Red Mosquito

Ms Harmless wrote: so, instead of counting "1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 4" through "wanted to get riiiiight", you're counting " 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2" etc.

and this song is very similar, except you get three beats in the second bar of a phrase before it repeats (1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3), in everything *but* the chorus (which is all 4's, giving it a feeling of relative spaciousness, compared to the more claustrophobic, frenzied verses and pre-chorus)

Cool, thanks! I love stuff like this. I know chords and harmony but rhythm is something I struggle to articulate, not having any experience playing percussion. All of this makes perfect sense now that you explain it. I love how Matt as a writer is able to make all this stuff feel so labyrinth-like but still so natural!

I also think he's just playing quicker in the verses (maybe 8th or 16th notes instead of quarters?) that just gives the song an irresistible gallop, where something steadier may have steered it toward the center a bit...

I do wish they'd showcased the Lemolo singer more, turned her up in the mix, gave her some adlibbing opportunities towards the end... I was excited to hear her contribution before the album came out, and then after it did, I had to be reminded where she appeared because her harmony vocal could be anybody's (which is not a comment on her voice)

Kevin Davis wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote: so, instead of counting "1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 4" through "wanted to get riiiiight", you're counting " 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2" etc.

and this song is very similar, except you get three beats in the second bar of a phrase before it repeats (1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3), in everything *but* the chorus (which is all 4's, giving it a feeling of relative spaciousness, compared to the more claustrophobic, frenzied verses and pre-chorus)

Cool, thanks! I love stuff like this. I know chords and harmony but rhythm is something I struggle to articulate, not having any experience playing percussion. All of this makes perfect sense now that you explain it. I love how Matt as a writer is able to make all this stuff feel so labyrinth-like but still so natural!

I also think he's just playing quicker in the verses (maybe 8th or 16th notes instead of quarters?) that just gives the song an irresistible gallop, where something steadier may have steered it toward the center a bit...

I need to listen more carefully to these subtleties, but it's very possible he's playing 8th notes on a closed hi-hat on the verses, and the guitars are mirroring that by mainly chugging palm-muted 8th notes; but when the chorus happens, that all opens up, so Matt is playing more quarter notes on an open hi-hat, and the guitars are playing more open chords; that is likely contributing to the more rushed feeling of the verses; I'm not sure Matt is *actually* changing tempo, only because that would sound pretty unpleasant to the ear

Ms Harmless wrote:I do wish they'd showcased the Lemolo singer more, turned her up in the mix, gave her some adlibbing opportunities towards the end... I was excited to hear her contribution before the album came out, and then after it did, I had to be reminded where she appeared because her harmony vocal could be anybody's (which is not a comment on her voice)

Yea, feels like a missed opportunity. She should've had some lyrics to sing.

Leatherhead wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:I do wish they'd showcased the Lemolo singer more, turned her up in the mix, gave her some adlibbing opportunities towards the end... I was excited to hear her contribution before the album came out, and then after it did, I had to be reminded where she appeared because her harmony vocal could be anybody's (which is not a comment on her voice)

Yea, feels like a missed opportunity. She should've had some lyrics to sing.

100%

I don't know her as a singer, but I love how she is used in the song. Not sure I needed a distinct vocal part from her

the lyric booklet should say "...that separate me from you", not "separates" :/

Kevin Davis wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote: so, instead of counting "1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 4" through "wanted to get riiiiight", you're counting " 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2" etc.

and this song is very similar, except you get three beats in the second bar of a phrase before it repeats (1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3), in everything *but* the chorus (which is all 4's, giving it a feeling of relative spaciousness, compared to the more claustrophobic, frenzied verses and pre-chorus)

Cool, thanks! I love stuff like this. I know chords and harmony but rhythm is something I struggle to articulate, not having any experience playing percussion. All of this makes perfect sense now that you explain it. I love how Matt as a writer is able to make all this stuff feel so labyrinth-like but still so natural!

I also think he's just playing quicker in the verses (maybe 8th or 16th notes instead of quarters?) that just gives the song an irresistible gallop, where something steadier may have steered it toward the center a bit...

Me too! Love getting an insight into the technical stuff. Thanks!

Juvenal wrote:

Kevin Davis wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote: so, instead of counting "1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 4" through "wanted to get riiiiight", you're counting " 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2" etc.

and this song is very similar, except you get three beats in the second bar of a phrase before it repeats (1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3), in everything *but* the chorus (which is all 4's, giving it a feeling of relative spaciousness, compared to the more claustrophobic, frenzied verses and pre-chorus)

Cool, thanks! I love stuff like this. I know chords and harmony but rhythm is something I struggle to articulate, not having any experience playing percussion. All of this makes perfect sense now that you explain it. I love how Matt as a writer is able to make all this stuff feel so labyrinth-like but still so natural!

I also think he's just playing quicker in the verses (maybe 8th or 16th notes instead of quarters?) that just gives the song an irresistible gallop, where something steadier may have steered it toward the center a bit...

Me too! Love getting an insight into the technical stuff. Thanks!

you're very welcome

I'm actually not great at naming time signatures short-hand, I'm better at breaking them down into beats, but I think this is 7 / 4? can someone verify?

Ms Harmless wrote:I'm actually not great at naming time signatures short-hand, I'm better at breaking them down into beats, but I think this is 7 / 4? can someone verify?

Dont worry, theplatypus will come in here shortly and tell you how wrong you are

Remember the drums on backspacer analysis Harmless did. Not sure it was ever finished but I enjoyed the read

Yeah I think it's 7/4 in the verses, 4/4 in the choruses and middle 8, and then 6/4 in the "what's yours is mine" coda

The solo is such a tribute to Mr Kim Thayil.

Its awesome.

I still really love this song. But as Buckle Up, Never Destination, and River Cross have risen in my estimation a bit, this one seems to have cooled for me a tad. Again, still loving it. But it's the song here that's lost the most luster for me since first listen. It's the first one to sort of settle. Interesting...

tragabigzanda wrote:

theplatypus wrote:Yeah I think it's 7/4 in the verses, 4/4 in the choruses and middle 8, and then 6/4 in the "what's yours is mine" coda

This is a semantic discussion, but I'd argue the verses are in 7/8. That's because the pre-chorus ("I'll break through these feelings") is also seven beats, but the last bar before the chorus adds an extra beat. To score that single measure as a single bar of 8/4 would be so weird on paper (or in ProTools), but calling the whole verse/pre-chorus section 7/8 and then adding an extra beat on at the end of that last pre-chorus would jive much better on a score sheet or DAW screen.

Thanks for saving me writing out this post.

theplatypus wrote:Yeah I think it's 7/4 in the verses, 4/4 in the choruses and middle 8, and then 6/4 in the "what's yours is mine" coda

yep I think so; so that would make "Get Right"s chorus 6/4 as well

tragabigzanda wrote:

theplatypus wrote:Yeah I think it's 7/4 in the verses, 4/4 in the choruses and middle 8, and then 6/4 in the "what's yours is mine" coda

This is a semantic discussion, but I'd argue the verses are in 7/8. That's because the pre-chorus ("I'll break through these feelings") is also seven beats, but the last bar before the chorus adds an extra beat. To score that single measure as a single bar of 8/4 would be so weird on paper (or in ProTools), but calling the whole verse/pre-chorus section 7/8 and then adding an extra beat on at the end of that last pre-chorus would jive much better on a score sheet or DAW screen.

hmmm interesting, I get confused about when to notate signatures in 8s, and when to use 4s

I won't be relistening to this much - it's a little flat and dull. The lyrics are uninspired and it feels like they were in a rush to produce another loud track for album balance purposes.