Soon by Moonpools and Caterpillars

Song Title: Soon
Artist: Moonpools and Caterpillars
Album: Lucky Dumpling
Released: 1995
Genre: Alternative
Length: 4:29
Lyrics: http://www.lyricsdownload.com/moonpools-and-caterpillars-soon-lyrics.html



So, this is going to be the first song that I will share my analysis on. :) Be noted that these are going to be all my own opinions.

"Soon" is the first and only song that I know that was composed by Moonpools and Caterpillars. It is quite a conservative but catchy song for its own right. It sounds really simple and friendly to my ears, but of course, there's more than just the music.

What does this song trying to tell us? Well, when I listened to the lyrics, it took me maybe three or four times of playing this song before I tried check the lyrics out in the internet basically because Kimi Ward-Encarnacion (lead singer) has this distinct accent that prevented me (and probably the other listeners) to entirely get the lyrics by just listening to the song.

Reading on the lyrics, there seemed to be no direct person the song was intended for - whether if this is for a lover or another friend or whatnot. But definitely, there was a struggle between two person with the vocalist one of the two. It is quite confusing when you try to picture the situation of the vocalist at that point of singing, as the two stanzas aren't really that relative to each other.

In the manner of sending a message across, it could have been done by adding a bridge aside from the existing instrumental. But musicwise, adding a bridge can make it sound overly dragging already. A four and a half minute song for a conservative alternative song with a monotonous melody is just enough - adding some thirty seconds may overdo it.

So taking its music as it is, as I have already mentioned twice, the melody is quite monotonous - key is C major, and used only one note off the scale (F#). But despite that, it is very effective. That would be a kind of song that you would listen to anytime of the day, whichever mood you'd be, whatever lyrics would be written with that music.

The melody may be monotonous, but this is very much compromised by the simple level of variety how the song was sung - quite a variety of notes how the choruses were sung differently. I am actually a fan of it - showing progression. Obviously, the first chorus uses an initial set of notes with a smaller span (rough guess: C4 up to A4), then the succeeding choruses stretch up to D5 then if up to F#5. That easily shows progression and more power as the song progresses. I can actually dissect this even further, but it's going to be unnecessarily long.

The first part of the intro (0:00-0:10) may prove to be the signature of the song. It is just a four-measure simple BUT distinct drum riff. Something like that if you hear that riff somewhere from the background, you would almost bet you're hearing this song (I honestly cannot dissect the drumbeat to an intermediate level, because I did not learn to play the instrument).

I honestly felt that the first part of the instrumental (2:57-3:07) was a bit bland. It was almost given that there is nothing much special from the bass in the entire song, so for that four measures of the same drum riff and plain bass riff, it really sounded bland and plain. I understand that that part is a build up for its latter part with the harmonica, but I believe that they could have done a bit of a better build up - maybe put a simple and short lead guitar part or something (harmonics would do like in 3:15-3:17).

Covering this song as it is would not be really hard to do. The bass and the rhythm guitar parts are pretty simple and playable by virtually anyone who plays the guitars. Rhythm guitars will only need to switch from clean to distorted, and so on. I know harmonica players are not that easy to find, but it can be easily replaced by a keyboardist (for 3:07-3:37).

If you really want to sound like how Kimi sang this song, you will really need a very special voice. Her voice is not really ordinary, as she brings sincerity and power at the same time along with her very distinct accent. Vocal range is C4 up to D5, but drops at G3 and peaks at F#5 (not 100% sure - will verify again on a better time). That range is not going to be that hard for a natural soprano, if she wouldn't mind not sounding like Kimi. But a female with a rocker attitude voice would definitely be a plus.

Overall, the song is very effective. Simplistic sounds and notes, but very well carried by the vocalist. This may be very well loved by music lovers ranging from slow ballad lovers up to the rock lovers, as this song shows a pretty good balance of the both as an alternative song, and I won't be too surprised on people having this on their playlist. :)

Additional notes: Several years back I was asked by a friend to temporarily replace one of their band members for this certain gig. To cut the story really short, at practice time, we ended up playing an acoustic version of this song - piano and singer only. We played it at the same tempo as the original, and it sounded very great. It was very effective. The notes for the piano need not to be that complicated, as long as I was able to follow the rhtyhm of the song, and translated it to notes. It was pretty good, worthy of some recording time.