SOP #81 - Gucci Gang and the Neural Substrate of Subjective Time

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Artist: Bob Tozier
School: North Allegheny

Notes:
2:00 - song plays

Lil Pump - 17 years old $7 million record contract

1. Low notes with slow syncpopation

2. Middle notes keep the beat with a steady pulse

3. High notes are highly ornamental and syncopated.

This song is compared to:

Gustav Mahler – Der Abschied / Das Lied von der Erde

Franz Schubert – String Quintet / Adagio

Conlon Nancarrow – Study for Prepared Piano

This song and its time shifting ability can be related to Jonathan Berger’s Nautilus article:

http://nautil.us/issue/9/time/how-music-hijacks-our-perception-of-time

Comments

Nick Zurchin from: - posted: September 4, 2018
I see a little comparison with gucci gang in some of the songs of groups produced by Brian Eno like Talking Heads or DEVO, and in some one off songs like the intro to YYZ from Rush.

Ainsley Ferron from: North Allegheny - posted: September 5, 2018

Samuel Barber-- Adagio for Strings

Slow chords in bass with movement in the violins

Emily Vaiz from: North Allegheny - posted: September 6, 2018
Chopin's Waltx Op. 64 No. 2

Aman Khalid from: North Allegheny - posted: September 8, 2018
Lil Pump's manipulation of rhythm to produce a "time shift" effect reminds me of the two-against-three rhythm commonly used in conjunction with liberal amounts of rubato in a multitude of Romantic and Impressionist works, for example in several of Chopin's Nocturnes (C# minor and E minor immediately come to mind) and in Debussy's Arabesque No. 1, respectively.

Jack Lopuszynski from: North Allegheny - posted: September 10, 2018
A classical example could be Moonlight Sonata - the melody contrasts with the triplet rhythm.

Mary Katherine Stewart from: North Allegheny - posted: September 11, 2018
Similar to Gucci Gang with the thrumming bass is ET by Katy Perry.

Brett McCutcheon from: North Allegheny - posted: September 11, 2018
Time by Hans Zimmer in the movie inception uses multiple sense of time depending on if they want a slow feel or an intense scene.

Chelsea Chao from: North Allegheny - posted: September 11, 2018
Smash Mouth's "I'm a Believer," from the beloved movie Shrek, is 120 beats per minute like Gucci Gang. Both songs also start out with a steady beat that continues for the rest of the song.

William Wang from: North Allegheny - posted: September 14, 2018
The rhythmic devices they use are cool.

Trey Tillotson from: North Allegheny - posted: September 14, 2018

Seems like it's simple enough I guess.

The high notes being highly ornamental reminds me of a lot of pieces I play, particularly pieces with lots of brass. In Fountains of Rome, at one point, the upper woodwinds (and I think upper strings) are playing run after run, while the brass and lower instruments get the melody.

It also sort of has "syncopation" in a sense... but not really? At one point, some higher parts are in 2/4 while lower voices play in 3/4.

Grace Welsh from: North Allegheny - posted: September 16, 2018
This podcast reminded me of the NAOrchestra favorite - Phantom Tangos by Brian Balmages. The basses play sincopation the whole time while the upper strings play a completely different melody.

Reid Suddaby from: North Allegheny - posted: September 24, 2018
I see this time construct similarity in the song "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd. In the song, the chords are usually in descending order. More interestingly, they actually skip the five chord, which adds to a sense of incomplete closure, making the song's timing odd.

Enoch Hsiao from: North Allegheny - posted: October 9, 2018

Another three tiered piece includes Chopin Etude Op.10 No.3 with the syncopated base, constant sixteenth note middle to keep tempo and pulse, and the melody in the top line. This same construct is also seen in Ravel's Pavane pour une infante defunte.

Luke Wood from: North Allegheny - posted: October 24, 2018
This song is synonomous with Black bird by the beatles. The open g string repeats throughout the whole song.

Emma Hackworth from: North Allegheny - posted: October 25, 2018
I actually quite like this song. Althogh I am not a fan of rap, I think the backround music is done nicely. The intro to the song is really cool.

Jake Mellinger from: North Allegheny - posted: October 25, 2018
It reminds me of another song by this artists titled "Essketit" where there is an 808 with slow syncupation to give the beat a nice thump. On top of this is what sounds to be a pitched up synth bass that keeps the beat of the song and layered on top of this is a "crappy" syncupated piano that give the beat the disoriented and almost lazy feel that Lil Pump loves so much.

Pavan Otthi from: North Allegheny - posted: October 25, 2018
What I think truly made gucci gang popular was the simplicity of the piece. Honestly, it is gucci gang that sparked the onset of the mass "mumble rap" movement that is growing significantly in the rap industry. The simplicity, dictated by the repetition of the words gucci gang, allows for a greater number of people to catch on to the rhythmic part of ths song. The musical rhythm that is paralleled with the lyrical rhythm offers a simpler style of "flow" that is significant in most other forms of rap music.

Malia Wilson from: North Allegheny - posted: October 26, 2018
I think people today are very quick to judge new music and have an elitist attitude towards genres they don't like. It's refreshing to see adults seriously discuss rap songs and not immediately write them off, even if it is not their preferred genre. Also this was the first time I had actually heard more of Gucci Gang than the chorus. It's not too shabby.

Yukang Guo from: North Allegheny - posted: October 27, 2018
I don't understand. Why is the song so random sounding? And what's with the "Brrruuuuuuuuhhhh" in the beginning? Nope, I don't like guci gang

Margaret Johnson from: North Allegheny - posted: October 28, 2018
the soundtrack from dunkirk really emphasizes the silence as strain and the music in the soft and intense points

Kellie Smith from: North Allegheny - posted: October 29, 2018
First of all, this song is trash. Other than that, I can respect the minuscule effort put into this song that still somehow managed to make it a chart-topper.