Saturday, July 27, 2024

"Without Someone"

I listened to Balance of Power yester-day and noticed a small feature in "Without Someone."  The phrase "All alone" in the line "All alone, no one around" alliterates, and since each word starts with the same sound, there's something of a sense of the singularity of being alone.

Friday, July 26, 2024

"Secret Messages"

I listened to Secret Messages a couple days ago and noticed a small feature in the title track.  In the line "They're calling ev'rywhere" at ~1:54, the three syllables of "ev'rywhere" are all sung to different pitches (G A B), giving a sense of breadth.  When the line is repeated at ~3:42, there's also a glissando from the B down to a G.

In the two occurrences starting at ~2:43, though, the pitches are simply G A G.

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

"Twilight"

A number of years ago, I wrote about the lines "It's either real, or it's a dream / There's nothing that is in between" in "Twilight."  To some degree, the meaning of "there's nothing that is in between" is mirrored by the melody because it's entirely conjunct, with nothing else "in between" those pitches.


I listened to Time yester-day, and I realized that the same is also true of the rhythm here.  There are no rests in between the notes, and there's no break in between the two lines of the couplet.

Sunday, July 21, 2024

"Wishing"

I listened to Discovery yester-day and noticed a small feature in "Wishing."  In the line "I wish that ev'rything was gold" in the chorus, the three syllables of "ev'rything" are all sung to different pitches (F# E C#), giving a sense of entirety.

Friday, July 19, 2024

"Standin' in the Rain"

In the line "People rushin' by" in the backing vocals of "Standin' in the Rain" (at ~2:45), "by" is sung with a melisma (spanning an octave:  A E A), giving a sense of movement.

Thursday, July 18, 2024

"Across the Border"

I listened to Out of the Blue yester-day and noticed a small connection between the lyrics and chord progression in "Across the Border" that I think I'd been dimly aware of before.  Under the line "I gotta move down the line" in the first verse, the chord progression is A minor | G major | F major, so there's a musical representation of "mov[ing] down" (because the chords descend) and, in a way, even of "the line" (because it's a conjunct progression).

Saturday, July 6, 2024

"Mama"

In the lines "Mama, it's so hard to carry on, / And I feel I'm a fool who lost it all" in the chorus of "Mama," both "on" and "all" are sung with a melisma (E C#) in all but the first instance.  This articulation gives a sense of continuation ("carry on") and entirety, respectively.

Friday, July 5, 2024

"In Old England Town"

I listened to ELO II a few days ago and noticed some small features.  A while ago, I discovered that the lyrics are printed in the gatefold of the CD sleeve in the box set I have.  Apparently, it's meant to be like the original vinyl record.  In any case, I can now be much more accurate in quoting the lyrics.  I found them difficult to understand just by listening to the songs.

In the line "Down, down, you can see them all" near the beginning of "In Old England Town," "all" is sung with a melisma (E D C), giving a sense of that entirety.

In the line "They're all marching round and round," the second "round" is sung with a melisma (G F), providing a sense of movement.