Tuesday, May 12, 2020

"Caught in a Trap"

In the line "Nowhere to turn, but it can't go on" in "Caught in a Trap," "on" is sung with a melisma (F# E D E), so while it's negated, there's a sense of continuation.

Monday, May 11, 2020

"Heaven Only Knows" [alternate version]

I probably noticed this even the first time I listened to the song, but the line "Our Father, who art in heaven" at the beginning of the alternate version of "Heaven Only Knows" is taken from the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9).

"Away" in the lines "If you could turn night into day / I could stop it slippin' away" is sung with a melisma (F# F# E) for a sense of (metaphorical) movement.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

"Send It"

In the choruses of "Send It," the backing vocals that sing the title phrase are panned hard right and hard left.  This gives the illusion of space, and because the vocals alternate channels, there's a sense of the distance that "the dream" has to travel in being sent.

In reviewing the song, I noticed a few other things.  "Day" in the line "I'm waitin' for it ev'ry day" is sung with a melisma (E D C# E C# B), musically giving a sense of amount (for "ev'ry").  Like I mentioned before (but with the wrong spelling!), the articulation here seems to owe something to Buddy Holly.

The chorus exhibits anaphora:
Send it on the wires
Send it on a plane
Send it on an express
But send it back to me again
"Send it" is repeated at the beginning of each line, but the method of sending changes from line to line.  Together, these illustrate that the speaker/singer is more concerned with his dream being sent back to him than he is with what means it's sent.  Obviously, this is clear in the words themselves, but it's also in the structure.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

"Endless Lies"

In the line "Shine on, silver stars over the sea" in "Endless Lies," the "silver stars" really are "over the sea" as far as musical pitch.  "Silver stars" is sung to the notes C D Eb, and "the sea" is sung to the notes Bb A.

Friday, May 8, 2020

"Is It Alright"

In "Is It Alright," "long" in the line "Can you believe that it's been so long" is sung with a melisma (C A C D), musically giving a sense of length or duration.

Thursday, May 7, 2020

"Secret Lives"

I have a handful of notes about Balance of Power from July 2018 that I'm finally getting around to writing about.

In "Secret Lives," there's a constant shifting between 2nd and 3rd person.  The verses have 2nd person pronouns ("I don't know what's on your mind," "You're living secret lives," "I don't wanna stop the things you do," and so on), but the chorus has 3rd person pronouns ("And I wonder where she goes to in the night").  This difference gives a sense of the distinct separation that's a result of the secrecy.