*emotional swaying*
Umu: You're now reacting to the solo artist IU and
her cover song called 'By the Stream' released on her Flower Bookmark 2 album
The song was originally released by
Daniel: Jeong Mijo
Umu: in 1972
so first you'll be reacting to the original version of the song.
The lyrics express the fear and desperation one feels when trying to comfort a friend who may be close to suicide
Umu: the song (E: ooF) is composed by a Lee Hee Mok
So this is the original artist first,
James: okay
Brianna: Her voice is perfect
This sounds live like no mixing to her voice is probably made
James: this is
Giving me flamenco vibes.
Brianna: Yeah, James: there's like an Andalusian cadence in there.
Elizabeth: I Like it though.
I like that the vocal line is so mobile and kind of goes everywhere
and I like the guitar too
*singing the chords* five, one
Daniel: Yeah, it's like classic Recitative Aria
Fiona: And now it's like started Daniel: exactly. oh this is amazing
Owen: hm
Elizabeth: yeah, this feels very 70s. Own: Yeah.
I'm relaxing by the pool and there's like light green and light blue colors everywhere
Owen: and floral Elizabeth: oh yeah!
Owen: floral plants....... just
Around it's like
bad carpeting.
Elizabeth: Wait, there's so many instruments in this
there's like brass and now theres saxes
Cloud: Like if we were watching the video, it would be like her in this long evening gown,
Henry: oh yeah, super sultry
her voice her vocal quality's got like
darker formants
Some are bright
More free use of vibrato as a lot of old singers/older songs value
Elizabeth: I like how what like the main motive is like an octave.
That's such a (O: oh yeah) tdramatic interval like going into the chorus.
It's like *sings*
this is very dramatic. *the octave happens in the music* Yeah there you go
Do you hear like the guitar- that's so like Hispanic
James: Harmonic minor
Elizabeth: You got like the tambourine (o: yeah) I feel like I don't hear tambourine a lot in modern
Elizabeth: pop songs owen: it's kind of like
Owen: Motown Elizabeth: yeah
Fionna: I love the bass there
Aaron: man this is groovin'
*bopping to bassline*
James: Beautiful Brianna: it ended on a five I didn't go to one. da da 5.....
1!
Aaron: it kind of like built the illusion for me and I love it when music does this like
it created an atmosphere like
smokey bar room
like a cabaret and the you know
You walk in and there's like a lady singing with a spotlight on her in like some sequin
diamond dress thing and then she starts like
hypnotizing all the men
Cloud: Alright. Yeah, I could see somebody wanting to do a cover of that was pretty nice.
Henry: Yeah for sure
it's that really allows you to show off if you want to vocally just the
First lick.
Cloud: Yeah, and I feel like you could really do a lot with it like you could you know
Just take away the entire tango feel, just do it with like solo guitar
It's not just Iike
Henry: it's a pretty it's a pretty melody. I'm interested to see what IU does with it.
Isaac: That's six minutes? Umu: Yeah
Isaac: wow this- this has to be
Umu: this is like Isaac: it's very elaborate, in some way
Umu: Yeah, dude...
Kevin: or it's just- Umu: it's IU
Umu: okay Kevin:or it's just a world of strings and piano
Umu: yeah, hahahaha Kevin: *victory*
James: I live for music like that
Umu: this is IU and it is rearranged by
for Jung Jae-il piano, cello and voice
James: gotcha
Daniel: Oh, okay
Elizabeth: ooh it modulated to major! Owen: we got a major 3, yeah
James: Hmm *deep contemplation*
that's beautiful
James: oh Huh Brianna: *sings* one
James: There we go, yeah, Brianna: *sings* three
Henry: I like the space that the piano gives
for her to just be able to sing this line
kevin: nice
Aw, It's very classical in the way it's phrased second time it goes into the relative major
Very Rom- like an early Romantic (period) almost
Henry: It's different harmonization,
Cloud: she's like just adding a lot more car- chords. Cards... *smh*
Brianna: Her voice is like super soft
and like not thin but just like super like Air-y like nice and sweet
kevin: NIIIICE!!
WOOOOW
diminished (chord)
all the ways of going into the dominant. Yes
*sad but appreciative bopping*
Fiona: *sings*
Aaron: That was some nice rubato she like went somewhere and then they were like
Aaron: *the smallest whisper* no.
James: the cello is nice too.
Brianna: We love a lament bass
*one*
James: The piano writing is really amazing too
and the player
It takes so many different turns harmonically
Cloud: Oh hello. Henry: ohh Hello there... hello cello
Kevin: We just modulated
But I don't even know where we are
Yeah
We're ahalf-step higher now, but it was a truly classical modulation
Kevin: mm
Owen: that little like b9 on the V (five chord) *sings line*
But still while holding the bass (scale degree) 5 note
like that tension is so satisfying before moving to I (chord)
Elizabeth: See now the piano kind of expands we have like more notes in the piano
so it does feel like the instrumentation is getting bigger, but it's just like
utilizing more
Like, range of the piano at the same time
Henry: nice... Cloud: I really like cello Henry: I'm gonna just enjoy this for a bit
Kevin: Circle of fifths
Wow
this sal- that ending was
sort of ambiguous because it could have totally gone to the major
but it chose to go back into the minor because this song
is depressing
But also was kind of hopeful
the lyrics...
