The Tragic Position and The Major Key

[blumensaat]

I was writing this journal entry for my Last.fm profile:
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At one point last year a friend of mine, who I've introduced to Patrick Wolf, had "The Tragic Position" as his personal message on MSN. This was partly a response to the news that Patrick was intending for TMP to be an upbeat and more optimistic record than Lycanthropy and Wind in the Wires.
As we both appreciate the dark melancholy of WitW, the furious beats of Lycanthropy, and I personally love the sense of nostalgia of The Patrick Wolf EP and his b-sides, we were worried that he would turn away from these aspect of his act. So, ever since we've been eagerly awaiting the release of his 3rd album and we even went to see this troubadour of the modern age at a fantastic gig in a church in Islington this December.

I'm not going to review TMP per se (doesn't feel quite right to review a leaked album), but I do feel like putting forth a commentary on the individual tracks.

1) Overture is the greatest opening track ever.
I love those drums.

2) The Magic Position is a wonderful track - a perfect pop hit, which could propel Patrick deep into the mainstream of consciousness. Clapping and a brilliant chorus will get you very far.

3) Accident & Emergency was intended as an anthem from the get go and a favourite of mine even after the leak of the entire CD.

4) The Blue Bell, the first skit is very similar to some of the shorter tracks of WitW and this is where the gloom of The Magic Position sets in. TMP is not, as many suspected, a single-minded ode to bliss.

5) Bluebells... What can I say? I love this track. I love that Patrick is able to convey a story about loss and the following depression in this manner. It doesn't seem the least bit trite when it comes from his vocal chords and pen. I also really like how he put a bit of rage into the song. The vCast version was sad and melancholy and perhaps a little desperate via the piano, but the way he intones "that I'm going nowhere fast" really makes the album version come alive.

6) Magpie is musically sound, but I just don't care for the (somewhat) nonsensical lyrics and Marianne Faithfull's voice.

7) The Kiss is maybe the most anonymous track Patrick has ever made. I had to listen to it again just to remember what actually happens in it.

8) Augustine is perhaps my favourite track form TMP. A well-written story about how love transforms into desire and how that desire can take control of our life. It's about forcing a person to stay with you just because you can't bear to be alone. Patrick is at his most inspired when he let's "the long arm of the law" knock at the door deep in the mix throughout the track.

9) Secret Garden is a fantastic return to form after the dull Kiss he gave us before. The first half is a looping sample of a turning key along with Patrick's lyrics, which breaks into a sort of industrial ambience reminiscent of Akira Yamaoka. I'd like to see a lot of that on his next album

10) Get Lost is sort of an extension of the joy and exuberance of the title track set to a backdrop of lovely 8-bit beeps and bleeps. In theme it reminds me a bit of Bloodbeat.

11) DisEnchanted is what I am by track 11. I only hope Patrick was as happy as he sounds when he wrote it.

12) The Stars sounds remarkably as the live versions Patrick has been performing. The crystal-clear bells and the text bring this home. A song about looking up at the stars at two different times in your life and realizing that their seeming timelessness does not reflect on your own life - “the left the right, the death, the life”.

13) Finale is about as uneventful as The Kiss, but there’s a rather uncalled for throwback to Epilogue from Lycanthropy in that the track begins to skip at one point. Maybe Patrick wants to let us know that he hasn’t changed?

The central theme is that of the relationship and even more so the different stages of a magical, but ultimately unsuccessful relationship. The symbol of the key is used throughout the tracks and signifies both the keeping of secrets, the opening of treasure chests, the life of the disaffected recluse, the passing from different stages, and in my opinion this is where the album really comes together thematically.
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And I think we haven't really addressed this issue so far. The key is really an important symbol - in the physical, tonal, and metaphorical sense - in this work and it ties in with the name of his tour (The Major Key tour) and the necklace he's been spotted with on many occasions. Anyone want to add to the interpretation?

[Marcus]

I think it's to do with the fact that he's is a (magic) position in his life. He exists for music, and I think what he's trying to convey throughout the album is that you need to find your place where you're most happy and belong. You need to find the key to that, and for him it's his music.

[tarantella]

Thanks, blumensaat, for your interpretation on the key's symbolism. I agree; and I feel stupid now for not paying attention before, as he's mentioned the key so often. And now the Bluebells video makes more sense too, as before I was watching and thinking, "Um, he's swallowing his necklace?!" But I think that is a beautiful touch to the video, swallowing the key, and I can appreciate it. I'm going to be thinking about this.

[blumensaat]

It just hit me as I was writing my commentary. Almost every lyric refers to the key in some way. I wonder why he hasn't talked about it in any of the published interviews.
In the track The Blue Bell, which is sort of a intro to Bluebells, he actually says "I swallow the key".

[blackcherrypies]

blumensaat said:

It just hit me as I was writing my commentary. Almost every lyric refers to the key in some way. I wonder why he hasn't talked about it in any of the published interviews.
In the track The Blue Bell, which is sort of a intro to Bluebells, he actually says "I swallow the key".

hah you noticed that too huh
the tragic position, sounds very funny, now if the album would flop (which it ofcourse won't) that would be the thing to refer it by, years afterwards ;D

[thebiggerpicture]

It's quite strange how little confidence people have in Patrick. The man puts so much effort into his songs. On TMP, it's so obvious that the previous pretentious stories of love and hate (WitW, Lycan) are quietly and more subtly expressed in his new material.

