Velocity Girl, Simpatico: Rubble

"Rubble"

Spreading wallshine
Like that bad time
I couldn't see
Change for good then
Can't remember when
Put my hands away
Took my pains at baby's time
Bottled inside her
Made the same mistake again

[Chorus:]

If you have been falling from that ??
I'd knock you down anyway
If the ground was soft, we'd land
I'd stay right there and pave it all day
But you would break apart leaving rubble in the way
And I don't want to have to walk all over what's left in your place

Broken bottles
But my feel won't get cut up on the glass
With my mouth shut
Leave you in your rut again

[Chorus]

[a musical interlude, then repeat of chorus, then female/male lyrics overlapping]


[I just want to know if all this to the ground is wrong
?
I took everything, the sky
?? round into the sky
I took everything, the sky
Blame myself and you apologize
I'll knock you down anyway
I'll knock you down anyway
I'll knock you down anyway
I'll knock you down anyway

When you get what
Blame myself, and you apologize]

Lyrics

There's a cadence to the vocalization of the chorus that makes this an outstanding song.

The first two lines are sung in a "normal" fashion; that is, the range does not vary greatly and therefore the singing style can be easily anticipated:

If the ground was soft, we'd land
I'd stay right there and pave it all day…

But there's a surprise in the second and third line. The singer makes the lyrics "pop" by taking the note attached to 'But' up a few notes, outside the expected range:

But you would break apart leaving rubble in the way
And I—don't—want—to have to walk all over what's left in your place

The high note also marks a turn in the song: you're like something that easily shatters, and I don't want to deal with the mess afterwards.

In the lyric following this, she slows down, indicated above by dashes. Again, the slowing down comes as a surprise.

These two strategies—high pitch, slowing down—are a bit risky because they can dissipate the momentum of the song. However, the effect here is that they jolt the listener out of complacency. They also make the song more playful and memorable, and ultimately more satisfying to listen to.

Melody

The lyrics are sung by Sarah Shannon, and her voice has a tinny edge to it that works well with this jangling melody.

The song has a great rolling mechanism in it, and when the chorus repeats for the third time, if you're not swept up by then, you never will be. The lynchpin of the melody, though, is a four-chord guitar pluck that repeats during the chorus. It comes in high and falls with each successive note. The song understands emotional turmoil in physical terms, e.g., falling and breaking apart; these four notes mirror the "tumbling" going on in the song.

High and Low

This song plays with the dramatic impact that can be had from inserting high pitched notes into a stolidly middle-range song. I think it works quite well, both in making the song memorable, and in producing jouissance for the listener.

At least, for this listener.

Thanks to Ralph at There Is No Cat.