Understanding The Man Who Sold The World
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2 роки томуThe Man Who Sold The World is a haunting song with a haunting legacy. Its story is ambiguous and vague, leaving plenty of room for interpretation. Who is this man, who did he sell the world to, and most importantly, what even is a gazely stare? It's hard to say for sure, but however you choose to read the song, it's drenched in pain and loss, and those same feelings have inspired musicians for generations since Bowie first wrote it.
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Also, thanks to Jareth Arnold for proofreading the script to make sure this all makes sense hopefully!
@12tone 2 роки тому
Some additional thoughts/corrections: 1) One interesting thing about relative phrygian is that, unlike relative minor, most of the chords behave differently in the two keys. Whether you're in F major or D minor, for instance, the chord G minor is a subdominant sound. As we saw with C, though, many chords in F major have different functions in A phrygian and vice versa, so by putting you in both tonal spaces at the same time, it becomes hard to establish exactly what any given chord is trying to do. 2) On the guiro part, that strike may not actually be played on the guiro itself. In the guiro notation guides I found there was no indication of that sort of sound, so it may have been on a separate wood block or something. Hard to tell from digitally separated stems, but not super relevant either way. 3) I didn't have enough to say about it to justify making room in the script, but the bass in the verses is interesting too. Instead of just playing roots or whatever, Visconti's line walks around in this disjointed rhythmic pattern. It makes it feel like a journey. 4) This hopefully goes without saying, and I already said it in the video anyway, but to be clear, the "weight of manufactured authenticity" reading is just one interpretation. There are others, and they're equally valid, I just personally find them less compelling (Possibly because, as a professional UKpostsr, I can personally relate to the struggles of art-as-product) and it's my video. 5) There's maybe even an argument to be made that the chorus is in C mixolydian: It starts on C major, the prechorus sits on that chord for a long time, and the short vocal phrases are D-C so there's some melodic resolution too. If you then take Db as a tritone sub of G, you've got basically a I-IV-V-IV progression. It doesn't really fit with the way I naturally hear it, but I can convince myself of it if I try. Makes more sense to me than F in the verse, at least. 6) Relatedly, if you're wondering why I bothered specifically arguing against F major there, it's because that's what Wikipedia says it is and I'm salty about it.
2 роки тому
I played a mixture of Bowie's and Nirvana's versión with a band for about 5 years (in Nirvana's key) and I always think of this song like being in a constant 'flow' between E Major and C#minor (F Major and D minor in Bowie's) a common feature in songs. However for me the interesting part is the G# and B Major chords (A & C in Bowie's) at the begining of the verse and the chorus respectively, a thing I've always percieved like starting on the V something I didn't see a lot on rock music but it's pretty common in mexican folk music, also in songs like Korobeiniki (at least the Tetris version) and in some themes in classical pieces. So for me is on E Major - C# minor (F Major and D minor on Bowie's), and not just because Mirvana end it in E, for my ear those are the resting points.
@Kiaulen 2 роки тому
Eh, wikipedia is written by the lowest bidder, I wouldn't get too worked up about it :D
@ZipplyZane 2 роки тому
I suspect that's just the major tonality bias. You made a compelling case for the piece shifting tonal centers. With that A major chord, there is just no way a basic F major analysis makes sense
@natlawrence7961 2 роки тому
@ yeah. 12 tone is way off here. It's a song in D- that starts on the V. Sure I guess you can explain it all sorts of different ways but right interpretation is always the one that's the simplest and makes it easiest to play.
@Digitalhunny 2 роки тому
LOVE your channel. You're unique, interesting & you play the music I love too! Thank you for _all_ of your hard work, time & attention to detail. You rock man! XO
@russellszabadosaka5-pindin849 2 роки тому
I’ll never forget seeing David Bowie perform this song when he toured with NiN in 1995 and all the kids around us were like “(gasp!) He’s covering a Nirvana song!” That was the first time I realized I was old.
@Sam_on_YouTube 2 роки тому
My Intellectual Property teacher in law school explained how Nine Inch Nails covered Hurt, by Johnny Cash. After class, I explained to her that, no, Johnny Cash covered the NIN song and it was among the greatest covers of all time.
@russellszabadosaka5-pindin849 2 роки тому
@Sam it definitely is one of the greatest covers of all time. I’m generally not a big fan of Rick Rubin, but credit goes where credit’s due. That song was *perfect* for Johnny Cash, especially at that point of his life.
@danielatherton1631 2 роки тому
2019 I lived with this guy, 3 times in that year he played Nirvana's cover and complained there was no album version to which I reminded him Kurt Cobain died, to which he replied, 'Great song anyway, not like their other stuff.' to which I reminded him it was a Bowie song and he was sceptical every time until I played him the Bowie version. Then, each time, he'd say 'Why would Bowie cover Nirvana?'
