the cave :D @lookingforcharlieouthere - Tumblr Blog

Hi :)

I don't know if anyone is even gonna end up reading this, but if you are: I'm Charlie and this is just for me to post about anything that interests me and things that go through my head. I've been feeling pretty lonely and isolated and scared of people for a while now and I'm trying to get some help for that, but for now I just have have this blog, as self-mandated exposure therapy.

If anyone wants to like talk or be friends or something that would make me happy I think.

#intro post

1nneffabl3celest1als

wish I were here is so underated it's actually so catchy

#the harmonies give me goosebumps #next to normal

since the plural of deer isn't deers, the singular should be door instead

#goose geese #tooth teeth #door deer

A fun detail in I've Been that I somehow didn't appreciate for a long time is how flying and staying on the ground are spelled out by the music.

For Diana's flying it's staccato 16th notes that start at c5 and cover a full octave up to c6:

And for Dan's keeping his feet on the ground it's legato 8th notes that stay between d5 and f5:

#it's kind of obvious but i never made the connection for some reason?#next to normal #n2n #dan goodman #diana goodman

lookingforcharlieouthere

More n2n music posting! Here's another small way in which the music illustrates the lyrics, this time in My Psychopharmacologist and I:

The whole song, including Dan's Who's Crazy, is full of upward and downward runs and melodic lines which I imagine are there to emphasize the idea of lifting and falling. The first time Diana sings "without a little lift, the ballerina falls", it's framed by two runs in opposite directions and her own melody rises as well. Interestingly, the run associated with "falls" goes up and the one that follows "lift" goes down:

I think it's also fitting that the song is in 3/4 and has a waltz-like accompaniment in some places. That goes well with all the mentions of dancing and metaphors around dancing throughout this number (and the whole musical, but ofc especially in I Dreamed a Dance).

lookingforcharlieouthere

I'm also wondering if all the chromaticism in this song especially when the melody sort of moves around one note (often a d btw), could symbolize mental instability? Because I feel like there is something nervous or shaky about the way it sounds and there's so much of it:

Also chromaticism often gives the impression of muddling stable harmonies so it would also make sense on a more abstract level.

#next to normal #n2n #ignore that one of these is actually diatonic #the gesture is still the same i think

More n2n music posting! Here's another small way in which the music illustrates the lyrics, this time in My Psychopharmacologist and I:

The whole song, including Dan's Who's Crazy, is full of upward and downward runs and melodic lines which I imagine are there to emphasize the idea of lifting and falling. The first time Diana sings "without a little lift, the ballerina falls", it's framed by two runs in opposite directions and her own melody rises as well. Interestingly, the run associated with "lift" goes down and the one that follows "falls" goes up:

I think it's also fitting that the song is in 3/4 and has a waltz-like accompaniment in some places. That goes well with all the mentions of dancing and metaphors around dancing throughout this number (and the whole musical, but ofc especially in I Dreamed a Dance).

#next to normal #n2n #diana goodman

appreciation post for Natalie's Everything Else!

This post got pretty long, but basically I wanted to talk about genre mixing and form, and also a bit about what classical music represents for Natalie as a character.

First off, this song is such a cool mix of diegetic and non-diegetic music and of genres:

The introductory instrumental is clearly Mozart-inspired (as he seems to be her favourite composer) to set the scene as Natalie just practicing a Mozart sonata for her recital. The things that make it sound like Mozart are, imo:

the Alberti bass in the left hand, found literally everywhere in classical keyboard pieces, like this:

the strings that follow this rhythmic pattern which is very common in accompanying string parts particularly in classical colo concertos (this example is just from a random Mozart piano concerto):

the harmonies (using only basic harmonic functions like I, V, III, IV, VI and a few secondary dominants) and maybe even the overall harmonic progression of the introduction (moving from the tonic to the dominant)

and the melody which seems inspired by Mozart's famous Sonata facile (triadic, then runs, also both are in C major, 4/4, allegro):

Of course this intro also returns later when Natalie messes it up at her recital, so she's clearly actually playing it within the musical.

At the same time, what she's playing isn't actually Mozart, we're just supposed to pick up on the vibe. I think this already removes the listener a little from feeling like they're literally listening to someone practice and reminds them that the music is just there to introduce us further to Natalie as a character.

