Best Ever Albums

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

latenighttv — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 07:57:02 GMT

Author: latenighttv

Posted: 11/14/2013 12:57

John Bramwell (I Am Kloot) - a real craftsman when it comes to melody. Maybe Neil Finn as well.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 07:21:05 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/14/2013 12:21

Billy Joel and Coldplay

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

dmercado — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 00:39:58 GMT

Author: dmercado

Posted: 11/14/2013 05:39

Thank you, Defago, for that great music theory summary.

The guys from Vampire Weekend do a very good job at catchy melodies, which is why I use them as first examples when introducing people to more indie music, it's Starbucks-friendly.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

HoldenM — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 17:11:42 GMT

Author: HoldenM

Posted: 11/13/2013 22:11

1. Steven Drozd/Wayne Coyne
2. Ben Gibbard
3. Robin Pecknold
4. Thom Yorke/Jonny Greenwood/Ed O'Brien/Colin Greenwood
5. Stephin Merritt
6. Sufjan Stevens
7. M. Ward
8. Annie Clark
9. Peter Hook
10. Sam Beam

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 15:55:54 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/13/2013 20:55

But seriously, not one mention of Curtis Mayfield? For shame, BEA.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

ShaneSpear — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 15:51:01 GMT

Author: ShaneSpear

Posted: 11/13/2013 20:51

lethalnezzle wrote:

2. TLC

Yet another category that 702 outshines TLC in. 😉

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 15:47:15 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/13/2013 20:47

lethalnezzle wrote:

1. Drake
2. TLC

🤣

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

mnorris75 — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 11:50:06 GMT

Author: mnorris75

Posted: 11/13/2013 16:50

Harmonists?

The Beach Boys
Simon & Garfunkel
Arcade Fire
The Beatles
Destiny's Child

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 10:29:53 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/13/2013 15:29

1. Drake
2. TLC

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Listmeister — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 10:22:08 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 11/13/2013 15:22

sp4cetiger wrote:

I wouldn't mind seeing separate lists on masters of harmony, though I guess a lot of the great harmonies arose spontaneously from various band members. Does anyone know if Brian Wilson/Mike Love prepared each harmony part? I'm pretty sure the Beatles didn't.

Challenge accepted! Where it's known who arranged the harmonies, I've mentioned the person, when it's not, I just have the band name.

1. John Phillips, Mamas and Papas - (I Saw Here Again)
2. Brian Wilson, Beach Boys - Catch A Wave, Sloop John B (he did do most of the musical arrangements)
3. The Beatles - I Feel Fine
4. The Hollies (Graham Nash era) - Carrie Anne
5. Abba - Does Your Mama Know That You're Out?

And this:

Link

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Defago — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 00:56:21 GMT

Author: Defago

Posted: 11/13/2013 05:56

ppnw wrote:

Could someone please discuss what you peeps mean when you're talking melody and harmony? I'm actually not sure what exactly these entail and dictionary definitions are useless here.

Melody is, basically, the part you hum. The lead. Usually single notes in a sequence which capture the attention of the listener, and usually is in the forefront of a song. It's the pitch of the notes. Think the high-pitched guitar in When You Sleep's intro.

Harmony is the context in which the melody plays. The background. The chords, the textures, the atmosphere all make for harmony. Harmony is the part you don't actively listen to, but which colours the overall piece. The same melody can sound sad, happy, angry, etc. just by a slight change of the accompanying chord. The harmony is the combination of pitches to create mood. Think of the huge guitar fuzz behind the high-pitched guitar in When You Sleep's intro.

Rhythm is, well, the rhythm. The beats. The division throughout time of harmony and melody. Usually constricted by the tempo, this tells the melody and harmony WHEN to sound. If you tapped each time a note played, that'd be the rhythm.

And the tempo is the overall "speed" of the rhythm and, therefore, of the harmony and melody. This is the interval at which you tap your feet when listening to a song.

4 basic elements of music.

Some songs focus more on the melody (pop, and most songs with heavy leads or catchy tunes), some focus on harmony (classical music focuses heavily on harmony, but so does ambient, post-rock, and many more "abstract" genres). Some have simple rhythms (rock, pop) and some have awfully complicated rhythm (math rock, some prog). Some have simple, constant tempos and others have variable tempos.