@Sam_on_YouTube 2 роки тому
@@danielatherton1631 Lol. Almost the entire album is covers, which he says several times during the album. But I guess nobody listens to albums anymore, just individual songs. I prefer to listen to that album start to finish.
@no.7893 2 роки тому
@@Sam_on_UKposts I don't understand how people can miss it, at the end of tmwstw on unplugged kurt literally says "that is a david bowie song"
@nicholasgrijalva5842 2 роки тому
I've been obsessed with Midge Ure's cover of this. Hideo Kojima reintroduced a generation to this song like Cobain did, with Metal Gear Solid V.
@sebastiancoe4708 2 роки тому
Couldn't have said it better
@ValhallaAMV 2 роки тому
The man has a knack for bringing old things back when they're obviously the best choice.
@xxandyxx569 2 роки тому
everytime I hear Midge Ure's cover, I think of myself watching sunset smoking an habano after I did something greater than me.
@riflemanpickles7013 2 роки тому
That was exactly how I was introduced and why I like the Midge Ure cover a bit better than Nirvana's. MgsV is also why I like the song She Blinded Me Science by Thomas Dolby, which I always have as my helicopter music in the game.
@firstlast6437 2 роки тому
Even better is that Kojima used a cover in his game because you aren't actually playing the real Big Boss, just a copy of sorts..
@rmdodsonbills 2 роки тому
The most important thing is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you have it made.
@planepantsgames1791 2 роки тому
We don't lie to people. We believe invalid truths.
@SavageGreywolf 2 роки тому
A quote from George Burns. I've once heard that comedy is just telling people the truth when they don't expect it.
@chriswilliams7958 2 роки тому
This is my truth … now tell me yours 🕊
@juice5721 2 роки тому
@@SavageGreywolf ah, I found this quote in American Gods and always wondered if it came from someone
@thevirtualtraveler 2 роки тому
And Authenticity. If you can perfect faking sincerity and authenticity, you've got it made!
@xMythic_ 2 роки тому
Hideo Kojima's undeniable love for David Bowie introduced me to The Man Who Sold The World. The story interpretation for the song is on another level, so much so that Kojima created a video game based around it (MGSV) that takes the themes/subtext/meta and moulds it into something... more beautiful. He uses Midge Ure's 'cover' -a copy (my personal favourite) in the game and the meaning behind it skyrockets. The song can even be interpreted to be about Kojima's life or anyone's! God damn I love this song and this video explaining it on a musical and abstract sense just makes me love it more.
@dibrenn3432 2 роки тому
When that song started…man. Yeah his use of that song is incredible.
@AnthonySmith-sc4zs 2 роки тому
Yes everything you said.
@RubyRoks 2 роки тому
I absolutely adore the choice to use a cover in the game. Taking the allegory and pushing it even further beyond
@christovrea4273 2 роки тому
I was introduced the same way. Kojima has a crazy way of using abstract music that feels very similar to Tarantino but in video games. True master
@michaeloconnell3325 2 роки тому
Really is phenomenal
@xgum 2 роки тому
oh no. not me. we never lost control. kurt sang that part especially hard
@SingularlyNaked 2 роки тому
I just finished reading Dave Grohl's book, and... yeah. Hoo boy.
@DrMackSplackem 2 роки тому
So did Lulu.
@Crumbaa 2 роки тому
Nice pfp, where is it from
@vidkiddo4595 2 роки тому
.
@pkemr4 2 роки тому
wheres your profile picture from
@earlleonard 2 роки тому
I also don't think we can ever forget the influence Terry Burns (David's older half brother, who suffered from schizophrenia and was living in a sanitarium at the time) had on a lot of Bowie's lyrics and themes on these early recordings
@montycantsin8861 2 роки тому
Huh... didn't know about that. Puts a new spin on "Bewley Brothers".
@christopherlawley1842 2 роки тому
and "Jump they say " and "All the Madman" I have heard that Mr Bowie said about Bewlay Brothers that the words don't mean much and "Americans like to read things into things"
@montycantsin8861 2 роки тому
@@christopherlawley1842 Yeah, but... If you read the lyrics of his earlier albums, there's some clear messages. Like the 2nd self-titled David Bowie album (1969, aka "space oddity) he's got some pretty damning lyrics about some contemporary issues. As far as him saying "Americans read things into things", I think he was mainly talking about what we now call "shipping", prurient sexual judgements, etc.
@nathandorsey9145 2 роки тому
@@christopherlawley1842 I say this a lot about Kurt Cobain but it applies to Bowie as well: I'll never understand why people assume that everything an artist says about their work is true. Not even in a "death of the author" sort of way but in a "people lie all t he time and especially to avoid talking about their feelings way".
