Movies can be predictable at times. So predictable in fact, that a comprehensive list of traditional occurrences, known as “tropes,” can be easily identified in said movies. Whether it’s a kiss at the end of a romantic movie, campy dialogue, or a cheesy fight scene, these mainstays make movies as lovable–and lame–as they are. The same can be said of music. There are tons of songs that take just don’t want to end, end too quickly, or slow down ever-so-dramatically. Music contains a considerable number of tropes as well, and it’s possible to have heard many of these, perhaps all in a single song.
The Dramatic Slowdown: “Tonto” – Battles (2007)
In 2007, experimental indie-rock band Battles released its first LP, “Mirrored.” A collection of crazy, frenetic, totally random songs with lengths from anywhere between two and seven minutes, or even longer. The band’s second single “Tonto” is the perfect example of a dramatic slowdown. Though the song starts off slow, much like an engine revving up, once the song reaches its end, the lead guitar sample gets significantly slower, and Battles milks the end until nothing is heard except intermittent chimes and a bassline. This goes on for at least three minutes.
The Abrupt End: “Silence” – Portishead (2008)
On Portishead’s most recent album, 2008’s “Third,” Beth Gibbons cries with her voice on an LP about heartbreak, loneliness and insecurity. The album’s opening track, with a foreign language intro, begets an energetic drum sample. Then enters Gibbon’s melancholia. Once she’s done singing, the drums continue. Maybe Portishead didn’t know how to end the song, because just as the song hits five minutes, it cuts off. No fade out. No skit. Over and done. Maybe five minutes was the cut off point?
The “la la la” Chorus: “La La” – Lil’ Wayne (2008)
It could be lazy songwriting. It could be the desire to make everything sound as catchy as possible. There is just something about the “la la la” chorus. Lil’ Wayne is an interesting case here, as he makes the chorus the title of his song. However, there is no “la la la” chorus. The actual chorus is about him “starting off hustling, ending up balling,” but a little girl sings the three syllables throughout the whole song, increasing its infectiousness, and providing a stark contrast between innoncent singing and Lil’ Wayne’s rapping about, well, pretty much everything in the song.
The Spoken Word Intro: “Little Acorns” – The White Stripes (2003)
It started with a tale of a woman watching a squirrel. The spoken word intro can either break or make a song. For those with short attention spans, the spoken word intro is an evil mechanism designed to make listeners press the “skip” button quickly. A good spoken word intro gets the listener ready to hear what’s next. The White Stripes opted for a motivational message, but gave the audience a small taste of what was coming as soon as the old man was finished blabbering. Then came the pounding thrash of guitars, and Jack White’s “take all your problems and rip ’em apart.” Be like the squirrel.
The Saxophone Solo: “Dance, Dance, Dance” – Lykke Li (2008)
Cheesy eighties throwback or a legitimate use of a celebrated woodwind? For Lykke Li, it was the latter. Her debut album “Youth Novels” employed the use of a saxophone on “Dance, Dance, Dance,” adding at least two layers of sensuality to her song, on an album full of sensuality and themes of love and longing. M83 would follow suit in 2011, the year in which many indie bands used saxophones, on “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,” with an epic saxophone solo and the lead single “Midnight City.” Do not underestimate the power of the saxophone. If it worked back then, it can certainly work now.
The Fade into Another Song: “Superfast Jellyfish” into “Empire Ants” – Gorillaz (2010)
It’s sort of like a movie. One scene leads into another scene. Some bands like to think of it that way on albums. Tiny details from a previous song can blend into another one, and make the seamless transition, at that. On 2010’s “Plastic Beach,” Gorillaz enlisted the help of De La Soul and Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys to make “Superfast Jellyfish” awesome. The song ended, and then faded into the slow and gorgeous “Empire Ants,” with help from Little Dragon. Here, the transition worked well. The blending of two extremes made the song into a whole, instead of two separate entities.
The Song that Refuses to End: “Love on Top” – Beyonce (2011)
Every singer has their moment when they want to show off just how good they are. Beyonce has hers on one of her singles from “4,” the love anthem that simply does not want to end. Most people may agree that Beyonce is an amazing vocalist. Here, she does her damndest at letting us know by repeating the chorus over and over again, but in key changes that grow higher and higher in register until she finally decides enough is enough. Did anyone else want to see how high her voice can go?
The Celebrity Cameo: “Wake Up Mr. West” – Kanye West (2005)
Just like in movies, people need cameos. Cameos can get people excited, piss them off, or have them snapping their fingers wondering where they saw ‘that girl’ or ‘that guy’ in. Every now and then, musicians bring actors and actresses into the mix. In 2005, the late comedian Bernie Mac appeared on “Wake Up Mr. West,” the opening track of his sophomore album, “Late Registration.” In only 41 seconds, Bernie Mac delivers a taunting diatribe against West before his voice is meshed over into the second track, “Heard ‘Em Say.” While this song also includes The Fade Into Another Song and The Spoken Word Intro, Mac’s comedic genius and West’s musical prowess stand in a class all their own.
