In Every Voice, I Hear You Speak

What Makes Music Good, part 2

"I adore extravagance but I abhor waste." - Vincent Persichetti

      Last time on The TL;DR Blog, I talked about how proper use of guitars, bass, drums and auxiliary instruments makes (some) popular music worth listening.  Today we examine use of the Voice as an instrument.

     When Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premiered in May of 1824, and his monstrous orchestra took the stage, nobody knew what the hell the four solo vocalists and the (probably inappropriately sized) choir was doing standing there with them; until that time, a choir had never been used in a symphony.  It seems odd to us today to even think about music that does not include a voice, much less to imagine that there was a time when using a voice just made "Crazy 'ole Ludie" seem all the more crazy.

     And look how far we've come.

    I've attempted to write the following paragraph, and everything after, somewhere in the realm of 1200 times; I am having a bit (read: shit-ton) of trouble putting my thoughts into words.  This happens quite a bit to me, but even so, I am completely in awe that I cannot listen to music and succinctly put into words why I like it.  The problem is this: the only (only) song that I have listened to straight through without skipping for an entire month is Queens of the Stone Age's This Lullaby.  This has occurred for a very tangible reason (I love singing the first verse,) but has intangibly made me fucking illiterate when it comes to talking about singers.  I know the things that are not reasons this is happening.  It's not because Mark Lanegan is the best singer ever (obviously) or because This Lullaby is the best song ever written (clearly) or even because the song is short enough that I can actually get through it before I start looking at birds out the window (right on the cusp.)  Beyond that, I honestly have no clue why I cannot say what it is I want to say, and I am 79% sure it is a fault of that song.

     I know that this will make no sense to anyone, anywhere.  There are three very specific things that this song has that make me listen to it over and over: Lanegan's Range, which is somewhere between Baritone and Bass; Josh Homme's Lyrics, which are nothing short of awesome (despite their simplicity); and the line "And sure as days come from moments...," something I like to call A Fun Musical Moment (Number One.) 

     Herein lies the problem.  I would love nothing more to sit here and write about all of the singers that have Unique and Interesting voices (Julian Casablancas, Thom Yorke, Josh Homme,) or all of the guys that have Soothing Voices (Dave Grohl when he wants to, John McCrea, David Gilmore,) or the guys that have Voices With a Certain Facet That I Think Is Cool (Isaac Brock and his lisp, Nick Hexum and his one-octave range,) or even the guys who have A Really Annoying Voice That Almost Ruins Their Band's Music For Me (James Hetfield post-1993, Zach de la Rocha and Billy Corgan pre-2010,) but that would seriously take a long time.  I know that I want to talk about those guys, but I honestly have no idea where they fit, or what the hell I'm trying to fit it into.

     So I'm basically just going to take the three things about This Lullaby that make me happy (Range, Lyrical Content, Fun Musical Moments) and use them as a skeleton for talking about voices in popular music.  At this point, I honestly do not expect any of it to make sense.  But I'll try anyways. 

   Range.  I love singing This Lullaby because it is in a comfortable range for me.  No, that's wrong.  It actually fall below my comfort range, which makes it Extra Comfortable/Awesome.  That's it.  But range is a big issue when it comes to a lot of guys, because theirs is so huge.  Matt Bellamy (Muse) has a great natural voice, and his falsetto is Off The Chart Awesome.  Both of those voices are fantastic, but the in-between is nothing to get excited about.  Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) has a smaller range, but has some crazy ability to sing with 17 different voices, all of which sound the same.  This a direct result his strength within the realm of his range, and not just at opposite ends of the spectrum.  On the other hand, Nick Hexum (311) has a very small range (and somehow still doesn't know that changing pitches makes for more interesting vocal lines) but that range is quite comfortable for me to sing in.  Also, his Rap-Speak shit that he used to do, that's fun, requires no talent, and I firmly believe that he pioneered that technique to mainstream success.  I'm going to quit this useless and directionless discussion while I'm ahead ("You're not that far ahead, Ted.") 

See Also:

 Robert Plant - Led Zeppelin, Solo.  High range, but full of soul.

John McCrea - CAKE.  Low range, interesting cadence.

Adrien Hulet - Oso Closo.  His voice sounds like leaves falling to the ground in Autumn.  I love it.