@steveozone4910 2 роки тому
Everyone knows the man is Big Boss. I actually like the UltraVox cover.
@typicalfurry2747 2 роки тому
I do to
@Fretlessness 2 роки тому
In a way I feel like "I can't give myself away" from blackstar is his final meditations on these themes
@mehmed6529 2 роки тому
"I can't give everything away"
@Fretlessness 2 роки тому
@@mehmed6529 thanks for the assist
@jimmunster57 2 роки тому
The whole Blackstar hits different. I get a hollow pit in my stomach every time I listen to it. It's a gut-wrenching swan song. He knew it was his last. He was saying goodbye. He knew it. We didn't want to know it.
@KingSizeUGP 2 роки тому
Honestly speaking, I never truly paid attention to the lyrics, and the subtle meanings of harmony always eluded me despite having attended music school for six years; I just liked the music, and played the bass parts every now and then. Now that you broke this beautiful piece of music down, I can truly appreciate just how much of a downer this song actually is, and also how much it resonates with today's artists as well. Thanks, 12tone.
@annebruecks7381 2 роки тому
I love listening to someone explain technically Why I love a song, even tho I have almost no idea what is going on. I like to hear that there Is a reason why these songs are provably amazing.
@greg7656 2 роки тому
Big shout-out to Mick Ronson who not only played the great riff, but wrote it as well
@marcgallegos2239 2 роки тому
he never gets enough credit for his role in Bowie's early 70's albums, especially The Man Who Sold the World album
@ZeroMod 2 роки тому
Mick was a top tier player and arranger! TOTALLY under appreciated for his contributions to Bowie and as an arranger on so many other epic songs.
@SuperNevile Рік тому
@@ZeroMod He arranged the strings and played the piano on "Perfect Day"
@smergthedargon8974 2 роки тому
Personally, I love Midge Ure's cover of the song, preferring it to the original and Nirvana's cover.
@TheHonoredMadman 2 роки тому
Same
@andybhoy1916 8 місяців тому
It’s the best song to wake up from a 9 year coma
@maxspencerkarinen6463 2 роки тому
I love the way that this channel doesn't dumb music theory down but makes it really accessible by telling us how the musical techniques can make us feel. There's such a genuine enjoyment and appreciation for music evident in every second.
@mfcrocker 2 роки тому
I hope that you don't feel the crushing weight of manufactured authenticity nearly as hard as these two did, but remember there's folks out there to talk to about it if you do :)
@RIPSLYMEFAN 2 роки тому
I definitely love the Midge Ure version too
@awesomechainsaw 2 роки тому
I prefer it personally.
@sluttyMapleSyrup 2 роки тому
Midge Ure's is my favourite. Every version is great, but the haunting tone of the song is much stronger in Midge's.
@no.7893 2 роки тому
@@sluttyMapleSyrup Yeah the song really lends itself to that oppressive sound that you can truly realize with synths. It's not surprising considering how fond bowie was of synths especially in the berlin years.
@C2C. 2 роки тому
Midge Ure's voice and the synths give it special depth. It's my favorite cover version.
@andrewmize823 2 роки тому
This song is famously influenced by Antigonish, a poem by William Hughes Mearns. "Yesterday upon the stair/I met a man who wasn't there/He wasn't there again today/Oh how I wish he'd go away."
@ahumphr 2 роки тому
The poem would have been widely known in the UK during Bowie's childhood due to the Glen Miller recording of "The little man who wasn't there", which used Antigonish as a lyric.
@nibyafternight1983 2 роки тому
I like to think that in an alternative universe there's no an actual song but Garfield indeed was the man who sold the world
@rosie5046 2 роки тому
I wonder what goes through the minds of older musicians who know they had a direct and profound influence on a younger musician, but they out live the younger musician for some reason or another.
@UNAB00mer 11 місяців тому
Comparable to when you hear of a patent outliving their own child, to be blunt
@kendomyers 2 роки тому
The Nirvana Unplugged albums is one of my favorites, and I love the fact that they chose songs, presumably, based on how good they would sound acoustic, instead of just chosing hits like everyone else. Love the album, and MWSTW is an excellent cover
@mikeythemaestro 2 роки тому
I knew this was going to get deep. But holy moly, that ending made my creative self stuck in marianas trench
@RubyRoks 2 роки тому
Your "otherworldly" view of the intro riff is interesting to me. I always saw it as Cold or detached. Frigid, if you'll pardon the pun. It's like the guitar knows where it wants/needs to be but is stumbling just trying to stay in place, kinda like a fisherperson in the arctic sea. Part of my assessment comes from the very thin distorted tone that sounds like the guitar is being played through a telephone, but it also is influenced by the vocals and lyrics, which have a distant sound and melody and tell a tale of disconnection from reality. Just about all the musicianship outside of the chorus seems largely disconnected but coherent. I guess that's more or less the same analysis, but a different metaphor, but "otherworldly" sound more purposeful than "Cold" to me Keep in mind i know just enough to use flowery language and know what i mean by it, but not enough to expand beyond that and dissect melodies like you do.
