Music Theory Analysis #11 - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - "Witchcraft"

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  • Опубликовано: 22 янв 2025

Комментарии • 78

  • @StellarShrapnel
    @StellarShrapnel 15 дней назад +72

    don't stop making king gizz breakdowns man!!! the microtonal video was sooo goood and this one is even better

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  15 дней назад +16

      I have a couple other Gizz vids I plan to make, but I try to balance them with videos on other subjects. I wish I could put out content more frequently but it's kind of a pain in the ass to make lol.

    • @StellarShrapnel
      @StellarShrapnel 15 дней назад +4

      @@ThePopDescriptivist Take ur time man and i hope you are having a great day

  • @brojo3180
    @brojo3180 16 дней назад +51

    Always love these king gizz breakdowns - one of the most interesting bands releasing music these days

  • @lukasgraesslin
    @lukasgraesslin 16 дней назад +24

    I only recently got into Gizzard because of your video about "Crumbling Castle" so certainly looking forward to this video!

  • @kylepetersen6520
    @kylepetersen6520 15 дней назад +14

    This is my absolute favorite song off this record and one of my favorite gizzard songs, this break down was awesome, I had always known there were some crazy poly meter stuff happening but it's amazing to see it broken down in such a great way and I didn't have to do it myself.

  • @Madman1322
    @Madman1322 16 дней назад +11

    I'm definitely going to have to watch this a couple times, but thank you for this breakdown of my favorite song of theirs. I've spent the last year or so trying to figure out what was weird about this song, so I thank you very much!

  • @danielspaceship5124
    @danielspaceship5124 16 дней назад +8

    Always love to see a Gizz breakdown

  • @Bluemarine.
    @Bluemarine. 14 дней назад +2

    Melody gives the illusion of the song being the least complicated composition on the whole album. Turns out its the opposite, pretty challenging to comprehend.

  • @ethanmaisonneuve9704
    @ethanmaisonneuve9704 10 дней назад

    YESSSSSSSSS!!!!! FOUND YOU THROUGH THE YEAR END ALBUMS VID AND I LOVE THIS ALBUM AND I LOVE THIS BREAKDOWN

  • @MiguelCyc
    @MiguelCyc 11 дней назад

    This King Gizzard content is top tier, great work!!

  • @balmain-i3e
    @balmain-i3e 6 дней назад +1

    Brother your King Gizz videos are an absolute God Send. Please may you break down Todd Rundgren's music? He is an absolute GENIUS composer who has a lot of golden nuggets in his music. You can start with songs like *Compassion* , *Flesh* or *The Verb to Love* , I honestly believe you will have an AMAZING time dissecting his music!

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  6 дней назад +1

      I can't say I've ever listened to Todd Rundgren; I'll have to check him out.

    • @balmain-i3e
      @balmain-i3e 3 дня назад

      ​@@ThePopDescriptivist please do brother! You'll have an absolute blast!

  • @Rami-w5m
    @Rami-w5m 13 дней назад +1

    I can't express how much satisfying it is to finally make sens of this song in such a clear and visual way . I sincerely want to thank you for putting in the work of transcribing and analyzing this song, It revived and confirmed my fascination for the band ! Amazing job !

  • @maxhofman6879
    @maxhofman6879 15 дней назад +2

    I was learning this song on drums not that long ago and now I get this video in my recommended, cool stuff!

  • @metalmusictheory5401
    @metalmusictheory5401 9 дней назад

    siiiiiick, yeah I didn't catch the 7/16 drums at all listening casually. And that visualization of misalignment with the drums with the diagonal lines is intuitive and slick!

  • @jamespetercharles7532
    @jamespetercharles7532 16 дней назад +4

    HELLLL YEAHHHHH BROTHER!!! KGLW is my favourite band, so, when I saw your first video on them, I IMMEDIATELY subscribed to you! I'm really happy to see content so professional being made about them. You make me want to make my own videos about them with the knowledge I've been gathering since I listening following them in 2017.
    ABSOLUTELY LOVE YO VIDEOS MAN! much love from Portugal 🇵🇹

  • @agoodcanadianboy
    @agoodcanadianboy 15 дней назад +1

    I'm so glad you chose this track for a video. This song hooked me when it came out, and I knew there was some witchcraft going on in the rhythm section. Thank you for the breakdown, and for giving me a deeper appreciation for the songwriting.