Once Natalie starts singing, this becomes more obvious, because an actual piano sonata by Mozart would not have a vocal part (it wouldn't have strings either, but I'll get to that). But I think the point where the song fully transitions to something that sounds recognisably like modern musical theatre (instead of classical-inspired) is at "and you play... / and everything else goes away":

It's a pretty sudden change in tone, the song slows down (which is not something that would typically happen in the middle of the first movement of a classical keyboard sonata), the Alberti bass disappears and the music starts incorporating a lot of suspensions (of the fourth). Sus4 do of course appear in Mozart pieces, but I'd say they're not usually this drawn out.

Because the following section moves to more remote harmonies and because the initial piano melody from the intro reappears back in C major after this harmonically and energetically more eventful part at "and you know that it's just a sonata away", I would describe the overall form of the song as ABA. More specifically, it could roughly fit the outline of the sonata form. I've tried to make a little diagram to show how it does and doesn't follow this model:

This is definitely debatable since it deviates from the the model in pretty significant ways (although even most classical sonatas don't perfectly fit into it) and the "recapitulation" is truncated. But I think it might still be intentional, because the song is explicitely supposed to resemble a classical sonata.

The other thing I find interesting in terms of mixing genres is that there are actually two genres within classical music that Everything Else could be interpreted as being inspired by. The one I've been talking about so far is the piano sonata, but I think the song also has a few things in common with a classical solo concerto. The main things that make me think that are:

the presence of an orchestral/instrumental introduction that introduces the first subject (the piano melody) and ends on the dominant, which is typical for the first movement of classical solo concertos

if this song was purely modeled after a piano sonata, there should be no other instruments (or a vocal part) involved

as mentioned, the strings (during the íntro) play an accompanimental figure that's common in solo concertos

the first movement of a solo concerto usually follows the sonata form at least roughly

In this interpretation, the vocal part would be taking on the role of the solo instrument, but in classical music, the solo concerto is exclusively an instrumental genre. The vocal part also does not pick up the melody/first subject, that stays in the piano. Additionally, the piano would not be involved in a classical solo concerto unless it is the solo instrument, and a solo concerto would have a full orchestral accompaniment, not just a few strings. So overall, this comparison might be a bit of a reach, but I still thought it was interesting and worth pointing out.

Lastly, I have a couple of unfinished thoughts about Natalie and classical music as more of a metaphor: Maybe there's a point to be made about the song leaving the "rigidity" and "structure" of classical once Natalie gets into it with feeling ("everything else goes away") and returning to it when she refocuses on the work she needs to do in order to get what she wants ("you know that it's just a sonata away"). Maybe the "structured" classical is also a bit of a shield against the mental disarray she sees in Diana and is afraid of in herself. But is it just a shield or actually who she is when she is most mentally stable (since she only fully dismisses it when she breaks down at the recital)?

#idk if this is interesting to anyone #i hope it's understandable at all #it's pretty rambly i'm sorry #i'd love to see other people's takes on the music in n2n too #does anyone want to talk about it #i feel like we talk so much about the lyrics and plot #and the characters ofc #which i love!!!#but in conjunction with the music it's even more fun #i mean we don't have to do detailed analysis or anything #i just wish it was more of a topic ig #also i feel like there are lots of jazz influences #which i know nothing about #next to normal #n2n #natalie goodman #tom kitt

I don't think I've seen the bit of foreshadowing in Just Another Day pointed out where Gabe literally announces that he'll stay forever:

It sounds innocuous when you don't know who/what he is or you don't even hear it because the line kind of gets lost between the others singing over it. But when you know, it becomes almost sinister.

It's also such a full circle moment when in the end Diana acknowledges that he was kind of right, but that she can go on regardless.

#some ghosts are never gone #but we go on #next to normal #gabe goodman #diana goodman #this line is also much more audible in the west end recording for some reason #jack wolfe #caissie levy

renzilla-exists

coming online as someone who liked the finale

lookingforcharlieouthere

I'm a bit confused by how much everyone seems to hate the ending specifically. Like the whole thing felt (predictably) pretty rushed and I was a bit disappointed that they didn't do more with Jesus... but the ending I thought was bittersweet and kind of poetic. Idk it made sense to me at least.

