While Daniel's guitar gently weeps...

Greetings to one and all! A Reader recently asked me about the idea of "chromaticism" in music, and was wondering if this relates to synesthesia, for example in statements such as: “the bass in 'Evil' is very red” or “the rhythm of 'C'mere' is kind of orange and bright.” Dear Reader also mentioned a quote from URB magazine's OLTA review:

“Daniel Kessler's precision guitar weeps become borderline synesthetic.”

- Chromaticism is a music theoretical term with a centuries-long history, but the way it’s used today is fairly straight-forward: chromatic notes are those that lie outside of the diatonic scale being used in the piece. There is also something called the chromatic scale, which contains all of the notes (12 of them) that we here in the Western world traditionally use. So, chromatic notes add “color” to the 7 note diatonic scale.

- Though a direct connection between chromatic notes and synesthesia has not been made (to my knowledge), it would make sense to me that music that ventures here-and-there outside of its standard scale (a.k.a. diatonic) would sound more affective and therefore be more prone to produce vivid visualization (thus, synesthesia, or, sensation modality transfer).

- I relate this to another quote, made by Daniel Kessler, also sent to me by Dear Reader:

I've been learning to play [the piano] for some time already. It's going pretty good, although I’ve neglected practice recently because of all the travelling. Still, it's one of the most pleasant things that are waiting for me after I get back to NY. When playing a guitar, it's all about conveying what and how I feel, my sensibility. The theoretical knowledge seems to have less significant meaning. To play a piano, you've got to have a good technique. Maybe someday I'll learn to compose with it. I'm taking my time.

- Kessler makes it clear that for him, guitar = sensibility (expression), and piano = theory (technique). It is easier for him, when playing the guitar, to go outside the boundaries of standard chords and scales and create “guitar weepings” that are “borderline synesthetic,” while the piano requires him to be conscious of standard chords and scales.

- This makes sense to me, because on a keyboard you have the chromatic scale lined up key after key, and it’s very obvious where the pattern recycles---the piano, being a later invention than the guitar, is pretty much ready-made for diatonicism (i.e., the standard chords/scales) in its clear presentation of all the available notes. However, on a guitar, the pattern repetitions aren’t as clear, as you have strings that are laid out at not entirely consistent intervals (E up a 4th to A up a 4th to D up a 4th to G up a 3rd to B up a 4th to E) as well as all the notes that are contained on each string.

- Well, I know this was a bit theory-heavy, but I hope it made sense! Thanks for the question, Dear Reader. Next up, another selection from the “favorite seconds” thread. And remember, I’m always eager to get your questions/comments!

Much love,
Meg

P.S. Anyone out there experiencing synesthesia while listening to Interpol’s music? If so, let us know!

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Sam on the sweetness of simplicity in Ireland's Hotpress magazine

Taken from a recent interview with Ireland’s Hotpress magazine (June 08 issue):

Speaking of payback, Our Love to Admire reached number one in two countries, Ireland and Mexico, both pagan cultures with a thin film of Catholicism grafted on top. What’s the Interpol connection?

“Well, I think…it’s kinda funny, that’s a little ironic considering that from certain perspectives, other countries overly intellectualise Interpol, and here you have ‘the simple people’ saying, ‘Well fuck that, this is reaching the heart, and we just accept it, without over-analysis, we’ll just physically show you how much we love this fuckin’ record.’ That’s what I find amazing and beautiful, so when you have the rest of the EU and parts of America really trying to figure out what this thing is, Mexico and Ireland are showing us what it is. I identify with that: ‘Let’s put the words away man, let’s just show each other what this is about.’
“You don’t have to go look for the definitive in music, you can feel it and relate it to your situation. Even if you don’t know what somebody is saying, the way they’re saying it will make you feel something that has nothing to do with the content. That’s a powerful song. And nine times out of ten what the singer is conveying is something deeply personal anyway, and you can just toss meaning aside and get to the raw emotion of it. That’s something beautiful. And Ireland and Mexico will forever be Interpol’s favourite places to go because of that simple experience; that simple exchange is more powerful than anything you can put into words. We go and play our songs and the audience responds. And massively so. What more could you want?” (Peter Murphy)

- I completely relate to what Sam is saying in this interview. What we feel, how we respond when we experience music (especially music like Interpol’s) is so amazingly beyond articulation, “what more could you want?” There is something of purity in the physical that can be lost when our analytical faculties are put into use. We run the risk of forgetting what it’s all about and of missing the subtle yet strong “raw emotion” by searching for meaning.

