Very good, brief article with analysis of Max's writing style

[georg_e]

           I ran across an article by accident tonight from The New Yorker Magazine of  May 2008, which gives a really good, short analysis of what makes Max's melodies work so well. The writer uses Robyn's "Show Me Love" as his example, and I totally see what he means by the "goosebumps" effect in the melody he writes about!  Sorry I could not get the link to work, but if you type in the following phrase on Google or Yahoo the article comes up at top of the list:

                                                         robyn easily defeats leona lewis

           That's the title of the article, by Sasha Frere Jones, the pop music critic of The New Yorker. He obviously "gets" Max!

[Scott Martin :)]

Çool, thanks for the link!

[Rebecca]

Thank you for that - I hadn't seen it!

A very good description

I agree too about the goosebumps effect! it's in nearly every song for me.

interesting that he said that he's asked Max many times for an interview! oh I wish Max would give another interview (not just on Swedish radio)

[*Sabine*]

Kinda interesting! Max loves hiding, no one can help it!

[Guy]

it's called a "turn around".. Max often uses them to signify the end of the chorus, it also give the chorus a little unexpected LIFT right at the end.  It's really the mark of a great song writer, this addition of the unexpected change... it's really all about putting something in the melody that comes out of left field and also has a slight "where is this going" feel about it.  The big bridge of "SOMH" it a fantastic example of this technique.  Where Nick sings "I don't know where to start, but to show you..."  this progression is really off the wall compared to the rest of the track.

[Raul_esp]

it's called a "turn around".. Max often uses them to signify the end of the chorus, it also give the chorus a little unexpected LIFT right at the end.  It's really the mark of a great song writer, this addition of the unexpected change... it's really all about putting something in the melody that comes out of left field and also has a slight "where is this going" feel about it.  The big bridge of "SOMH" it a fantastic example of this technique.  Where Nick sings "I don't know where to start, but to show you..."  this progression is really off the wall compared to the rest of the track.

I agree with you , the counter melody or turn around is the best of the max martin songs , something amazing!

I love the counter melody of get another boyfriend :

Hear me out
You must know
What it's all about, baby
That he's just a player in love
This must come to an end
Get another boyfriend

amazing , one of the best melodies ever .

[Rebecca]

The counter melody of Get Another Boyfriend is stunning.

Is a 'turn around' the same as a counter melody?
(I don't know the songwriting lingo)

[*Sabine*]

Yes, the counter melody is usually my fave moment in a Max song!  I actually often switch directly to 2:20, 2:30 when I listen myu Cheiron classics!
But what I think is even more interesting is that this aspect is really typical of Cheiron ex songwriters. Indeed, you can find other great songs by other Swedish writers (Anders Bagge, Savan, Arnthor...) but there are no counter melodies. Yet, I think the counter melody is the ultimate 'ingredient' to make a perfect song. Still today, the Cheiron style has been imitated a lot but nobody has actually ever done a counter melody. This is a feature that gives the genuine Cheiron stamp and I really love that!

[Guy]

The counter melody of Get Another Boyfriend is stunning.

Is a 'turn around' the same as a counter melody?
(I don't know the songwriting lingo)

Not really, generally speaking a 'turn around' is when the chords alter from the normal progression.  It's a music signpost if you will signifying either a new part is going to begin or the original progression is going to repeat itself.  A good example is in IWITW when at the end of the first verse when Brian says the word "that way".  Notice how the chords change there.. same as in the songs Chorus. 

A counter melody should not be confused with a vocal harmony line.  A counter melody is defined by the melody line being clearly different in pitch and phrasing from the main melody.  Counter melodies are commonly played by instruments (not sung), very commonly a sine lead sound in MM's dance/RnB type music (more producer talk).  There is actually lots of RnB in MM's early classic tracks... the drums, the tempo and locked in groove.. all very late 90's RnB traits.  Vocal harmonies can be loosely defined as background singers singing the same words and very similar phrasing as the main lead vocal but to a melody that is harmonically related to the main lead line, in scalular intervals (3rds, 5ths, octaves etc).


Back to the counter melody... 

In http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUTrn3Bbjbs listen to the 'flute' sound in the background at 1:22.  That is a counter melody.  Very subtle but give an added interest in the verse.  Also at 3:30 in the outro.  That is the "sine lead" sound I spoke of earlier, very subtle!!!

[georg_e]

         Really great discussion!  In the countermelodies area, there is one current example of this in a Max song that gets me every time.....in "So What" (Pink)  in the chorus right after the bridge, there is this great, simple descending guitar countermelody that comes in, just one long note per measure. It's totally simple but somehow it adds incredible emotion to the climax of the song.  Impossible to say why, but that's the exact part of the song that affects me the most powerfully, and it's that guitar countermelody that does it.

[gm33]

That is so true! It's an incredibly powerful part of the song.

If you listen to Pink's "Who Knew" this is especially true, between 2:30 - 3:10, but most especially around 2:45. Creates many goosebumps!

This is what makes Max's songs so powerful and so emotional.

[*Sabine*]

Yes I see what you mean and I have the same 'goosebumps' effect too!
It creates the final climax of the song. I think this effect is in all the songs but we are more or less sensitive to it, depending on our tastes...

[gm33]

I'm really sorry for digging up this old topic, but I think for the first time in a while, at least I think, we have just a brilliant, brilliant bridge in "Criminal" on Britney's new album. It's phenomenal and creates those goosebumps for me! The music in the background is so pretty, too. I can't stop playing that part! It's a slice of pure Max Martin music heaven.

From 2:10 to 2:40
And he's got my name
Tatooed on his arm
His lucky charm,
So I guess its okay
He's with me

And I hear people talk
Trying to make remarks
Keep us apart
But I don't even hear
I don't care

[georg_e]

 
                 It's a great topic to bring up again, gm33! :-)   Yes, the "Criminal" bridge is just great, so satisfying, it's like a lift to the whole song. Part of the reason I think  is that bass is used very sparingly through the whole song, but the bridge starts with a juicy bass note under it, which makes it seem like  ''whoaa".......  (Only way I can describe it

[Raul_esp]

I'm really sorry for digging up this old topic, but I think for the first time in a while, at least I think, we have just a brilliant, brilliant bridge in "Criminal" on Britney's new album. It's phenomenal and creates those goosebumps for me! The music in the background is so pretty, too. I can't stop playing that part! It's a slice of pure Max Martin music heaven.

From 2:10 to 2:40
And he's got my name
Tatooed on his arm
His lucky charm,
So I guess its okay
He's with me

And I hear people talk
Trying to make remarks
Keep us apart
But I don't even hear
I don't care

I agree , it's pure Max , the best moment of the album for me