  • @JCMiniPainting
    @JCMiniPainting 16 дней назад +6

    I absolutely hear it the second way @2:22 for context tho I know the song well and the drums inform that

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  16 дней назад +2

      That's interesting. Do you remember if you heard it that way initially, and then came to understand it differently after you became more familiar with the song? Or did you hear it this way from the beginning?

  • @AndrewKnapikPuns
    @AndrewKnapikPuns 15 дней назад +3

    Another excellent video! Thanks for breaking down one of my absolute favorite songs. You can bet I subscribed. :)

  • @rickchmilar9928
    @rickchmilar9928 15 дней назад

    Love watching Stu and Joey performing the solo harmony that I now sorta understand a little more ( or maybe just appreciate its complexity more). Thanks for this

  • @a52productions
    @a52productions 14 дней назад

    This is one my favorites from this album! Thanks for the analysis

  • @sair338
    @sair338 12 дней назад

    Great breakdown!! Made it pretty easy to follow why the song is tricky

  • @jorgearce1373
    @jorgearce1373 14 дней назад

    I just discover you by this video. This channel is amazing!! greetings from Chile!

  • @artonion420
    @artonion420 15 дней назад

    I thought you said you probably wouldn’t do any more king gizz for a while! What a treat, we are eating good. Thank you so much♥️

  • @kgfcts
    @kgfcts 17 часов назад

    11:50
    Drummer does a little variarion on the snare, alternating A pattern and B pattern

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  15 часов назад +1

      Good catch, I went back and listened and there is a variation as the guitar comes in, though it reverts to the original 13/8 pattern as the section continues. I'm not exactly sure it's alternating A and B, seems more like it's lining up with the guitar rhythm instead of the bass rhythm. I'll have to go back and listen more closely later.

  • @trevorbeach991
    @trevorbeach991 15 дней назад

    One of my favorite Gizz songs. Great breakdown as always!

  • @FinnSmith
    @FinnSmith 11 дней назад

    2:18 that’s so surprising to me that the first way of hearing it was overwhelmingly what people preferred, i’ve only ever heard it the second way and never even considered the first way until this video

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  11 дней назад

      It seems like there's probably more people in your position than my (admittedly small) sample size of 8 people suggested, though it seems like the first way of hearing it is still the majority. Perhaps I should have done a larger poll beforehand.

  • @garrettrobertson3678
    @garrettrobertson3678 15 дней назад +1

    I hear A Section the first way, lead-ins are super common. Counting out 5, 6, Bam, 8 into the song just makes sense. Don't always start with 1 as soon as music starts.

  • @josiek5989
    @josiek5989 14 дней назад

    Thank you for all of your hard work in doing this. This is awesome. Makes me love KGLW even more.

  • @obiwanda
    @obiwanda 15 дней назад +1

    Oh my god I've had this song on repeat for weeks and this pops up

  • @xaviermarini7602
    @xaviermarini7602 15 дней назад

    Omg thank you so much, I've been listening to that song quite a lot lately ! Definitely my favourite off that album

  • @pinecubes
    @pinecubes 12 дней назад

    one of my favourite tracks on my favourite album ever. awesome. :)

  • @ClimbingAntapex
    @ClimbingAntapex 14 дней назад

    I'll tell you it took about a minute after seeing this video in my recommended for me to be subscribed. Was then psyched to see Vertebra Atlantis on top of that! I'm sure you have enough on your plate, but I'd mention Haunter as a death metal band w/ some sweet harmonic elements (especially on Discarnate Ails)- check them out if you haven't. Great video!

  • @thatguywholikeswwe636
    @thatguywholikeswwe636 13 дней назад

    another day another banger, TPD never misses

  • @imakuni67
    @imakuni67 15 дней назад +1

    The bass line in the D section is very similar to the vocals in the verses in Chang'e, which is the corresponding Silver Cord track, but Chang'e is in 7. But that makes it interesting when Witchcraft gets reworked to 7 on the extended version.

