NUR EIN
almost 5 years agoeliminated
3:36
The Only Way Out
Ever Kenievel image
Ever Kenievel

Entry from The Only Way Out in Nur Ein XVI.

Downward Modulation

LyricsShow lyrics

Ever Kenievel - The Only Way Out
Liner notesFor this challenge, we interpreted and executed on "downward modulation" in a few ways. There is a low pass filter on the main synth and the cutoff frequency is modulated downward over time, much of the vocal melody descends in pitch, the verse chord progression is a descending chord progression, and during the bridge, the tempo slows.

I liked to have a drink with you
We'd shared a bed a night or two
I couldn't say where you grew up
I never met your mom

And now we have to share the rent
To make my meager dollars stretch
You seemed a pretty decent bet
I guess my bet was wrong

I tell myself "this too shall pass"
And try my best to breathe
And while I'm free to come and go
For now I can't leave

The way out is through
na na na nana nana
I'm stuck with you, stuck with you
The only way out is through
na na na nana nana

I used to like to see your face
But since it's become commonplace
It's sad but now I have to say
I think that you're the worst

Since this stupid thing begun
I haven't had an ounce of fun
If you really want to hate someone
You have to love them first

I tell myself "this too shall pass"
And try my best to breathe
And while I'm free to come and go
For now I can't leave

The way out is through
na na na nana nana
I'm stuck with you, stuck with you
The only way out is through
na na na nana nana

You leave your dishes on the floor
You microwave leftover fish
You track in mud and slam the doors
You never wash a single dish
But I'm afraid to criticize
Our situation might decline
I can't wait for this lease to end
I'll never talk to you again

The way out is through
na na na nana nana
I'm stuck with you, stuck with you
The only way out is through
na na na nana nana

Reviews

3 posted notes

Pigfarmer Jr

Forum post

Cool song. I didn't dig it as much on first listen as I did after a few passes. But maybe it started to stale slightly after a ton of listens. (That part of judging sucks, btw.) That's probably my fault more than yours.
Challengewise: I don't hear a downward modulation. In fact it sounds like your bridge is almost a modulation up. Then I read your liner notes. So I went to a music dictionary and looked up the definition. "1.The process of changing from one key to another." or "2. In electronic music, the term is applied to a change of frequency, amplitude, or other changes of similar nature possible through electronics." That second definition never occurred to me. You mentioned four points for your modulation. Low Pass Filter which satisfies definition 2. Tempo which doesn't automatically satisfy definition 2 but could and I think it's a cool interpretation so good for me. Vocal melody using a downward arc (not sure your phrasing) which does not satisfy either definition and a downward chord progression which also does not satisfy either definition.
All that being said. I do like your song. I ranked it a bit lower because I didn't feel it embraced the challenge as well as some others, but I still think it's cool.

JonPorobil

Forum post

For the second week in a row, your take on the challenge has puzzled me. You've "modulated" downward in several different ways, none of which lines up with what the judges had in mind when we deliberated the challenge. And I'm sympathetic to the fact that you guys can't read our minds, but the most obvious change-up that I thought was added in to address the challenge - the tempo change in the bridge - is not a modulation. Later, I looked at your liner notes to confirm. I guess maybe the filter thing technically meets the challenge? I don't know; you obviously put the effort in, even if I don't agree with your working definition of "modulation." But then it comes down to... What's the point of the modulation in this song? Does the gradual downward filter symbolize some aspect of the relationship between your song's narrator and his roommate/partner? You could argue that the relationship is getting darker and darker as it goes (and, jeeze, I've lived that, and I have the filthy sink photos to prove it!), but I don't think that interpretation stands up to scrutiny, because the narrator is already fed up and wants out by the end of the eighth line. I do like the chorus hook, and the "na na na"s are nice. I like the lines "If you really want to hate someone / You have to love them first." But I wasn't fond of the blunt "I think that you're the worst" that sets up the rhyme. Later on in the song, the lyrics become a banal list of complaints about household tasks, and that was where you lost me. It's not inherently invalid to sing about frustrations with household stuff, and I've been encouraging comeptitors to be specific with their lyrics, but I think at that point to me it just felt like the song was piling on, to the point of meanness, and it stopped working for me altogether at that point. I was really glad to hear more from Evermind this year, and I hope to keep hearing more from you (both!) in the regular fights!

vowlvom

Forum post

this is really solid but for some reason never connected with me as much as most of your other songs this Nur Ein. Trying to put my finger on it, I feel like the chorus could use more of an anthemic lift - the melody is good but dynamically it doesn't really seem to kick in at that point as much as I'd like. I think it might actually be interesting if some of the instrumentation cut out at the start of the chorus and then crashed back in.

Ever Kenievel - The Only Way Out | Nur Ein