A Musical Analysis of  Fine Line by Harry Styles

    Ever since this song came out in 2019 in the United Kingdom, I've been listening to it constantly. I am a huge fan of Harry Styles already, and I love all of his songs, but something about Fine Line just makes my brain happy and I can listen to it no matter what mood I'm in. It elicits relaxation at the beginning for me, and I'm just swaying along, happily listening to the calming beat. But then it gets intense at the very end, making me either want to jump around or cry. It's such a powerful release of emotions at the end, and it's crazy how much of a reaction I have every time I listen to it. I urge anyone reading this to listen to the song the WHOLE way through. I know it's long, but it's well worth it. I promise. (this isn't a shameless plug for Harry either, I just couldn't live without this song now that it's been released). 

Here is the official audio of this song on YouTube:

Fine Line by Harry Styles 

My Musical Analysis:

    This song starts out nice and slow with a steady beat, then gradually gets louder and louder as the song progresses. This song stimulates the part of my brain that craves resolution. Since this song starts off so quiet and soothing, and slowly, I mean very slowly (this song is a little over 6 minutes long) begins to get louder and introduces more instruments, it just gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it, and I don't get goosebumps from songs very often. My emotions are all over the place when I listen to this song. My heart aches in the beginning because of the lyrics and the back up vocalizations being so harmonic, and at about 4 minutes and 40 seconds in is when the song comes to it's climax and that's when I get goosebumps. This part of the song introduces a crescendo of cymbals, a steady drum beat, and louder vocals that brings me to that resolution I talked about in the beginning. It's like a symphony in my headphones when I listen to this song, and it brings me so much joy that I can't help but to play imaginary cymbals when I'm listening to it. I also love the fact that he plays around with instruments that aren't normally in many pop songs today, like cymbals, clavinet, and even a sarangi. Yes, a sarangi!! How cool is that?? It's enchanting and I could listen to this song over and over and over a million times...oh wait, I have! :)

My Research:

    Out of all the articles I've read about his album and this particular song, they rave about it, much like I did in the paragraph above. They talk about the lyrics being beautifully haunting and the song being everything everyone was hoping for when it was finally released. This album got recognized by The Rolling Stone magazine that published an article about Harry and his new album titled Harry Styles is a Rock God and a Gentleman on 'Fine Line'. This article also makes a nod to the many unique instruments he decided to include in his songs, stating that it gave some songs a 70's feel. 

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/harry-styles-fine-line-album-review-925337/ 

    The second article I read about Harry's newest album is published by Variety where they review his album in a bit more detail. In their article they asked the important question of whether or not his album was considered "'dad-rock' if it's mostly young women streaming it?". I thought this question was hilarious, and to which my answer would be no because unlike dad rock, his album has much more heartbreak and overall melancholy than some old rock songs listened to in a garage by dads as they work on their truck parked inside. No, this album is masterfully crafted, introducing "mellow gold of the 1970s", and "makes almost no sops to sounding like anything else you'll hear on the radio".

Each of these articles said some of the same things: that this album is incredible, makes use of a lot of cool instruments, and takes inspiration from old rock icons and puts a Styles twist on it. 

Citations: 

Willman, Chris. “Harry Styles' 'Fine Line': Album Review.” Variety, Variety, 12 Dec. 2019, variety.com/2019/music/reviews/harry-styles-album-review-fine-line-1203434280/. 

Catucci, Nick. “Harry Styles.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 16 Dec. 2019, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/harry-styles-fine-line-album-review-925337/. 

       

     Welcome to my blog!

    Hi guys! My name is Michelle Theisen and I was born and raised right here in Fairbanks, Alaska. I am a sophomore at UAF majoring in Psychology. I love hiking and talking long walks in the evening to watch the sunset. I have a cat, his name is Dallas, and I love him very much (I'll include a picture of him below). Cats are my favorite animals after all! I love playing volleyball, and I used to play for my high school, but since graduating I just play recreationally now. I love cooking, and I try to make dinner for my boyfriend and I every night. I always try to find new and exciting recipes, while also creating my own. My favorite thing to cook is pesto mozzarella pasta with chicken, more pesto, and tomatoes on top, it's super yummy and really easy to make, all while being very healthy as well. I love baking muffins and bread, and I have recently started making my own sourdough bread, which is super interesting and fun. Thanks for reading and being a part of my blog journey!

    I love music which is why I took this class to begin with. I started playing the violin around the age of 10, and I played all through middle and high school. Making music, and listening to music, is one of the ways I relax and de-stress at the end of the day. I have been in many school concerts and played music for people in many other settings, and there is a thrill about performing that I can't duplicate by doing anything else! My favorite artist will always be Harry Styles. I followed his journey through being in One Direction to going solo and creating his own music. I'm going to his concert in Portland in November, and I have never been more excited! I'm going with one of my best friends, and we have waited almost 2 years to go to this concert because it kept getting rescheduled due to COVID. I enjoy many different genres of music, all the way from classical/instrumental to hard rock. My favorite artists right now are Greta Van Fleet, Vundabar, and Ritt Momney. I love going to local concerts because there are great musicians here in Fairbanks, and something about live music just makes it so much better than listening through my phone. I'll add a link to my Spotify. I have lots of different playlists I've created to listen to according to my mood and what I want the music to make me feel. 

My Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/user/michellerose10?si=uAiof2IaR7C6vJNoxPRWRQ&dl_branch=1