Today any song that becomes popular on the radio is promised to get a bunch of covers made by hundreds of people on YouTube. I didn’t know what song to talk about in this blog so I did some research and discovered that the song “Yesterday” by The Beatles is the most covered in history. In the past oral songs were typically the ones to be covered by different people in attempts to keep it flowing through family trees. Today we can listen to music repeatedly whenever and wherever we want, this has changed the way we listen to music. With this new technology, it’s hard to change a song completely since there are written or recorded versions of the song lyrics, so the game of broken telephone doesn’t become a problem here. “Yesterday” was recorded in 1965, the song is about a man being heartbroken over a breakup with his girlfriend. They keep referring to yesterday as the day that the breakup occurred and how they wished they knew it was coming, cause yesterday they were so in love before they got the news. The way The Beatles recorded the song it’s clear it has a sad tone making it have a slow tempo. The violin and acoustic guitar are heard throughout the whole song and create harmony when the lyrics are sung over them while keeping the tone the same the entire time. When Katy Perry covers this song at a tribute to The Beatles in 2014, she changes the word man to women (time 0:33) so the song can be sung from her perspective. There isn’t a problem with this because it doesn’t change the message or emotions expressed through the lyrics that tell a story about a breakup. There’s a moment when Katy Perry changes the tone of the song when she adds a high note in minute 2:09 which for a moment changes the song’s harmony.

One of the song I choose is “The Wind Rise (起风了).” The two singer that had performed the song is JJ Lin and Zhou Shen. They are awesome singers and put many emotion inside their songs. The lyrics of the song is about the youth relationship and the unknown, in order to prove what we have to and are eager to go out and explore, however much beauty will be hidden with the tempering of the outside world. Its not until the moment when we return to our hometown that we know that all the beauty is still there. And that the decision to leave for the future is still there. And that there is no regrets since I had left for half of my life but I end up coming back in high spirits.

The timbre of this music is very special. It stated off very soft and low, as it go on the stronger it goes. JJ Lin lay special emphasis on “我曾难自拔于世界主之大 I dreamed to enter a fanciful gate then encounter my dear soulmate” This part of the lyric that JJ sang had put a stronger tempo throughout his song. Which on the other hand Zhou Shen had a special emphasis on “也甘愿赴汤蹈火去走它一遍 without any fear of going down in flame now I have taste it all. The difference of the song is the tone and how they are singing it, but other then that, the whole song is almost the same.

The song that I chose is “Passionfruit” by Drake, which was released in his 2017 LP, “More Life”. This song has also been covered by Paramore’s Hayley Williams and both versions are great yet drastically different. The song itself is a very subtle yet chill song that can often be described as R&B. Drake is telling a story about an experience he has had with a long-distance relationship and how he struggles to trust her while in said relationship. He often brings up addiction and cheating in the song and he makes clear how he is unable to maintain trust and faithfulness to the woman and eventually stops the relationship. Now, Hayley Williams, although not having a long distance relationship can relate to the lyrics of the song as during the time she performed this at BBC music, her ex-husbands infidelity lead to their divorce. The story is mellow and melancholy at some moments but is a song that many people can relate to. The differences however come around when it comes to the tempo and timbre of the performances. For example, the tempo of the Paramore performance is a little slower compared to the original Drake song. Another difference would be the timbre of each others voices. Hayley heavily changes her timbre especially in the first 50 seconds of her performance. While Drake seems to be pretty constant throughout the song with little timbre changes. 2 similarities is the use of instruments and the “beat” that is being used is the exact same just at different tempos. Another similarity is the mood of the song as it is a chill yet melancholy song and they both hit the nail perfectly on what they are trying to portray with their respective performances.

We have discussed many songs that were sung and basically redone completely from the original. One we did not mention was “Smells Like Teen Spirit” which was originally written and performed by Nirvana. Tori Amos did a cover of this song and completely changed it up. She turned a rock song with a harsh, deep voice to a pleasing and more quiet voice. The original song is from 1992 while Tori’s is from 2008. She slows the song down immensely and plays the piano in the background while singing it. But in Nirvana’s version, there are the typical instruments of a hard rock band and no piano. Nirvana is an American rock band with the lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain. They were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014 and have won many awards such as the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. Tori Amos is an American singer, song writer and pianist. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range and she has also won many awards. The meaning behind the name of this song is actually because the singer of Nirvana apparently smelling like the deodorant Teen Spirit. The lyrics are meant to convey a mystery about Nirvana. Something similar between the performances are the lyrics stay the same and that is about the only thing that stays the same. There are way more differences including the overall meaning behind the song is changed and Tori has softer verses. The melody is enhanced by her voice. Like I mentioned, the , meaning of the song is changed when Tori delicately plays the piano and sings much more softly because the entire mood of the song changes.

Harry Styles – Falling (Live) 

Link: Harry Styles – Falling (Live From The BRIT Awards, London 2020)

1) Share some background info about the song and each performer

Harry Edward Styles is an English singer, songwriter, and actor who was born on February, 1st, 1994. As a solo candidate on the British competition series, “The X Factor”, he launched his musical career in 2010. During this competition, he was eliminated but called back along with four other boys, who formed One Direction. The group went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time until taking an indefinite break in 2016. When the “band break” occurred, Harry started his solo career, and “Falling” was one of the songs that he came out with as a solo artist. 

The song “Falling” by Harry Styles was featured on his second solo album called “Fine Line” and is one of the great hits on his record.

