Radiohead- Life in a Glasshouse

Returning to a more modern era of popular music, Radiohead is British rock band that encompasses a variety of sonic styles. Their songs are very textured, and through-composed, so there is not often a repetitive chorus or tag line. Because of this, their music takes on a more artistic value. Life in a Glass House is a great example of these musical qualities. Although, it is a little different from Radiohead’s typical sound, featuring big band brass and clarinet sounds, instead of electric guitars and keyboards. Unlike the previous tunes which have only clarinet solos and segments, this song uses clarinet the entire way through, whether it be in the foreground or as part of the counter melody. The clarinet in this song, too, has a very jazzy quality coming from the moderate use of glissandos and vibrato. It is also interesting to note the instrument’s tessitura progression throughout the piece. At first, the clarinet remains in the lower registers, but as the music progresses it reaches the higher octaves, becomes more rhythmically active, and adopts a brighter tone. Notice how the clarinet traces the evolution and growth of the song.





Sources:

Radiohead. (n.d.). LastFM. Retrieved from http://www.last.fm/music/Radiohead.

Billy Joel- Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Continuing in the Jazz and Dixieland theme from the last post, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel really capitalizes on this characteristic. The song begins as more of a schmaltzy piano ballad, but about two minutes into the piece, things begin to change pace. The tempo picks up, the piano line becomes more charged, and as soon as the clarinet enters it’s a real party! During this section, the lyrics make specific mention of New Orleans, and the Dixieland themed clarinet solo only helps to materialize this idea. The clarinetist uses many sweeping glissandos, and excessive vibrato very distinct to this regional form of jazz music to exemplify the sound.

Neil Diamond- Cherry Cherry

This tune by Neil Diamond is quite popular, and is something you have probably heard before, but did you notice that it uses clarinet? As compared to our earlier examples, the clarinet is used quite extensively. Take a closer listen during to the verses that immediately follow chorus, looking past the catchy lyrics; you will notice that there is a prominent clarinet counter-melody. In this song, the clarinet is used to add an upbeat, bouncy feel to the music; more comparable to the way it is used in Jazz or Dixieland music. Dixieland music.