Can't remember the site... but that THREE SIRENS site has a great feature where you open a book and read about certain things to do with the new album. It's actually fascinating. I genuinely believe that Patrick writes his songs using real emotions and real metaphors. The man's a genius, he should be glorified by the nations and become a household name...

[c0smicsound]

great! I thought there would be no symbolism for this album

[newslang]

thebiggerpicture said:

The man's a genius, he should be glorified by the nations and become a household name...

I agree completely. I've never felt so strongly about any one person in my entire life.

[Marcus]

He is quite an inspiration, to be sure.

[blumensaat]

victoria said:

thebiggerpicture said:

The man's a genius, he should be glorified by the nations and become a household name...

I agree completely. I've never felt so strongly about any one person in my entire life.

Well, that may be an overstatement - I hope you have people you love and care about in your immediate surroundings - but I get what you're trying to say. I never felt such an instant and deep connection to an artist as I did when I heard The Libertine back in 2003 and so far he's taken me for quite a ride. I just love the confidence with which he performs. Off stage and in interviews he comes across as this shy and endearing boy, but once he gets behind an instrument, or a pen for that matter, he's completely aweinspiring and you can see that he knows that. He feels at ease with the immensity of his talents and I really think that he feels most at home on a stage.

[newslang]

blumensaat said:

victoria said:

I agree completely. I've never felt so strongly about any one person in my entire life.

Well, that may be an overstatement - I hope you have people you love and care about in your immediate surroundings - but I get what you're trying to say. I never felt such an instant and deep connection to an artist as I did when I heard The Libertine back in 2003 and so far he's taken me for quite a ride. I just love the confidence with which he performs. Off stage and in interviews he comes across as this shy and endearing boy, but once he gets behind an instrument, or a pen for that matter, he's completely aweinspiring and you can see that he knows that. He feels at ease with the immensity of his talents and I really think that he feels most at home on a stage.

Yes that's more what i mean; not that he's the ONLY person (i see now that i may have come off as slightly creepy) but that there's something so amazing about him that i just can't help be incredibly amazed by him, and i want to tell everyone about him because he's been so inspiring to me. And also that no one I don't personally know has ever affected me the way his music (and as you said writing, etc) has.

[0-0]

*sighs*
It's such a baaaaaaad, baaaaaaaaaaaaaad album. The only tracks I remember are Overture, Get Lost, Augustine and The Stars.
The first three are rather good, and The Stars is a bit like Damien Rice's 9 Crimes (in its repetition of key notes), which is okay in its own way. I fear you lot are lost to Patrick Wolf idolism. He's not THAT great, and seems fearfully lost up his own backside now.

[theredsea]

I remember reading an interview where Mr. Wolf spoke about the exploration of different musical keys on the album... and that he hoped by the end... anyone who is listening would be lifted out of the doldrums. I think the album progresses through musical keys in an order that then resolves by the finale... and you can really feel when a song hits it's resolving note... just like the album. I SAY IT WORKS! Does anyone have enough musical background to perhaps go into which songs are in what keys?

I remember a comment about Accident and Emergency being in the keys of A and E. The Magic Position is (i believe) in the key of C Major. There is much more going on than meets the eye here (i believe). I'd love to know more... and if I missed an earlier post explaining this concept. Lead the way!

Cheers,
RC

I'll bet Bluebells is is B...
Augustine in A?... along with Adder.... but maybe i'm getting carried Away...

[voilathestars]

patrickicarus said:

*sighs*
It's such a baaaaaaad, baaaaaaaaaaaaaad album. The only tracks I remember are Overture, Get Lost, Augustine and The Stars.
The first three are rather good, and The Stars is a bit like Damien Rice's 9 Crimes (in its repetition of key notes), which is okay in its own way. I fear you lot are lost to Patrick Wolf idolism. He's not THAT great, and seems fearfully lost up his own backside now.

Such a bad album?
Ah man, I think you're so wrong!

[interpolarity]

what is the major key btw? its been bugging me...

[mimicry]

C?

[Lanuit]

if i can remember rightly then there are two main keys in music : Major or Minor. The major sounds happy and the minor sounds sad. There is alot more you can go into about the keys and major and minor but thats basically what you need to know.

[lastgoodbye]

patrickicarus said:

*sighs*
It's such a baaaaaaad, baaaaaaaaaaaaaad album. The only tracks I remember are Overture, Get Lost, Augustine and The Stars.
The first three are rather good, and The Stars is a bit like Damien Rice's 9 Crimes (in its repetition of key notes), which is okay in its own way. I fear you lot are lost to Patrick Wolf idolism. He's not THAT great, and seems fearfully lost up his own backside now.

If you don't remember the others, maybe you should listen to the album some more.

I'd never thought about the 9 Crimes / The Stars comparison, it's quite a nice one.

Just because people here like all of his music and you don‘t, doesn't necessarily mean they idolize him. I realise he is a bit ' lost up his own backside' at this moment in time, there's not much anyone can do about it. It doesn't stop people from enjoying his music.

[chloelovespw]

victoria said:

thebiggerpicture said:

The man's a genius, he should be glorified by the nations and become a household name...

I agree completely. I've never felt so strongly about any one person in my entire life.

I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!
YUSSS

[zosia]

i've never noticed him being up his own arse at the moment.


maybe im stupid though.