Tuesday Tunes

In the last ten years I’ve moved almost as many times. I hate moving house, but mostly have fond memories of particular flats and flatmates. There was one flat almost in the centre of the city, and during my time there, a fantastic new online music service emerged: Grooveshark. I would discover a lot of music through Grooveshark, as their selection of ‘similar artists’ below the current playlist always highlighted some new discoveries. Today’s entry is one such discovery …

The Song(s)
Song: Play, My Darling Play
Artist: Katzenjammer
Album: Le Pop - 2008 - Propeller Recordings
Method of discovery: Grooveshark

Theory: This is a very bubbly song, and that’s backed up by the fact there are no minor chords. Every chord is a major, and lends itself to an overall happier sound. The verses centre around toggling a sustain on the I chord. The Prechorus is generally one line, but doubles for the final prechorus, and is always IV-II. The Chorus itself runs through V-IV-I three times, heading back to V the fourth time to create some movement back into the verses and the solo.

Research: Katzenjammer is a german term which translates literally as the ‘lament of a cat’, but is commonly translated as ‘Hangover’. The Band met in school in Oslo, Norway, and eventually combined a list of fifteen instruments between them to create the hectic sound Katzenjammer. Originally four members, Marianne Sveen departed the band in 2016 and went on to make music as Dandylion. In school they felt like the outcasts, but together they meld the disparate sounds and instruments of a multitude of styles, resulting in something that sounds familiar, but not quite the same.

Personal thoughts: My friend says his favourtie Katzenjammer song is A Bar in Amsterdam, and that’s an awesome song too, but completely different to this one. But it’s kind of the point of their genre-fluid sound; Their songs appeal to many sensibilities. I can imagine someone who enjoys cabaret style msuic next to a more classic rocker, and both of them enjoying a Katzenjammer show. Grooveshark eventually shut down because it was an aggregate website that hadn’t properly set up royalties for the artists it played, as far as I can recall. Whatever way you get music, at least it’s still around, and still surprising to the ear.

Give it a go: If you like chocolate in your peanut butter

Give it a miss: If you don’t like peanut butter in your chocolate

[links]
Spotify: Tuesday Tunes, Play my Darling, Play by Katzenjammer
Katzenjammer: Website, Wikipedia