Another Musical Analysis Blog
“The Less I Know the Better” by Tame Impala
The song The Less I Know the Better is composed by Kevin Parker, a member of the Australian group who preforms the song, Tame Impala. The song was originally released in August of 2015 along with a music video on the groups youtube channel.
Another one of my favorite songs to listen to when I want instant vibes, Tame Impala absolutely nails it with this unique and funky piece. “That song originally I thought shouldn’t be on a Tame Impala album, because it has this dorky, white disco funk. I wouldn’t call it cheesy, but it’s not trying to be too cool, because the lyrics are pretty dorky and the groove is pretty dorky. But at the same time, for me, I love that kind of music(Fink).”
Lyrics
The words are about an unreturned love, and the words subtly hint at heart break. He speaks of how his girl left an event with another man, and the first time he says the title of the song The Less I Know The Better is after saying that he heard his lover slept with this other man. Anyone who has had a bad experiance with relationships can feel it when he speaks of his experience, but my favorite part is that though the words are sad, he doesn’t speak of how he will never recover or anything permanently negative so it is a song about temporary love.
Chord and Key
The song is played in C sharp minor, with four chords throughout the song. This is similar too many other disco pop songs, like Counting Stars by One Republic. Interestingly enough, even though it is played in the key of C sharp minor, all four chords throughout the song are flat. The chord and key give the song the nice flow, and make it easy on the ears.
Beat and Tempo
The uplifting beat of the song is upheld by a piano, bass guitar, drum, and synthesizer. It plays at 116 beats per minute, with 4 beats per measure. These elements contribute to my enjoyment because they are very uplifting, unlike most break up songs.
Closing thoughts
This type of song is the kind of song anyone can listen to, regardless of whether or not they relate to the lyrics. It is funky, fun, and a good listen- Tame Impala branched out on this entire album, but this song specifically embodies their albums psychedelic sound.
Sources
“BPM for The Less I Know The Better (Tame Impala).” GetSongBPM.com, getsongbpm.com/song/the-less-i-know-the-better/XLj9nv.
Matt Fink (April 2015). “Tame Impala: The Ocean Inside”. Under the Radar (Digital Edition) (53). pp. 103–105.
“Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better (Chords).” Guitar.Com, 14 May 2018, tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/tame-impala/the-less-i-know-the-better-chords-1752782.
“The Less I Know the Better.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Feb. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Less_I_Know_the_Better.
Haleys Musical Palate 
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I agree with that there is a deeper meaning to the song but I believe it is open ended to the listener. I really enjoy the upbeat tempo it consistently has throughout the song. A music element I noticed missing was tempo and found it was being played in 125 BPM.
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I love the song Shooting Stars! The chords and melody are not something that you usually hear on the radio. I also agree that the lyrics have a deep meaning. It makes me think that the writer is in love with someone unattainable (maybe someone famous). To be fair, when I first heard the lyrics,l I almost thought the song was about a stalkers thoughts (but maybe that’s just me and my morbid thought process…I’m sure it wasn’t the intention the writer.)
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My first thought on this song based on the melody was “I feel like this can be a video tour of a new place I’ve never been to.” I never heard of this song or the artist. Interesting to hear new music. This song title reminds me of “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic. They may not be from the same genre, I just associated the stars with one another 🙂
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I love the tone of his voice! He reminds me of Hinder, Lips of An Angel. I read that you love music and travel. I do a fundraising event to help medical fragile children in West Palm Beach every year! You should google up sunfest – its a 4 day, all day music event in the heart of West Palm beach! It’s so much fun!
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Wow-what a crazy fun lifestyle to have! Traveling is a huge goal for me in the end also. I just started my own business to help pay for travel. This was a super nice song a little too long for me. It was definitely a slow rhythm. Thank you for sharing.
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The song “The Less I Know the Better” has a very groovy feel to it and I agree that while the theme is a bit sad, the lyrics that focus on getting the other man to “change his mind” and how she feels about being with him also seems to imply some bitterness. Who wouldn’t be in that situation, though? The background music and the way the song is sung, though, seems to make that a little less obvious unless you listen carefully to the lyrics.
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Music created in the 70s-80s plays a substantial role in 21st-century music. For one, this was the era in which MTV was first broadcasted with music playing 24/7. In the USA MTV was transmitted August of 1981.
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I love me some Latin music, it has a way of always hyping me up. Did you know? before Timba was used to describe this dance the word itself was used to describe an ensemble of drums.
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I enjoy listening to Latin music from time to time. Latin salsa music is very passionate and upbeat. This was the type of music my classmates and I listened to when we were taking basic dance lessons from a Puerto Rican man that was visiting my high school’s foreign language classes. I’ve noticed that the instruments often preformed for this type of music tend to include trumpets, drums, I think violins and acoustic guitars, and pianos. I’m sure there are several other types of instruments, but those are just the ones that I’ve noticed most often. I’ve also noticed that all of the instruments played together tend to generally produce high pitched music with very quick tempos that seem to rely on common time.
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I enjoyed listening to this song, “I am the Grinch”. I am a huge fan of the Movie that came out a few years ago of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I love the Holidays and agree this is a huge part of Christmas now for how we process the Holiday. I am totally going to watch this version of the movie! This was such a good pick! This was my first idea until I saw you do it. Great job!
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I’m ecstatic that you had the opportunity to include such a song you enjoy! It is quite incredible to see songs like Electric Love to have positive feedback from both critiques and fans of the singer/songwriter Songs. Thanks for taking the time to create this blog!
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Your final project was wonderfully posted. Very thorough. Both songs are typically not my style of music but if you carefully listen the words you can see how this is reaching millions of people. How there is no difference in pouring their energy here vs country, rnb or hip hop. It was interesting how 6 million viewers had listened to the song but unknown. Sometimes the underground music is the best.
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