Greetings listeners!
This week will be great. In fact, it’s maybe my favorite theme of all. The theme even has the word “theme” in it, like some kind of hideously edited self-referential loop. Which is something I’m often called by those I’m arguing with, so this really couldn’t be more perfect.
And so I give you, part one of a two-part series where we explore VARIATION ON A THEME. Historically, classical musicians have often used simply melodies, or motifs, that they then build on over and over in within a piece as it grows. Then there was Wagner, whose operas are considered to contain some of the best uses of leitmotifs, or repeated melodies specific to certain events/people/objects which return whenever those things appear in a scene. But what about those of us who don’t enjoy the opera, and instead enjoy, say, Battlestar Galactica reruns over burritos? No problem, because variation on a theme is everywhere, including the Cylon army! (this is my new marketing technique – throw in nerdy spoilers that appeal to approximately 2 people you know, and alienate the remaining, um, 7 people you know)
And sure, there are plenty of pop songs that repeat a chorus, a verse, an alarmingly sensual soaring sax solo. Sure. But this week, we’re most interested in those songs that really take a melody and just keep building on it. Maybe more instruments are added, maybe the melody gets warped a bit, maybe another melody gets thrown in only to come back to the original one now more explosive than ever. Maybe a bridge is thrown in, and also a chorus, and also a ver–DAMMIT no! This is different than the general pop song, I swear. Here’s a sad little number that’s a nice example of modern theme variation/building. Bonus points to anyone who suggests a track that doesn’t leave us suicidal.
Comments/ideas/soaring sax solos welcome, as always. See you Wednesday, and thanks for tuning in!
Modern Donkey 