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Analyze A Song
Topic Started: Mar 4 2007, 11:59 AM (514 Views)
Drummerboy
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The drugs don't work...
Ok, so after reading bullfrogs 'Analysis Of America' topic, I though I would finally start a topic I've been thinking of doing where you get to analyze a song or say what it's about and what it means. Don't just say something like "This song is about Paul McCartney's first encounter with weed", but try to explain every line and how it relates to what the song is about.

A good example of what I would like is something like this that someone did of the song 'American Pie' by Don McLean. Of course, you don't have to write so much, and it doesn't have to be every line. You get the idea don't you?

It might take sometime to do it.
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chodus
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Thinkin' one thing and doin' another
Man this is an awesome topic, deserving of a bump.

OK, instead of studying for modern history, I'ma analyse my favourite track off of Endtroducing..., "Building Steam with a Grain of Sand".

Background: This song, and the rest of the songs on this album, is created entirely from samples, no new material is recorded. Technically, the song/album is hip-hop in that it concentrates on beats but theres no rapping over the top. On to the song.


There's a short sample of some announcer type guy saying "Producing..." and then the piano sample comes in, which is the basis for the song. It's a very pretty little minor key thing, medium tempo, 2 bars long, looped for most of the track.

0:11 - Sample of some drum player/teacher giving an interview of the piano. "From listening to records, I knew what to do..."

0:47 - The drummer does a little laugh which is looped for a few seconds and then the drum beat comes in, a sort of heavy funk thing which is looped for most of the track along with the piano sample.

1:11 - A female choir comes in, singing the main piano melody in another 2 bar loop. Full sounding bass comes in as well, starting with a simple low note on the first beat of the bar but gradually getting more and more involved. Original bass sample must have been chopped up and played around with here.

2:00 - Choir stops as a couple of snippets of conversation/interviews come in; first, a woman says "Makes cancer tenatious". Then another woman starts talking some nonsense, theatrically "The moon rules the flute, including the inner juices of human beings, that which assimilates and feeds the body..."

2:24 - Choir come back in.

2:47 - All other samples drop out for the drum break. Original beat taken and then chopped up, mixed around and spat out to create a pretty fascinating little bit.

3:10 - Wah-wah guitar sample is introduced and comes in together with piano chord, playing a funky little riff that gets looped for a little while as the drums calm down and drop out. Its just guitar and bass for a little while until...

3:20 - Drums come back in with a fill and back into the original beat with some complicated fills now.

3:45 - Weird feel change in drums for a couple of bars as a 2 bar vibraphone sample comes in. Looped for a while. Drum beats getting more and more far out and complicated.

4:09-4:13 - Wah-wah guitar sample faded out

4:20-4:25 - Vibraphone sample faded out. Only bass and drums left, drums doing lots of complicated filly stuff until...

4:33 - Bass and drums drop out as the original piano sample is brought back in, on its own.

4:46 - Weird bell sound/sleigh bells before noodly female voice, not really singing any words, kinda solos over the top of the piano. Finger clicking during vocal solo.

4:56 - Bass, drums, female choir and vibes come back in. The weird vocal solo with the finger clicking is somewhere in there, really low in the mix. Its a different part of the sample this time though.

5:18 - The weird sleigh bell/church bell snippet makes a surprise flitty little comeback and the wah-wah guitar is back in, vocal solo out.

5:34 - Swelling synthy/choir sample is added and start to build up with I think a tambourine in the background doing some random shit. Vibes drop out I think.

5:44 - Drums and bass drop out and its the piano, female choir, swirly synthy/choir left.

6:00 - Everything but the piano sample drops out as the drum teacher interview comes back in. "And I would like to continue to let what is inside me..."

6:14 - The phrase "The music's coming through me" is looped, swirled around, echoed, and faded out .

6:19-6:39 - Just the first piano sample left until the end of track. Faded to nothing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fark that took ages. Hope someone like reads that or something. Read it while listening to the song! Please!


I have no life. :meh:
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Woof Oink Baaa
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Now 100% more avant-garde than Ivan!
"0:00 - 6:39: Fucking jawesome" would have sufficed. :wub:
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Funky Dung
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Angela
^I just listened to it for the first time while reading. Very precise descriptions Ivan. Nice job. :)
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chodus
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Why thank ye sir. Nice to get some recognition after such hard toil.
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TheSmashedGuitar
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Love Will Tear Us Apart, Again
Ivan should write all my essays for music class for me. :cigar:

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JeorgeMcStarkey
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-.-- -.-- --..
TheSmashedGuitar
Nov 20 2007, 01:18 PM
Ivan should write all my essays for music class for me. :cigar:

First you want mad beatz from me, and now you want essays from Ivan. What the fuck is this shit?
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TheSmashedGuitar
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Love Will Tear Us Apart, Again
It's cause your moms owe me money and this is for their sakes.

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chodus
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Thinkin' one thing and doin' another
Music essays are ghey, I spent this whole fucking year doing them. Sickening.
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Drummerboy
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The drugs don't work...
I wanna read it while listening to the song but I don't have the song. :(
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JeorgeMcStarkey
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-.-- -.-- --..
Drummerboy
Nov 24 2007, 11:12 AM
I wanna read it while listening to the song but I don't have the song. :(

First result.
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Drummerboy
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The drugs don't work...
JeorgeMcStarkey
Nov 24 2007, 04:36 PM
Drummerboy
Nov 24 2007, 11:12 AM
I wanna read it while listening to the song but I don't have the song. :(

First result.

Word.
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