Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2021 May 19

= May 19 =

Olmecs
Are there any known videogames that depict Olmecs, characters inspired by them, or artefacts of the Olmec civilisation in general? The only games I can think off the top of my head are Spelunky, where one of the bosses is a mechanical gold-plated Olmec head, and (strangely enough) Panty Raider: From Here to Immaturity, which features sprites of Olmec-ish heads alongside other miscellaneous altars and stone carvings in one area's background. No titles of the Civilisation game series even bother mentioning the Olmec, which is a little sad. I also thought of the Darkstalkers character "Huitzil", but I've since found out its design has more likeness to dogū statuettes than anything Mesoamerican, despite bearing an Aztec name and taking care of a Mayan child in its arcade story. --72.234.12.37 (talk) 09:56, 19 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Civilization VI references the Olmecs. Becoming suzerain of the La Venta city state grants the player the ability to create Olmec colossal heads as tile improvements.  I believe they grant extra faith points in the game.  -- Jayron 32 11:40, 19 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Serious Sam: The Second Encounter is partly set in Palenque, which was a Maya city, but the levels also contains examples of the famous Olmec heads. For example, see the first picture in the gallery here. Matt Deres (talk) 18:19, 19 May 2021 (UTC)

Looking for the site that explains songs
While not a Eurovision Songfestival fan, I stumbled upon Destiny - Je Me Casse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUElgja4B9w and I actually like it. I feel like a kid that likes Hershey Bars but doesn't know that in reality a kid's brain simply really likes sugar.

I might recognize modulation in a song and think "a-ha, modulation! That's the sugar!", yet there are probably 80 other kinds of "sugar" in just this song (and I believe that modulation happens not to be one of those) that I never heard about, and would like to be pointed at by a guide who knows these things. "The poo-pam poo-pam right at the start probably sounds very familiar but it wasn't till the 1920s that songs would start... It sounds upbeat because it's one of the schemes that fit x, but scientists still haven't found out why y wouldn't have the same .. . Notable songs that also start like that are ... "

Basically, where's the site that doesn't simply show the lyrics but where experts say "I see what you did there" to give me a grasp of what musicians think when they hear a song like this? Joepnl (talk) 21:34, 19 May 2021 (UTC)
 * There is no such site. --Viennese Waltz 21:37, 19 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I forgot to mention: for movies there is a site that does list the "tricks" used by movie makers, https://tvtropes.org/ . There must be a site that has "modulation" in some list? Joepnl (talk) 23:26, 19 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Occasionally, music YouTubers such as Rick Beato will break down a song on their channel to explain what makes it special, but they can do this for only a small fraction of interesting songs, so don't hold your breath. --Lambiam 22:24, 19 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Do the music appreciation lobes of your brain find the same pleasure in for instance Aretha Franklin's rendition of "Chain of Fools"? --Lambiam 22:28, 19 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Not really. I think it's the combination of the simple poo-pam poo-pam saying "fun song following" followed by a mighty voice telling a strong message, the trumpets agreeing, etc. Joepnl (talk) 23:26, 19 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Despite the insistence above that it isn't possible to find YouTube channels that explain music theory, there are dozens of them. While not every song in existence has been individually explained, there are enough channels that cover both music theory in general and which cover specific songs and music theory, that you can learn a lot and build an intuition for music theory and for understanding how modern pop music is built.  Besides the aforementioned Rick Beato (who has done over 100 individual songs, and probably as many videos on general music theory PLUS he does a weekly livestream on music theory), there is Adam Neely, 12Tone, David Bennett Piano, Jacob Collier etc.  12Tone is probably the most connected to the modern scholarship of music theory, he frequently cites his sources (as does Adam Neely) and will give you a WEALTH of further reading, if you want to go into a deeper dive.  I would recommend starting with either 12Tone or Rick Beato's "What Makes This Song Great" series as a way in; they start with well-known songs and show you "under the hood" as to how they work.  Rick has several videos on the basic elements of Music Theory (circle of fifths, building scales and chords, etc.), which are probably good to understand so you build up a working understanding of the language of Music Theory, before you really get into the "whys" of music theory (dissonance and consonance, voice leading, modes, etc.)  Guitarist Paul Davids also has a great series on the basic elements of music theory for guitarists, but there's enough there to also help you with some general ideas.  Hopefully there's something here to get you started.  -- Jayron 32 11:12, 20 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks! Joepnl (talk) 21:59, 20 May 2021 (UTC)
 * See also Lost in Vegas, maybe. InedibleHulk (talk) 13:19, 21 May 2021 (UTC)
 * eh. Lost in Vegas is more of a reaction channel than a music theory/music appreciation channel.  I love George and Ryan and their banter myself (been a big fan for a while), but it fits in more with channels like TwinsthenewTrend and Andy & Alex and No Life Shaq, which are about watching other people react to music for the first time.  Among the many reaction channels I frequent, Andy & Alex perhaps do the best job of bringing in rigorous analysis from a musician's point of view (they are both musicians themselves), but even that one is at a fairly cursory level.  -- Jayron 32 14:02, 21 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Aye, bit more an Irish People Try than Everything About Music. I was thinking more of how they'll hear "that da-da-dun-dah groove" from a metal bop and (try to) explain how that's "fire" as it relates to a "fly" section from some Motown banger. Not as cursory as just some webcammer making over-the-top faces and saying whoa; I'll check out Andy and Alex sometime, thanks. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:43, 21 May 2021 (UTC)