Attention Police fans/total dorks/people that like finding answers to obscure trivia online (I know I'm not the only one that fulfills all three):
Why was "Every Breath You Take" recorded at around A=425Hz? That's closer to A flat than A. I don't believe there's another track on Synchronicity like that, and for such a "produced" album with so much new technology this seems very odd.
-Were they tuning to the piano?
-Were they finding a sweet spot for Sting's voice?
-Did they just slow the whole thing down a little? That can't be.
That's really all I've got. One friend suggested they did it for "smoothitude." A good answer, for sure, but not the one I'm looking for.
This isn't the sort of question that will keep me up at night. But it will prevent me from doing laundry, all for the sake of "research." So please, do me and anyone that comes in contact with me a favor and help me out with this.
And for the heck of it...you should watch the video. It hasn't aged well.
So broodity. So Sting-ity.
I love it when the music and video are clearly out of synch, like Andy Summers at 1:07. Oopsie! And Flea's left hand from 3:57 to the end of this one.
Give It Away
It seems like SOMEONE along the way could have synched that up. Man, that band has been putting out wussy junk for a solid 20 years!
But I digress. Any real input on this Police issue would be welcome. Or more out of synch videos. That would be ok, too.
One of Radiohead's more melodramatic tunes is "Exit Music (For a Film)" from the album OK Computer (please pardon any political advertising on YouTube...though the fact that "CommunistNihilist" has political ads attached to his/her video is very funny to me). This song lends itself to "classical" analysis, and is great for the end of first-year theory. It was supposedly "inspired" by Chopin's Prelude No. 4, though to my ears it's not all that similar besides the sol-le-sol element of the tune and the big sussy appoggiatura ending. The mood isn't the same, either. The Wikipedia entry for this tune suggests Electric Light Orchestra's instrumental "After All" as an influence; there are certainly melodic similarities, and both "Exit Music" and "After All" feature the move from a minor tonic to parallel major.
And while we're talking trivia, this is the Chopin Prelude that Jack Nicholson plays in Five Easy Pieces.
For music folks reading this (especially theory teachers), "Exit Music" has great examples of modal mixture, a secondary dominant, a Neopolitan (in function, if not an "N6", and I also like how the A minor chord foreshadows it), very clear non-chord tones in the vocal melody, and Picardy thirds (a sort of modal mixture, really).
I'd also like to mention that the first time I heard the fuzz bass come in I totally freaked out.
Sometimes it's foolish to try to analyze this sort of music in this way. But not this time. Here's my one-page kinda rough reduction and analysis (sorry that the figured bass is ugly).
Here are ten reasons why Guns N' Roses Appetite For Destruction kicks a great deal of ass.
1) tight, tight, tight arrangements
2) Axl Rose at his best
3) Slash is brilliant throughout.
4) unabashed lyrics about drugs and sex
5) The guitar arranging/production is on-par with that of Malcolm and Angus Young on Back In Black, which is BRILLIANT stuff. The placement in the stereo field and the contrasting tones? My gosh. I'm not sure this kind of guitar playing happens anymore.
6) The sequence of tracks is near perfect.
7) This album has "Welcome To the Jungle," "Mr.Brownstone," "Paradise City," AND "Sweet Child O'Mine"! Seriously?!
8) The other tracks are varying levels of great, too. "You're Crazy" is a standout.
9) "Mr. Brownstone" is a masterpiece. It will be getting an entry of its own.
10) I have a guitar tuned down a half-step just so I can play along with this album.
I welcome your input. But seriously. What an album.
Perhaps someone can enlighten me. But recently I've experienced more "acoustic guitar as fashion accessory" incidents. And I find this troubling. You know what I mean: acoustic guitars, often festooned with punk band stickers, slung ever-so-nonchalantly and carelessly over shoulders. I hear them played sometimes, but usually a guitar is just a super-cool backpack. That doesn't carry anything.
What am I supposed to think? That you're cool? Are you trying to impress ME? Well. I suppose not. But even a 16-year-old girl (your intended audience?) can't be THAT impressed.
Why does this bother me so much? Because I've spent a lot of time learning how to play. And I have a lot of friends that can play the shit out of the guitar.
Is it just envy? That you and your acoustic guitar over your back can get any sort of attention? Eh. Maybe. Maybe I need to think on this. All I can say for sure is that whenever I see you walking around with a guitar on your back (Did YOU pay for that guitar, kid? Jesus, I'd NEVER let a precious piece of property dangle like that!), I just think two things: 1) Can you play that thing?, and 2) Just carry it around in a case. Asshole.