   Lyrical Content.  There are basically four types of lyrical content: there are Happy Lyrics, Sad Lyrics, Angry Lyrics, and Interesting Lyrics.  Sure, there is some in between, and most every song has a theme or a subject, yes.  But I'm really talking about how those lyrics are fun to use outside of the context of the song.  If you use a happy lyric as an away message or Facebook status, people will ask what you're so happy about.  If you use a sad lyric, people will ask what happened.  If you use a nonsensical lyric, people will ask wtf you're talking about.  It's a game, we all play it. 

• Happy Lyrics.  These are usually songs about being in love or reading a sweet book or something.  Some lyrics are just about a positive subject.  Sometimes you just gotta compare your woman to car parts, you know what I'm saying?  Notable EXAMPLES: 

• Led Zeppelin - Trampled Under Foot.

• 311 - everything post 2001, except "Don't Tread on Me," and Hostile Apostle. 

• CAKE - Love You Madly. 

• Muse - Feeling Good.

• The White Stripes - We're Going To Be Friends.

• Queens of the Stone Age - In My Head.

• Modest Mouse - Float On, The Ocean Breathes Salty.

• Sad Lyrics.  These are lyrics that make a sad face.  These are fun use to make old girlfriends mad, or they're fun to whistle really loud at work, because more often than not they have a great melody.  Interestingly, most of these songs fall into my comfortable range, which makes them extra fun to sing really loudly in the car.

• The Wrens - Happy. Ironic, I know.

• CAKE - Friend is a Four Letter Word. 

• Foo Fighters - Home. 

• Pink Floyd - Everything except Money.

• The Beatles - Hey Jude.

•  Oso Closo - Everything on "Rest," notably Sheila.

• Angry lyrics.  These are lyrics that... let people know that you're angry.  Isaac Brock has mostly angry lyrics, as does Hetfield (Metallica.)  There's really no one else to talk about, except Megadeath and Slipknot.  The aforementioned Happy starts real sad, and gets real angry.  I like that song. 

• Interesting lyrics.  There is really no way to further categorize "Interesting" lyrics based on any subject matter.  These are basically just lyrics that make you sound smart when you say them out of context, amirite?  I'll list them by artist to be easiest.

• Josh Homme - You cannot say that "Just drool in the dark as you stare at the lights," is not super fun to sing, and that telling someone to "Clamp me in irons, come on Caligulove me," does not have the potential to be the greatest pick-up line ever.  "Them Crooked Vultures" is full of lyrics like this.  I wouldn't know how to categorize his lyrics if I tried, other than "One part weird, one part clever, two parts awesome."  Listen to any of The Dessert Sessions to see what happens when he's pressed for time to come up with good lyrics, it's awesome.  (See also No One Loves Me and Neither Do I, Better Living Through Chemistry, Suture Up Your Future, and everything else Queens of the Stone Age has ever recorded.)

• Modest Mouse (Isaac Brock) - Despite is apparent anger towards EVERYthing, most of Brock's lyrics are really interesting and some are just smart. "If it takes shit to make bliss then I feel pretty blissfully."  How awesome is that?   Also worth noting is his lisp, and the fact that this motherfucker named a song Satellite Skin.  Ballzy.  Anyways.  Some of his stuff is just weird (Wild Pack of Family Dogs) and still other stuff is just... Brockian.  "You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death"?  You ever think of life and death that way?  Me neither.  Listen to Modest Mouse, and I promise you will have a new-found appreciation for good lyrics.  (See also Arctic Monkeys and The White Stripes.)

• Muse (Matt Bellamy) - I'm hesitant to use Muse here, because most of the time I can't understand a goddamn word Bellamy is saying.  But.  Plug In Baby is badass, so I have to.

• Oso Closo (Adrien Hulet) - I'm only listing one song here, Photograph, from their sophomore album "Today Is Beauty's Birthday."  That sad and happy at the same time.  That's weird.

• Beck - everything he's ever written.  The end.

    
     Fun Musical Moments.  There are all kinds of fun musical moments.  Yelling "Leonard Bernstein" in the middle of It's the End of the World (And I Feel Fine) is great fun, and you know it.  The epic modulation in the middle of Livin' on a Prayer, while completely useless, is nonetheless awesome.  I'm not about to name any of these, so I'll just number them in the order that I think of them.