Also, some instruments can only do a melody by themselves (most woodwinds), some instruments can only do rhythm (most percussion has very limited melodic/harmonic capabilities), and I'm pretty sure there are some instruments which can only do chords/harmony (although I can't think of any right now).

All in all, most music relies on all four of the basic elements of music, but there are some exceptions. Also, some people consider "atmosphere" a relatively new element of music, but I can't quote anybody on that one, since I can't remember where I read it. Still, background samples and recording noise don't really fit in any of the categories, so I tend to agree.

This is all based on my very rusty music theory knowledge, so I could be horribly wrong.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 00:06:37 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/13/2013 05:06

Could someone please discuss what you peeps mean when you're talking melody and harmony? I'm actually not sure what exactly these entail and dictionary definitions are useless here.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Mercury — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 23:40:59 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 11/13/2013 04:40

Melody ... Hmm...

For me it's

1. Elliott Smith (example "Between the Bars" or basically everything he's touched)
2. Lennon- McCartney (example "Help" and "Eleanor Rigby")
3. Brian Wilson (example... The fucking entirety of Pet Sounds, early singles )
4. Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend (example "Hannah Hunt")
5. Rivers Cuomo of Weezer (example " Pink Triangle")
6. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab and Postal Service (Example "Tiny Vessels" and "District Sleeps Alone Tonight)
7. Johnny Ramone of The Ramones (Example "Oh Oh I Love Her So" and "Rockaway Beach"
8. Rick Nielson and Robin Zander of Cheap Trick (example "Southern Girls" and "I want you to want me")
9. Paul Simon (example "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" and "Slip Sliding Away")
10. Barney Greenway of Napalm Death (example "Human Garbage")

Those are jut the first that come to mind. I don't know shit about melody necessarily, I just know why artists melodies get stuck in my head and just seem the most perfect the most consistently.

On harmony... I'd go...

1. The Beach Boys - everything
2. The Jayhawks - just really listen to the song "Blue" and you'll understand their greatness.
3. The Band - "Up On cripple Creek" and "The Weight"
4. Grams Parsons (especially his work with Emmylou Harris) - "We'll Sweep Out The Ashes In The morning"
5. The Beatles - you know...

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

meruizh — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 19:58:33 GMT

Author: meruizh

Posted: 11/13/2013 00:58

Josue wrote:

5. Aaron and Bryce Dessener and Scott Devendorf of The National

Praise!

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

ShaneSpear — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 18:21:53 GMT

Author: ShaneSpear

Posted: 11/12/2013 23:21

Pharrell would have to be pretty close to the top of my list, if not number one.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:22:44 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/12/2013 22:22

I wouldn't mind seeing separate lists on masters of harmony, though I guess a lot of the great harmonies arose spontaneously from various band members. Does anyone know if Brian Wilson/Mike Love prepared each harmony part? I'm pretty sure the Beatles didn't.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

mickilennial — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:17:46 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 11/12/2013 22:17

sp4cetiger wrote:

Melody and harmony are quite different, so I'm not sure why people keep bunching them together. I personally love his melodies -- I honestly think that's the only reason music that heavy was able to pass as "pop."

That's a fair point, Cobain did know how to use pop hooks through his noise punk base to get a reaction among his audience.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

meccalecca — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:17:37 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 11/12/2013 22:17

Gowienczyk wrote:

I would never ever ever call Cobain a master of melody or harmony; I love him as a punk musician, but that is something I wouldn't ever even reach for.

I gotta agree with sp4cetiger. Cobain wrote some incredible melodies. That's why Nirvana's hits were so big.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:13:51 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/12/2013 22:13

Gowienczyk wrote:

I would never ever ever call Cobain a master of melody or harmony; I love him as a punk musician, but that is something I wouldn't ever even reach for.

Re: Your favorite tunesmiths

NickVolos — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:11:56 GMT

Author: NickVolos

Posted: 11/12/2013 22:11

Arthur Lee, Roger Waters, Mark Hollis, Brian Wilson, Lennon–McCartney, Bardens-Latimer, David Surkamp, Chilton-Bell