Lyrics Part Three

Hey,

So, in this week's installment of my series on lyrics, I will be breaking down repetition. Repetition is a commonly used literary technique and a fantastic one, at that. However, like everything else in music/literature, a little goes a long ways. Unfortunately for us, most mainstream musicians have yet discover this. On the other hand, alternative musicians utilize repetition as a tool, wielding it to accomplish something, whereas mainstream musicians' songs are 80% repetition.

Here are some examples:

First, let's compare "Scream and Shout" by Will.I.AM ft. Britney Spears with one of Noel Gallgher's High Flying Birds' songs.

"When you hear this in the club
You gotta turn the sh*t up
You gotta turn the sh*t up
You gotta turn the sh*t up
When we up in the club
All eyes on us
All eyes on us
All eyes on us
See the boys in the club
They watching us
They watching us
They watching us
Everybody in the club
All eyes on us
All eyes on us
All eyes on us

I wanna scream and shout, and let it all out
And scream and shout, and let it out
We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh wee oh
We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh wee oh
I wanna scream and shout, and let it all out
And scream and shout, and let it out
We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh wee oh

You are now rocking with Will.i.am and Britney, b-tch

[beat break]

Oh yeah....
Bring the action

Rock and roll, everybody let's lose control
All the bottom we let it go
Going fast, we aint going slow, no
Hear the beat, now let's hit the floor
Drink it up, and then drink some more
Light it up, and let's let it blow
Hey yo, rock it out, rock it now
If you know what we talking 'bout
Turn it up, and burn down the house, hooouse
Hey yo, turn it up, and don't turn it down
Here we go, we gon shake the ground
Cause everywhere that we go we BRING THE ACTION."

I didn't finish copying the rest of the lyrics because they just repeat that turning the music up an oh-we-oh crap (what even is "oh we oh?). Wanna guess how many writers came up with that? If you guessed three, then you win 100 blog points (which are totally useless). Yes, three writers actually wrote this. This song pretty much 100% repetition. They rarely, until they get to that dumb verse about drinking up, say any idea just once. How many times is it necessary to remind the listener that your music must be turned up?

Okay, so that sucks. Now, let's look at a good example of repetition with (Stranded On) the Wrong Beach" by Noel Gallgher's High Flying Birds {one of my favorite bands}.

"Falling, I see you on the way down
I'll meet you on the rebound somewhere in between
Calling out across the airwaves
Faces that you can't say are calling out for me

And oh me, oh my, say so long baby, bye-bye
Pour me one for the road, it's a long journey baby
Where it's gonna take me just depends on the weight of my load
Oh no, depends on the weight of my load

So long, I'll see you in the next one
Cause everybody's been and gone, there's no one here but me

And oh me, oh my, say so long baby, bye-bye
Pour me one for the road, it's a long journey baby
Where it's gonna take me just depends on the weight of my load
Oh no, depends on the weight of my load

And oh me, oh my, say so long baby, bye-bye
Pour me one for the road, it's a long journey baby
Where it's gonna take me just depends on the weight of my load
Oh no, depends on the weight of my load
Oh no, depends on the weight of my load
Oh no, depends on the weight of my load

Dry land sinking in the quicksand
Stranded on the wrong beach, come and rescue me."

Here, the repetition accomplishes something. It is not mindless, like Will.I.Am's song. In that other song, the repetition is filler. It feels like the three writers ran out of material and just decided to repeat everything they had already written. In Noel's song, in which he is the only writer, the more he repeats the "....depends on the weight of my load" you can feel the load getting heavier, referencing a long journey that he is about to undertake, whilst carrying something. Good use. :)

Finally, let's look at another use of poor repetition in One Direction's "Rock Me," a silly stab at sexual lyrics.