2) Discuss what story and/or emotions are being communicated by the lyrics

“In an interview with RADIO.COM, Styles explained the truth about Falling, saying it was about a period of time where one starts falling back into a dark place. ‘Falling is about getting right before a place that you recognize as a low for you’, he said. ‘You kind of feel yourself falling back into that down period, I guess, and being sad about what you lost”.

Wright, Minnie. “Harry Styles Reveals Heartbreaking Meaning Behind Falling in Candid Interview.” Express.co.uk, 3 Mar. 2020, www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1250122/Harry-Styles-Falling-lyrics-meaning-interview-2020.

3) Using musical elements vocabulary (form, tempo, timbre, etc.) and time stamps (when something happens in the song)

“Falling” is a very simple song. All it associates itself with is Harry’s voice and a piano. The tempo in this song is also very slow. It takes around two seconds before the pianist hits the other note. Harry’s voice range also does not vary that much. His pitch is either high or low. In his verses, he tends to sing in a low tone, and in the chorus, he sings in his high tone or frame. From the time stamp of 2:43 to 2:54, Harry hits one of his highest vocal ranges and he stresses the last word as well on that high note. You could see the effort that he puts into hitting that note, as you can see the strain in his neck. His veins are very visible. 

Little Mix – Falling (Harry Styles Cover) Live

Link: Little Mix – Falling (Harry Styles cover) in the Live Lounge

1) Share some background info about the song and each performer

Little Mix is a British girl group made up of four women, Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jesy Nelson. Jesy broke away from the group in 2020 and shortly after the release of their sixth album, “Confetti”, the group decided to take a break and follow in their own careers, after the completion of their Confetti tour. The group promises to always come back together at the end of the day, that Little Mix will always be together. The girls have no bad blood with each other, they are sisters who will always be there for each other no matter what circumstance, always and forever. 

2) Discuss what story and/or emotions are being communicated by the lyrics

[Same as previous #2 statement] [This group did a cover to this song.]

3) Using musical elements vocabulary (form, tempo, timbre, etc.) and time stamps (when something happens in the song)

Compared to Harry Styles’s version of “Falling”,  the girls made it their own. Even though the lyrics are the same, the tempo, the pitch, and the way it is sung are polar opposites to each other. The first obvious difference is that the tempo got picked up, it is much faster in the Little Mix version. Instead of just having a piano and voice in their version of the song, they are also accompanied by a guitar. The guitar helps assist and clarify the difference in the tempo. The song structure is another major difference. They did not sing the song in the same melody and rhythm that Harry Styles did. Their vocal range was also aimed more specifically toward the higher ranges as well. From the time stamp of 3:00 to 5:13, a lot of improvisations to the song are occurring. From the way they sang the bridge, “And I get the feeling that you’ll never need me again”, to the added verse to the song, that is not in the original lyrics. (I do not know if they wrote those lyrics or got it from somewhere else.) This verse was sung by two artists in the group. Even though “Falling” was sung very differently from Harry Styles’s version, it was still a brilliant execution by the girls that gave me goosebumps when I first heard their versions. 

Comparing And Contrasting The Two Songs

1) Identify at least two similarities and two differences between the performances

Two similarities between these two performances were the tone in which the song was sung, both songs had a very calming sense to them, and the baseline of the piano remained the same throughout the song in both performances as well. Two differences between these two performances were the tempo, Harry’s version was slower compared to Little Mix’s version, and the way the song was sung as well, the song structure, was different.  

Emotions And Story Of Music

1) Consider how the different musical settings affect the story and/or emotions of the lyrics.

The musical setting of a song can have a major effect on how a song is depicted. For the song, “Falling” by Harry Styles, he made a music video to go along with the song. The video portrays Harry, as a lost man, who seems to be depressed, and nothing in his life is the way he imagined it to be. He is in a room with his piano and an alcoholic drink. As he is singing, the piano is spilling out water and towards the end of the video, the entire room and Harry are under. The water took over. Harry is illustrating this image of drowning, which is very similar to the feeling of falling. That you are drowning there. You can also really see those feelings of hurt and being kind of angry in Harry’s facial expressions as he is singing the song. The video to this song helped convey those emotions of sadness and despair.

The song “Can’t Help Falling In Love” was released in 1961. It is famously known as the song sung by Elvis Presley and is of the R&B/Soul genre. The primary emotions being conveyed in the song are love. In the song Elvis shares how love is dangerous and no matter how experienced one is, it is hard nonetheless. He then goes on to share how despite knowing the danger of “love” he can’t help falling for this girl that caught his eyes. With the lyrics, we can see how his feeling for this girl are genuine and how deeply he has fallen in love. Another performance of the song I found similar yet different was a cover from the artist G-Dragon. The cover from G-Dragon was overall very similar but the portion near the chorus was different. Around 1:29 the song takes a different route from the original and changes the beat and tempo. The tempo increases and the song changes from a calm to an energetic feel. The cover had a very pop feel as opposed to the original song. Elvis Presley’s version was very calming and melodic while the cover was very energetic. Despite the few differences most of the song and lyrics remained the same and overall conveyed the same message. The song still conveyed the same message of love and how deep he is into love. Another similarity is the beat and overall tempo. The beat of the song is very similar to the original song. Some ways the musical setting could have affected the emotions in the song is the style or genre. The original song was sung by an American artist while the second song was done by a Korean singer. The styles or genre that is popular could have been different between the two countries leading to such differences. Artists after all make songs that would be appreciated by their fans and normally their country.