet vocals interplay around my ears. Then the vocals remind me that, seriously, I wouldn’t know what to do without these people. Then any qualms are washed away as voices everywhere tell me how lucky I am.
Onto-Historical Worlds
The Beach Boys were considered one of the first few “American” bands. They took their home and their culture of California girls, sun and surf, of cruising down highways in a convertible, of innocence and youth, and popularized it into a world-wide image for America. People could listen to the Beach Boys anywhere else in the world and hear those guitars and pianos soaked in reverb while those boys sang their tight harmonies and they think in their head that that was how all of America was. Never mind the fact that in 1966, the United States was not all fun in the sun—racial and civil tensions were high and disparities were everywhere.
So does there thematic material, which some could make an argument for being inane and naive, and it’s popularity make it symbolic of the white escapism of the 1950’s and 60’s? Still, they never planned any of this. The Beach Boys starting writing about what they knew; there is a sense of earnestness to their works and their sound ground them as one of the more actually serious bands of the time. That is especially evident in this song.
Musically they can be considered to be the first true “garage band” as argued by David Walsh in his insightful, and very unknowinglyonto-historical article “Listening to Brian Wilson”. The group was a true family outfit made of three Wilson brothers and a first-cousin Mike Love who started out first playing in their garage under the band called the Pendletones. Each had their own tastes and brought their own influence to the group,
“Wilson's melodic genius, almost unparalleled in the history of pop, was fashioned as much by Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue as by the close-harmony singing of groups such as the Four Freshmen: from an early age, his taste inclined towards the complex, the ambitious, the operatic. But little brother Carl turned him on to Chuck Berry guitar riffs, and his well-off cousins the Loves converted him to the R&B” (Walsh).
Thus, what we get from their music is an indirect collage of all the sonic movements going on around America.
So does there thematic material, which some could make an argument for being inane and naive, and it’s popularity make it symbolic of the white escapism of the 1950’s and 60’s? Still, they never planned any of this. The Beach Boys starting writing about what they knew; there is a sense of earnestness to their works and their sound ground them as one of the more actually serious bands of the time. That is especially evident in this song.
Musically they can be considered to be the first true “garage band” as argued by David Walsh in his insightful, and very unknowinglyonto-historical article “Listening to Brian Wilson”. The group was a true family outfit made of three Wilson brothers and a first-cousin Mike Love who started out first playing in their garage under the band called the Pendletones. Each had their own tastes and brought their own influence to the group,
“Wilson's melodic genius, almost unparalleled in the history of pop, was fashioned as much by Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue as by the close-harmony singing of groups such as the Four Freshmen: from an early age, his taste inclined towards the complex, the ambitious, the operatic. But little brother Carl turned him on to Chuck Berry guitar riffs, and his well-off cousins the Loves converted him to the R&B” (Walsh).
Thus, what we get from their music is an indirect collage of all the sonic movements going on around America.
Open Listening #2
Going back to this piece keeping in mind everything I have just explored, I begin to see and understand exactly why and how this piece works so well. So rather than just taking it in as-is, I recognized the intentionality behind all of Brian’s little moves in orchestration and production and how he used them to help support the text to evoke so much with what seems and sounds like so little.
For example, how the intro goes from being heavy in instrumentation but then as we move into the verse he precisely lets just the bass take us there with its rising three notes. By peeling away the other textures that add harmony and leaving us with only single notes on the bass, rather than chords which imply keys better, we are unaware that we have even really moved to another possible tonal center. This reduction simultaneously works to open up space for the vocals to come in and thus be our main focus.
Also having being able to look at the score I noticed that he also made a conscious decision to use more unstable or ambiguous chords to help match what the text was saying at a given moment, such as how a D#dim chord plays through the line that talks about doubt. This also happens melodically such as when he sings “stars above you” and his vocals go up from A-B-C#.
I noted that despite the inherent pop sensibility to write in 2 or 4 bars, he was able to use harmony to get by sections like the chorus with only three bars without us ever noticing the deletion because the chords that follow seem to just meld, rather than each section be its own standalone thing.
I realize that my initial feelings of being at see are most likely because of the rhythmic feel of the song, which seems to bob forward at a pleasing pace like a tide. Also I never really noticed how much the percussion instruments were vital to this and there is actually few real drum parts, in fact I don’t think there is a single kit fill or cymbal hit in the entire song!