@stevemattero1471 2 роки тому
You lost me at "fisher person"
@neversuperfennecwarrior9486 2 роки тому
Cold or detached, or maybe alienated? Otherworldly.
@montycantsin8861 2 роки тому
I think you're both correct. If you ARE otherworldly, to be in this world could feel cold. If you behold the otherworldly, and it isn't pleasant, it could feel cold to you. I think either way, the feelings are NOT mutually exclusive.
@RubyRoks 2 роки тому
@@montycantsin8861 That actually makes a lot of sense
@montycantsin8861 2 роки тому
@@RubyRoks Thanks. I'm glad I'm not alone in seeing that. Feels kinda.... warm!
@dreamwalking 12 днів тому
Thanks to that _Garfield_ illustration in the thumbnail this video sat on my Watch Later playlist for months under the impression that it was titled Jim Davis: The Man Who Sold the World, and was about Davis corporatizing his artistic endeavors as an exact inverse of Bill Watterson.
@emmbeesea 2 роки тому
Gotta love chords connected by common tones in an augmented relationship (F, A, C#/Db). Certainly otherworldly. Great analysis as always!
@MaDKrEvEdKo 2 роки тому
The best thing about masterful music is that what takes so long to explain from a technical and logical perspective can be intuitively percieved right at the spot.
@pmfnr 2 роки тому
Inspirational as always, but I think you got sucked into the Nirvana version lyrically. In Spring 1970, Bowie was not angst-ridden about losing his authenticity. That's pure Gen X stuff in the aftermath (or later stages, depending on your outlook) of punk. Bowie was very much ABOUT the theatrical, and the original has a definite Brechtian distance to the characters in the song. The weight of the British class system is also distinctly there, and in a sense this continues the vein mined by (then recent) Kinks classics like "A Well Respected Man" and "Sunny Afternoon," albeit through a psychedelic prism that owes a bit to Donovan and a bit to dime store sci-fi philosophy. The beauty of the Nirvana cover is that Cobain doesn't have to change anything about the song except the CONTEXT. His internal battle between commercial success and punk-informed authenticity became almost a central metaphor for the early 90's in ways that were almost unthinkable at a time when the Beatles were still releasing albums back in early 1970. But the well-publicized context of Cobain's inner angst transformed "the world" being sold from realms of the material and social to the artistic and personal. Well, context AND vocal delivery - where Bowie is cool and detached over the pseudo-Latin lounge rhythms, Cobain's singing is acutely heartfelt and pained over "unplugged" guitars designed to signify intimacy and emotion. Both versions are wonderful for what they bring to the song, although on purely performative terms only the most jaded hipster would deny Nirvana an edge between the two.
@lwardrop2453 2 роки тому
An interesting song for you to study would be Justin Timberlake’s “Cry me a river”. I think you would do a good job illustrating just how the mix of notes ends up making a set of keys that sound “upset”, but never sinks far into “sad”.
@BonaparteBardithion 2 роки тому
I think the steady rhythm and quick cut to the phrases also contributes to that. It's choppy like someone stomping.
@brickman409 2 роки тому
Surprised I never realized that Cobain's version was a cover of Bowie despite Kurt literally saying in the unplugged album that it was after he performed it 😅
@peyntor8026 2 роки тому
David Bowie was a freaking legend. I used to listen to this song a lot for that opening riff
@BeanBandit0 Рік тому
The 1969 version of Space Oddity is my favorite from Bowie ⚡️❤️
@Giganfan2k1 2 роки тому
To me the song is about survival. Most people I remeet I meet in a previous phase in my life. A fair number of them assume I am dead. Or they are super stoked about me still being alive.
@ianmaxfield2 2 роки тому
I'm stoked you're alive. Rock on Sum Arbor
@GizzyDillespee 2 роки тому
WHAT!!!?? Sum Arbor's still alive?! Like everyone else who was watching that day, I just assumed.... some things, you think no human could possibly survive, and then, next thing you know, you see them commenting on UKposts, just like nothing at all happened, and you wonder, how could that be? But, that's life!
@AnonymousFreakYT 2 роки тому
Today in old: The Nirvana version of this song has now been "the mainstream version" of the song longer than the Bowie version was. Bowie released it in 1970. Nirvana's version was released in 1993. That's a 23 year "Bowie" reign. It has been 28 years since the Nirvana version was released.