- Like an astronomer looking at the night sky, though, I feel a strong urge to call forth what little perspicacity I have and to examine the music that inspires so much pure physical response in me. My attempt at reconciliation to myself of this seeming paradox---that is, inarticulate feelings and responses being translated through theoretical terms---is that I try at all costs to use moments in the music that have affected me deeply as my analytical ‘springboard’. In all honesty, my desire to consistently tie my analyses to my physical and emotional responses has led to my loss of some street cred with more “serious” music theorists.

- My deepest hope is that, like with astronomy, if my readers learn about the intense magnetic activity of a sunspot, that this information will not detract from or be untrue to the staggering beauty of the sun. Similarly, I hope that by interpreting a key change as a song’s abrupt shift into a different musical realm does not detract from the amazing physical and pre-intellectual response we get by simply listening to it.

- The kind of response to music that Sam is describing above is so incredibly important to me, and has literally shaped the course of my life. My desire to articulate, at least partially, this response is simply an outpouring of my passion for the power of music in my life.

Well, thought this quote from Sam was interesting, so I wanted to respond---but next up will be synesthesia and chromaticism!

Until then,
Much love from,
Meg

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'The New': Drama and Modulation

As per my last post, a further look into “The New”:

- Something I find very dramatic about “The New” is the shift (also called a modulation) from C major to B minor about halfway through the song. At 2:22, we hear the synth repeating the notes B to C, but with F-natural being played in the bass we know we’re still in C major. At 2:56 the synth just stays on the note B, and the prevailing overall harmony is a B diminished chord (comprised of the notes B-D-F), which is the chord built on the leading tone of C major. Minute 3:14 brings us finally to B minor, as the guitar moves back and forth between the notes B and A-sharp—the latter note being the leading tone of B minor—while we also hear F-sharp in the bass, confirming B minor as the key.

- Typically, major keys are associated with happiness, minor keys are associated with sadness, and diminished chords are considered ominous. If we accept these scale-structure = emotional response associations (which is a nature vs. nurture hot-topic among some), then we could hear the lyrics of the first half of the song, i.e., the verse, pre-chorus and chorus, as corresponding to C major, in that the words progress from hopeful (“life will be better”), to somewhat fettered (“I need to defend”) as we approach the ominous B-diminished chord at 2:56.

- Once the instruments (in an almost agonizing way—Daniel’s bend a half-step down from B to A-sharp conveys pain to me) have established B minor, the voice reenters the song at 3:45. Paul’s voice is higher, almost strained-sounding, and also sounds farther away than in the first half of the song. He’s shifted from his “mind” to the more physical, and the minor key suggests that the seed of doubt and sadness planted in the lyrics sung before the shift from C major to B minor is flowering here.

- Well, not as in-depth as I would like to go—that’s what my future Interpol book is for, right??—but enough for now. Next up, a look at chromaticism and synesthesia in relation to Interpol’s music.