• Fun Musical Moment (FMM) Number One: When there is one lyric in the song you know or like and you sing it really loudly when it happens, then skip to the next song.  It's the End of the World... is the most perfect example, because not even Michael Stipe knows what the hell he's saying.  There are others for me, for reasons I cannot fathom.  NOTABLE EXAMPLES INCLUDE:

• Queens of the Stone Age - Misfit Love.  "Give 'em a taste of my misfit love."  Love.  Also Leg of Lamb, "Bloody April, leg of lamb."  I will listen to both of those songs until those moments, and then skip, almost every time.  

•  Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here.  I can't listen beyond the chorus/second verse.  Don't really need to, either.  Oh, and The Nile Song, opening line ("I was standing by the Nile.")

• Tenacious D - Friendship.  "Cuz it's ra-a-a-a-are to be... Tenacious D."  Next song!

• Pat Benatar - Heartbreaker.  The chorus always reminds me of Chris singing it out of nowhere the first time we played it on Guitar Hero, and I can't help but smile. 

• FMM Number Two: The chorus changes.  It's not really a chorus if it's different, but it happens.

• Modest Mouse - Ocean Breathes Salty.  When the second chorus is finished, and then the song (lyrically) goes to another identical chorus, but (musically) it is completely different... chills.  "You missed when time and life shook hands and said goodbye."  LOVE that part.  Love it, love it, like the Statue of Liberty.

• Oso Closo - Shelia.  The entirety of this song is about some chick named Sheila, and the chorus is her name, over and over.  Every time it is descending.  Then, right at the end, Adrian takes it up.  It's so fucking good.  Even right now, I'm almost tearing up thinking about it.  If you've heard it, you know what I'm talking about.  If you don't, tell me, and I'll send it to you.

• Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer.  I mentioned this, but the awkwardness/outrageousness bears repeating, and the fact that it's awesome just makes it worth it.  I heard UMass' pep band play it.  Their basketball team is good, but that modulation clearly takes the band to a "hard key."  It's hilarious.

• 311 - Golden Sunlight.  The second and third time through the chorus add kind of a tag.  I'm still not sure why it's not in the first chorus.  Also, Freeze Time, the addition of "Nick Chorus" after the second and fourth "SA Chorus" is badass.  I'm glad it's like that.

• Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris.  The last chorus is on "ah" over and over, rather than the lyrics.  Epic.

• FMM Number Three: Backup vocals.  These never get old, sorta like an epic string section.

• Oso Closo - Sheila again.  The whole song.  Kthx.  Also, Photograph.  Also, every Oso Closo song.

• Sufjan Stevens - They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!  I call them back-ups because it's not Sufjan.  Either way, it's creepy as hell.

• Muse - Supermassive Black Hole.  Badass riff aside, the backup vocals on this song are superb.

• FMM Number Four: Something awesome happens.  Miscellaneous.  

• Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven.  Shout chorus.  No justification needed, unless you are a retard.

• Foo Fighters - Let it Die.  This is more of a musical thing, but right before The David starts the screaming, the one bar tag... epic.  That to the end, look it in a marching band show one day soon. 

• 311 - Sun Come Through.  The guitar solo to the end.  The lyrics/music/everything here is just feckin' aweome.  Look for it to end a marching band show never soon.

• Coheed and Cambria - Welcome Home.  The lead-in to the guitar is fun as shit to scream in the car, it gives me chills, and it reminds me of Blood.  Holla.

     And I wish that was it.  It's not, but it's all I can come up with right now.  I cannot put into words how difficult this post was for me.  Ugh.

     One thing has become painfully clear, though: I need to listen to more (different) music.  It's nice to have a favorite band or whatever, but DAMN I only listen to the same stuff.  So, uh, if you read this far, and care to suggest some stuff to me, read what I like, and suggest some stuff.

     Next time on The TL;DR Blog, I'll talk about songs as a whole for about 14 sentences, and then talk about how it's annoying when most bands write the same shit over and over for years, and nobody notices.  Somewhere in there I'll talk about bands doing covers, and how sometimes it's awesome (Muse, Feeling Good), sometimes it's bad (311, Reggae Got Soul), and sometimes it's called "a ripoff" (Finger Eleven, Paralyzer.)  Stay tuned, bitches!