@HALberdier17 2 роки тому
It depends another version got popular because it was used in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which had a few references to David Bowie like a group called Diamond Dogs. But the version used in that game was from Midge Ure which released in 1982. The game is from 2015.
@GizzyDillespee 2 роки тому
@@HALberdier17 each "popular version" gets 22-23 years to reign supreme. Therefore, the next one will ascend sometime between 2037-2038 (based on 2015-2016, when the game's version took over). So it is written.
@bazzfromthebackground3696 2 роки тому
Literally my favorite cover of anything ever. This vid renewed my love of Bowie.
@justinspivey8728 2 роки тому
That was incredible! Thank you! 🙏🏼
@CNNBlackmailSupport 2 роки тому
Absolutely lovely video, sir. Just perfect. Although, I'd call the overall feel "Quixotic" or describe it as "a tired knight traveling on a tired horse on the way to fight some windmills."
@ConstantineBrightt 2 роки тому
Happy birthday Bowie! May you still be rocking everyday up there!
@catnumber1538 2 роки тому
This is my favorite song and has been a major inspiration for my art for a while. The otherworldly vibe and deep lyrics with different possible interpretations are just phenomenal.
@johndcoffee632 2 роки тому
I love that since i've started watching your videos i've become able to process the information without stopping to think about it. Before i needed to pause often to try digest what you were saying, now i can analyse it all as free flowing thought. Nice to see those definitive milestones of improvement :) This video was great, i love this song. Nirvana, Bowie and Hideo Kojima are all massive parts of my life, as are your videos, thank you my friend.
@tedpedersen123 2 роки тому
Your notation is flawless and the theory presented behind it is invaluable. Really glad I found your channel! Keep up the great work! 🙏👏✌️🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎹
@SomniRespiratoryFlux 2 роки тому
So I'm used to you drawing the Fire Nation emblem when something changes. When you say that something _isn't_ changed and draw the symbol of the Water Tribe? Now _that_ caught me off guard.
@naz7413 2 роки тому
Wow! I love this analysis! Thank you so much!
@AimeeNolte 2 роки тому
This is wonderful. Thank you. Made me think a lot about a wide variety of things…Thanks for bringing so much clarity to the world!
@imranino 2 роки тому
I’m often thrown by your interpretations of harmony, usually thinking “oh that’s an interesting way of analysing this piece”. But here, I almost feel like you’re trolling! I’m shouting at my phone! To me at least, it’s so clearly in Dm and F. Explains everything so easily: A is the V of Dm. C is the V of F. Bbm is the minor 4. The quality you described are perfectly imbued by the harmony, simply by the fact that the riff, verse and chorus always start on the V. As for the hard panning: most releases form the late 60s and early 70s have this sort of panning. Sometimes you should just use Occam’s razor.
@AbhishekKumar-uw4jz 2 роки тому
I’ll be honest. I’m so hooked to how you make the video. It’s so compelling.
@danielshook2442 2 роки тому
This is the song that got me into starting to figure out how music works, not that I ever got super deep into theory, but it changed how I listened.
@Ignoramus117 2 роки тому
holy shit the amount of effort in editing just 20 seconds of this is insane, that's a sub
@TheMajor8478 2 роки тому
How have I never seen one of these videos before? I love how he does this. New sub for sure
@blanketsandstars Рік тому
Great stuff my man! I’ve been curious about this song since the 90’s.
@dangelobenjamin 2 роки тому
Thank you for making this video. I just played along and sang because of it. This is definitely one of the best songs ever written.
@JeighNeither 2 роки тому
Yes, he is indeed bending up to the B flat in the intro riff 12tone. Great stuff per usual, thx for the wholesome entertainment.
@kjl291 2 роки тому
It's a slide
@torresalex 2 роки тому
That was FASCINATING. I stumbled upon this and it got me hooked. Superb
@noslowerdna 2 роки тому
Wonderful script on this one. Thank you.
@sampdoria123 Рік тому
This level of nerd-out over music is what i need more of in life, especially Bowie
@Kylora2112 2 роки тому
"Radically altered" *draws Alphonse Elric* oof
@georgeolund7572 2 роки тому
I know, really wasn’t expecting that shot fired there.
@jesusdiaz5485 2 роки тому
Explain
@georgeolund7572 2 роки тому
@@jesusdiaz5485 Alphonse Elric is a character from Full Metal Alchemist the anime for which is notoriously very different from the manga that it's an adaptation of because the manga wasn't done yet when the anime was being made.
@fishiefish6179 2 роки тому
I’m 23 and I’ve heard the Nirvana version of this song my whole life and never realized it was a cover until now. Time to go listen to the original after this video is over.
