Comments on: Emotion in popular songs: Part II

By: tmf

tmf — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 02:41:55 +0000

I should have posted more on why I love Dimash Kudaibergen. His singing often moves me to tears, even when I cannot understand the language he is singing. Be sure to listen to the end and then count how many seconds he holds the last note. He has a vocal range of 6 octaves, F#1-D8 (6 octaves + 8 semitones). This spans from the bottom of the bass range beyond the top of the soprano range.

Dimash Kudaibergen, Love is Like a Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLEQzfqO_l0

In English, he sings “Hello”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G92IVn8DIw&t=3s

Music reviewer, Hamza Tufai, describes Dimash singing of “Hello” as follows: He is a Genius. I mean look at those Arabic Melismas (3:40-4:27). He not only did those melismas but he also sustained that last note for 17 seconds and in those 17 seconds he first hit that A5 note and then made a transition into an E5 and then into a D5. That’s definitely Mind Boggling. Also towards the end he hit an Eb6 note. Man he can do literally anything.

By: Chases Eagles

Chases Eagles — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 22:33:55 +0000

Gringo,
isn’t interesting that the Lick the Tins version completely changes the mood?

By: boatbuilder

boatbuilder — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 22:30:15 +0000

Try comparing Janis’ version with the original by Kris Kristofferson.

She just took that song away from him. (I’m sure he didn’t mind).

By: Gringo

Gringo — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 21:11:25 +0000

Chases Eagles
Elvis Presley ‘Can’t help Falling in Love’. The lyric “Take my hand, take my whole life too” just brings tears.

My brother couldn’t go to our sister’s wedding, but more than made up for it by hiring an Elvis impersonator for the reception. He was GOOD. Looked like Elvis, sang like Elvis. “Can’t help falling in love” brought tears to my sister.

The wedding reception also had a good mariachi band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4vAP43d2gs
Lick the Tins cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

By: Gringo

Gringo — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 21:01:11 +0000

Neo:
The quintessential Dionysian singer would be Janis Joplin, I think, although there are plenty of others.

I never thought much of Janis Joplin as a vocalist- scratchy voice. Scratchy voices can be fun- Joe Cocker also- but just not good quality voice.

One of my favorite singers is Amalia Rodrigues. Don’t have to know the language to love her singing. (If she sang in Brazilian Portuguese, I’d understand more. But her Portuguese from Portugal, I get maybe every fourth word.) Regarding Apollonian versus Dionysian, I’ll just say I like her singing.

Nina Simone- sometimes her piano sounds like Bach counterpoint. Very few people have such a command of both piano and voice. I agree with not categorizing her.

Yes, I can relate to the Stones being labeled as “laughing all the way to the bank.” But they are very skilled musicians who can play blues or rock or country- or any combination thereof.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Amalia+Rodrigues

By: neo

neo — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 18:53:01 +0000

Frank:

Regarding Mining Disaster – quite Apollonian, to my way of thinking. It’s restrained and rather quiet, and the words are understated with the slowly dawning realization on the listener of what’s actually being described.

One definitely can have an emotional reaction to something Apollonian. In fact, that style tends to move me more than Dionysian songs and singers – depending on a lot of things, of course, including the lyrics.

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 12:22:12 +0000

I was born in 45 and my growing up put my adolescence and early adulthood and these bands’ breaking out and succeeding about the same time.
If driving and listening the radio put the Beatles on, okay. The Stones…I changed the station.
My growing up was about as buttoned-up as anybody’s in those days. Still, I wonder if some of the appeal was appearing to break the rules–mostly the implied but not legislated rules about approved behavior.
Local band, couple of good songs, but they were “wild”, which is to say they clambered around the stage and knocked over music stands or something. Pretty obvious they were, in several senses, putting on a show in which the music was only part of it.
So you take a date and…maybe lots of things are now possible. We can…just cut out and drive to….
Which you generally didn’t; finals or the job or whatever.
Used to be, Hollywood’s star system kept the stars’ reputations respectable. Except, I suspect some purpose, some vague hints of license.
Now, kids, not being respectable was…WILD and FUN and the right thing to do. Hitting the notes……meh.
And shove it in your parents face, too, along with the nuns–even if you weren’t Catholic.