  • @noodlesoup6557
    @noodlesoup6557 15 дней назад

    I’ve been waiting for this

  • @michaelhuberthaslinger3157
    @michaelhuberthaslinger3157 16 дней назад +4

    Thank you for these great breakdowns! You nailed it again.
    For the inofficial vote: I hear the A section "1" on the beginning of the vocal line as well :D
    Do you have any donation link were I could buy you a coffee or anything to support you?

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  16 дней назад +2

      I appreciate the offer but I don't have anything like that currently. I might set up a Patreon or something like that in the future, but right now the channel is too small to make it worthwhile, and I have other things in my life to deal with lol.

  • @therealrustyspork
    @therealrustyspork 15 дней назад

    Hell yeah, I've been listening to this album and this song in particular a ton the last month or two

  • @paulb808
    @paulb808 12 дней назад +2

    What tempo is the "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" delivered at?

  • @Dermo4506
    @Dermo4506 15 дней назад +1

    I always heard it starting at the 2/8 mesure, but that’s because I hear the section entirely in 7, with the melody being syncopated accents. The drums just lock me in that frame, especially since many other gizzard songs use fast 7s, and they use that kinda drum groove a lot (invisible face comes to mind)

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  15 дней назад +2

      That's a good point - most of the people whose rhythmic perception I tested with this song were not big King Gizzard fans already. A familiarity and expectation with the rhythms King Gizzard frequently use could definitely influence this rhythmic perception, such as in your case. Nonetheless interesting that people can hear the same rhythms in vastly different ways.

  • @m0xieb4ll
    @m0xieb4ll 15 дней назад

    Awesome video! 2 things I hear differently -- at 12:56 (2:43 in the song), I hear the lead guitar phrased in groups of 7,7,7,5 rather than 5,7,7,7; splitting the 13/8 measure into groups of 7 and 6 (I find it very difficult to hear anything other than a phrase that ends on that high E). I'm also certain at 16:00 (4:10 in the song) there's no E# in the bass (not to detract at all from the fantastic work you've done with this breakdown!). Love the way you represent polyrhythms getting out of phase with the colored lines!

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  15 дней назад +1

      There's definitely room to subjectively hear the melodic groupings differently. I hear them as ending with that short sixteenth note because the bass guitar part kind of establishes that concept, as well as a similarity to the rhythmic phrasing of the 5s and 7s in the B/C sections. But I think maybe 7 7 7 5 might have a slightly more repeated pattern of notes (starting in that B/C#/D part of the melody in each 7), and it still has a repeated rhythmic pattern inside each 7. Interesting to see how different people can hear the same part in different ways.
      You also might be right about the E#; it's hard to tell on the original recording but now that I'm looking at live videos, it's hard to hear a separate pitch. Weirdly, there are tabs online that also have an E# there so I'm definitely not the only one to make this mistake (if it is a mistake). I'll add that to my growing list of questions I'd ask King Gizzard if I ever met them lol.

    • @JamesDonnellyDrums
      @JamesDonnellyDrums 15 дней назад +1

      @@ThePopDescriptivist I was coming to comment about the E sharp as well because I also cannot hear it. It's a nice progression but i was taken back when you mentioned it. Great video!

    • @m0xieb4ll
      @m0xieb4ll 15 дней назад

      Part of the reason I've listened to this album dozens of times is because it feels like there's always something new to hear!

  • @jjjjjjjjj3000
    @jjjjjjjjj3000 14 дней назад

    5:26 i keep trying to train my mind to feel ok with each different configuration. So that it’s not polymetric but a cascade of different patterns with singing on top. But it’s hard. Only the bass is sort of a glue.

  • @Zachthesloth
    @Zachthesloth 15 дней назад +2

    I fucking knew there was something weird about this song. It's my favorite one on the album and none of my friends agreed. All I could say was "THIS ONE ISNT LIKE THE OTHERS ARE YOU NUTS?" But I couldn't put my finger on it.

