THE PRETTY MACHINE [Intro – 4 bars] [Warm magnetic-tape texture] [Elastic bass plays a crooked five-note melody] [Metallic clavinet responds in syncopated fragments] [Sharp live-electronic breakbeat assembles around the bass] [Rich analog harmonies enter unexpectedly] [Verse 1 – cool female low alto, fully melodic] [Dry intimate vocal, bass and clavinet exchange phrases] They always want the good side The angle and the light One more picture for the people Who were never here tonight I can hold the pose for hours Give them everything they need They can keep the pretty picture They don’t know what’s happening [Pre-Chorus – a second rhythmic pattern emerges] [Chromatic bass movement beneath sustained vocal harmony] [Each backing harmony enters on a different beat] There’s a little hesitation In the way I keep my place Everybody sees me standing Nobody can read my face [Chorus – luxurious, addictive full melody] [Wide stacked alto harmonies] [Glassy synth melody intertwines with liquid bass] [Unexpectedly radiant chords against an uneasy rhythmic pocket] Pretty machine, pretty machine All this shine and all this heat You can see the surface moving You can’t tell what’s moving me Pretty machine, pretty machine Count the steps and miss the beat Everything looks like it’s working Till it starts working for me [Instrumental Interlude – 4 bars] [Clavinet repeats the chorus melody as a jagged rhythmic figure] [Bass answers with a completely different melody] [One startling harmonically wrong chord becomes unexpectedly beautiful] [Verse 2 – silkier vocal, more rhythmically playful] [Drums introduce tiny displaced accents] [Instrumental countermelodies weave behind the lead] They’ve been trying to explain me With a label and a date I can hear them through the doorway I don’t bother setting straight I was made to look expensive That’s the part they understand They forgot to ask permission When they put me in their plans [Pre-Chorus – layered harmonies moving in contrary motion] [The bass starts anticipating the vocal melody] There’s a little hesitation In the way I keep my place Everybody sees me standing Nobody can read my face [Chorus – same lead melody, changed harmonic foundation] [Bass introduces an unexpected major-seventh coloration] [The original chorus now sounds strangely euphoric] Pretty machine, pretty machine All this shine and all this heat You can see the surface moving You can’t tell what’s moving me Pretty machine, pretty machine Count the steps and miss the beat Everything looks like it’s working Till it starts working for me [THE MUTATION – 12 bars] [Instrumental transformation, no vocals] [The kick remains steady] [The bass begins accenting every fifth subdivision] [Clavinet maintains the original four-beat pattern] [The two rhythmic patterns drift against each other] [Glass-like synth glissandi weave between the accents] [The apparent first beat shifts without changing tempo] [All instruments briefly stop together] [Return with an entirely new, irresistible syncopated groove] [Same melodic motifs, completely transformed rhythmic relationships] [Bridge – gorgeous solo alto with delicate upper harmonies] [Minimal bass and suspended analog string-machine chords] [Gradually widening, unexpectedly warm harmony] Take the picture while it’s working See the outline in the frame You can freeze me for a second You can’t make me stay the same [Final Chorus – original vocal melody over transformed groove] [Full lush harmony, instrumental countermelodies interlocking] [Liquid bass rises into its highest melodic register] [Unexpected final harmonic resolution] Pretty machine, pretty machine All this shine and all this heat You can see the surface moving You can’t tell what’s moving me Pretty machine, pretty machine Count the steps and miss the beat Everything looks like it’s working Till it starts working for me [Outro – the bass and clavinet exchange their original melodies] [The opening five-note phrase returns with a different harmonic meaning] [One luxurious dissonant chord resolves] [Immediate tape cut]
