Kidding Around
Background: In one of my last blogs, I wrote about songs with a twist at the end. In writing it, I had to distinguish between twists and natural story progressions, and therefore had to cut out a song that I had initially envisioned for that blog. It reappears in this blog about childhood nostalgia, but (spoiler alert!) has somewhat of an unhappy ending. But upon doing further research, nostalgia can be positive or negative, so in this blog, we will look at childhood memories in songs, and how they can either be happy or sad. I encourage you to revisit those memories yourselves, no matter which category they fall into. Those memories can lead to some fabulous songs!
“AM Radio” by Everclear
Lyrically: “AM Radio” is a song about a man thinking back on his childhood and all the great memories he had from listening to AM Radio throughout his formative years. He may have changed, he may have gone through some things, but the one constant was music, all of which he remembers hearing on the AM Radio. If it feels like I’m repeating the phrase AM Radio a lot here, listen to the chorus of the song, and you’ll know why. One of my favorite parts of the song is when he talks about discovering Led Zeppelin, and how he “Wished Jimmy Page would come to Santa Monica to teach (him) to play.” In addition to all of the music he discovered, the song also talks about his carefree youth, including the clothes he wore and the TV shows he watched (being bummed that his parents didn’t want to watch Chico and the Man). On that note, many of the songs on the parent album to “AM Radio” see lead singer Art Alekasis coping with his parents’ divorce – so many of the songs are trying to escape that through music.
Melodically: I could have talked about this in one of my previous blogs, as this song prominently samples the guitar part to “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight (written by Memphis’ own Booker T. Jones). Although I am not always a huge fan of sampling in songs, this one fits the nostalgia perfectly. The song is written in the key of Eb, with the guitar tuned a half step down. The intro uses E, A, B, and A, a I, IV, V, IV pattern, which gets played twice, with an E and A chord getting played in between. The verses use the same progression, but end on a B in the first verse, an E in the second verse (the V and the I). In the third verse, which transitions into the outro, the verse ends with C#m, F#, and A, played twice, before ending on the B (a vi, II, IV, V pattern) , while the chorus uses A, B, A, E, a IV, V, IV, I pattern, which gets played three times before ending on a progression of A, B, A, B (the IV and V chords). The interlude before the outro uses E and Em (The major and minor V), while the outro uses B, A, E, A (the V, IV, I, and IV chords, played twice), followed by B, A, E, A, and B, A, E (the V, IV, and I chords).
Structurally: The song uses a verse, verse, chorus, verse, verse, chorus, verse, outro format. Each chorus has a little bit of riffing in it (like the thing about Chico and the Man), and the outro repeats the phrase “I like pop, I like soul, I like rock, but I never liked disco,” or some iteration of that, as the song fades out. As a whole, the song tells a story not only of musical evolution, but the evolution of a kid forming his own taste in music. The styles may change, but he could always come back to music and it could all be heard on the A.M. Radio. Having examples of that in the verses is great, and if the song were only verses, it wouldn’t have made a whole lot of sense. Tying it back to the central theme of what made all of that possible (the A.M. Radio), gives the song an extra kick.
“AM Radio” is embedded below.
2. “Basement Tapes” by Semisonic
Lyrically: “Basement Tapes” tells the story of the early days of Semisonic as a band, “(Setting) out on highway 35,” (a reference to Interstate 35, which runs through the Twin Cities Metro Area), and sees the band gradually gain steam, even if it’s in their way: “And we were cool, temporarily ‘cause we’re from Minnesota.” Earlier in that verse, he talks about living the “Big Star Dream,” which is no doubt a reference to Memphis band, Big Star, who were famous and talented enough for their own liking, without having to sell out stadiums. The chorus says, “I’ve still got all your basement tapes,” meaning no matter how famous you get, you always remember where you came from. Of course, the original “Basement Tapes,” were written in part by another Minnesota artist, who left the state and completely reinvented himself elsewhere. The basement tapes in question here represent innocence and remembering those days of youth, before you hit it big, by your definition. This song was released as part of Semisonic’s comeback EP, “You’re Not Alone”. After the band went on hiatus, Dan Wilson became one of the most in demand songwriters in Nashville and Los Angeles, and therefore put a Semisonic reunion further and further down the road. Dan said he always likes his music to reflect where he’s currently at in life, mentally and professionally. This began a pattern of him bringing in outside writers (in this case Jenny Owen Youngs and Mike Viola, who co-wrote 2 of the 5 tracks on the EP), merging his new life of co-writing, with his old life of being in the band. In the case of “Basement Tapes,” it worked very well, since it’s all about nostalgia.
Melodically: The uses A and E, played three times in the intro, before the B gets played twice. This is the pattern for the intro and also for the verses. With the song in E major, this is a I, V, II progression. The chorus then uses E, B, F#m, and C#m (a I, V, ii, vi pattern) that is followed by A, E/G#, and B, E, B, F#m, and C#m (a IV, I, V, I, V ii, vi pattern). This gets played through four times. The interlude between the chorus and the second verse uses the E chord (which is later repeated in the outro), while the interlude before the last chorus uses E, B, F#m, and C#m (the I, V, ii, and vi). Instrumentally, the song contains guitar, bass, and drums.
Structurally: The song contains a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus format. In a previous blog, we looked at “All About Chemistry,” the Semisonic song that contained a third verse, as well as a bridge and a solo. In “Basement Tapes,” although it’s similarly nostalgic, there is enough information between the struggle in the first verse and the growth in the second verse to not warrant a third. However, he still remembers where he came from, so that gets reiterated at the end.
“Basement Tapes” is embedded below.
