cdza have a hypothesis: key changes increase the epicness of a song.
They have evidence*.
*I will grant you that this is more of a demonstration to illustrate a point. At best, it is, in isolation, anecdotal. But, it is fun, and unlike unproven, quack cures for cancer, this has almost no side effects.
Milton Mermikides, guitar virtuoso and music theorist, spent 4 months living at Charing Cross Hospital being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This rendition of “Always Look on The Bright Side of Life” (words and music by Eric Idle) was one of many thank yous to the medical staff that helped save his life.
Editor’s Note: On Twitter today, there is a hashtag #twopaired making the rounds. Folks are posting favorite duets. That is not enough for us. This post has a duet of duets, featuring duo Tegan & Sara and duo The White Stripes both taking a run at Walking with a Ghost. Originally posted 22 October 2012.
Last week, I got on the topic of replication studies. Dan Mangan’s new EP got me thinking about how our human desire to be pleasantly surprised is one way of thinking about why readers, reviewers and editors often prioritize novel findings over careful verification. This week, I’m pleased to present what I think is my favourite musical example of a replication study. Continue reading “Walking with a Ghost: A Musical Replication Study [Repost]”
Today’s song is a soft and hazy vignette from Irish singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan (seen here with her harmonium). Venn Diagram places us in the apartment of a women letting her lover sleep as she awakes and quietly starts the day. The lyrics are careful and evocative, making the song feel like the start of a literary short story. Continue reading “Lisa Hannigan’s Venn Diagram”
This week, I’ve strayed a little from the usual rock leanings that we have here at Song of Week. I’ve highlighted some great folk music in the past but have never quite made it into country territory. Corb Lund‘s Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier, the title track from his 2007 album, is completely worth the detour. I really don’t care how anyone wants to classify this song, it’s an intense, lyrically dense and literate piece of song craft. As reviewers have noted about his music generally, you start out thinking you might not like it, maybe it’s too country, but before you know it you’re totally absorbed and leaning in to try to make out every word. In this one in particular, the Alberta roots music legend takes us on an emotional and powerful tour of armed human conflict through the eyes of the horses that almost always accompany them and often fall victim to them. It’s a powerful history lesson on the culture of war, though hardly a person is mentioned. Continue reading “Horse Soldiers, Corb Lund, and science dogs”
The Finch and Pea 