Until then,
Much love from,
Meg


“The New” (lyrics from interpolnyc.com):

I wish I could live free
I hope it’s not beyond me
Settling down it takes time
One day we’ll live together
And life will be better
I have it here yeah in my mind
Baby, you know someday you’ll slow

Baby, my heart’s been breaking

I gave a lot to you
I take a lot from you too
You slave a lot from me
Guess you could say
I gave you my edge

I can’t pretend
I need to defend
Some part of me from you
I know I’ve spent some time a-lying
I can’t pretend
I need to defend
Some part of me from you
I know I’ve spent some time a-lying

You’re looking alright tonight
I think we should go
You’re looking alright tonight
I think we should go


“The New”:
0:00 guitar scrapes, 0:06 bass intro
0:40 verse (“I wish…”)
1:14 pre-chorus (“I gave a lot…”)
1:48 chorus (“I can’t pretend…”)
2:22 interlude
2:56 transition
3:14 guitar solo
3:45 secondary chorus (“You’re looking…”)
4:03 bass/guitar solo
4:20 coda
4:53 bass/guitar solo
5:11 more coda
5:43 outro

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'The New' as work-in-progress

“Could you analyze The New? Their Peel Session is terrific.”
- ant from Spain (see comment on May 8 blog entry)

“I'm with you 100%. Interpol does some excellent extended guitar outros. Can we add New to the list?”
-Mark (comment on April 21 entry)

- Thanks for the suggestion, ant. I had actually never heard Interpol’s 2001 Peel session before, and listening to this recording of “The New” really opened my ears to the song, particularly because of the differences between this version and the TOTBL version. My comparison of the two versions is at the bottom of this post. As can be seen, the majority of the big differences between the versions involve the vocals.

- In the Peel version of “The New,” Banks does a fair amount of “vocalizing,” while in the studio version these vocalizations are completely absent, replaced by new, additional lyrics. Also, there are some lyrics during what I call the “interlude” in the Peel version that I can’t make out (if any of you can, post them here please!), and that are absent in the studio version.

- In general, I hear the Peel version of “The New” as less precise than the studio version. I don’t use “less precise” pejoratively---I am not against “imprecise” music. But it is interesting to hear how Banks, for example, replaces a more free vocalizing (often singing along with the guitar line) with either lyrics or silence in the studio version. In addition, some of the guitar work (e.g. at the moment that I label “transition”) is more precise in the studio version than in the Peel version, though this could simply be attributed to the live vs. studio recording factor.

- By comparing these two versions of “The New,” I get the sense that Interpol in their early days may have toyed with looser musical forms and more improvisatory melodic/harmonic moments in their songs, but eventually turned to the more precise and exact route of songwriting by the time of the recording of TOTBL. By taking this route they make the statement that their songs are finished and complete once they are recorded, unlike in an improvisatory situation where the song can be different every time depending on what the performers come up with during the improvisation.

- I’m itching to do a more thorough analysis of this song, including more on the harmonies, melodies, etc. and how they work together with the lyrics. This kind of analysis takes a considerable amount of work, but I hope I can find the time to do it soon!

Until next time,
Much Love from,
Meg


“The New” Peel session version (2001):
0:00 bass intro, 0:16 guitar scrapes
0:34 verse
1:08 pre-chorus, vocalizing in the background
1:42 chorus
2:15 interlude, unintelligible lyrics in the background
2:50 transition
3:08 guitar solo, vocalizing in the background
3:40 secondary chorus, vocalizing in the background
3:56 bass/guitar solo
4:13 coda
4:46 bass/guitar solo
5:03 more coda
5:35 outro

“The New” TOTBL version (2002):
0:00 guitar scrapes, 0:06 bass intro
0:40 verse
1:14 pre-chorus, lyrics
1:48 chorus
2:22 interlude (no vocals)
2:56 transition
3:14 guitar solo (no vocals)
3:45 secondary chorus, lyrics
4:03 bass/guitar solo
4:20 coda
4:53 bass/guitar solo
5:11 more coda
5:43 outro

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Spotlight: Daniel's technique

“Something I'd noted after finding out that Daniel composes his motifs on a classical acoustic was that he lets single notes 'breathe' on their own in a way that I've never noticed in other modern/pop songs. It's obvious to me that he hears potential in the audio dynamic of plucking the acoustic and seeks to replicate that with such a clean electric sound - but what can you tell me about his penchant for this technique? Single sustained notes seem to be used for such specific effect and form in classical compositions - are there any similarities in Daniel's approach? Might he also be picking up on methods he hears in scores and compositions?”

