Once In A Lifetime

[jimhelm]

moar.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by jimhelm

Dude,

your calling emerges.

music critic.

go forth and prosper.

Seriously.

You're bloody good at this.

[Undertoad]

Thanks you guys. I would love to write professionally but there's not much call for it.

[jimhelm]

yeah, it's one of those jobs like Video Game Tester, or Porn Star Casting Director, or Car&Driver reporter. The job exists, but the lucky sonofabitch that got it isn't letting it go for nuthin.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Thanks you guys. I would love to write professionally but there's not much call for it.

Can you make a living from a blog? If you get a following, and sell advertising, or something?


I forgot how good talking heads are. I have to go back and listen to their stuff again. I can remember More Songs About Buildings And Food being in my car cassette player for about a month straight. Friends of mine saw them at Haverford College in '78 ish.

[Undertoad]

The top blogs now make good money, but they all have multiple writers, and are more like the replacement for major magazines than they are blogs.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

it's one of those jobs like Video Game Tester,

You'd be surprised. It's actually a reasonably easy job to get because 1.) the job itself actually sucks, it's not fun like you would think it would be, AT ALL, 2.) it pays shit, 3.) the hours are shit, and 4.) it's mostly done by young guys who tend to be irresponsible and not show up to work more often than the average person, thus getting fired and needing replacement.


That aside, Tony, you are damn good at this and I mean that as someone who knows professional writers. Most significantly, your analysis is interesting even to people who don't know anything about music, or aren't familiar with the song in question. That's the mark of a truly good writer in this field.

Write up a dozen of them, and start sending your sample portfolio to Rolling Stone, Wired, Spotify, Pandora, everyone. When people read these, they want to read more.

[ZenGum]

they all have multiple writers

Meaning they may take on another from time to time.

And ...what Clod said.

And you aren't going to argue with her brain, now, are you?

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Most significantly, your analysis is interesting even to people who don't know anything about music, or aren't familiar with the song in question. That's the mark of a truly good writer in this field.

Yeah. I'd never even heard the term "root note".You made me want to know more.

[Undertoad]

Rolling Stone, Wired, Spotify, Pandora

Three of those don't do reviews and the remaining one I despise...!

It's Pitchfork or nothing, but really, I know a guy who has written for the next tier down of these kinds of places, and the almost-zero money is not worth it. The blogs are making a little money, but not the writers.

[Clodfobble]

Well then your only choice is to keep posting them here, and draw new dwellars who may eventually hit the tip jar...

[Undertoad]

You are correct, that was a successful model for a while when I was putting serious time into writing IotD.

[Flint]

Undertony, I'm dying to hear your write-up on this track:



I have a definite, very strong impression of this song (which can be summarized in ten words or less). I'm curious to know how you hear it.

[Undertoad]

I will, but first, I actually came here to talk about...



One of the finest old saws from one of the best bands not to be in the Not Rock and Roll Not Hall of Fame.

Some songwriters use a trick of suddenly changing keys, one note up, near the end of the song. It feels like switching to a new top gear. For example, "Morning Train", below. Jump to about 2:35 of the song, and wait until at 2:47, the song goes a full step up in key. And, if you wait through the chorus again, the song goes right up another full step.



This is so hack. This is overdone. If you look around you will notice many more songs that use this trick. In "Morning Train", it's like moving to top gear in a Ford Fiesta. You didn't like the song to begin with, and now there will more of it in new higher keys.

You want another song that does it at 2:47? Here's a guy who uses this trick every time, watch for it at 2:47. And then realize how HACK it is.



BUT... "Surrender" does this at the BEGINNING of the song. Nobody does that! There are four bars of Intro and then then song moves up a half-step. The song starts in A# and moves to B.

And then -- in the MIDDLE of the song, after Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus, they reply the Intro in that key of B... and then subtly move one half step up AGAIN, to the key of C, and into the next Verse-Chorus. Outrageous!

By the end of the song, when this trick is usually employed, the band is in top gear because they're shouting and rollicking, not because they've jumped keys again. It's not necessary. We're all alright! We're all alright!

Now that you're aware of it, you'll hear it every time.

The other thing about "Surrender" is that there is NO rhyming. At all. On purpose. Did you ever notice? Now you will.

[jimhelm]

interesting. there ARE actually rhymes interspersed, just not at the end of lines like a typical song. ( Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright) ( Mother told me, yes she told me.../ She also told me......)


and they use the intonation to create a pseudo rhyme instead. like.... they stretch that last word in the sentence and raise the pitch....which creates ..not a rhyme, but a device that ties the two sentences together just as a rhyme would.