Archive for December, 2011

02 ‘Paper Tiger’ – Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  • tom fill intro
  • drums, bass vox only
  • elc gtr flourishes, siren sound
  • string interjections, between vox lines
  • chorus: strings, dbled vox
  • middle: phased vox for 2 lines
  • solo: strings get busy, busy bass gtr solo
  • end: strips back to vox, drums and bass
    inst. fade out

KEY IDEAS to plunder

  1. middle: phased vox for 2 lines
  2. low key, bored/depressed vox vs. dramatic bombastic interjections (strings, elc gtr)

01 ‘The Golden Age’ – Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  • ac gtr, slide gtr, keys, drums and bass (slow)
  • vox
  • background electronics
  • bvs, verbed, left
  • dist elc gtr flourishes
  • keys
  • glock

KEY IDEAS to plunder

  1. bvs: (from 2nd verse)
    monotone, verbed. alternating with wordless falsetto ‘oohs’
  2. b/ground electronics – spacey delayed feedback
    builds to a climax, filter swept, stops at the peak

Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  • sincere, heartfelt, direct lyrics
  • singer-songwriter album
  • themes of desolation, loneliness, heartbreak, solitude
  • mix of straight acoustic instrumentation with  electronic gestures and effects
  1. bvs: (from 2nd verse)
    monotone, verbed. alternating with wordless falsetto ‘oohs’
  2. b/ground electronics – spacey delayed feedback
    builds to a climax, filter swept, stops at the peak

02 ‘Paper Tiger’ – Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  1. middle: phased vox for 2 lines
  2. low key, bored/depressed vox vs. dramatic bombastic interjections (strings, elc gtr)
  1. tension and release: sliding note – down to correct pitch on the 1
  2. tension and release: bvs come in on the tonic chord
  1. orchestrate like Air; dry drums, slow strings, languid bass, rhodes keys, breathy vox
  2. climbing melody – shepard tone

05 ‘Lost Cause’ – Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  1. backwards sounds
  2. white noise percussion fizzing
  1. atmos: noises: low res white noise explosions, reverbered
  2. atmos: big verb tambourine on the 3rd beat of every 2nd bar
  1. chorus: pause before 2nd half of line;
    ‘and i wanted to be’ – full chord sequence – ‘a good friend’
  2. ring modulated piano  (2nd verse)

08 ‘Round The Bend’ – Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  1. accentuate fret buzz
  2. prosody: ‘around’ – pitch sliding up and down

09 ‘Already Dead’ – Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  1. last word of chorus vox verbed: ‘feel like something dying…’
  2. lead gtr bending notes

10 ‘Sunday Sun’ – Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  1. throbbing piano line, like a bass line
  2. mobile phone beep goes off every revolution of the chord progression
    include an every day sound like mobile phone

11 ‘ Little One’ – Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  1. no drums in the verses, full drums in the choruses
  2. end with a holding pattern
12 ‘Side of the Road’ – Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  1. ac gtrs – two parts, hard panned, doubling and then deviating
  2. elc keys (rhodes) – reminds me of dan lanois’ sling blade soundtrack

Sea Change (2002) – Beck

  • sincere, heartfelt, direct lyrics
  • singer-songwriter album
  • themes of desolation, loneliness, heartbreak, solitude
  • mix of straight acoustic instrumentation with  electronic gestures and effects

14 ‘Vernoona’ – Moo, You Bloody Choir (2006) – Augie March

  • 3/4 or 6/8
  • call and response vox
  • 1. call: high vox, multi harmonies
    ‘autumn leaves are flying’
    2. response: low, doubled with bass
    ‘time to find yr wintercoat’

KEY IDEAS to plunder

  1. 1. call: high vox, multi harmonies
    ‘autumn leaves are flying’
    2. response: low, doubled with bass
    ‘time to find yr wintercoat’
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