- I’ve often wondered why Kessler writes such tricky guitar lines, ones that he often has to repeat perfectly and exactly over and over! The delicacy of such a performance situation is certainly reminiscent of classical guitar performance. Unlike at most rock concerts where the guitars are either soloing (in which situation there aren’t necessarily any “wrong” notes) or playing rhythm (which presents its own challenges but is nonetheless a little more forgiving), at a classical guitar concert you hear absolutely every slight stroke and motion the guitarist makes, and there are most certainly wrong notes. It is a very delicate performance situation, and any mistake or accidental knocking against the instrument is extremely evident. This type of performance situation is the one that comes to mind when I see Kessler perform his repeating motifs; he is under the aural spotlight during moments like the beginning of “NARC,” “Pioneer to the Falls,” plus a myriad of other examples.

- Another aspect of Kessler’s compositional technique that I find reminiscent of classical (using the term generally) technique is the polyphonic, or linear, quality that is the result of this type of guitar performance. Instead of the guitars presenting chords + occasional soloing (a very common configuration in rock music), Kessler is moving the focus from homophony to polyphony in many of Interpol’s songs by starting and/or ending with, and/or interpolating (no pun intended) these single line solos (the motifs comprised of single notes mentioned above by the reader), and then often layering them with other lines; the beginning of “Obstacle 1” is a good example of this type of layering. Fairly common in electronic music, the focus on polyphony has recently been experiencing a vogue in indie-rock for a while now; indeed it is often what separates indie-rock from mainstream rock, aurally speaking. Most likely, Kessler’s influence originates from his love of dub reggae, an influence he has mentioned in multiple interviews.

- The reader’s link between classical compositions and Kessler’s approach is an astute one. It is quite possible that his exposure to both classical and film music (the latter of which often draws heavily on classical traditions) has inspired Kessler in some ways to access his own capacity for the construction and deployment of motifs. Supporting this theory is Carlos D’s own self-professed classical influence, as strongly evidenced in Interpol’s music through his keyboard contributions. (Carlos may actually be referring to the classical usage when he frequently refers to Kessler’s song concepts as motifs.)

- Thanks for the insightful query, kind reader! Next up: ant from Spain asks for an analysis of “The New,” specifically the Peel Session version.

Until then,
Much love from,
Meg

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"Rest My Chemistry" video

Aaron Koblin and Blip Boutique’s unofficial (but endorsed) video for “Rest My Chemistry”:



The company’s idea behind the video (as taken from Stereogum's article):

The story we wanted to tell came from the idea of body chemistry, as the song addresses sort of what one does to ones body and stepping away from that for a spell. So since we knew we wanted to do something with mapping data, we started thinking about body systems, and how we could expound on the idea of systems from the smallest to the largest scales. Therefore we decided to have the imagery reflect systems of particles within cells to cellular growth and multiplication to overall body systems, to city grids, to global mapping to solar systems, and back down again.

- This song has been a favorite of mine since first listening to Our Love to Admire; I find the rhythms, in particular the heavy tom hits, extremely compelling. Another facet of the song that has always struck me is the upwards moving string-synth line that repeats throughout the Coda, which starts around 3:54. I hear something of ecstasy in this repeating line, and as it follows lyrics about a young “daisy,” I imagine it as the ecstasy that the protagonist experiences when s/he sees that person.

- I was pleasantly surprised to find that watching this video and reading the concept behind it jived with my hearing. The generative theme that motivates the first half of the video (cells dividing, creating larger and larger structures) lines up in my mind with the creative “urge” I link to the upwards string line and the protagonist and “daisy” relationship.

