- Please Mr. Postman, The Marvelettes, 1961
- Instrumentation: Percussion, piano, bass, vocals (lead and backup), clapping. The instruments do not vary much- they pretty much repeat the same patterns over and over. They function as a support for the vocals.
- Texture: I would describe the texture as full, but not rich. There are not many different instruments present here, so the sound is not rich, but it is never thin. The percussion, strings, and piano pretty much play the same rhythm over and over, and blend in with the vocal line.
- Range: There is not much variation in range here at all. The voices stay in the same range the entire song, and the instruments seem to play the same notes/ chords the entire time.
- Tempo: The music is of a medium pace, and is undoubtedly steady.
- Meter: 4 beat meter(?) with a very defined pulse. The percussion keeps a very steady beat throughout the song, and there is no variation at all.
- Volume: The song maintains a medium volume throughout.
- Lyrics: In the song, the girls sing about waiting around for a letter from their men. They say that they haven't heard from their boyfriends in a long time and won't be happy until they do: their happiness depends on their man. Although the sixties were a time when women were still establishing their independence and place in society, the Motown genre was a sort of step in the wrong direction. Label owners like Berry Gordy controlled their girl groups and gave them practically no benefits at all. Thus, the lyrics in this song are very appropriate to the genre to which they belong.
- Other: The song has a medium tempo, volume, and range. This mediocrity, or lack of exaggeratedness also reflects the powerless position women often held within Motown.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Please Mr. Postman
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Hmmmmm --- do you think this is a mediocre song, or a mediocre performance? Do you think that teen audiences listening to this music back in the 1960s would reflect on the lyrics, or would they just dance?
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting question, Olivia --- how much of your response is shaped by issues we are addressing in class? If you were at a sock hop (okay, imagine yourself in the 1960s), would you be analyzing structures, or cutting a rug, so to speak?
This song has endured for more than 45 years - specifically, this performance has endured for more than 45 years as a favourite, although the music has been re-recorded at least 6 other times. Why do you think it has endured -- is it just a matter of marketing?
Is this a song you'd ever listen to outside of class?
Thanks for considering all my questions, and for your good analysis.
I guess I would have to rephrase and say that perhaps the vocal potential is mediocre(?) I think the performance is perfect for this song, I just don't think it's very demanding vocally. I really enjoy this song, I've been listening to it my whole life, so I certainly would listen to it outside of class! I think that teen audiences would NOT reflect on the lyrics, just as teen audiences today pay no mind to some of the most vulgar lyrics in rap/ hip hop songs. I certainly don't analyze lyrics when a fun song comes on. I think that this song has endured because people like Berry Gordy realized the up and coming trend that talented singers didn't necessarily mean successful singers, and emphasized the fun-feel of the song.
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