"Do you remember summer ‘09
Wanna go back there every night
Just can't lie it was the best time of my life

Lying on the beach as the sun blew out
Playing this guitar by the fire too loud
Oh my my they could never shut us down
I used to think that I was better alone
Why did I ever want to let you go
Under the moonlight as we stared at the sea
The words you whispered I will always believe

I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me, yeahh
I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me yeah
I want you to hit the pedal heavy metal show me you care
I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me yeah

Yeah we were together summer ‘09
Wanna roll back like press and rewind
You were mine and we never said goodbye i-i-i
I used to think that I was better alone

Why did I ever want to let you go?
Under the moonlight as we stared to the sea
The words you whispered I will always believe

I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me, yeahh
I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me yeah
I want you to hit the pedal heavy metal show me you care
I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me yeah

R-O-C-K me again
R-O-C-K me again
R-O-C-K me again yeah
I want you to
R-O-C-K me again
R-O-C-K me again
R-O-C-K me again yeah

I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me, yeahh
I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me yeah
I want you to hit the pedal heavy metal show me you care
I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me yeah

I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me, yeahh
I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me yeah
I want you to hit the pedal heavy metal show me you care
I want you to rock me, mmm, rock me, mmm, rock me yeah."
Let's play the "guess the number of songwriters game." Ready? 5 writers, yet none of the actual group members. Now, I will admit I see what they did here. :) "Rock me" obviously is referring to sex. I'm not dumb and the repetition is like a rocking motion, happening over and over. However, it's overkill here. You really can have too much of a good thing. They say the phrase "rock me" 23 times. Yeesh. Too much repetition. Cut out a few of  them and take out that awful auto-tune and it could be a half decent song. (I said half!)

Next week, I'll wrap up the lyrics series with a topic TBD. Then, I'll get back to highlighting new music and artists.
Until then,
Bella

Beecher's Fault

Hey,
Happy Friday! Granted, for most students like me, Friday is just another day of the week, but if you're working good for you. You survived another week. For me, I'm just happy I survived the heat; it's supposed to be 100 degrees this weekend. But I'm keeping cool, exercising indoors and listening to good music. :)

So, speaking of good music...

I love social media. It goes without saying that social media connects us, brings us together, and introduces us to new people/ new things we might never have found otherwise. I was slow to join twitter. I thought, honestly, I have an e-mail account, Facebook, and a blog. What else do I need? It turns out, I was missing out. In the past, bands tried to reach new ears by way of MySpace and now, they use Twitter. One day when I logged on my account, with my unbearably long e-mail address (thesoundtrackofmylife2012@gmail.com)  I saw I had a new follower. Usually, it’s just like one of my sister’s friends, but it turned out to be a new band I had never heard of (hence the word “new”) called Beecher’s Fault. Curious, I clicked on the link to their Facebook page and listened to their song “Misbehavior.” I am so glad I did.

          These guys are incredible. The band is comprised of three guys from Astoria, New York : vocalist/guitarist Ben Taylor, vocalist/keyboardist Ken Lamken and drummer Eric Levine. Their music boasts many features such as a beautiful indie vibe, some aspects of modern alternative sounds, and an unmistakable sound. When they come on my Spotify playlist I know automatically who it is. They are very distinctive and I like that. I find even in alternative circles that bands tend to get lazy and bang out a boring melody and some mediocre lyrics. Maybe it’s just me, but I like bands that put effort into their sound. With Beecher’s Fault, you never have to doubt that they worked at their music. All of their tender loving care really paid off.

                My favorite songs are Leftover People and Conductor. Leftover People is cool because the piano intro leads into the song perfectly, the drum line fits perfectly, and the overall beautiful simplicity with a touch of chaos. Simplicity and chaos, though they might be antonyms, work well with each other. And Conductor stands out because of the emotional lyrics, simple instrumentation, and the vocals give me goose bumps.

They also have really cool music videos. I especially enjoyed the music video for Liars, which uses shoes to tell a story. Very creative. I loved it. J

So, in the end, I really enjoy their music. I like the polished yet slightly gritty sound. They embody alternative music and I hope nothing but success comes their way.

If you want to connect with these guys, their music is available on iTunes, Spotify, and their website. You can find them on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and their official website.

Here are the links:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/beechers_fault

Website: http://beechersfault.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeechersFault

MySpace:  http://www.myspace.com/beechersfault

YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/beechersfault

If you are in an undiscovered band or if you are a fan on an undiscovered band and would like a review on my blog, please leave a comment, e-mail me, or tweet me at twitter.com/tsoml2012

Until next week,

Bella