@montycantsin8861 2 роки тому
If you don't know that was a cover, boy do I have news for you! I'd bet that an easy 20% of all the big hits you can think of, just off the top of your head, are covers.
@alexcruz4640 2 роки тому
Lake of fire and plateau are covers of the meat puppets and where did you sleep last night is Leadbellys
@fartacus7782 2 роки тому
Jesus don’t want me for a sunbeam is a vaselines cover, which itself is a cover of an old Christian song
@elrabeechum5180 2 роки тому
And? What’d you think? I didn’t really like the song as a kid, then when I was about 19 I was really stoned one night and BOY that outro is a haunting, splashy experience, one of my favourite outros in a pop song
@geroffmilan3328 2 роки тому
12tone I love ya but this one I'm afraid you got... different than every musician I've played this track with. It's in D minor. It starts on the 5th as a big tension, shifts to the relative major of D - the F - then lands on the tonic chord Dm at the end of the intro.
@coldanimal5107 2 роки тому
I've always assumed it was in Dm (except for the chorus), but watching this I was prepared to consider that my earlier analysis might have been somewhat oversimplified.
@ilialvov8142 2 роки тому
@@coldanimal5107 I think whether your analysis is oversimplified (for you) depends on whether or not it matches your listening experience. I’ve always heard Dm (when it arrived) as the tonic chord, so for me it’s not :). This is especially true in the verses.
@MaggaraMarine 2 роки тому
Yeah, I totally agree. It's just V i progression in D minor, and then it visits the relative major. Very basic stuff. This also easily explains why the A is a major chord - it's the dominant of Dm. I don't think there's any reason to use the blues explanation here, since this song is diatonic-based, not blues-based (and I would also question the "borrowed from major" explanation, since it's an A7 - the G is pretty prominent over that chord, so I would consider it to be a chord tone). The melody is completely diatonic.
@sammantixgm 2 роки тому
To be fair, you're looking at it from a "what works to play it" standpoint, whereas this analysis approaches it from a "what are all of the notes and harmonies saying in the most minute detail". Calling it Dm and just calling it done works because that's the map for what will and will not work when you play it. But if you wanna get into the nitty-gritty of how everything plays out in relation to eachother, Cory's analysis makes sense. It's also one of those "I did it cause it sounds cool" moments where none of the Theoretical Stuff is Necessarily Intended, but for that it sounded good. Theory, analysis, they aren't so much about what the artist was thinking when they made something, but rather, how and why what they did affects us the way it does.
@earlleonard 2 роки тому
D minor and A phrygian are relative keys as well though, so again, all the same notes just working in different ways. It's true then that the A major chord could just mean its using D Harmonic Minor not D Natural Minor, but that C# is hardly ever used as a leading tone to the D which is what it usually does in harmonic minor songs. I certainly think the argument could be made that the song plays around with all three modes, rather than just the two 12Tone uses, but I've always heard the song in A (and there are plenty of blues songs that play around in the space between the natural minor and relative phrygian scales.)
@s_SoNick 2 роки тому
Another great analysis! I don't comment offer as I watch videos on my TV and I need to get out my phone and search for the video to type something, but I loved the obscure Sonic Underground reference! I haven't even thought about that show in ages
@IsaacClodfelter 2 роки тому
I'd say almost every time I listen to this song I get something more out of it. And the two most popular covers of it I know of by Nirvana and Midge Ure maintain so much of the original while bringing their own story to the song.
@Olivier81961 2 роки тому
I rarely enjoy listening to podcasts, but your podcast with Polyphonic is really cool! I enjoy it! :)
@JeremyForTheWin 2 роки тому
One of the best songs from my favorite Bowie album. The recent remaster (named "the metrobolist" which was the original name) is well worth listening to, though i think i still prefer the original
@RapidsLurker15 2 роки тому
Did you mean Metrobolist?
@JeremyForTheWin 2 роки тому
@@RapidsLurker15 yes
@moe3235 2 роки тому
I love Bowie’s original but my favorite is the first time I heard it (in a game, gta, or sumshi) Midge Ure’s version is still the best to my ear
@GarrettDore 2 роки тому
It's a great song based on one of my favorite poems. Thanks for the video.
@Mcwatt_the_Black_Witch 2 роки тому
"The Man Who Sold The World" is not a song about legacy, its a song about big boss
@ltb1345 2 роки тому
You mean Venom Snake.
@odd-eyes6363 2 роки тому
@@ltb1345 He is Big Boss, and so am I No... he is the two of us together
@ishansingh9633 2 роки тому
@@odd-eyes6363 now do you remember?