I don't know if it's like, you know
Like I almost wanted to compare it to like a Schubert leid
But I know Schubert cares like there's more text painting in it
And I'm not sure if the melodic contours of this song really like follows the lyrics in a way of a Schubert leid
But I do think it reaches that
Classical heights of being like a sort of like an art song
I usually don't like it when pieces are too slow and mostly in a classical like in a classical setting
I don't like when people play pieces of like slower than what an actual tempo might suggest but this song kept my attention
Throughout and I think the sparseness is a part of it's almost like she's going to a frozen stream
Instead of a sort of a stream during the summer time
Fionna: I wanted that kind of power ballad essence that the original had
The count picked up and was ready to go about halfway through I was ready for something new
(D: Yeah) and it did continue successfully to grow and be even more dramatic
But I kind of already felt the drama from the beginning and was fulfilled in that way
So I was craving something more like.. *snap attack* I will survive!
Daniel: yeah Fionna: I'm a survivor
Cloud: Loved her builds. I loved the cello
I loved the piano is so colorful even though like
when you think about the original and there's definitely way more
Instruments in the original but like oh it is great Henry: Yeah. This is definitely like
I don't wanna say meant
To be heard this way, but I like the flavor more
Cloud: Honestly yeah Henry: I think you can have more
of the harmony stand out this way
Aaron: with IU. I loved the piano build-up like but like a few
measures before before that started
I thought that it just got a little stagnant and could have had more forward motion for me. But that's that
I mean that's just like a personal. Nick: Yeah, it was like a
A variety in like the intensity of this kind of texture instead of a variety in texture itself
I don't know. I liked it. I thought it was
Kind of soul-crushingly sad.
Aaron: I think that there's two ways to like interpret the song as well
Yeah, and I think that they're exploring both those ways
James: I think this one did a better job to me of conveying the message
just because of the way it was arranged
I don't know, the original one, I like the the genre-bending that was happening
And I think that like sort of speaks to the confusion one might have when you're trying
To help someone who's in a very dark place like you yourself might also feel lost and not know what to do
But I think this one reflected that sentiment better, but it just went about it a different way like instead of genre-bending
It was just like harmonic bending twisty Turbie like kind of went in and out of different key areas.
Henry: I really like the-
the different. I don't need to know maybe it was modal mixture or key change but like there's more
Well say is I feel like I got more feelings of major within whereas the original that we heard was
mostly just a minor tonal Center everything sits around it some diatonic chords that are major, but I think we like
Gave the major a bit more love maybe with secondary dominance
which I think helps create that kind of bitter sweetness that (C: yeah) this message is probably going for which uh
Is a lot more relatable
It's a lot more real life than just sad minor
Isaac: the title of it really says what type of piece it is like
You have the slow tempo
And streams in general they don't stop unless you block it. So it just keeps going
Kevin: DAM! Isaac: and going...
Kevin: *big proud* Umu: *big sigh*
Going- but good joke.
Yeah, there's a forward momentum that's always carrying it downwards into the depths of
The stream or in this case just the lower pitches of the song. I like how they added
breath
a lot in it
As you can hear just the preparation going - singing the next phrase or the next note
And it's always interesting because it impacts the thought of potential because when you sing when you breathe
what am i gonna say? like well, I just said what I'm gonna say and
for vocalist you could see as they breathe and then out comes a plethora of
Options to choose from so they octaves minor six and I thought that was it was a very pleasant
Listen because I have to think about just all this potential of breath.
Elizabeth: You know, the only thing I didn't think about now is
*famous excerpt from Strauss' Don Juan is played*
It's Don Juan it's what an octave makes me think of but yes octaves are very dramatic
Owen: octaves are very dramatic
Elizabeth: Either it means Don Juan wants to have sex with people or it means that we're really sad
Owen: Those are the two options Elizabeth: two options. The only options
Umu: I'm guessing this is the really sad... Owen: I would assume so
Elizabeth: But like that like
Starting low and then having like the lead into the chorus like be an octave
That's definitely something I've heard in songs a lot like like in over the rainbow. It's a huge span for the voice
So it feels very dramatic and also feels like you're lifting off kind of
Owen: and even if the voice like stops on the minor 7
When coming up there like da
Da you know kind of using that like last rung of the ladder just to like pull yourself up like because it's so it's such
A difficult thing to do to execute cleanly and like that kind of showcases how how much you're like trying to get there
Elizabeth: yeah
Aaron: I Know I actually woke up this morning
I was like, who is this person looking at me in the mirror? Because
you look like the plague [me every morning]
Nick: your hair looks good. Aaron: Thanks
That's all that matters