Finally, though I was perturbed by the seeming out of place instrumental break I actually, upon analysis and more focused listening came to appreciate it for what it was both as a rhetorical theory device and as sprinkle of texture that made me excited to hear what would come next rather than lo a detraction from the song.
For example, how the intro goes from being heavy in instrumentation but then as we move into the verse he precisely lets just the bass take us there with its rising three notes. By peeling away the other textures that add harmony and leaving us with only single notes on the bass, rather than chords which imply keys better, we are unaware that we have even really moved to another possible tonal center. This reduction simultaneously works to open up space for the vocals to come in and thus be our main focus.
Also having being able to look at the score I noticed that he also made a conscious decision to use more unstable or ambiguous chords to help match what the text was saying at a given moment, such as how a D#dim chord plays through the line that talks about doubt. This also happens melodically such as when he sings “stars above you” and his vocals go up from A-B-C#.
I noted that despite the inherent pop sensibility to write in 2 or 4 bars, he was able to use harmony to get by sections like the chorus with only three bars without us ever noticing the deletion because the chords that follow seem to just meld, rather than each section be its own standalone thing.
I realize that my initial feelings of being at see are most likely because of the rhythmic feel of the song, which seems to bob forward at a pleasing pace like a tide. Also I never really noticed how much the percussion instruments were vital to this and there is actually few real drum parts, in fact I don’t think there is a single kit fill or cymbal hit in the entire song!
Finally, though I was perturbed by the seeming out of place instrumental break I actually, upon analysis and more focused listening came to appreciate it for what it was both as a rhetorical theory device and as sprinkle of texture that made me excited to hear what would come next rather than lo a detraction from the song.
Performance Guide
Performance-Guide
If one were given the daunting task of having to recreate and perform or record this song here is some advice I would give.
-Instrumentally: More of them is better. Conceivably I would like to play this song with a full band, plus a string section, and a horn section. However, one must take careful precaution that there is no ego, this song is not about your prowess at your instrument. A real musician knows that when performing less is often more. Play with taste and subtlety. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and if any part decides it’s more important than another then the message is lost.
-Rhythm: Perhaps may be the most important part because it is what unconsciously keeps the listener attentive. The tempo should be like sway; it is not plodding nor brusque, nor is it mechanical. Much of this is taken on by instruments such as the pianos and bells that beat out quarter notes, so these musicians should feel the song rather than read it.
-Vocals: Preferably can be sung like on the recording because otherwise you lose 2 very important parts of the song, the scat and the last round. That given, it is also given that you must know your parts cold if you want it to come off sounding tight. The lead vocal is relatively plain in timbre and dynamic range; there is not a lot of waver or tremolo.
-The ending: I feel that this type of round singing could have the tendency to move toward the epic. I am undecided here, and I feel that this section is more open to interpretation. If you want to stick straight to the song that is fine, but don’t let it crescendo. The song always seems to want to do that, especially every time you hear the drum fill, but we never crest and go full out, we are restrained and rather let the emotion in vocals do its job of getting stuck in the listener's head.
If one were given the daunting task of having to recreate and perform or record this song here is some advice I would give.
-Instrumentally: More of them is better. Conceivably I would like to play this song with a full band, plus a string section, and a horn section. However, one must take careful precaution that there is no ego, this song is not about your prowess at your instrument. A real musician knows that when performing less is often more. Play with taste and subtlety. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and if any part decides it’s more important than another then the message is lost.
-Rhythm: Perhaps may be the most important part because it is what unconsciously keeps the listener attentive. The tempo should be like sway; it is not plodding nor brusque, nor is it mechanical. Much of this is taken on by instruments such as the pianos and bells that beat out quarter notes, so these musicians should feel the song rather than read it.
-Vocals: Preferably can be sung like on the recording because otherwise you lose 2 very important parts of the song, the scat and the last round. That given, it is also given that you must know your parts cold if you want it to come off sounding tight. The lead vocal is relatively plain in timbre and dynamic range; there is not a lot of waver or tremolo.
-The ending: I feel that this type of round singing could have the tendency to move toward the epic. I am undecided here, and I feel that this section is more open to interpretation. If you want to stick straight to the song that is fine, but don’t let it crescendo. The song always seems to want to do that, especially every time you hear the drum fill, but we never crest and go full out, we are restrained and rather let the emotion in vocals do its job of getting stuck in the listener's head.
