Owen Pallett has an extensive resume as orchestral arranger and composer, but just in case that weren't enough to prove his musical expertise, the indie violinist has written a new article in which he examines Daft Punk's 2013 hit "Get Lucky."
This follows a similar piece on Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," in which he wrote, "If I were going to talk about 'Get Lucky' I'd probably have to start posting score. That is a complicated song."
Sure enough, this new article for Slate goes fairly in-depth.
Pallett begins by emphasizing the song's repetitive nature, noting that the four-chord progression never alters and that the pre-choruses and choruses all use identical takes of Pharrell Williams' singing and Nile Rodgers' guitar playing.
The piece gets increasingly technical, as Pallett notes that it's difficult to tell whether the song is in the minor mode of A Aeolian or the minor mode of D Dorian. He also transcribes the overlaid melodies of the robots' hook and Pharrell's pre-chorus, observing, "See how elegantly the rhythms counterbalance each other! One is busy and syncopated and repetitious, the other is straight and simple and has a nice long arc to it. And yet they're both such strong hooks on their own! If these four bars appeared on a counterpoint exam, it would get impressive marks."
He wraps up by examining the awkward syntactical placement of the word "good," writing, "It sounds off-balance and playful and sexy, like a foreign exchange student who might be a little drunk."
The full article can be read here. Listen to "Get Lucky" below.
This follows a similar piece on Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," in which he wrote, "If I were going to talk about 'Get Lucky' I'd probably have to start posting score. That is a complicated song."
Sure enough, this new article for Slate goes fairly in-depth.
Pallett begins by emphasizing the song's repetitive nature, noting that the four-chord progression never alters and that the pre-choruses and choruses all use identical takes of Pharrell Williams' singing and Nile Rodgers' guitar playing.
The piece gets increasingly technical, as Pallett notes that it's difficult to tell whether the song is in the minor mode of A Aeolian or the minor mode of D Dorian. He also transcribes the overlaid melodies of the robots' hook and Pharrell's pre-chorus, observing, "See how elegantly the rhythms counterbalance each other! One is busy and syncopated and repetitious, the other is straight and simple and has a nice long arc to it. And yet they're both such strong hooks on their own! If these four bars appeared on a counterpoint exam, it would get impressive marks."
He wraps up by examining the awkward syntactical placement of the word "good," writing, "It sounds off-balance and playful and sexy, like a foreign exchange student who might be a little drunk."
The full article can be read here. Listen to "Get Lucky" below.