During the second Friday class of the term, we were assigned the task of delving into a selection of popular mainstream songs and dissecting them to figure out the overall structure within each track. Following on from this we were asked to choose any song we liked and write about it in our blog. I have gone with the song ‘Blue Hawaiian’ by the American Indie Rock band ‘Pavement’.
The tune opens with a mellow keyboard riff before the hypnotic drum groove comes in followed by the lazy monotone vocals which give the song a heavy slacker vibe, accompanied by the catchy driving bass line that sticks in your head on repeat. The first verse is quite laid back instruments wise, with the jangly open tuned guitar not even coming into the song until the pre-chorus around 40 seconds in. The gradual buildup from the first verse to the pre-chorus and the introduction of the guitar adds an element of anticipation and engagement for the listener.
Following on from the pre-chorus the energy amps up for the first chorus, bringing in some distorted lead melody riffs and ending with almost opposite feeling transition back into another grooving short instrumental before returning to the verse section. The next pre-chorus section comes in with different lyrics and a louder vibe including samples and lead guitar to add a sense of progression.
After the final chorus comes the solo / instrumental outro. What I love about the solo in this song is that it is almost completely atonal and even out of tune at certain points. This emphasises the lo-fi slacker rock vibe of the tune, as if it sounds bad on purpose. And with that the song fades out with the same verse groove we are used to.