Meta-Critique
Meta-Critique
And now for the self-analysis. Firstly the biggest thing I had trouble with was trying to keep each of the sections truly delineated in their own syntax; that is not let my mind and my thoughts influence my reporting in say musical syntax by using more referential/emotional words. I found this also very hard to do in sound-in-time because I didn’t know when a word could be considered referential or possibly syntactical in a another realm such as “reverb” or “round”.
I believe if I had the full score, with all the instrumental parts charted out it could be helpful in figuring just what instrument was playing where and thus help illuminate why he may have chosen a French horn over a trumpet or an organ over a piano.
I must admit to the fact that no matter how hard I try, this Husserlian distancing will never truly work, and I feel that personal feelings associated with this song will always pervade my view of this work to some extent throughout this analysis. I feel that my feelings work against me from finding more possibly troubling problems in this piece. I would recommend to future analysts to do as much as possible without and background research on the band or the song as by reading others comments and views of this album, good or bad, as it may taint your initial feelings and reactions and analysis. After reading so much about why and how Brian is a genius and how beautiful this song and then going and say analyzing a score or lyrics I find myself also coming to similar conclusions and not knowing if this is genuinely something I would have found on my own or influenced by the fact that I read it.
Works Cited
"God Only Knows." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Apr 2009, 19:07 UTC. 2 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=God_Only_Knows&oldid=284261676>.
"Musicians on Brian." Website. Brian Wilson Productions, 2009.
Panfile, Greg. "Mind of Brian I: God Only Knows". Website.
"Pet Sounds." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Apr 2009, 21:07 UTC. 2 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pet_Sounds&oldid=286722890>.
Walsh, David. "Listening to Brian Wilson." World Socialist Web Site. Sept. 1, 2000.
Wilson, Brian and Tony Asher. "God Only Knows." Pet Sounds. Performed by the Beach Boys. Capitol Records, 1966.
And now for the self-analysis. Firstly the biggest thing I had trouble with was trying to keep each of the sections truly delineated in their own syntax; that is not let my mind and my thoughts influence my reporting in say musical syntax by using more referential/emotional words. I found this also very hard to do in sound-in-time because I didn’t know when a word could be considered referential or possibly syntactical in a another realm such as “reverb” or “round”.
I believe if I had the full score, with all the instrumental parts charted out it could be helpful in figuring just what instrument was playing where and thus help illuminate why he may have chosen a French horn over a trumpet or an organ over a piano.
I must admit to the fact that no matter how hard I try, this Husserlian distancing will never truly work, and I feel that personal feelings associated with this song will always pervade my view of this work to some extent throughout this analysis. I feel that my feelings work against me from finding more possibly troubling problems in this piece. I would recommend to future analysts to do as much as possible without and background research on the band or the song as by reading others comments and views of this album, good or bad, as it may taint your initial feelings and reactions and analysis. After reading so much about why and how Brian is a genius and how beautiful this song and then going and say analyzing a score or lyrics I find myself also coming to similar conclusions and not knowing if this is genuinely something I would have found on my own or influenced by the fact that I read it.
Works Cited
"God Only Knows." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Apr 2009, 19:07 UTC. 2 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=God_Only_Knows&oldid=284261676>.
"Musicians on Brian." Website. Brian Wilson Productions, 2009.
Panfile, Greg. "Mind of Brian I: God Only Knows". Website.
"Pet Sounds." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Apr 2009, 21:07 UTC. 2 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pet_Sounds&oldid=286722890>.
Walsh, David. "Listening to Brian Wilson." World Socialist Web Site. Sept. 1, 2000.
Wilson, Brian and Tony Asher. "God Only Knows." Pet Sounds. Performed by the Beach Boys. Capitol Records, 1966.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
MUSIC THEORY PAPER: "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt" by DJ Shadow
Carlos Salguero
4-19-09
Theory IV—T-Mac
Final Paper
On Building Steam with a Grain of Salt
Chances are you’ve never heard of Josh Davis. Clocking in at over 60,000 pieces of vinyl, he holds the world record for the largest personal record collection. But it gets better, he also holds a Guinness World Record for the first album to be created entirely out of samples. When Endtroducing. . . was dropped in 1996 neither Sean Davis, better known around the globe by his alias/moniker DJ Shadow, nor the rest of the world could have fully predicted the impact the album would have on the current musical world( “DJ Shadow”, “Endtroducing”).
