The Hills Analysis

I did my song analysis on The Hills by the Weeknd and a cover by Alex Aiono. The actual song by The Weeknd sounds distressed and desperate. The beginning notes of the song are loud and heavy notes that set the atmosphere of the song. Before the chorus at “I only call you when it’s half past five..” there is a pause where scream emitted, and then The Weeknd brings back the whole underlying bass of the song. Throughout the whole background of the song, there is a sound track that proves similar to the effect of Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho with a repeating rise and low of notes. Analytically, he chooses when to cut off the bass and only leave the treble to imitate the adrenaline-like effect Herrmann introduced in Psycho. Musically, The Weeknd’s choosing of this artistic style is to induce a sense of fear in the listener. This makes the listener question the “Why?” of the song—is this really about a lover or does it sound like life spiraling out of control? The more the listener analyzes the lyrics with the tone The Weeknd sets, a conclusion presents itself that the song is about substance abuse—setting off a desperate, hysteric mood throughout the whole song.  To contradict, Aiono’s interpretation of the song is soft and jazzy. His interpretation of the song is to provoke emotion from his past, such as a lover or some romance. Aiono chooses to only use a simple beat on the guitar for the instrumental, however, he exudes emotion more from his voice. He also chooses to omit swear words in his cover, polar to The Weeknd’s version, excluding crudeness from his interpretation. Aiono’s version of this song sounds similar to a heartbroken relationship-- very tentative to singing loudly, but when he chooses to, the loud parts are where emotion is most visible.

In conclusion, the tone of voice the artist chooses to interpret and the actual track playing are imperative components in analyzing a song. They are key constituents in how the audience will depict a piece. This goes to prove that you can make anything original; the way a piece is shone in a different light can have a different impact on the audience.