Rufus Wainwright’s “The Maker Makes,” used as the final cue in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, is a straightforward little folk song on the surface. Under the hood, this song is cast in 9/8 time, a relatively rare time signature for a country tune. It’s interesting that his “Katonah” and “Sally Ann” are also in 9/8. The song […]
As I listen to Loudon’s output as a songwriter, I do not hear an enormous influence on his son, with the exception for the love for the 3 chord sleepy cowboy songs they both like to write. One parameter I looked for in Loudon’s songs was that of organicism in the melodies. In this case, […]
[Part of the original purpose of this blog was to use it as an open sketchpad for my book about the music of Rufus Wainwright. Pardon me if this entry is not completely formed.]
Rufus has told us of the many times his mother had him sing “Over the Rainbow” late at night as a boy […]
Background
“Before playing this song live in DC {2004], he told the audience to imagine a field covered in bodies, and a big creepy moon in the sky–and that he was responsible for it all, guiding a beautiful young girl through the carnage.” [from rutopia.info]
Form
“The Consort” is an excellent example of motivic unity. The number “3” […]
For my music lovers who don’t know terminology, counterpoint is a musical texture where there are many melodies sounding at the same time. No bass, no guitar vamping, no drums, no back up singers — each “voice” is its own entity and personality. The easiest way to describe this technique is to think of a […]
Background
“Pretty Things” is like a Schubertian parlor moment.
[from the composer’s commentary on “Pretty Things” (Want One) on rufuswainwright.com. Accessed Dec. 7, 2005.]
“…how words sound is more important to me than the meaning. That’s why my music is someaningless for the most part: My thing is that it sounds pretty.”
[“Make it sound pretty: Rufus Wainwright reaches […]
Background
“We basically just got the piano and voice down first and then I wanted to do the string part so I did them with Pierre my producer. Then I just thought of a banjo for some reason because it sounds a little Jewish. The song is a little Yiddish-y and almost a Kurt Weill-type. Then […]
Background
“I did have a crush on an art teacher. He wasn’t my art teacher. He was someone I met at the gym and got to see in a compromising position. He was straight, but he wanted to hang out with me ’cause he was a fan, and we had a nice time together, but it […]
Phrase and formal analysis
(Note: The lineation below is mapped to the melodic repetition of the three melodic cells (see below) in order to illustrate how phrase structure creates form.)
Background "Beauty Mark" is the 7th track on Rufus Wainwright. It is a song about his mother, Kate McGarrigle, to whom he is and always has […]
Background
“Yeah, I was really jealous of him and resentful of his success for a long time when I started out — mainly because Sin-E in New York [the location where Buckley recorded his 1993 debut EP] refused my tape three times [laughs] and didn’t want anything to do with me. So I began a […]
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