Weekly Billboard Theory — Wild Thoughts
My father knows absolutely nothing about music but when he finds something he likes, he listens to it nonstop. Billy Joel’s greatest hits? Yep. Genesis’ We Can’t Dance? Yeah. The Sopranos soundtrack? Unfortunately, yes. Long drives in my father’s car have cemented several albums into my subconscious. The first time I heard “Wild Thoughts,” something immediately sounded familiar. Of course, “Wild Thoughts” samples Carlos Santana’s “Maria Maria.” How does DJ Khaled’s hit compare? It’s fine I guess.
DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna, Bryson Tiller
Key: C Minor
Tempo: 98 BPM
I’ll be honest, I didn’t recognize the “Maria Maria” sample from the start. As a matter of fact, I thought that the rhythm of the song was a nod to Destiny’s Child. However, I immediately thought of Santana at 0:43. It sounded just like him! But why? To sum it up really quickly, his guitar tone is pretty unique to him because of his gear selection and ~the sound of his playing~. After listening to “Maria Maria” for the first time in over a decade, it seems like it’s not an exact sample of his little solos, but is for sure meant to sound like him.
Although “Wild Thoughts” is in a different key, it shares the same progression as “Maria Maria,” Lots of i, iv and V. If you play guitar or any type of jazz music, you might have noticed that the chord progression these songs use is a variation of one of the most popular progressions of all time. It’s not one we typically hear in modern pop music, probably because it’s been overdone and as a result it sounds a bit dated now. I promise that you’ve heard it a million times before. That’s right, it’s the 12 bar blues. Normally I would take some time to note the progression out, but that Wikipedia article is spot on with its explanation.
So, looking above you’ll see the progression for one set of 12 bar blues and a variation. Just like it says. On the right is the variation that is found in “Wild Thoughts” and you’ll see that the change is pretty small in that second row. Rather than staying on the iv for two bars before going to the i, “Wild Thoughts” hops back and forth between the iv and the i. Not a big deal whatsoever. What makes the use of this chord progression interesting is how the melody sits over top of it.
Remember how I said that Wikipedia page did a great job? It really does. 12 bar blues will often only use two lines of the lyrics with the first line sounding over the four bars of the i chord. Then, the first line repeats with a little variation over the the iv and the i. Finally, a second line resolves the idea that is presented in that first one. Pretty simple, right? “Wild Thoughts” and “Maria Maria” throw caution to the wind and treat the progression like any other structure. The entirety of the verse tends to occur over the i chord while the chorus (particularly in the case of “Maria Maria”) only happens over the last eight bars of the progression.
It becomes a little confusing with “Wild Thoughts” as ideas that are not part of the chorus happen over the same chords. To clarify, Rihanna begins the song singing over the iv chord with non-chorus material. It makes sense to begin a song without the chorus. I get it. Ya don’t want to give it all away too early. I get it. However! “Maria Maria” does exactly this to great effect. By beginning with a low energy chorus in the very beginning of the song, it allows The Product G&B (whoever that is) to have a dynamic development throughout the piece.
I’m not going to say “Wild Thoughts” is bad. It’s fine. But also like, what’s the point? “Maria Maria” won a Grammy. This song obviously won’t. I guess in theory the benefit of this is that it brings a classic song to a new generation of listeners, but I can’t imagine that it will be at the top of the charts for too long. But yeah, this song is fine but it will always be overshadowed by “Maria Maria” in every way. Trust me, I HATE being that guy that says “older music is better” but in this case, it is. At the same time, I think we should often be pushing forward with ideas and the top of the charts hasn’t really been doing that for like 6 years now. Remember how cutting edge dubstep was? Come on!
Okay, I’m rambling. “Wild Thoughts” is fine, there’s better out there though.
I knew what was on the horizon last week when I looked at the charts. Something was coming up and I’d probably have to write about it sooner or later. With “Despacito”, DJ Khaled, Bruno, and Ed Sheeran locking in the first five spots I have to go to number six. Unfortunately, this happens to be “Believer” by Imagine Dragons. The corniest band with the corniest name. I haven’t heard this song yet. It might be fine. I’m hoping it’s fine. It’s probably fine and I’ll just want something new and exciting and won’t be that and gosh. Maybe if I visualize it being great before I actually listen to it, it will be. I guess next week we’ll find out. See ya then!
