Blog #1

 Amore Mio Aiutami- Piero Piccioni

This piece is the definition of classical drama. The melody's melodramatic, almost wistful nature leaves the listener in a dream-like trance. It harkens back to the late Baroque and Romantic opera eras in which layered, polyphonic harmonies and expressive melodies are used to transport the listener into the world of the composer. What makes this piece so jarring is the fact that it is not a composition by somebody long ago, but instead was released the year after my dad was born, in 1969. This piece is the main theme of the Italian Commedia dell'arte film Help Me, My Love, written, directed, and starred by the acclaimed Italian actor Alberto Sordi. This film stars the main characters, Giovanni and Raffaella, who are happily married for ten years, but their relationship goes into crisis when Raffaella falls in love with another man, a handsome forty-year-old man she knew during the concerts of chamber music she weekly attends with her mother. I found this piece not by being an avid listener of obscure movie themes, but instead, it was sampled by of all things, a rap song. While it was pitched up in the sample, nevertheless, I found it to be both ear-worm worthy and captivating, and after doing some digging, I found the original piece. The first time I listened to it without any effects added to it, I was blown away by how beautiful the composition was. It always blows me away when I find another song that gives me goosebumps, but the goosebumps I felt when I heard this song easily could top close to every song I've heard. The melody of this particular song definitely has a lower pitch to it as well as being conjunct, which helps to add to the drama of the song. Additionally, the simple quadruple rhythm helps to lull the listener, and create the dream-like trance you hear in the song, Finally, the tempo of this song is what transforms it from being an average song without any distinctive meaning to one with emotion and range.

Lover's Rock- TV Girl

Every listen reveals another layer, some new detail that makes the whole song feel even more complete. "Lover's Rock" by TV Girl, off of their first album French Exit utilizes an altered sample of the song "The Dance Is Over" by the Shirelles. This piece, because of the disparity between the two songs in tempo and pitch, gives the illusion of the pieces being of a different subject when if you listen even remotely to the lyrics and even the tone of voice both artists are using, it becomes evident that the subject matter is not in the least bit cheery.

Lovers Rock is a subgenre of reggae music most popular from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, and as the moniker would suggest, often had more romantic themes as opposed to the more political themes of earlier reggae. The name gained special prominence when the song "Lover's Rock" was included on The Clash's acclaimed 1980 album London Calling. This whole album holds special meaning for me because of the catchiness of the melodies as well as the inclusion of several interesting and obscure vocal samples, most notably on this song, one from "Dangerously Yours," a radio show starring Victor Jory and Gertrude Warner that aired in 1944. 

To quote my parents, whose sentiments I completely agree with, the original "sounds like a movie soundtrack." What makes it sound this way? I think the most obvious answer is the strings of the song as well as the slow tempo combine to create a song with a lot of drama, almost as though every note is keeping you in suspense. However, when TV Girl adds percussion elements (with the tambourine being most notable) it almost adds some urgency and additional texture to the song despite the fact that the beats per minute are actually almost halved from 182 to 105. While the lyrics, vocals, and the original song are of a sadder note, the seemingly uptempo beat that TV Girl has created can often lead the listener to sing happily along.