3. “It’s Only Dancing” by Jeremy Messersmith
Lyrically: “It’s Only Dancing” follows two people throughout different stages of their lives. It starts off with him going over to comfort her after some traumatic event, with “teenage tears on the kitchen floor.” To comfort her, he pulls her close and they begin to dance. However, they don’t want her boyfriend or her father finding out, so if they come into her room and find them, their plan is to tell them both, “It’s only dancing.” In the second verse, they’re at prom, and wind up dancing again. However, he insists, “It’s just something all good friends do, it’s not like I’m in love with you, what a crazy idea, where did you get that? It’s only dancing.” However, by the time the third verse rolls around, this refrain is seen to be nothing more than a defense mechanism, and that he truly does have feelings for her. The third verse sees the main character at his friend’s wedding, and at the reception, as she “glides across the ballroom in his arms,” he keeps telling himself, “It’s only dancing,” even though before the final refrain, he says about the reception, “I wanna scream, I wanna burst, I wanna blame the whole damn universe.” I was initially going to include this song in my blog about twist endings, but the more I listen to this song, the more it feels like the only natural progression for the song’s story. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. I had the pleasure of taking a songwriting lesson from Jeremy Messersmith in 2014, and although he has called Minnesota home for a long time, he lived in Charleston. He told me that within that community, dancing was banned, so he took that idea and expanded it to why else dancing might be banned, besides the normal reasons.
Melodically: The song uses an A5, D5 progression, which gets played twice, followed by E5, F#5, D5, E5, F#5, D5, which also gets played twice. With the song written in A major, this is a I, IV, V, IV, V, VI, IV pattern. The “It’s only dancing” refrain uses A, E, and D (the I, V, and IV). The instrumental interlude before verse 3 uses A, Asus2, A, Asus4, and A, followed by D, Dsus2, D, Dsus4, and D (variations of the I and IV chords). This gets played 4 times. During the instrumental interlude, strings come in, along with the percussion. The verses use only guitar.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, refrain, verse, refrain, interlude, verse, refrain structure. In a previous blog, we talked about example songs and story songs, as well as hybrid songs. This one, much like Brad Paisley’s “Welcome to the Future” contained examples of the title, and each title built in intensity. That’s exactly what makes “It’s Only Dancing” work so well too. There are just enough details, but not too much so it feels like a long saga (which has its place as well).
“It’s Only Dancing” is linked below. On a personal note, this is one of the songs I used to listen to on repeat when I was in Spain and feeling a little homesick. I hope that no matter where you’re from, listening to this song gives you a bit of comfort, despite the subject matter.
4. “I Wonder” by Kellie Pickler
Lyrically: “I Wonder” was written by Kellie Picker, along with Chris Lindsey, Aimee Mayo, and Karyn Rochelle about Kellie’s relationship with her mother. As she says in the liner notes, “There isn’t one.” In coming up with “negative nostalgia” songs for this blog, I had one rule: It had to be something specific that was discussed in the lyrics, rather than talking about someone’s current trauma without talking about what caused it. The first verse is rather general, just saying when she looks in the mirror, she sees her mom in her eyes, which is “The only thing you ever gave to me at all.” The second verse gets more specific, saying she didn’t get to braid her hair, cheer her on at sporting events, as well as help her dress for prom and comfort her when she was feeling sad. She wonders two things: What her mother would say to her if she were there, and if her mother even wonders about her at all. In the bridge, she reveals that she can’t forgive her mother for all the hurt she’s caused, and that she’s living out her dreams in Tennessee, where her mother won’t be able to find her. Her mother did end up writing her a letter, shortly after her music career began, but after this song was written. The fact that we don’t know what was in that letter and that we’re left wondering makes the song all the more powerful.
Melodically: The song’s main instrument is piano. Therefore, I’m thinking on piano, but you can of course play them on whatever instrument. The intro uses C#, D#m, C#, and D, which then transitions into the verses. With the song written in C#, this is a I, ii, I, II pattern. The verses start on F#, G, Am, G#, and C#, a IV, V, vi, V pattern, which gets played twice, and is followed by F#, C#, D#m, C#, F#, C#, and G# (a IV, I, ii, I, IV, I, V pattern). The chorus uses C#, D#m, C#, and G#, followed by F#, G#, and C# (a I, ii, I, V, IV, V, I pattern). The last two lines use C#, D#m, C#, and G#, as well as F#, G#, C#, G#, F#, G#, C#, D#, C#, and G# (The I, ii, I, V, IV, V, I, V, IV, V, I, II, I, and V chords). However, in the last chorus, C# D#m C# G# F# G# C# (the I, ii, I, V, IV, V, and I) are played at the end. In the bridge, A#m, F#m, C#, D#m, C#, and G# are played. This is a progression of vi, iv, I, ii, I, and V) In addition to the piano, some light percussion is used, as are electric guitar and strings.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus format. Although this song tells a story, the all verse format, which has been used to tell stories in songs like “Tangled Up in Blue,” would not have been nearly as effective in this song, because a simple refrain would not have had nearly the impact of a booming chorus, like the one you hear in this song. Each verse details more and more hurt that her absent mother caused, and that is contrasted by the line, “I hear the weather’s nice in California.” In other words, I’m sure you’re doing well, but you left me here hurting, and therefore I can’t be happy for you.
I used to have a bad habit of skipping over ballads (including muting Miranda Lambert’s debut performance of “More Like Her” at an awards ceremony), but after I listened to this song while writing this blog, I had to pause and take in what I just heard. It’s so well written.
“I Wonder” is embedded below. Get the tissues ready.
