Backdated, archival post
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link to original on tumblr]
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Between yester-day and to-day, I listened to the third and fourth discs of
The Pet Sounds Sessions (because otherwise I would have ended the year in the middle of the four discs), and I discovered a few things:
"You Still Believe in Me"
There's a slight ambiguity in "I try hard to be more what you want me to be." It's either straight-forward like that ("I try hard to be more [of] what you want me to be," or it could be two different descriptions ("I try hard to be more, what you want me to be" or even "I try hard to be more [and] what you want me to be"). It's a question of whether "more" is just a regular adjective (modifying the relative clause "what you want me to be") or a substantive adjective.
"I'm Waiting for the Day"
The "blue" in "I know you cried, and you felt blue" has a melisma. Where it would normally have only one syllable, here it has three (at least I think it's three; the double-tracked vocal there isn't spot-on). The later syllables are at lower pitches, so as the word goes on, it falls. Musically it adds a "down in the depths" kind of feeling to the blue sentiment that's already there in the lyric.
"God Only Knows"
This is probably a bit trivial, but - as far as pitches - the "stars" really are "above you" in "But long as there are stars above you." "Stars" is sung to an F#, and "you" to a C#.