- Another intuitive move I find in the video is the fact that it goes from small to big back to small again, which I link to the fade-in and fade-out of the song, a technique that Interpol do not often use. Also, I’ve often found Kessler’s repeating guitar melodies (such as the one heard in this song) as “cellular”: tight, compact and repeating identically. On a larger scale, my analysis of the song goes like so:

0:00-0:25 fade-in sans drums
0:25-0:54 rhythmic groove enters strongly, abruptly
0:54-1:19 groove continues, solo repeating guitar line enters
1:19-1:38/1:51 verse 1 + chorus
1:52-2:04 groove + repeating guitar line returns
2:04-2:23/2:36 verse 2 + chorus
2:37-2:49 “so young,” groove interrupted
2:49-3:02 upwards guitar line (foreshadowing of Coda)
3:02-3:20/3:34 verse 3 + chorus
3:34-3:54 “so young” extended, taken over by Coda
3:54-5:01 Coda, groove + repeating guitar line + upwards strings + chorus, fade out

- It doesn’t surprise me that Interpol endorsed this video. I certainly see and hear intuitive links between the visual and the audio.

Next up: a question from a fan regarding a link between Kessler’s guitar technique and classical music!

Until then,
Much love from,
Meg

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Peregrinating 'Perverts', Cycling through 'Jail'

This is a continuation of the thread from the Interpol message board entitled "My favourite seconds of a song"

“Anyone who interrupts the end of Public Pervert (-2.35+) or Not Even Jail (-4.35+) is getting f***ed up.” TSD

- I think it’s worth pointing out that both of the sections mentioned are those in which the vocals (except for a brief return in “Public Pervert”) have left the song around ¾ of the way through. In both cases the guitars take over as the main focus, so that we get extended guitar outros over the last quarter of the song. As I’ve discussed in a previous entry, the form of Interpol’s songs often deviate from the standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus (for example) song form.

…the preference of “peregrinated” song forms over cyclical song forms is one of the ways that I hear Interpol’s earlier work as differentiated from Antics, and also one of the ways that I hear OLTA as harkening back to that earlier work. Even in Antics, however, Interpol’s songs stretch the norms of song form.

(from Jan 29, 2008 entry)

I hear these two songs as a combination of the two types of form I mentioned above: cyclical and peregrinated. As you can see in my rough formal divisions below, the songs re-cycle their sections once (cyclical) before proceeding on to the extended outros. The outros also contain formal divisions, but the individual sections do not recycle (peregrinated).

- I can relate to TSD’s sentiment, especially concerning “Public Pervert.” As I’ve mentioned before, my first exposure to Interpol’s music occurred when I was working at Urban Outfitters on 72nd and Broadway here in NYC. The job was exhausting and paid not nearly enough for me to survive on (I’m guessing many of you can relate to this), and added to this was the simple fact that I was not very happy about my life at the time. Urban had Antics in their store-music lineup, and every time they played a song from the album (or sometimes they played whole albums through) life for me got a little better, and I felt oddly empowered in my folding of sweaters (of which I must’ve folded at least two billion in my two months at UO). Something in particular about the sound of the guitars in “Public Pervert” struck me to the core, and though not conscious of the song’s particular formal details at the time, I wonder now if part of the appeal of the song for me was not only the timbre of the guitars, but also the cyclical/peregrinated form combination. Sometimes life is a series of repeated phases, and sometimes we move steadily on down a road without turning back.

My rough formal divisions of:

“Public Pervert”
0:00-00:41 Verse 1
00:42-00:53 interlude 1st part
00:54-1:00 interlude 2nd part
1:01-1:22 Chorus
1:23-1:44 Verse 2
1:45-1:56 interlude 1st part
1:57-2:05 interlude 2nd part
2:06-2:34 Chorus
2:35-2:53 outro 1st part
2:54-3:02 outro 2nd part
3:03-3:11 echo Chorus
3:12-3:50 outro 3rd part
3:51-4:40 outro 4th part

“Not Even Jail”
0:00-0:34 intro
00:34-1:08 Verse 1
1:09-1:16 interlude
1:17-1:47 pre-Chorus
1:48-2:25 Chorus
2:25-2:27 intro
2:48-3:22 Verse 2
3:22-3:29 interlude
3:30-4:00 pre-Chorus
4:01-4:34 Chorus
4:35-4:48 outro 1st part
4:48-5:47 outro 2nd part

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