Celeb News: Owen Pallet on Beyoncé's genius sense of rhythm

Beyond Say

Owen Pallet (Arcade Fire collaborator) talks Beyoncé

Quote:

"‘I’ve been drinking’ is my favorite admission in a lyric. The musical experience should not be about vague notions like ‘flying to the moon and back’ or ‘I need you and / I love you.’ Love songs need some alcohol content in order to be effective.
Do you notice the sparseness of the rhythmic material on this first verse? Nothing hitting hard except the kicks and snaps. It emphasizes Beyoncé’s excellent elocution, her voice is the real rhythm section. It sounds like she’s spitting verse more than singing. It’ll make that offbeat ‘surfbort’ breakdown later seem all the more hilarious and “drunk.” It even makes Jay Z’s spitting, as tight as it is, sound comparatively lazy.
Somebody could do their thesis, if they haven’t already, on Bey’s amazing sense of rhythm, both in songwriting and delivery. Listen to how elastic these melodies are, alternating between cosmically syncopated **** and rat-a-tat precision. Listen to how her note durations contract as the melodies descend like she’s stumbling around looking for the wine opener. Listen to how lazily behind the beat she gets on ‘We be all night.’ Transcribing these rhythms to score would be impossible.
An interesting thing about my three most-played songs from Beyoncé (‘***Flawless,’ ‘Partition,’ and this) is that from a production standpoint, they’re strophic. ‘***Flawless’ is two-and-a-half songs and a monologue, “Partition” is two songs slapped together. The hooks on ‘Drunk In Love’ hit you immediately, but the song itself, even on my twentieth listen, still seems mercurial, too big and sprawling for my brain.”

http://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/owe...ains-pop-songs

boodytay

Future wrote these melodies well tbh.

Graduation

I posted about this in the Base section earlier! But yes, Beyoncé keeps getting that acclaim.

http://atrl.net/forums/showthread.php?t=603727

satellites.™

Quote:

Originally posted by boodytay

Future wrote these melodies well tbh.

Except he didn't.

Beyond Say

Quote:

Originally posted by boodytay

Future wrote these melodies well tbh.

Girl, have you ever even listened to a Future song? He wishes he could ever…

This has been a Beyoncé trademark since 1997.

Maiko

that G.U.Y.

The Empress isn't just a pretty face. Don't think she's just his little wife.

Jezang Looz

Quote:

It emphasizes Beyoncé’s excellent elocution, her voice is the real rhythm section. It sounds like she’s spitting verse more than singing.

This is why I love Beyonce's songs, and instantly loved BEYONCE.

boodytay

Quote:

Originally posted by satellites.™

Except he didn't.

Quote:

Originally posted by Beyond Say

Girl, have ever even listened to a Future song? He wishes he could ever…

This has been a Beyoncé trademark since 1997.

I listened to the song of his that has a very similar production and composition to Drunk In Love and he claims that he wrote that melody/produced the song. So

slimsexy

Yes Bey get that "relevant" praise!

Kang.

Quote:

Originally posted by Beyond Say

Girl, have you ever even listened to a Future song? He wishes he could ever…

Raava

Quote:

Originally posted by boodytay

I listened to the song of his that has a very similar production and composition to Drunk In Love and he claims that he wrote that melody/produced the song. So

I guess you're right. Don't think you deserved that WP on your first post. I guess fans will be fans, always believing their fave is some sort of God

Seeing how many co-writers are assigned in "Drunk In Love" (Beyoncé Knowles, Noel Fisher, Shawn Carter, Andre Eric Proctor, Rasool Diaz, Brian Soko, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Jerome Harmon), we can hardly credit only Beyoncé for the way the track sounds.

boodytay

Quote:

Originally posted by jairosuxx

I guess you're right. Don't think you deserved that WP on your first post. I guess fans will be fans, always believing their fave is some sort of God

Seeing how many co-writers are credited in "Drunk In Love" (Beyoncé Knowles, Noel Fisher, Shawn Carter, Andre Eric Proctor, Rasool Diaz, Brian Soko, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Jerome Harmon), we can hardly credit only Beyoncé for the way the track sounds.

It was just a reminder.