@Mr.Nin10do. 2 роки тому
We are all Diamond Dogs
@qqq386 2 роки тому
@@ltb1345 The songs fits Big Boss (real one) better. Venom's song would be The phantom pain
@shooty668 2 роки тому
As it's coming up to Christmas, it'd be good to hear your take on Joni Mitchell's River. I know the story behind the song but would love to hear how you view that's been incorporated into the music itself. A subverted Jingle Bells motif is surely what 2021 needs and that album is 50 this year, so all the more reason! Love your content, keep up the stellar work, you awesome human!
@Distain_Gaming 2 роки тому
Might be late to say this, and I'm pretty sure at least some of it is the fever, but the use of SWAT KATS as a visual touchstone for being forgotten makes me feel intensely complicated things, and I just want you to know that.
@soursoap9581 2 роки тому
Swat cats drawing at 13:56 had me dead lol. Gargoyles would also been acceptable 🤣 🤣 awesome video subbed instantly, the work you put in shows👍🏼
@planepantsgames1791 2 роки тому
Awesome! I love your music theory videos the best
@thomasevans9566 2 роки тому
The version by Richard Barone, of The Bongos, on his chamber-rock live album “Cool Blue Halo” is the one that first stuck this song solidly in my head. If pressed, I’ll admit that both the Bowie and Nirvana versions are more compelling, but I really dig the way Jane Scarpantoni makes the riff sing out on the cello
@smokedravioli3208 2 роки тому
I love Nirvana's cover of the Man Who Sold the World. It's an amazing song and I never would've known it if they didn't decide to play it on MTV that night.
@OAlem 2 роки тому
13:54 His follow-up efforts to Space Oddity were failing? I know you're not the first person to say that, but that's exaggerated. True, he hadn't *sold* much between November 1969 and November 1970. A couple of singles and the rest of the album weren't successful but Space Oddity still was. He wrote The Man Who Sold The World less than a year after Space Oddity was released. The record executives may have given up on him but I sincerely doubt Bowie considered himself a one-hit-wonder has-been at 23 years old. That's why he didn't quit. He never lost control.
@christopherlawley1842 2 роки тому
"Believe in yourself" !
@ahumphr 2 роки тому
The eponymous TMWSTW album isn't an easy listen, even now. Unless you were a fan or followed the rock press you wouldn't know it happened. My dad liked SpaceOddity. The BBC played it on the radio. For the casual listener Bowie more or less disappeared until the astonishing TOTP performance of Starman in 72: full Ziggy make up, red hair and arm round Mick Ronson. My parents were pretty relaxed, but they were concerned for their kids even seeing him.
@motis1837 2 роки тому
An analysis of this song was long-overdue. I’m glad it’s finally happened!
@iwannasmoovie8178 2 роки тому
I’m beside myself, loved this song for a long time. Thanks
@blondie5835 2 роки тому
New to your channel and boy am I happy that I happened to have headphones on.
@rafaelbalsan4512 2 роки тому
I just love getting the little references you scribble on the side
@elizondorihuela 2 роки тому
I've been listening to this song all morning long to many of its versions. SNL one with Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias is pretty good. BBC another one of my favorites. But the one on the Jools Holland's show is just pure perfection. Now, this vid wrapped it up. Cheers, man. Greetings from Zapopan Jalisco Mexico.
@brianmiller1077 2 роки тому
The SNL one with Klaus Nomi sounds more like a horror movie than the psychedelic original.
@GeorgeTheDinoGuy 2 роки тому
I’m so glad you made this awesome video on this amazing song! David Bowie will live on forever!
@ZeroMod 2 роки тому
I LOVE your assessment of "the riff" as I play with some bozos who CANNOT play it right and it drives me ( a life long Bowie fan - met him once) CRAZY...I had them retire the song as it was too depressing. And Visconti is so underrated on bass.
@tegridysoda5282 2 роки тому
I always thought "The Man who Sold the World" was about a endless cycle that humamity traps itself in. Like a parody of our culture. The man sells the world to someone, just to sell it again. Continuing forever.
@therealdudeski 2 роки тому
That certainly can work on the selling out context. It's essentially the same idea but on a wider scale
@divineterabyte5181 2 роки тому
Is there any way you could explain how Midge Ure's cover of this song sounds more "Bowie" as we know it than Bowie's version? I've always found it interesting
@dylanwood2287 2 роки тому
My favorite content on yt keep it up
@Papa_Waffles 2 роки тому
The fact you drew the minimalist form of Lost is what sold me
@rubyweapondsx 2 роки тому
I have no idea how this got in my recommended, but damn am I glad it did.
@aembattledturtle8562 Рік тому
I think I’m the chorus I heard the distortion(probably not the right term) on his voice lessen, symbolizing him no longer battling with the personalities, because the crowd is only supposed to see the show personality, or the producer is only supposed to see the human personality, but there’s still the distortion, meaning it’s not his true personality, not him.
