Musical Debates, Phonk, and the Greatest Lyric of All-Time
Musical Debates, Phonk, and the Greatest Lyric of All-Time
What do you think the great bridge of all-time is?
I need you to weigh in on what you think the best musical bridge of all time is. In general, the verses tell the story, the chorus reiterates the theme, and the bridge introduces new musical/lyrical ideas. Here are 2 examples.
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver
Verse: "Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River"
Chorus: "Country roads, take me home to the place I belong"
Bridge: "I hear her voice in the morning hour, she calls me, the radio reminds me of my home far away"
“drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo
Verse: "I got my driver's license last week / Just like we always talked about"
Chorus: "And I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one / I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone"
Bridge: "Red lights, stop signs / I still see your face in the white cars, front yards"
What is the best musical bridge of all time? Reply to this email with your answer. Let me know why you picked your song.
A New One
"WORTH NOTHING" by TWISTED
2022 - Phonk
Noah Smith, one of my favorite public intellectuals, once described the 21st century as a remix of the 20th century. Between endless superhero movie spinoffs, hit songs sampling other hit songs, and every television series getting a reboot, that descriptor of the last 22 years is somewhat apt. “WORTH NOTHING” takes that descriptor to the umpteenth degree.
This song is remix of a remix of a song originally done by Oliver Tree. In short, Tree released an oddball rock track 2 years ago called “Jerk”. Then in July of this year, up-and-coming electronic artist southstar sampled Tree's vocal on “Jerk” and turned it into a hypnotic dance track called “Miss You”. Soon after, popular German DJ Robin Schulz released another remix of “Jerk”, also under the name “Miss You”. (Schulz's version is so similar to southstar's he has been accused of ripping off the upstart DJ.)
But the madness doesn't end there. At the beginning of October, TWISTED released another version of the remix called “WORTH NOTHING”. All three versions have been blowing up. Maybe modern popular culture is all just remixes.
An Old One
Love Hurts by The Everly Brothers
1960 - Country
Somebody once told me that they thought the greatest lyric of all time was "love hurts" because while it's easy to understand, it's non-intuitive. Why should love hurt? It goes against the dictionary definition of the word. But if you don't know the truth of that oxymoronic statement, then you've never been in love before.
If you don't know ... now you know,
Chris Dalla Riva
Want to hear the music that I make? Check out my new EP.
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