the many modes of mark

[South Loop Digital]

hey spuds

has anybody with a music theory background taken a look at the keyboard work
of mark m.? i mean, analytically.

i don't have such a background, but i hear recurring chord constructions and
approaches across the whole of his career and i'd like to learn more about
them.

take booji boy's funeral: has anybody charted that out? what are those
baroque figures? they (or their cousins) show up again in the devo corporate
anthem, snowball, bottle rocket score, gates of steel, and of course others.

in closing, i'd like to add: i just loves me some mark.

[Boom]

On Thu, 12 May 2005 07:23:01 +0000 (UTC), South Loop Digital

Post by South Loop Digital
hey spuds
has anybody with a music theory background taken a look at the keyboard work
of mark m.? i mean, analytically.
i don't have such a background, but i hear recurring chord constructions and
approaches across the whole of his career and i'd like to learn more about
them.

Mark's fairly basic...he sticks with major and minor chords for the
most part, although he does like atonal things like using a minor
third vocal superimposed on a major chord ("Come Back Jonee" is a good
example), and whole tone scales ascending against whole tone major
chords descending ("Blockhead"). But more often than not, he's just
playing regular chords that anyone can play without their brain
hurting. His work on "The Life Aquatic" ST, though, is starting to
branch out a little more and he's turning into a very good classical
composer.

[Dr. Zontar]

Post by Boom
Mark's fairly basic...he sticks with major and minor chords for the
most part,

Nothing wrong with that (IMHO), as long as you do something interesting
with them. And Mark does. I think his greatest talent is in writing
melodies that are consonant but not predictable.

Post by Boom
although he does like atonal things like using a minor
third vocal superimposed on a major chord ("Come Back Jonee" is a good
example),

Does that qualify as atonal?... it's more of a blues thing (it still
relates to the tonal center of the song). But some of his synth work is
definitely atonal.

Post by Boom
and whole tone scales ascending against whole tone major
chords descending ("Blockhead").

Good observation. I've never really examined the structure of that
song, but it's one of my favorites.

Post by Boom
But more often than not, he's just
playing regular chords that anyone can play without their brain
hurting. His work on "The Life Aquatic" ST, though, is starting to
branch out a little more and he's turning into a very good classical
composer.

Agreed.

- Rich

[Boom]

Post by Dr. Zontar

Post by Boom
Mark's fairly basic...he sticks with major and minor chords for the
most part,

Nothing wrong with that (IMHO), as long as you do something interesting
with them. And Mark does. I think his greatest talent is in writing
melodies that are consonant but not predictable.

Agreed.

Post by Dr. Zontar

Post by Boom
although he does like atonal things like using a minor
third vocal superimposed on a major chord ("Come Back Jonee" is a

good

Post by Boom
example),

Does that qualify as atonal?... it's more of a blues thing (it still
relates to the tonal center of the song). But some of his synth work is
definitely atonal.

Any time I hear something that clashes, I consider it atonal. You are
probably closer to the mark, but the F# in the D chord does clash with
the F he sings against it.

Post by Dr. Zontar

Post by Boom
But more often than not, he's just
playing regular chords that anyone can play without their brain
hurting. His work on "The Life Aquatic" ST, though, is starting to
branch out a little more and he's turning into a very good classical
composer.

Agreed.

One thing that's always bugged me about modern classical music is how
non-musical it is. It's like everyone wants to show how clever they
are. Don't know if you ever saw the Italian movie "Farinelli--Il
Castrato," but it's about the world's greatest castrato and his
brother, a composer who loved to write really difficult compositions
for his brother to sing but had no idea how to make music that
communicated with people like his rival Handel. Today's classical
music sounds like everything is written by Farinelli's brother. Mark
may be a little simplistic at times, but he's much more on Handel's
wavelength. You can tell he really wants to communicate with people
and couldn't care less about showing technical prowess. Good for him,
I say!

[Bobbit]

The DEVO Corporate Anthem is a bunch of parallel 5ths, technically it's
'bi-tonal' (in two keys at once).

But don't let the advanced theory fool ya, it was probably very easy to
write. On the moog all you have to do is set oscillator 2 a 5th above
oscillator 1 and start noodling around - instant bi-tonal. (It doesn'T
sound like it was recorded that way though, I'm just talking
composition here.) You can also choose different intervals, or even
triads since the moog has 3 oscillators.

Another example of bit-tonal music is the guitar lead on Jethro Tull's
'Aqualung', that one's parallel major 3rds.

The time signature for the verses of Blockhead is 11/8, the chorus is
in 4/4. It just totally rocks.

[Dr. Zontar]

Post by Bobbit
The DEVO Corporate Anthem is a bunch of parallel 5ths, technically it's
'bi-tonal' (in two keys at once).
But don't let the advanced theory fool ya, it was probably very easy to
write. On the moog all you have to do is set oscillator 2 a 5th above
oscillator 1 and start noodling around - instant bi-tonal. (It doesn'T
sound like it was recorded that way though, I'm just talking
composition here.) You can also choose different intervals, or even
triads since the moog has 3 oscillators.

I have a guitar pedal that does the same thing. I've abandoned a lot of
songs in progress because they sounded too much like Devo Corporate
Anthem (and a lot that sounded too much like The Shaggs, but that's
another story).

Post by Bobbit
The time signature for the verses of Blockhead is 11/8, the chorus is
in 4/4. It just totally rocks.

Ah, that's it. Thanks. It's in 11/8 and based on a whole-tone scale.
Pretty progressive, and yet it DOES rock. Cool.

- Rich

[dave]

Post by Dr. Zontar
(and a lot that sounded too much like The Shaggs, but that's
another story).

You say that like it's a bad thing...

[Dr. Zontar]

If that was my intent, it would be okay, but if I'm TRYING to sound
like Steve Vai... ugh.

- Dr. Zontar (www.freeewebs.com/drzontar)