musical observations, weird correlations?

[rapscallion]

I don't know where else to put this, so here goes:

I would love to have some in depth conversations about music. Not necessarily technical, but i would try to keep up if it went there... Anyway, here is the musical spiral my head went on this evening.

Do you ever listen to an SP song, and it somehow reminds you of an unexpected musical cousin? What i mean is, I love @$$hole father... but when i listen to it, i always think of Ben Folds Five's Song for the Dumped. It's the same F you vibe, and the beginning of @$$hole Father is so soft you almost feel like that's where it's going. Then, bam, the anger comes into Shim's voice and the bass and drums come in heavier on that downbeat. Whereas Song for the Dumped is underplayed throughout, no real emotion comes into Ben's voice, it's funny and sarcastic. Maybe it has to be because there is no guitar. (For those who don't know, Ben Folds Five is a misnomer -it's a trio like the Pups, but piano takes the place of guitar.) Piano will always have a cleaner sound then guitar - it's a percussion instrument. Perhaps that precision lends itself to sarcasm. Perhaps a guitar is the instrument of the heart, while piano is an instrument of the head?
(Here's the Ben Folds Five video for reference:
)

[CookieMonster24]

I know exactly what your talking about, it's the same with "Howard's Tale". Start's out kinda low and creepy, then it's all "Hey look what you did to me!!!". I just love the way they write music

[rapscallion]

Howard's Tale is great that way. There is an interview that i am trying to find again where Shim is talking about how that song came to be. If memory serves, Emma had written the bass line and Shim wrote the melody, separately from each other then they discovered that they had these pieces that fit. I wish i remembered the details... or could find the interview.

But anyway, yeah the minimal beginning, the whispering, then the anger ripping through on the chorus. What kills me everytime is the "I won't say, i won't say." They are just amazing song writers. The music tells the story as clearly as the lyrics; not many bands can pull that off.

[CookieMonster24]

But i wonder what they wrote it about. Who's story is it? Is it just a song about someone they made up or is it about someone they know?

[Jessamy]

^^ i've always wondered that

[rapscallion]

I've also wondered if something happened to someone they know, or if it is a work of fiction, but if it is a true story, or even if parts of it are true, my guess is that they would protect that person's identity. I have know people who have been sexually abused, others who have been physically abused, still others raped, and if it inspired me to write a fictionalized version of their story, i would try to keep their identity a secret to protect them.

So, i guess what i'm saying is if it is based on a true story, i doubt that they would admit it, and i really can't blame them. Of course, for me it makes it easier to listen to this song if i say that it is fiction. The song Prison Sex by Tool is a true story, about the abuse that the lead singer endured, and even though it is a really well written song, musically and lyrically, i have a hard time listening to it because i just feel so bad for him that he went through that.

[CookieMonster24]

I thought it was about like a boy being forced to do drugs.

[rapscallion]

i always heard it as the story of a boy being molested...

Someone asked on the "Ask the Band" thread, and Shim answered it a bit vaguely:
Q: What and who is Howard's Tale about? I've been wondering for so long, and I had my opinion on what it meant and so did my best friends mom, and hers made a lot more since then mine!
A: HOWARD'S TALE IS WRITTEN ABOUT THE ISSUE OF CHILD ABUSE AND SOCIETIES INABILITY TO DISCUSS THE PROBLEM THUS PERPETUATING THE PROBLEM.

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1616