Tuesday Tunes

It’s rare that I see the word ‘Evocative’ these days. The closest I get is a spell classification in my D&D books. But I feel the world is trending toward individualism; everything can be imbued with your personality and specification. Everything can be made unique. But I definitely think that we could be looking for the similarities in one another more often, and similarity is strong in reference-based jokes and humour. References and Puns are hilarious (no disagreement will be tolerated) because they take the familiar and, to some degree, add their own twist. Today’s tune goes a long way to evoke bangers from the past …

The Song(s)
Song: Stay the Night
Artist: Jukebox The ghost
Album: Single - 2017 - WAX LTD
Method of discovery: Spotify Release Radar

Theory: The song evokes two great piano-pop anthems - Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’. The verses change over I & IV, but listen to the octave bass cutting through the static right hand, which alternates the chords’ tonics in quick succession. The next sections lay over an ascending foundation: I/iii-IV-#Vdim-vi, that ends in a II, and occasionally a V before heading back into itself, or another verse. If Queen wouldn’t have liked the song so far, the bridge (IV-#Vdim-I-V-iv-II-v) almost channels Freddy.

Research: ‘Stay the Night’ was the first single released after a long break between albums and touring. They band played a regular gig for Halloween where they would play two sets, the first as themselves and the second as Queen, as the song supposedly came from there. This particular song was featured on the second (to date, final) season of the Rob Schneider Netflix series, Real Rob. The Three men that make up the Jukebox the Ghost met while at Washington State University.

Personal thoughts: The simplicity behind the lyrics of this song is what really gets me. It’s easy: Stay the Night. The desire to seize the opportunity to do so, and the yearn to make it soon, because life is temporary. Even the number is a temporary thing, written on a napkin like this. The words and the music combine into this feeling of the familiar, Journey being referenced quite directly in the second verse. But it’s mixed with that upward motion of the music, that gradual building in your chest of a new relationship that only seems to climb higher. Maybe you should give in to desire, and just, stay the night?

Give it a go: If you’ve like your familiar with your new.

Give it a miss: If you think nothing can sound quite like the past.

[links]
Spotify: Tuesday Tunes, Stay the Night by Jukebox the Ghost
Social: Website (includes Twitter and the like)
Other: Wikipedia, WAX LTD, Billboard, AXS