@pianoman021 2 роки тому
Love this song. Introduced to it through Nirvana’s Unplugged in New York. Really appreciate the musical breakdown. The lyrics, though, I don’t believe had a truly intended message. I think Bowie wrote something ambiguous for the sake of being ambiguous, which is cool.
@chordacopia5149 3 місяці тому
Chords for The Man Who Sold The World: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/baGSh3ioqH-Vy30.html
@strateupgamr7 2 роки тому
I like watching these videos about breaking down parts of songs and explaining them. It's interesting to find out why all these songs are so appealing and popular. I have no understanding of music theory. I don't play an instrument. What's a step. Who's misconti. What.
@fidgetyou 2 роки тому
The reading that I personally enjoy is of the artist meeting his world weary idol (Kurt meeting Bowie perhaps) with the first verse being the older artist. And through the course of the 2nd verse the singer has become a world weary artist and is singing the 2nd chorus to some other fresh artist. (Even better when the fresh artist and the world weary artist are in actuality the same person)
@robertmyers6518 2 роки тому
I really **really** liked this episode. I was in my early teens when I bought the 45 of Space Oddity (1973 or '74?) and this song was the B-side of that single. And it scared the be-jebus outta me! That guitar riff... Whew... It was so uncomfortable and distressing that a few months passed before I ever tried to listen to that side of the single again. Still, I kept going back to listen and, eventually, I fell in love with the song and it's still one of my most favorite Bowie tunes.
@johnhamers4571 8 місяців тому
Very master like way of bringing things over ✌🏼
@Sam_on_YouTube 2 роки тому
I love Nirvana Unplugged in New York. One of my favorite albums. When a band does something out of the ordinary, it is usually because it is so meaningful to them that you know it will be good. Or... it could be a gimmick. But when good bands do it, its usually pretty damn good.
@nathanisjesuschrist1175 2 роки тому
I really like Midge Ures take on this song like it is perfection.
@GizzyDillespee 2 роки тому
Another excellent vid. It almost seems like everyone's becoming like a midway carny trying to attract custies to their booth, so your approach, or schtick, or whatever you want to call it, what you do, seems refreshingly almost quaint and old-fashioned in comparison, but then if I think about it of course it does, with hand drawn doodles on antique-y notation paper, it's obviously not by accident, but it's like you said about David Bowie's personas or avatars showing one aspect, and then there's a reason opera and theater gestures are "over the top", and "reality" shows have to be edited, or else no-one would watch...
@thatmomentwhen9676 2 роки тому
Yeeeees I've been wanting this one
@KenderGuy 2 роки тому
There are few creators who can capture my full attention for very long. These are people I'd pay if I could because the content is so well crafted and I can tell the creator is interested. I'd join your patreon if I could, but alas. I have no money. Maybe sometime in the near future I'll acquire the funds to do so.
@bingefeller 2 роки тому
I often wonder if Bowie was thinking of all this when he wrote the song, or did he just do it because it sounded cool?
@stefanandrews5098 2 роки тому
With myself and most musicians (interviews with the famous ones and personal friends and such) - he probably thought so far as “I want this to sound kinda dreamy and not go anywhere” and played something that made him feel that way. “I want the chorus to feel more like a normal song cause that’s the two character faces in the story” Those more basic thoughts, and it’s the beauty of creativity and what makes a musician themselves that turn them into what we can then pick apart.
@bobbypalmer7176 2 роки тому
Nice vid amigo
@aidanrichards2485 10 місяців тому
whenever he uses those chords to show the intervals i keep thinking of sisters of mercy
@grungus935 2 роки тому
Mohsen Namjoo has a song called Morghe Sheyda where he samples (steals?) this riff and plays with the fact that its essentially in maqam Hijaz. Real interesting interpretation
@SirFooplesTheThird 2 роки тому
If I watch enough 12Tone, Adam Neely and Rick Beato I can create the perfect music piece! I'll know everything I need to know
@raleighkeagstrong6165 2 роки тому
That was a nice little Hollow Knight reference there with "empty vessel"
@dwc1964 2 роки тому
I really wish they had been able to have that conversation
@modulusshift 2 роки тому
I played in a jazz ensemble, and learned to play the guiro part on a couple Latin songs, in a rhythm basically identical to this one. The trick I was taught is to do a full stroke in one direction, two short sharp back and forth strokes on the end of the ribs, then a full stroke back, and the two short strokes again on that end. The whole pattern is a continuous motion, easy to zone out to. The guiro is an instrument perfectly suited to this rhythm, the kitchen unitasker of the jazz ensemble, you pull it out only when you need that exact sound and rhythm lol
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