By: Chases Eagles

Chases Eagles — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 04:25:01 +0000

As far as a true emotional reaction, I have to say there are only a few songs that do that for me. They are

Elvis Presley ‘Can’t help Falling in Love’. The lyric “Take my hand, take my whole life too” just brings tears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGJTaP6anOU

Righteous Brothers ‘Unchained Melody’. “I need your love”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiiyq2xrSI0

Rod Stewart ‘You’re in My Heart’. “You are my lover, You’re my best friend. You’re in my soul”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf6ng1Hsb7I

Here are a couple that the emotional connection is only due to circumstances.

The Hallmark Channel synopsis for the little story the following snippet is from is: young space engineer returns home after a failed romance, meets tall handsome guy with a troubled soul, has torrid love affair set against the backdrop of a cold-war space project.

“I went back east with Flying By to visit her parents. Her DuPont chem engineer father was then at Louisville, KY. While Flying By attended a Mother-Daughter pre-Kentucky Derby event, I visited her dad’s chemical plant. Then it was off to be presented to her east coast friends in Delaware. While in Delaware, we attended a child’s christening party at someone’s house. It was a huge extended family. Flying By was clearly among dear friends. I of course, was overwhelmed with the plethora of introductions. I noticed a couple of gold albums on the wall. I had never seen one before. They were George Thorogood albums. This piqued my interest as Thorogood’s cover of ‘Who do You Love’ was one of my favorite driving songs during the year of my discontent. I found out that Flying By knew George and the rest before they were somebodies. After she moved to Seattle, George played some northwest venue and when he performed ‘Madison Blues’ he changed one of the lyrics to be about Flying By and Seattle. My intimidation meter pegged. “

George Thorogood and the Destroyers ‘Who Do You Love’ – Rounders 1978
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYu5YbdRKL0

George Thorogood and the Destroyers ‘Madison Blues’ – Live performance location and date unidentified but probably 1980 or 1981:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XrcQaBI3pQ

By: Frank

Frank — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 04:16:14 +0000

I am what I consider musically naive. Not that I don’t love music. I have very uninformed and unrefined tastes, but a few observations. Would you classify New York Mining Disaster 1941 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43YhQ_eGTw as Apollinian or Dionysian? Perhaps I am too moved by the lyrics rather than the music in putting it in the Dionysian camp? Or perhaps I miss some nuances of the distinction.

I looked back at your earlier post and found it very interesting. Apparently their goal was to play 2 very similar songs by Messrs Bach and Beethoven. And the results of the MRI were indeed interesting. I would be interested in seeing responses to very different music such as Air on a G String vs. the 9th Symphony.

I love what the Beatles did musically with their varied instruments and complex arrangements, but I also love much of the Stones and Sympathy for the Devil as well as much simpler songs like Beast of Burden, but Start Me Up bores me to tears. Someone please stop football teams from playing it at every kickoff!

Modern jazz leaves me cold with its display of musical virtuosity at the expense of consistent melody. Louis Armstrong and Take 5, brilliant IMO. Most modern jazz, not so much. Again probably just my unrefined taste. I love many Leonard Cohen songs though his singing, mostly not. Michael Jackson without Quincy Jones, blah, but Thriller, wow.

As I said, just a few comments from the peanut gallery.

By: Rufus T. Firefly

Rufus T. Firefly — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 02:52:24 +0000

huxley,

“I consider you an online friend and you needn’t apologize for anything.”

Back at ya’! The feeling is mutual, and I really appreciate what you write here and have learned a lot from your comments.

Regarding the Stones, maybe not purely in it for the bottom line, but purely in it for themselves; at least Mick and Keith. If the CEO of an oil company spends 90% of his time on the road, away from his wife and kids, flying on private jets, staying in fancy hotels and sleeping with women other than his wife while on business trips we have no problem depicting him as a villain. But if he does the same thing while prancing on a stage, shouting and imitating a rooster and encouraging wanton drug use he’s an icon.

I’m not impressed.

And many great rock stars do not follow that path. Neo posted about the Stones’ Charlie Watts recently. On a hunch I just google’d Rush’s Geddy Lee. Married to the same woman 45 years.

And nothing against selling fun to young people. I was young once too. But now that I’m grown I find it hard to respect other grown men behaving like teen-agers. I smile when I hear the music of my generation, but I hold no illusions Blue Oyster Cult’s, “Godzilla,” or the B-52’s, “Planet Claire” are high art.