Tuesday Tunes

I’ve never been much of a dancer. To use a the words of Marie Kondo; ‘it does not spark joy’. I have always been able to move and follow direction, having grown up in theatre circles. But dancing? No thanks. Even an ill-fated attempt at dance classses was, well, ill-fated. Recently a good friend of mine got me on a dance floor. There was a lot of me getting myself tipsy beforehand the greased the wheels of her success. But she got me on the dance floor for a song and a half before my better senses took over and she excused me to go sit down again. She was very encouraging, which was nice. But still, the dance floor is a foriegn country that I don’t enjoy visiting. This song, however, makes me want to dance …

The Song(s)
Song: Beat the Love
Artist: Autoheart
Album: Single - 2014 - O/R Records
Method of discovery: Spotify Discover

Theory: Beat the Love uses the IV chord as a stepping stone, hopping back and forth through I-IV-vi-IV and back again throughout the verses and instrumental sections. This distinct lack of a V chords means the resolution that these chords give aren’t as strong, leading to a feeling of floating along until the chorus hits. When it hits, it progresses twice through I-iii-IV-vi-I-V-vi-IV-I, and when compared to the verses, take us on a completely rounded journey, the second half of the pattern speeding up to thrust us toward the final resolution.

Research: I wasn’t able to pick their origin from their vocal sounud, so it might surprise you too to find that Autoheart are based in London, England. Formerly called ‘The Gadsdens’ after lead singer Jody Gadsden’s last name, they changed in 2011, or in their words ‘evolved’, and thereafter became Autoheart. In 2016 they worked with German-born solo artist Anne Haight on the album ‘I Can Build a Fire’. This is taken from their blog, which is a very interesting read, lined as [website] below.

Personal thoughts: Like I said, this is a song I can dance to. I remember playing this on repeat and zooming through the supermarket on a late night to do my bi-weekly food shop. It’s just so jovial and bubbly, at least until you stop and think about the lyrics. It’s a plea to your significant other when you can’t get onto the same page. It’s a typical breakdown of communication that any relationship suffers if it goes for long enough, what’s more, that breakdown of communication happens in the music as well. The journey the chords takes us on is one of minimal musical resolution i.e. you don’t feel satisfied at the end. It hits a note that begs for another to be played to end the song, so I kept on zooming around the supermarket, hitting repeat, wondering why it felt so good when the words and the title seemed contrary to the music.

Give it a go: If you can live without a strong …

Give it a miss: … resolution.

[links]
Spotify: Tuesday Tunes, Beat the Love by Autoheart
Autoheart: Website (including link to all their social), Wikipedia
Other: Marie Kondo