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Find at least one musical example outside of Ratliff’s playlist and justify its inclusion – how does it exemplify this musical concept?

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Find at least one musical example outside of Ratliff’s playlist and justify its inclusion – how does it exemplify this musical concept?

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Mumford and Sons, “I Will Wait”, is a great example of closeness because the band uses this element as part of the core of their sound. Even the name “Mumford and Sons” expresses this tight knit family ideal of closeness. In their music video for the song and in their live performances you see the 4 founding member close in a straight line, not spread out, not one in front the others, but 4 men together and doing completely different things as one whole. This again is expressed in their voices as they combine to create one through out the entire song, the lead singers voice almost sounds incomplete without the others harmonizing and helping lift his own. Mumford and Sons doesn’t work without the whole family, their sound would be lost of one of them were to leave and the vulnerability in that is another reason these men have the sound of closeness down. They rely on each other to create their sound and it’s shown through how little in the song the lead singer has an actual solo. Even their instruments playing g completely different beats and cords and progression seamlessly melts into a common sound. The 4 members of Mumford and Sons examplify closeness through the actual closeness of their body language and placement on stage, voices and instruments to prove that years as a band really die on a higher playing field.

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Examine at least one musical example in Ratliff’s playlist in detail – how does it exemplify this musical concept?

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Examine at least one musical example in Ratliff’s playlist in detail – how does it exemplify this musical concept?

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The Beatles song, “When I Get Home”, is a great example of Ratliff’s idea of closeness, because of John Lennon and Paul McCartneys ability to sing a harmonized falsetto with the strength of each other their voices not just individually but as a learned whole. They knew the power behind the closeness of their voices and took advantage of and became famous for it. This skill wasn’t something that just anyone could do, their ability to create a contrast that didn’t sound like one set the Beatles first album and step above the rest of the bands out at the time. Closeness as Ratliff states, is something that can fuel not just the two musicians or singers, but the entire band on that higher level most seek and the Beatles had that naturally from the very start, which is why they clearly exemplify closeness.

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“Sometimes the closeness of two musicians within a band is what makes the band capable of moving beyond normal limits. The connection between them becomes the power source, creating enough energy for the rest of the band to feed from or mirror.”.

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“Sometimes the closeness of two musicians within a band is what makes the band capable of moving beyond normal limits. The connection between them becomes the power source, creating enough energy for the rest of the band to feed from or mirror.”.

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Every Song Ever, by Ben Ratliff, Pg. 165

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"But the sound of closeness- two or more musicians, or musical elements, acting in the purest coordination- tends to escape us because we can't see it.".  

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"But the sound of closeness- two or more musicians, or musical elements, acting in the purest coordination- tends to escape us because we can't see it.".  

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Every Song Ever, By Ben Ratliff, Pg. 161

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Mike IX Williams and Jimmy Bower, show their closeness by, “rarely standing more than a few feet from each other,”. These rock legends prove that years of working together really do create a different level of sound that is hard to obtain with it.
Quote from “Every Song Ever”, by Ben Ratliff, page 167.

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Two band member of The Beatles pose closely together showing not just their on stage chemistry but their respect and admiration for the other off stage.

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Enjoy the “eyeball to eyeball” harmonies of John Lennon and Paul McCartney!

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This performance shows the line up of the men and how close they are on stage, in voice, and instrument with each other.

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Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait (Official Music Video)

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Do you agree with Ratliff’s arguments regarding this musical element? Why or why not?

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Do you agree with Ratliff’s arguments regarding this musical element? Why or why not?

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I agree with Ratliff’s argument that closeness isn’t something easily attained and is an important part of a bands general essence together. It’s an idea that as he states, can be lost on most people due to its subtlety, because we don’t always listen for it. It’s less something you find and more something you can miss in music. For example when it’s there you can’t really tell, it just sounds like a good song, but when it’s normally there and then it’s not, you wonder what’s happened. The concept to me, is easiest heard by going to concerts and seeing a band perform live a show they’ve been touring for months, and then going back to listen to the studio version the band recorded a year ago, something is missing. It’s not just post concert blues, it’s the fact that the band has become comfortable with each other on stage and their closeness shows into the music. Although bands that who have been around longer can and have mastered the sound of closeness in recording and live, newer bands can express this concept through live performances if they’ve developed that relationship required of the sound.