#good omens #good omens 3

lookingforcharlieouthere

there are actually so many alliterations in Next to Normal once you start looking for them, and some of them come in really clever patterns! Like:

are you bleeding are you waiting / are you wishing / are you wanting are you bruised / are you broken are you hurting / are you healing / are you hoping you square all the corners I straighten the curves I am flame and I am fire I am destruction, decay, and desire I'll hurt you, I'll heal you they've cut away the cancer but forgot to fill the hole they moved me from your memory I'm still there in your soul all the manic magic days and the dark depressing nights the sensation that you're screaming, but you never make a sound or the feeling that you're falling, but you never hit the ground

those are my favourite ones, but these also stick out I think:

is cloudy my new clear is my brain reborn or is it wrecked in freedom or in fear she was wicked and wired I am more than memory, I am what might be, I am mystery I'll tell you the truth if you let me try sear the soul and leave a scar maybe I've lost it at last / maybe my last lucid moment has passed you don't hear his doubts / or his debts or disease can you keep the cup from tipping all the while the wild wind blows

and I'm sure there are way more that I'm not thinking of

lookingforcharlieouthere

lol just realized the name of the musical itself is kind of an alliteration

I need to talk about the music in You Don't Know (Reprise), because I think it interacts with the text in a very interesting way:

The number starts out with pretty sparse, but forceful and blocky accompaniment:

The breaks between bits of accompaniment become shorter as Diana goes on until she gets to "I'm some Christopher Columbus sailing out into my mind":

This is the line I find particularly interesting and well illustrated by the music:

The rhythm section and bass (and entire lower register) disappear, the piano starts playing this flowing arpeggio and the strings stay on one long note for two entire bars. This always made the line stand out to me, because the musical effect is completely different from the parts before and after.

I think the missing bass and rhythm section clearly represent Diana's disorientation and lack of direction ("no map of where I'm going"), since both are grounding elements that normally form the foundation of a song. The lack of any percussion for almost two whole measures, especially taking out the hi-hat that was keeping a steady pulse on every beat, also makes this part feel way less "regulated" and constrained. This fits with the imagery of sailing out into the open sea, into the unknown. The piano part I think represents the sea more literally. Continuous short notes feel way more flowy than the chordal accompaniment from before. And because the chords are instead broken up into individual notes, there is an up-and-down sort of movement to it that visually resembles waves (and is also a common, established way to represent water in music).

Obviously this is very intentional, because a bit later in the song, there is another line with the same melody but different accompaniment:

Here, the rhythm section and bass keep playing and there are no "waves" in the piano part.

Maybe I'm pointing out something really obvious, but I still think it's cool that you can tell how much intentionality there is in the music.

#next to normal #diana goodman #tom kitt #brian yorkey #music analysis #i guess #anyway does anyone want to talk about the music in this musical with me

never noticed the side effects in "My Psychopharmacologist and I" are listed in (almost) alphabetical order, like on a medication leaflet:

anxiousness, anger, exhaustion, insomnia, irritability, nausea, vomiting

#i have been thinking about this musical for a year now #someone help me #next to normal #diana goodman #brian yorkey

there are actually so many alliterations in Next to Normal once you start looking for them, and some of them come in really clever patterns! Like:

are you bleeding are you waiting / are you wishing / are you wanting are you bruised / are you broken are you hurting / are you healing / are you hoping you square all the corners I straighten the curves I am flame and I am fire I am destruction, decay, and desire I'll hurt you, I'll heal you they've cut away the cancer but forgot to fill the hole they moved me from your memory I'm still there in your soul all the manic magic days and the dark depressing nights the sensation that you're screaming, but you never make a sound or the feeling that you're falling, but you never hit the ground

those are my favourite ones, but these also stick out I think:

is cloudy my new clear is my brain reborn or is it wrecked in freedom or in fear she was wicked and wired I am more than memory, I am what might be, I am mystery I'll tell you the truth if you let me try sear the soul and leave a scar maybe I've lost it at last / maybe my last lucid moment has passed you don't hear his doubts / or his debts or disease can you keep the cup from tipping all the while the wild wind blows

and I'm sure there are way more that I'm not thinking of

#next to normal #diana goodman #dan goodman #natalie goodman #gabe goodman #also henry #brian yorkey