Armed with nothing but his Akai MPC60, ProTools, and all the records he’d found from thrift-store bargain bins to the dusty basements of his favorite vinyl haunts, Shadow spent 2 years recording the album and the result was a sonic masterwork that has yet to be topped by anyone even Shadow himself. Drawing from snippets and scraps from long forgotten soul singles to old TV show broadcasts he manages to channel every genre from jazz, classical, break-beat, jungle, and more and weaves and stitches them together to create a new aural landscape. Yet, despite the fact that these beats and noises have been built on clips that have been “processed, looped and re-arranged far beyond recognition”, at the core, these “funky rhythms . . . never sound like they've been cut and pasted together”(Fine, Jason).
Thus what Shadow has created with Endtroducing is a new form musical expression. Some have called this new genre trip-hop but I like to think of it as the art of making sound landscapes, or soundscapes and “When Shadow brings sound together, it does not become music or a song, but rather a sonic painting that depicts the world. . . [and] provides a gripping ambiance that overtakes the listener”(Transmute).
Perhaps the most accessible and clear example of this is the LP’s first track “Building Steam with a Grain of Salt” which I will attempt to analyze here. You can listen to the entire song here:
DJ Shadow- "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt"
Approach:
Since this piece is made entirely of samples, there is no real published score per-se; instead what I have done is made a map of the entire piece indicating at which point in time which samples come in, how much time/how many measures said sample is looped, and what is playing concurrently with it. Also, when possible I’ve tried to identify where the and link/upload the original sample material and I believe I have all of it. The resulting score that I have created is a visual representation of how the different samples interplay and interact with each other to become one evolving and ultimately circular soundscape.
After importing the song into Logic I figured out that the tempo of the song is roughly at 85.5 BPM, but wavers a little bit. Also by playing along with my guitar I was able to figure out the melodies for some of the sampled bits, as well as the fact that overall the piece is in C minor. Here is the score that I wrote out in Sibelius:
(Click on the images to make them clearere and then use the zoom feature on your mac. Sorry this was the best I could do. Let me know if you you want me to send the sibelius file. "
Analysis:The song starts out with voice clip saying “Producing” at time 00:00 (time used here is in min:sec format). This clip comes from a 1974 interview with jazz drummer and percussionist George Marsh, of which the whole clip can be found as an mp3 here:
Interview with George Marsh MP3
Different clips from this interview are used later throughout the piece.
Now comes in the sample that is the backbone that connects and holds everything together in this piece. It is a 2 bar loop from a song by Jeremy Storch called “I Feel a New Shadow”, that features two pianos. I found the original sample and you can listen to it here:
Jeremy Storch- "I a New Shadow"
The first piano is playing rapid arpeggiated/broken C minor chords while a second piano plays the following melody in a higher register:
This continues until the fifth measure when another George Marsh interview sample beings at 00:12 where he says:“From listening to records I just knew what to do
I mainly taught myself. And, you know, I did pretty well
Except there were a few mistakes, but um, that I made, uh
That I've just recently cleared up”
This entire sample lasts for the next four measures. At measure nine we hear a piano hit a forte low C that resonates and will be a feature throughout the piece and gives it an ominous sound. This C is hit on the first beat of every 2-bar piano loop for the next 8 measures. On the second beat of mm. 11 (00:30) we get another George Marsh clip that lasts until the end of bar 16 (00:47); what we hear now is:
“And I’d like to just continue to be able to express myself
As best as I can with this instrument
And I feel like I have a lot of work to do
Still, I'm a student-- of the drums
And I'm also a teacher of the drums too”
On cue, starting at mm.17 (00:47) as soon as the vocal sample is done, Shadow drops the drum beat which is also based on a 2-bar programmed groove seen here which features predominantly syncopated bass drum beats over a steady snare hitting on the 2 and 4 of the bar. The drum samples, bass and snare and cymbals come from an old soul song by Frankie Seay and the Soul Riders called “Soul Food”, which can be listened to here:
Frankie Seay and the Soul Riders- "Soul Food"
*Clicking this will take you away from this page, may want to right-click and open in new tab.
The drums and pianos play on for the next 8 measures.
