- Joined
- Dec 17, 2005
- Messages
- 5
Essay time
Ex luge ad passio
Utada Hikaru's new song, Passion, is without a doubt one of the best examples of musical perfection, both in the abstract and in the mundane.
Now, I have little doubt that the song is powerful on a mundane level. All these positive responses are surely a testament to that power. Utada's emotive vocal style and choice of instrumental textures all combine for an eerily haunting sound that hits right at the soul.
But the fact of the matter is, that's only half the story. As a musically-trained individual, I have learned to find good music through harmony, rhythmic placement, and other abstract aspects of music. And listening to Passion, I found nothing short of musical beauty. The chordal and melodic progressions went so nicely together (with liberal use of chord extensions and wide leaps) that I found myself not only harmonizing (tenor) with Hikki, but also playing instrumental solos with/over her (which may be a tad insulting). It's just THAT good. And the backmasking was put at a rather sweet spot that was the icing on the cake. "... uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I"
Now, many of you guys loved Hikari/Simple And Clean, a song that stands great on its mundane aspects, but I didn't like it as much due to the comparatively uninteresting abstract content. Won't have to worry about that with Passion. It just goes to show that Kingdom Hearts - and its target audience - has grown up.
My foray into the abstract aspects of music has, in a way, displaced some of my more mundane performance aspects, as I too often I have concentrated on "what to play/compose" over "how to play it." It's been a constant struggle for me to reconcile the two ends. But Utada Hikaru is able blend the two aspects nigh-seamlessly. And that is what made me develop a fan-crush on Hikki-chan. In fact, I've been inspired to write a tune because of her, to see how I can measure up.
The all-around musical superiority of BOTH versions of Passion gives me much confidence that Shimomura-sama, a master of arrangement herself, will be able to arrange a spectacular orchestration. In fact, I may have a shot at orchestrating it myself...
Postscript - I recognized the Chinese ribbon-dancing the instant I saw the dancers in the vid. Also, I fail to see the point for having that many drummers in every live performance - what we need is a guitarist and keyboardist! Also, if anyone is able to transcribe the chords of the song, I will be eternally grateful.
Google Videos has a mirror.
And Hikaru DOES have an accent - with Japanese, that is. If you ever heard her speak, she does so with a borderline drawl. And I suppose she may be trying to hide a Queens accent in some of her music, most noticeable on "In My Room". But I really don't know what accent she has for English, anyway.
Ex luge ad passio
Utada Hikaru's new song, Passion, is without a doubt one of the best examples of musical perfection, both in the abstract and in the mundane.
Now, I have little doubt that the song is powerful on a mundane level. All these positive responses are surely a testament to that power. Utada's emotive vocal style and choice of instrumental textures all combine for an eerily haunting sound that hits right at the soul.
But the fact of the matter is, that's only half the story. As a musically-trained individual, I have learned to find good music through harmony, rhythmic placement, and other abstract aspects of music. And listening to Passion, I found nothing short of musical beauty. The chordal and melodic progressions went so nicely together (with liberal use of chord extensions and wide leaps) that I found myself not only harmonizing (tenor) with Hikki, but also playing instrumental solos with/over her (which may be a tad insulting). It's just THAT good. And the backmasking was put at a rather sweet spot that was the icing on the cake. "... uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I"
Now, many of you guys loved Hikari/Simple And Clean, a song that stands great on its mundane aspects, but I didn't like it as much due to the comparatively uninteresting abstract content. Won't have to worry about that with Passion. It just goes to show that Kingdom Hearts - and its target audience - has grown up.
My foray into the abstract aspects of music has, in a way, displaced some of my more mundane performance aspects, as I too often I have concentrated on "what to play/compose" over "how to play it." It's been a constant struggle for me to reconcile the two ends. But Utada Hikaru is able blend the two aspects nigh-seamlessly. And that is what made me develop a fan-crush on Hikki-chan. In fact, I've been inspired to write a tune because of her, to see how I can measure up.
The all-around musical superiority of BOTH versions of Passion gives me much confidence that Shimomura-sama, a master of arrangement herself, will be able to arrange a spectacular orchestration. In fact, I may have a shot at orchestrating it myself...
Postscript - I recognized the Chinese ribbon-dancing the instant I saw the dancers in the vid. Also, I fail to see the point for having that many drummers in every live performance - what we need is a guitarist and keyboardist! Also, if anyone is able to transcribe the chords of the song, I will be eternally grateful.
Google Videos has a mirror.
And Hikaru DOES have an accent - with Japanese, that is. If you ever heard her speak, she does so with a borderline drawl. And I suppose she may be trying to hide a Queens accent in some of her music, most noticeable on "In My Room". But I really don't know what accent she has for English, anyway.
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