Song of the Day!
There was a lot of Funk playing in my head today and in the car stereo. Not the George Clinton-type, wild and outrageous in every way. The flavor I lean to is more closely related R&B or Soul; the Curtis Mayfield or Isaac Hayes variety. Maybe that's old school Funk, but I like it for the same reasons I like some pieces more than others: it's unique, but is not trying to be extreme in form or purpose. Maybe that's why I usually don't listen to Hip-Hop or Rap. Though the melodies and rhythms all sound much alike to me thus none should be extreme, most tunes sound as if the artist is trying to shock the listener or like they are trying way too hard to stand out and thus become annoying.
This philosophy is very hard to put into words. It's similar to what keeps a Tall Tale from being an outright lie. Both intentionally deceive in a bid to achieve some sort of gain for at least one of the parties involved. Do you know what the difference is then? Whether one can articulate the nuances that differentiate the two or not, nearly everyone of a mature cognitive level can intuitively understand the difference.
That's how I listen to music. Or to paraphrase a time worn saying, I may not know music, but I listen to what I like.
"Walkie Talkie Man"'s breaks of slow paced choruses alternating with the frantic, dialogue-like body sections almost create a pregnant pause effect. You know, that spot in some tunes where the singer stops and the band either stops or leans on a single instrument bleating out a monochromatic theme for a few bars. Rare Earth's "I Just Wanna Celebrate" is famous for this break at 2:36 to 2:54 mark with the drummer taking over for a fading synthesizer. Truly a marvelous example of changing the pace and creating a song-within-a-song using the same melody. The Who does the same thing in "Won't Get Fooled Again" when a synthesizer solo is topped of by Rock's best primal scream.
Some songs put this pregnant pause at the head of the piece. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" holds off the instruments until a chorus of voices sound for a bit then break momentarily. A better example is "Seven Bridges Road" by The Eagles from the Eagles Live album. You can hear the tension and excitement build then splash when the guitar starts off. And then they mirror this technique at the end of the track.
Well written and executed music will always win out over shock or novelty and becomes classic even as the flavor-of-the-month wears off. Will "Walkie Talkie Man" be in this group? Maybe not, but it still is good and it is the Song of the Day.
