Pictures of You (from Little Fires Everywhere)

 Pictures of You (from Little Fires Everywhere)


Pictures of You by Lauren Ruth Ward is a song from the sound track of the TV series Little Fires Everywhere.

It is a simple song in 4/4 time at around 65 bpm or Adagio. It consist harmonically of only two chords in the key of G being the Ist and the Vth. Syncopated piano carries the lilting vocals of the song with a minimal amount of strings in the background. The song is divided into sections only by the use of instruments and the loudness of the m middle section. In this way has an AABA structure but is really only an AAA'A structure.

The piece contains piano, drone strings, vocals and backing vocals, a banjo, kick and snare drums, and cymbals. It is a sparse arrangement. Even in the middle section where it thickens considerably with the addition of the bulk of the instruments, it still remains a simple arrangement.

This fits in well with the narrative of the series which is based on the stories two women who both have a female friend. There is a lot of tension in the narrative as the white middle-class Elena (Reece Witherspoon) tries to do right by African American artist Mia (Kerry Washington) who is a bit of a loose cannon. In the end the relationship deteriorates considerably with disastrous results.

Pictures of You carries this tension in its simplicity and the building 'B' section, but also hints at a resolution which is promised but never actually achieved in the series.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Animal Spirits by Vulfpeck

Image
 Animal Spirits by Vulfpeck We were played Animal Spirits in class. This song by Vulfpeck has a steady walking pace tempo with a regular 4/4 beat. It has a happy upbeat feel, with a simple yet elevated vocal melody. It has a simple drum line consisting of a syncopated kick drum, a snare and a high hat . The piano is played by two people giving it a rich harmonic structure. This style of playing is called piano forte. There is also an organ playing along with a funky electric bass guitar, a synth and a xylophone. The main progression is a I III IV V with a bridge of I V I V giving it a AABB structure with a four bar break in the middle. There is another section towards the end of eight bars with a repeated VI II7 VI V progression. So that the over all structure is ABACA'. There are male lead and backing vocals and the song overall has an open, fun texture. 
Read more

Sketch 2

  Jonesie · Sketch 2 Vers19 Sketch 2 is based on a simple I VI II V progression in the A section with a contrasting I i IV VIIb7 progression returning to the home key in the second four bars. I think this is a cool little melody with a lilting feel to it. It has a bit of swing but this could be worked on more. I find the MIDI swing setting very fake and sound not much like a swing feel at all. Anyway, I think this piece has some promise as an idea for a larger musical foray in the future.
Read more

Charlemagne Palestine

Image
  Charlemagne Palestine I Chaim Moshe Tzadik Palestine goes by the stage name of Charlemagne Palestine. He is considered one of the founders of New York minimalism, but prefers that his music is known as maximalist. He also works in the visual arts.  In this performance in Germany, he is surrounded by stuffed soft toys. This is somewhat of a signature of his, as too is the piece he is a, Concert I which also goes by the name of Strumming. The piece consists of intervals played repetitively over and over, broken into movements, key changes, and finally returning to end with the signature motif from which the piece begins. In this sense it has a neo-classical structure though I imagine Charlemagne's work would horrify many classical musicians. The piece has an AA'BCA'' structure. It opens quite slowly before building into a somewhat frenetic 4/4 beat of sixteenth notes played with increasing volume and tension at about 120 bpm or between a Moderato and Allegro pace. There
Read more