A high school friend chastised me on facebook about neglecting my country roots, and I can't have myself being chastised on facebook, so here we go with a Garth Brooks song. Realized that country is the popular genre in which my ears most instinctively know what to expect, and yet I've never really played it (another thing I avoided for far too long because the jazzheads thought it was uncool).
I was gonna do some other song today, can't remember what, but realized I needed something fun, that would make me smile, and dance around my living room in a way that no one, but no one, will ever get to see. Who cares if it's either an "up yours, ex-o'-mine" or a "yeah, I'm an alcoholic, so what" song. This is country. If the dog and the pick-up survive the song, you're in good shape. So much the better if you get to stick it to an ex and then go drinking cheap beer with your ghetto buddies (gimme a break, I live in the city now - our low places are called the ghetto).
Geekery:
Chord changes and melody, especially on the verse, are typical of old jazz standards, meaning they'd kinda work with any feel (hmm, my inner arranger starts to plot). Two verses, no bridge, instrumental repeat of second half of the chorus before the beginning of the second verse. Underlying rhythm on the verses syncopated; on the beat for the choruses. Purposely rough back-up vocals on last choruses - presumably the friends in low places are singing along in the dive bar. The thing that struck me most is that the vocal range of this song is over two octaves, from E2 to F#4. Damn! That's huge - most pop songs have a range of about an octave, give or take. And it's active, which is show-people speak for "the lyrics make it possible to create a little scene that's interesting to watch", as opposed to most popular songs, in which the lyrics, even when good, don't go anywhere, and it's all about the voice and the sexiness of the singer and not the story. Conclusion: this would be a kick-ass audition song for a guy auditioning for a countryish musical. You're welcome, actors.
I was gonna do some other song today, can't remember what, but realized I needed something fun, that would make me smile, and dance around my living room in a way that no one, but no one, will ever get to see. Who cares if it's either an "up yours, ex-o'-mine" or a "yeah, I'm an alcoholic, so what" song. This is country. If the dog and the pick-up survive the song, you're in good shape. So much the better if you get to stick it to an ex and then go drinking cheap beer with your ghetto buddies (gimme a break, I live in the city now - our low places are called the ghetto).
Geekery:
Chord changes and melody, especially on the verse, are typical of old jazz standards, meaning they'd kinda work with any feel (hmm, my inner arranger starts to plot). Two verses, no bridge, instrumental repeat of second half of the chorus before the beginning of the second verse. Underlying rhythm on the verses syncopated; on the beat for the choruses. Purposely rough back-up vocals on last choruses - presumably the friends in low places are singing along in the dive bar. The thing that struck me most is that the vocal range of this song is over two octaves, from E2 to F#4. Damn! That's huge - most pop songs have a range of about an octave, give or take. And it's active, which is show-people speak for "the lyrics make it possible to create a little scene that's interesting to watch", as opposed to most popular songs, in which the lyrics, even when good, don't go anywhere, and it's all about the voice and the sexiness of the singer and not the story. Conclusion: this would be a kick-ass audition song for a guy auditioning for a countryish musical. You're welcome, actors.