Unit 14 - Task 2 ; Sonic Analysis: Paranoid Android
An alternative progressive rock song in style, Paranoid Android’s acoustic environment transforms with the structure of the song. The song was recorded in a 15th-century mansion-- an indoor acoustic environment, one which you'd imagine would lend a reverb-filled and spacious sound to the song, but this is not always the case. Verses are actually very crisp, with little to no reverb present (save for the subtle clacking sound you have to listen for), but this really changes at the choruses (“What’s that?”) where we are dunked into a very spacious sound field. Cymbals wash over the music alongside a reverb-soaked synth melody spanning multiple octaves. The juxtaposition of a bleakly quiet soundscape with a harsh bombardment of noise instils an eponymous sense of paranoia in the listener.
Focus in the mix is obviously vocals most of the time--with them at the centre of the stereo field and in the higher end of amplitude levels-- but in the choruses this shifts to the syncopated synthesiser arpeggios that are louder than anything else, which is the main thing setting the choruses apart aside from a brief modulation to D Minor. Having the vocals as the focus of the verses makes sense as, after all, the vocals is what tells the story. The lyrics in the chorus are just an abstract expression rather than exposition of any narrative, which makes it fitting that the synthesiser arpeggios takes lead. Thom Yorke doesn't exactly have the best diction-- it's a lot harder to make out his lyrics than David Bowie's-- but that's not the worst thing in a song where the music already speaks so much for itself. Meanwhile in the instrumental rock sections, the focus is much on the melodic bassline which is fittingly heavy in these parts. This is echoed by Yorke singing the same melody eventually along with distorted electric guitar doing it too. This reinforces this bassline and the primary 'melody' on the track.
A good balance between frequencies is achieved in the mix. Bass and mid frequencies are overall more prominent than higher ones, voiced primarily by bass and electric guitar as well as vocals. Guitar solos are where the high frequencies are explored here. Bass and mid frequencies are especially high in the bridge where the choral arrangement is dominant over the music. In this way, the high-frequency-soaked coda instrumental is a sort of answer to the rest of the song's 'question'. This makes the song a satisfying journey every time with not only introduction, development and conclusion but also links between them.
There is a high amount of contrast between the many sounds found throughout Paranoid Android. The acoustic guitar intro is quiet and alternative-sounding in playing style, but a very distorted electric guitar comes in before it’s over that is laced with vibrato and EQ automation. Contextually these sounds are not really ones you’d put together, which immediately sets a unique tone. The song as a whole very much revolves around this idea of balancing sounds segregated normally by time and place; heavy rock ensemble breaks are punctuated with disquieting electric piano interruptions, while in the bridge (“Rain down”) a choral arrangement is joined by a lamenting mellotron. The lead vocals are filled with emotions both subtle and aggressive, met in the choruses with a robotically soulless distorted voice in the background. Furthermore, the mix until the instrumental break employs more high frequencies which lends a chilling atmosphere to the song, so when focus shifts to a bassline this is an obvious contrast too. These contrasts keep the song consistently fresh as it moves along. You can definitely tell Radiohead threw together a bunch of sketches they had, but they do it so brilliantly all you can do is applaud; transitions between sections, such as the explosion of cymbals preluding the choral bridge, are in no way forced.
Furthermore, Radiohead manage to blend all these sounds together at any given time. This is in part due to a high level of consistency amongst acoustics at each point in the mix; while all the instruments sound very different to each other, none sound out of place due to them all being treated with the same reverb levels and so on. All these disparate sounds are on the same journey, unified by Yorke’s vocal melodies. None of the frequencies are at extreme high or low ends either which makes this effect even more balancing. In sections with low reverb (which is to say most of the song), there’s a high degree of clarity to each sound because there’s no useless noise masking anything. This lends a very perfectionist, professional touch to the song that is unmistakably Radiohead.
The band have also used the stereo field to create space for everything going on. For example, in verses, the scraper is on the right while electric guitar is on the left; this is a clever setup because it means sounds of a similar frequency can’t interfere with each other. Similarly, the chorus has the lead synth on the right while a very distorted guitar plays the same melody on a lower register on the left; once again this prevents these sounds masking each other with the same melody.
In terms of dynamics, Verse 1 is the quietest and lightest in instrumentation. The louder lead synth in the chorus sets a precedent for the rest of the mix, and the bass guitar introduced here follows through into Verse 2 to create development by making the music louder. The instrumental break varies dynamically a lot, with quieter parts focusing on the bassline and much louder heavy parts where a loud distorted guitar takes over the same notes, matching a rock mix. This all culminates in an angry guitar solo followed by a cooldown using a long, dramatic drumfill. The next part is much more relaxed, going back again to a quieter sound. The bridge increases in volume slowly in a crescendo style by layering more and more voices and octaves on the mellotron. This mix of dynamics feed more into the song's theme of contrasting ideas. Use of compression and probably other effects means that all this variation in loudness can be experienced without having to turn the sound up and down due to good mastering. If you listen closely you can hear the melody of the bridge fade out towards the end to bring focus solely onto the final line of the song, “God loves his children”.
This ends with a very brief solo on the bass before the full ensemble comes in joined by screaming, topped with a furious guitar solo louder than anything before it. This guitar solo has effects on it to make it sound deranged; it zips around the high and mid frequencies erratically to sound almost like liquid, but this is carefully done in time with the notes in the solo to maintain musicality. There is a very alive sound to this effect that could only have been achieved using physical kit as opposed to automation.
Every instrument communicates what it needs to and no more due to expert use of EQ that boosts what’s important in each sound across the frequency range and cuts everything else, and when this technique is applied to each sound the overall track appeals to the entire sound spectrum. For instance, the lead guitar during solos is geared more towards the high frequencies as they are the most relevant for that sound. This makes it easy to hear everything going on. The many things going on do eventually begin to mask each other, but this in a way is service to the song’s tone as it sounds almost overwhelming as we approach the end of the section, a premonition for the final enraged solo. The song leaves a lasting impression of confusion and introspection, and silence in the room after the last chord abruptly ends feels very loud as it immediately follows possibly the highest point in dynamics.
Comments
Post a Comment