(Song) Men With Feelings

Shark Attack

Split Enz

(1980)

Loves got teeth and she bites so hard
Leaving you for dead like a deadly shark
And she doesn't leave a lot to be saved

I was swimming in the harbour of your smile
Splashing in the ocean like a child
I didn't know what dangers lurked there
Just beyond the waves
Shark attack

Well she chewed me up and she spat me out
I didn't want to meet a man eater
Shark attack

Please don't mess around with me
I'm a shark fatality, in the sea
I'm the one with the bleeding heart
I thought you were a real lifesaver
And life for once would do me a favour
But baby's just a butcher, and her teeth are razor sharp
Shark attack

Yeah she chewed me up and she spat me out
I didn't want to meet a man eater
Shark attack

And I'm lost at sea and I'm an amputee
And there was slaughter in the water when I fought her
Shark attack   (hey! etc)

Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!                                                                                                                          Songwriter: Tim Finn

Shark Attack

I Got You

Split Enz

(1980)

I got you, that's all I want
I won't forget, that's a whole lot
I don't go out, now that you're in
Sometimes we shout, but that's no problem

I don't know why sometimes I get frightened
You can see my eyes, you can tell that I'm not lyin'

Look at you, you're a pageant
You're everything, that I've imagined
Something's wrong, I feel uneasy
You show me, tell me you're not teasin'

I don't know why sometimes I get frightened
You can see my eyes, you can tell that I'm not lyin'

There's no doubt, not when I'm with you
When I'm without, I stay in my room
Where do you go, I get no answer
You're always out, it gets on my nerves

I don't know why sometimes I get frightened
You can see my eyes you can tell that I'm not lying
I don't know why sometimes I get frightened
You can see my eyes, you can tell that I'm not lyin'
I don't know why sometimes I get frightened
You can see my eyes, you can tell that I'm not lying


Songwriter: Tim Finn

I Got You

Chords

Notice how a D is sustained through the chord changes of the verses to maintain unease.

Notice how the chords in the chorus are more resolved.

The bridge is actually just D major and E major.

For me, the chorus and the verse feel almost like they're from two different songs, and yet they work brilliantly together.


Reflection
1. In what ways do these songs challenge traditional concepts of masculinity?

2. In what ways do they perhaps maintain these old ideas? 

3. In answering the questions above, think about factors besides the lyrics: E.g. the way the words are sung, the instrumentation, the musicians, the band's image, etc.

4. Read this verse a few times.

I was swimming in the harbour of your smile

Splashing in the ocean like a child

I didn't know what dangers lurked there

Just beyond the waves

Shark attack

What's your interpretation of it?

The Springbok Tour, 1981

An alternative anthem?

The year 1981 was a time of great economic anxiety in New Zealand, which was characterised by rising unemployment, industrial strife and a growing resentment of the Muldoon government. On the social/political front an impending Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand carried with it the fear of massive civil unrest. This sense of unease was captured by the seminal Auckland band Blam Blam Blam, which, in July 1981, released ‘There is no depression in New Zealand’.

(NZ History)

There is No Depression in New Zealand

Blam Blam Blam
(1981)

There is no depression in New Zealand;

    there are no sheep on our farms,

There is no depression in New Zealand;

    we can all keep perfectly calm,

Everybody's talking about World War Three;

    everybody's talking about World War Three,

But we're as safe as safe can be,

    there's no unrest in this country

We have no dole queues,

    we have no drug addicts,

        we have no racism,

            we have no sexism, sexism, no, no

There is no depression in New Zealand;

    there are no teeth in our heads

There is no depression in New Zealand;

    we sleep in a well made bed

Oh but everybody's talking about World War Three,

    yes everybody's talking about World War Three,

But we're as safe as safe can be,

    there's no unrest in this country

We have no SIS,

    we have no secrets,

        we have no rebellion;

            we have no valium, valium, no, no

There is no depression in New Zealand;

    there are no sheep on our farms,

There is no depression in New Zealand;

    oh we can all keep perfectly calm,

        perfectly calm,

            perfectly calm,

                perfectly calm,

                    perfectly calm...

Lyrics by Richard von Sturmer

There is no depression

Chords

Aren't these amazing chords and melodies? More like 20th Century symphonic music than punk rock. Notice how effortlessly McGlashan's vocal weaves between keys.

