You're Grass and I'm a Power Mower

[jk]

Here's the latest episode, all the way from Brooklyn:



It's certainly fascinating, that whole-tone progression, which heads off into the stratosphere at one point. The only other song I know of in the BB canon to use the whole-tone scale is "Friends". (Edit: And there's that moment in "Can't Wait Too Long" with the hard-to-hear lyrics. It's on UM Vol. 19.) Of course, there may be others.

The Beatles used it at least a couple of times (in "PS I Love You" and the "Billy Shears" intro to "With A Little Help...") but it's pretty uncommon in pop. 

Thanks be to Joshilyn.

[sockit]

Excellent installment, as always!  I never quite understood what made that modulation part so special until now.  When Joshilyn plays the half-step increments, it sounds right...but utterly predictable.  That's what any other band would have done.  And the result would not have been as exciting, perhaps even boring.  This is yet another example of the painstaking flourishes the Beach Boys put into their arrangements, even in their "relatively unpopular years". 

[jk]

Oct 6, 2021 22:24:54 GMT sockit said:

Excellent installment, as always!  I never quite understood what made that modulation part so special until now.  When Joshilyn plays the half-step increments, it sounds right...but utterly predictable.  That's what any other band would have done.  And the result would not have been as exciting, perhaps even boring.  This is yet another example of the painstaking flourishes the Beach Boys put into their arrangements, even in their "relatively unpopular years". 

Yes indeed. essbo at EH makes an interesting analogy with "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop", a US top thirty hit for Little Anthony and the Imperials in late 1959/early 1960:   




To quote essbo, "'Got to know the woman' isn't too far off from some of the elements contained in 'Shimmy'. That song also has that same, let's say, G major to G11 feel to it. Toward the end the song it starts modulating up by half steps. And at the end Anthony starts to wail in his high voice. I also wonder if the modulations in Got To Know The Woman were there, originally, or if they were added when the song was arranged."

To which I added that even the sung titles of the two songs have the same shape. The Wilson brothers were all in their teens at the time so "Shimmy" could well have been part of their musical landscape.

[jk]

And now JH is back in Michigan -- and it shows in this mini-episode focusing on a single chord in "Deirdre". She is clearly much more relaxed there than in NYC.  

Once again, I'd say the level of technicality is just right. I especially appreciate it when she brings in musicians and artists from outside the immediate BB circle, in this case Marvin Gaye. The bigger picture is important, I feel. (I recall Carol Kaye talking about eleventh chords in Motown music.)

I know it's more a production issue than anything else but I love the little hiccup after the trombone break, with that one bar in 5/4 time.  

At the time of posting, Joshilyn was only two steps away from 600 subscribers to her YouTube channel. Hearty congrats, JH -- and keep up the good work!



Actually I have a soft spot for "Deirdre". Long ago, I modified the lyrics and dedicated it to my pen pal of ten-plus years' standing who passed away last year. She didn't feel up to receiving it at the time, which means she never got to see it. At least she's no longer in pain now...   

[sockit]

I know jk is usually the one to post the links for these, but just now I'm cruising around on YouTube and I've come across another 5 minutes (ok, actually 8 minutes!) of excellent commentary by Joshilyn, currently analyzing "It's About Time".

[jk]

Nov 27, 2021 1:19:56 GMT sockit said:

I know jk is usually the one to post the links for these, but just now I'm cruising around on YouTube and I've come across another 5 minutes (ok, actually 8 minutes!) of excellent commentary by Joshilyn, currently analyzing "It's About Time".

Thanks, sockit . I don't have a monopoly on JH, haha, so it's great to see someone else pitching in first. Only I would have said "analysing".  

Yes, another heart-warming mini-episode. That "uncomfortable" clash between the major chords and the minor bass pattern reminds me of a similar clash in the opening bars of Jan & Dean's "Dead Man's Curve":



Joshilyn's parting remark about next year's full-blown SD(ASN!!) tutorials gives one hope for the future during these doubly dark times. And my spies tell me they will indeed be spectacular!

[Deleted]

When Joshilyn Says that anything worth doing should be done well, it makes me put down whatever I'm doing and try to be better at my own craft. What an inspiring message about striving for excellent And brilliance in the service of teaching others..