At mm.25 (1:11) a new sample comes in. It comes from the same Jeremy Storch song as the pianos and features a choir that has been processed and affected to sound ghostly and eerie. The choir sings the same 2-bar piano melody that the original higher piano has been playing and that I have notated above. The piano playing the melody is put down in the mix a little but the piano arpeggios remain and drums remain at the same level. The choir loops for the next 16 measures, mm.25-mm.40 (1:11-1:57). When the choir comes in we also get a bass coming in playing a simple line but it is not that prominent, we first truly hear it in mm.32, which is at the end of the first 8 bars after the choir has come in, where is has a 2 beat fill starting on beat 3 of mm. 32 (1:33). This same fill returns at the end of the next 8 measures, on beat 2 of mm.40 (1:56). Starting at measure 33 (1:34) we also get a return of the low C piano hits every two bars until mm.41.
Starting at mm.41 our ghost choir drops out, leaving the rhythm section and pianos. We hear turntable scratching, seemingly preparing us for a new change, which we receive starting at mm.42. This is where a new sample, this time another vocal/spoken-word comes in and plays out through the end of mm.48 (2:21). The sample comes from a piece written by the electronic musician Mort Garson called “Planetary Motivations (Cancer)”. This piece is from a suite called “The Zodiac : Cosmic Sounds - Celestial Counterpoint with Words and Music,” in which he wrote a piece for each sign of the 12 signs of the Zodiac (“Mort Garson”). The sample used from Planetary Motivations features the following lyrics spoken by a female starting at 2:00 :
“What makes cancer tenacious?
The moon rules the fluids
Including the inner juices of human beings
That which assimilates and feeds the body
So the crab feeds his astral plane
Assimilating and distributing all he receives
Slowly, until it becomes a part of you”
Mort Garson- "Planetary Motivations(Zodiac)"
We hear the last few words, “a part of you”, effected with and delay and echo. Then when mm. 49 starts our ghost choir loop returns for the next 8 bars until 2:44. On the eighth bar of this section, mm.56 (2:41) we get 1 measure drum and bass fill that preps us for a new section.
What we from mm.57 (2:44) to mm.64 (3:07) get now is and 8-bar solo section where Shadow gets to show off his skills at drum programming. Using his MPC sampler he starts syncopating beats and progressively starts chopping and screwing them until they no longer play in time and no longer sound like a human playing them. Still if you keep the established beat in your head and tap it out you will find that the solo still ends perfectly in time at the end of the mm.64. Thus, aurally, Shadow plays with the beat we’ve heard and been stuck in our head so far and then turns it upside down so we are shaken from it and unsure of what comes next or how long it will go on. Yet, in actuality he has carefully and consciously measured out how long to make it and still keep a total, metrical flow of the work.
With the first beat of mm.65 (3:07) our anxiety brought on by the drum solo is relieved when we get a strong hit of the piano playing a low C, demarcating a new section. No piano and drums are present but a new sample is thrown into the mix. It is a funky, 1-bar guitar loop that has a wah effect on it. It comes from a funk song called “I Need You” by HP Riot and which you can find the original sample here:
HP Riot- "I Need You"
This guitar plays along with the bassline that also returns and leads us away from the previous motif into a new, refreshing direction. This group/groove plays on for three measure when in mm.68 (3:16) we get a 1 measure drum fill signaling the return of that instrument.
Measure 69 (3:19) starts with another low C piano hit and the drum groove drops back in and this group plays out for 8 measures, through mm.76 (3:42).
Mm. 77 (3:42) brings a new layer to our groove, a dreamy synth line that floats above the rest of the groove and giving the melody energy. The synth line comes from an old soul classic by the group Lexia called “I Worship You”.
Lexia- "I Worship You"
And though you wouldn’t know this without knowing and listening to the original samples, another sample from this song will soon be used, so in a way the use of this subtle sample foreshadows that it will come back in a more prominent way in the need future. This group plays out for another 8 bar section, through mm.84 (4:02) where a one bar drum fill signals an impending change.
The change that we get starting in mm.85 (4:05) is a progressive peeling back of textures from this new soundscape that happens over the course of the 8 measures. Measure 85 finds the wah-guitar dropping out. This leaves us with just the synth playing over bass and drums. This, however, only lasts for 3 measures, because starting in mm.88 (4:14) the synth is faded over the next 2 measure until it has disappeared by the end of mm.89 (4:20). This leaves us with just drums and bass in mm.90 (4:20), and once the synth has left our drums take up the lead with a mini-solo that lasts for the last three measures of this section building up a cacophony until 4:29.