The structure is monstrous!

A (intro) 
B (chorus) + key modulation
C (World War 3) + quick key modulation
D (we have no) + key modulation + turn around
B (chorus) + key modulation
C + key modulation 
D + key modulation + turn around
B (chorus) + key modulation + transitional chord
E (perfectly calm)
A (outro)

Listen for those additional key modulations. 

1. Who is speaking in this song? In what ways are these words subversive?

2. Von sturmer is often described as an imagist. What images can you find in these lyrics?
3. What do the chord changes add to the lyrics? 

The Front Lawn

The Front Lawn were known for their live performances, and toured extensively in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and America. They released two albums and made three short films.

We are the people
Who eat toast and butter and jam
People in other places
Just wouldn't understand

We are the people
Who drink milk with our tea
People in other places
Don't do it like you and me

The Reason For Breakfast (The Breakfast Anthem)
(1989)

1. Consider the way the writers/performers explore the line between domestic noises and musical ones, and also between lyrical verse and common speech.
2. Consider the use of dynamics.
3. Can you notate any of the rhythmic patterns for these:

You put the butter on and then the jam
Is this the way we usually do it
It's not big deal
do it this way
You know what I think
Do it like this


What's the count between each restatement of this theme?

Bam ba (dominant)
Bam ba (tonic)
bam ba-dum ba (minor third)
bam-ba (suspended fifth) dum-baaaa.. (tonic)

What are they doing to the four-beat rhythm with this phrases?

they do it like thiiiiis...

What harmonies are Harry and Don using? What mood do they create?
What are they doing with time signatures?

How does Don use the plastic plate to cue the next section of the song?

They do it - we do it
They do it - we do it

They do it - we do it
They do it - we do it

They do it - we do it
They do it - we do it
They do it - we do it
They do it - we do it

What rhythm are they drumming under these lines?

We are the people
Who eat toast and butter and jam
People in other places
Just wouldn't understand

We are the people
Who drink milk with our tea
People in other places
Don't do it like you and me

Which character is restating the theme when the piece moves to double time?
Which character is restating the line "it's no big deal / once you get started / there's no problem"

What is the significance of this?


What is going on here?

You got the plates
You got the knives
You got the butter
You got the breadboard
You got the bread
You got the milk
You got the spoon
You got the tea
You got the teapot
You got the
You got the
You got the
You got the
You got the
You got the
You got the
You got the

The piece is a long crescendo. It's like watching two children create a large sandcastle or house of cards which they ultimately topple and destroy. Is there a social message?

Stormy Weather

'Stormy Weather' is a song from the 1930s, most famously sung by Billie Holiday. 

Don't know why
There's no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps rainin' all the time

Life is bare
Gloom and misery everywhere
Stormy weather
Just can't get my poor self together
I'm weary all the time, the time
So weary all the time

When he went away, the blues walked in and met me
If he stays away, old rocking chair will get me
All I do is pray the Lord above will let me
Walk in the sun once more

Can't go on
All I have in life is gone
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps rainin' all the time
Keeps rainin' all the time

I walk around, heavy-hearted and sad
Night comes around, I'm still feelin' bad
Rain pourin' down, blindin' every hope I had
This pitterin', patterin', beatin' and spatterin' drives me mad
Love, love, love, love
This misery is just too much for me

Can't go on
Everything I had is gone
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps rainin' all the time
Keeps rainin' all the time

Julius Caesar was a statesmen who ended the Roman Republic and began the Roman Empire.










A "lounge lizard" is a well-dressed man who frequents the establishments in which the rich gather with the intention of seducing a wealthy woman. The term presumably owes something to the cold and insinuating quality of reptiles. Male musicians who play in dimply lit bars and lounges are sometimes referred pejoratively to as lounge lizards.

Listen to song:

Weather With You 

Weather With You

Crowded House

Walking 'round the room singing Stormy Weather
At Fifty Seven Mount Pleasant Street
Well it's the same room, but everything's different
You can fight the sleep, but not the dream

Things ain't cookin' in my kitchen
Strange affliction wash over me
Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire
Couldn't conquer the blue sky

Well, there's a small boat made of china
It's going nowhere on the mantelpiece
Well, do I lie like a lounge-room lizard
Or do I sing like a bird released?

Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather, the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather, the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather, the weather with you

Songwriters: Neil Finn / Tim Finn

1. What connections are there between this song and Stormy Weather? Which images and lyrics are drawn from the song? 

2. The music of Stormy Weather is rather down-beat and melancholy. Why might the song writers have chosen to set these words to such light, warm chords and textures?

3. Notice how the words contrast inside with outside (kitchen / blue sky). Can you find other examples? Why do you think this is? How do the lyrics confuse notions of inside and outside?


4. The pre chorus

Things ain't cookin' in my kitchen
Strange affliction wash over me

Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire
Couldn't conquer the blue sky

This is a quatrain made of two couplets. 
What kind of music does the first line allude to?
What images are evoked by the first couplet?
How does the first couplet relate to the second?

5. Think about these lines:

"it's the same room but everything's different"


"there's a small boat made of china
It's going nowhere on the mantelpiece"


"Everywhere you go,
Always take the weather with you"

What's your interpretation of them?


6. Compare these lyrics with those of the earlier Tim Finn songs, I Got You and Shark Attack. What is the core emotion behind each song?


Chords

What's this?

A B A C A C A C 

How many times is the pre chorus used?

The chords for verses 1 and 3 are underlaid by these chords:

But these chords don't give us the blend that makes the verse sound how it does.

The second verse switches to a d-minor / c-major pattern while other parts flesh out those simple chords. 

The chorus is more resolved, although there are some lovely colours in the background too. 

Hurt Feelings

Flight of the Conchords

Some people say that rappers don't have feelings
We have feelings. (We have feelings)
Some people say that we are not rappers. (We're rappers.)
That hurts our feelings.
(Hurts our feelings when you say we're not rappers.)
Some people say that rappers are invincible
We're vincible. (We're vincible.)
What you are about to hear are true stories
(Real experiences)
Autobiographical raps.
Things that happened to us, all true
Bring the rhyme!

I make a meal for my friends,
Try to make it delicious,
Try to keep it nutritious,
Create wonderful dishes.
Not one of them thinks about the way I feel
Nobody compliments the meal

I got hurt feelings, I got hurt feelings
I feel like a prize asshole
No one even mentions my casserole.
I got hurt feelings, I got hurt feelings.
You coulda said something nice about my profiteroles

Here's a little story to bring a tear to your eye,
I was shopping for a wetsuit to scuba dive,
But every suit I tried is too big around the thighs,
And the assistant suggested I try a ladies' size

I got hurt feelings, I got hurt feelings
I'm not gonna wear a ladies' wetsuit I'm a man!
I got hurt feelings, I got hurt feelings
Get me a small man's wetsuit, please

It's my birthday, 2003
Waitin' for a call from my family

They forgot about me

I got hurt feelings, I got hurt feelings
The day after my birthday is not my birthday, Mum

I call my friends and say, "Let's go into town"
But they're all too busy to go into town
So I go by myself, I go into town
Then I see all my friends, they're all in town

I got hurt feelings, I got hurt feelings.
They're all lined up to watch that movie
"Maid in Manhattan."

Have you even been told that your ass is too big?
Have you ever been asked if your hair is a wig?
Have you ever been told you're mediocre in bed?
Have you ever been told you've got a weird-shaped head?
Has your family ever forgotten you and driven away?
Once again, they forgot about J
Were you ever called "homo" 'cause at school you took drama?
Have you ever been told that you look like a llama?

Tears of a rapper
(don't wanna make a rapper cry then watch what you say)
I'm crying tears of a rapper
(I pouring out the bullets of my Icannon)
Go play the tears of a rapper
(These are the tears of a rapper now)
The diamond tears of a rapper
(These are the bullet proof 24 karat of tears, of a rapper)

Songwriters: Bret Mckenzie / Jemaine Clement

 Hurt Feelings


1. What's the satirical point of this song? What does it have to do with norms of masculinity?

2. Think about 

Shark Attack
I Got You
There is No Depression in New Zealand
The Breakfast Anthem
Weather With You
Hurt Feelings

How have the song writers used domestic routines to make social commentary in these songs? 

3. All the songs are concerned with personal vulnerability. Why?