[jk]

This thread has served its purpose well over the past two and a quarter years. It has brought together in one place everything Beach Boys-related that Joshilyn has uploaded to her YouTube channel since launching her "Power Mower" project. But the rules of engagement have changed, now that JH posts here herself. So this may well be the last item in this thread. That said, it will continue to alert others to the existence of this forum, linked as it is in my signature at three other places.

Here, for completeness' sake, is the YouTube channel in question:

www.youtube.com/channel/UCMbSQq3vY5JayyOMotj5k0g

[joshilynhoisington]

I just did another little Feel Flows video:

May the powers that be weigh in about whether to just keep going here when I do a video, or whether I should make a new post for every video, or what.

Thanks for watching! This one is about Tears in the Morning.

[B.E.]

Cool! Thanks for teaching me that progression (and pointing out the songwriting device). I've always liked "Tears In The Morning".

[joshilynhoisington]

I actually like the song quite a bit, too, despite my coming across as a little unkind to Bruce.  It's very satisfying!

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[Kapitan]

I enjoyed that one, because your comments about Bruce's work are in that funny territory where it's hard to take away a simple impression: love him or hate him? (Not that I mean you HATE him. I hope you get what I mean.)

Honestly I laughed out loud at "now, that's a Bruce Johnston jam." Jam and Bruce Johnston are a pretty hilarious odd couple.

But really I think you nailed it in those opening comments about the kind of work Bruce released, and walking that line between whether that's a good or a bad thing. Bruce is a pro, but nobody is ever going to accuse him of revolutionizing popular music. Is that a bad thing? It better not be, since almost nobody else achieves it, either! He's good at what he does.

[sockit]

Another excellent installment, joshilynhoisington!  In that short video you raise a very good point about songwriting.  Sometimes it's a good idea to be predictable, as many listeners will find that familiar and relatable.  But that can also be boring, so there are times when you want to blaze a different trail, which gives the song a more original and refreshing sound.  Your demonstration on the structure of Tears in the Morning illustrates this effectively.

Tears in the Morning isn't my favorite Bruce tune, but it's high on my list.  I don't think it deserves some of the bashing it's gotten from some fans over the years, but there is something about the song that, IMO, holds it back a little.  I think it's Bruce's final vocal take.  It sounds to me like he forced the lyrics in places.  I actually prefer the alternate demo which is floating around on YouTube, and to my disappointment was not included on the FF box.

[Kapitan]

Feb 13, 2022 17:03:52 GMT sockit said:

Another excellent installment, joshilynhoisington !  In that short video you raise a very good point about songwriting.  Sometimes it's a good idea to be predictable, as many listeners will find that familiar and relatable.  But that can also be boring, so there are times when you want to blaze a different trail, which gives the song a more original and refreshing sound.  Your demonstration on the structure of Tears in the Morning illustrates this effectively.

To me, this concept is everything in exploring innovative or experimental popular music. It's such a balance, a fine line, and I don't think anyone can accurately predict what works and what doesn't. You are in an environment in which people have expectations and background knowledge: ignore that at your peril. But if all you do is what you're expected to do, if your song ends up I-IV-V7 or I-vi-ii-V7, well, OK...thanks for the 10,001st such song.

It's like the legacy musician's "stick with the formula" versus "go your own way" question, but on a more granular level.

[B.E.]

I've just caught up on your 'Five Minute Feel Flows Feels to Reels' series. I'm thoroughly enjoying it! It's exactly the sort of thing I'm interesting in. And I really appreciate learning more about Dennis' songwriting habits. So, "Slip On Through", "Got To Know The Woman", and "It's About Time" were fantastic. As well-liked and praised as Dennis and Carl (and, really, all Beach Boys not named "Brian") are, nearly all of the musical analysis to-date has been reserved for Brian's songs (and even then, restricted mostly to his 63-66 period). Watching the video of "It's About Time" had me thinking how cool it might have been to just have Dennis pound out that riff and chord progression on a piano with the guys around him singing. I might have actually preferred that! Such a cool riff/progression.

Looking forward to the next episodes!