  • @danielstefanandreas
    @danielstefanandreas 15 дней назад

    Brilliant transcription man! Well done 🤘

  • @ryanhass8716
    @ryanhass8716 13 дней назад

    The intro is so damn good.

  • @nickgillespie8557
    @nickgillespie8557 15 дней назад +1

    I have a math degree and this made my head spin

  • @kingst00n
    @kingst00n 14 дней назад

    I would love to see you do a Breakdown of some Trivium songs especially the Shogun album!

  • @dereklasker5350
    @dereklasker5350 13 дней назад +2

    This album is so amazing, every song is a 10. Dragon would be another cool breakdown, but I assume that video would be an hour long to break down every section lol

  • @HAZARDOUS88
    @HAZARDOUS88 10 дней назад

    Brilliantly done!

  • @FedExodus
    @FedExodus 15 дней назад

    i know how to play this song on bass. not once have i counted or looked at it this way xD done it all by feel hahaha that being said your vid is awesome. i would have never thought this song is so busy.

  • @Zaccimo
    @Zaccimo 13 дней назад

    i heard that little cheeky hiccup at 14:47!!

  • @ultrab2777
    @ultrab2777 15 дней назад

    This video is awesome! It’d be sick if you could make sense of some of the stuff math rock band Giraffes? Giraffes! has concocted.

  • @mcb79
    @mcb79 11 дней назад

    when that harmonied solo comes im my pantaloons just drop

  • @bidaubadeadieu
    @bidaubadeadieu 15 дней назад

    10:04, I think this is the little cymbal that Ambrose plays when there's no harmonica part and he hasn't got much else to do lol. Love the guy, but I suspect it's rhythmically "simple" (at least compred to Cavs' part) because he's just not a drummer.
    You can see him bangin it around 1min55s here: ruclips.net/video/I1cvm0FosMs/видео.html

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  15 дней назад +1

      Good catch. I think it's still useful to show this cymbal on the same staff as the other drum parts; in my mind they occupy the same 'space' in the music, having similar timbres, which highlights the phasing effect I illustrate in the video.

  • @whnvr
    @whnvr 14 дней назад

    really loving this channel! would you be interested in covering some music theory from 'rope' and 'the beggar' in swans' 'the beggar' live tour?

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  14 дней назад

      In principle yes; Swans is awesome. But their music is so textural and layered that I think it would be very hard to analyze it, at least using the typical approach(es) that I take in these videos. Usually the harmony is kind of vague, or is simple on paper with the richness coming from arrangement and timbre. Something for me to ponder, because there's a lot of similar artists like Bruce Lamont, Chelsea Wolfe, and New Age Doom whose music's simplicity belies something that I would analyze and emulate if I could.

  • @pataflafla-pata
    @pataflafla-pata 15 дней назад +1

    I feel like stu mackenzie would watch this as well

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  15 дней назад +3

      Maybe he already has. Maybe YOU'RE Stu and you're just toying with me.

  • @zanode
    @zanode 14 дней назад

    Could you do a breakdown of Tumbleboy by Palm? Some of the rhythms are very confusing to me.

    • @ThePopDescriptivist
      @ThePopDescriptivist  14 дней назад +1

      I've got a video about a different Palm song in the works, but if that one's popular, I would consider doing 'Tumbleboy' as well. Good pick from a band with a lot of material worth analyzing.

    • @zanode
      @zanode 14 дней назад

      @@ThePopDescriptivist Ooh looking forward to the video!

  • @pataflafla-pata
    @pataflafla-pata 15 дней назад

    I always heard the a section in 7/8 but I also am a drummer

  • @ianemerson2704
    @ianemerson2704 15 дней назад +1

    I hear section A the second way

  • @unknownsoldier452
    @unknownsoldier452 13 дней назад

    I remember hearing this song for the first time after an upload came out and my ears immediately perked up - ''Oh, this is Crumbling Castle 2.0 but Middle Eastern and metal!''. ruclips.net/video/9Zp0a3WKDu0/видео.html

  • @seetz8054
    @seetz8054 12 дней назад

    Make more gizzard vids!

  • @Goat-enthusiast205
    @Goat-enthusiast205 9 дней назад

    I like the title, but know basically nothing about music theory.