Out of the mini-climax that ends mm.92, mm.93 (4:29) stops everything and out of the past comes our 2-bar piano loop by itself. It plays twice (4 measures) and mm. 97 we get a low-C piano hit. Starting in mm.98 (4:43) we get another sample, which is from the “I Worship You” featuring the female vocalist singing the line “I fly to the strangest lands” over the next 4 measures, through mm.100 (4:52).
The word “lands” echoes and prompts the drums and our ghost choir from earlier to come back in at mm.101 for the next 8 bars.
At bar 109 (5:16) our wah-guitar also gets added back to the mix so what we are getting is the return of all our samples playing in unison for the next 8 measures. Measure 113 (5:27) adds one more sample, a deep resonating bass synth that one feels more than hears if listening to the piece non-analytically. This gives us a new powerful push and helps distinguish this as a sort of finale of the song. All these instruments and play for four measures until mm.117.
Measure 117 (5:39) marks what I would call the “coda” of the piece. Here everything but the pianos and choir drops out. The choir now is heard naked, effect-less, like it sounds in the original sample. A low C hits in mm.119 then again in mm.121. In mm.121 finds the choir fading out from 5:50-5:53, leaving just the pianos. On beat 3 of mm.122 (5:54) we get our last sample, and the last words we hear come from George Marsh who brought us into the piece. He says:
“And I would like to able to continue
To let what is inside of me
Which is, which comes from all the music that I hear,
I would like for that to come out
And it's like, it's not really me that's coming
The music's coming through me”
Which takes until 6:08 to complete. Measure 123 has our last low C hit and on the third beat of this measure (6:09) the last line of this last George Marshall sample, “The music’s coming through me” repeats with heavy delays and echoes added as a final reminder to the listener through 6:14. We are left with the pianos tinkling and fading out for 6 more measures until by 6:31 everything is gone.
Conclusion:
Despite being a piece of electronic music, when looking back at the overall layout and format of the work is very structured and thought out. Because we are dealing with hip-hop, the core of the piece will always be rhythm, ie. drums and bass. All our musical samples fit into 1, 2, or four bars. Sections are comprised almost always of 8 bars, with 2-bar loops often used as the bass sample. Often within these 8-bar sections are subdivided into 2 four-bar phrases.
Looking at it from an larger formal perspective, I think this piece could be considered to be in sonata or rounded-binary ( ||A||BA’|| ) form. Our first section, of the “exposition” would comprise mm.0 till mm. 56 and our main theme could be considered our 2-bar piano loop. While there is no modulation, I think we could consider the shift of the melody from the piano to choir as the modulation to the dominant that we would often see in a sonata.
The drum solo serves as a modulation of sorts in the piece that can be considered the beginning of the “development”, as it breaks from what has been going on in the “exposition” and clears space by dropping pianos and choir. This modulation allows for the opening into new sonic landscapes that is brought about the wah-guitar. We get new feelings and textures shift as we add layers of synths with new melodies. This entire section I would consider to be comprised from mm.57 till mm.92.
But we don’t stay here for long, as our drums give us a modulation back into the “recapitulation” which starts off just like the beginning of the piece. We then continue but add everything back in, so that all the instruments from both the “exposition” and “development” play together and crest into a coda that brings us straight back into a final, harking sample and pianos just like our intro and the whole piece ends as it begins; circularity is achieved.
Works Cited
Dahlen, Chris. “DJ Shadow: Endtroducing . . . [Delux Edition]”. Pitchfork Media. Online Review. June 9, 2005.
D.J. Shadow. “Building Steam with a Grain of Salt”. Endtroducing
Mo’ Wax: 19 Nov., 1996.
"DJ Shadow." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 20 Apr 2009, 09:18 UTC. 29 Apr 2009
"Endtroducing......" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 23 Apr 2009, 09:39 UTC. 29 Apr 2009
Fine, Jason. “DJ Shadow, Endtroducing”. Rolling Stone. Music Review. Jan 23, 1997.
"Mort Garson." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 Apr 2009, 13:41UTC. 29 Apr 2009
NPR News. “NPR 100: Master List of top 300 Songs”. Website. 2009
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Sullivan, James. “Endtroducing. DJ Shadow aka Josh Davis”. Review. BAM Magazine, April 4, 1997.
Transmute. “Building Steam with A Grain of Salt”. Online. Blog. April 16, 2006.
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