It's Been a Good Day- Music Analysis #2

-







"It's a Good Day" by Ice Cube is at the top of my playlist along with many other songs from him when I am having a bad day. The song has been described as bittersweet, soothing, atmospheric, hypnotic, peaceful, and melancholic. @mr.moseby2456 -2021 stated in the comment section of  YouTube "This sampling is one of the best of all time. The beat is steady and relatively calm, and it can invoke both a feeling of genuine joy but also at other times melancholic feelings similar to a passed memory." Ice Cube has been a successful artist since the 1980s. He has dealt with many hardships of life from growing up in Los Angeles California. Dealing with crime, and not the best home life he knows what hardship is very well, but he still chooses to keep his head up and give it his best shot in life, which we see in this song. Thomas Galindo stated in his article "Sometimes it just feels good to have a good day. While surrounded by violence and injustice from the police in the early 1990s, Ice Cube felt it necessary to lighten the mood midway through his 1992 third studio album, The Predator. With the seventh song on the 16-track LP, he used "It was a Good Day" to describe what a perfect day means for him." 


Here is a link to hear the song - It Was a Good Day -Ice Cube 1992 USA 



Tempo 

The song's time signature is four beats per measure, it is an adagietto song and has a tempo of 82 BPM. It can also be used double-time at 164 BPM. Most of Ice Cube's songs are 100 to 140 BPM which creates the very lively and fast pace that we commonly hear in rap music. I love that lively and catchy toon that makes the lyrics very catchy. 



Dynamics 

There are a variety of dynamics in this song. It has a laid-back, tender, feel-good vibe, and a swaggering beat. It has the same dynamics throughout the whole song this is why it gives off the relaxed/feel-good vibe. It is not a typical song from Ice Cube but it doesn't mean that it wasn't a good one. This song has reached #77 on VH1's 100 greatest songs of the '90s. It also reached the Top 100 Rap Songs, at number 81 then ranked at #28 on the 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.



Lyrics 

The lyrics talk about how he had a perfect day and why that was. He mentions how poorly his life is normally and how his daily struggle can be very demeaning. But I enjoy the song and how it shows his strength to go through what he did and still make it to the top. I completely agree with this person when they said "The lyrics are all about having a good day, but the beat sounds strangely melancholic and pensive. When Ice Cube says it was a good day, he is grateful for not being forced to face events such as "somebody getting killed in South Central L.A." or "not having to use his AK". Tragedies which I'm sure most of us listening to the song don't have to experience, but were common as a black man living in the slums back in the day. When Cube got up that day, he couldn't even be sure if he was going to live another 24 hours, but he was still happy with the way things turned out. This is a song that demonstrates how, even when life hasn't been kind to you or you find yourself in a bad spot, you can still live these occasional glimpses of light, these moments that make you feel invincible and make it seem like everything bad that's ever happened to you just vanished. Cube teaches us that we should value these small victories, even when all we've been dealt so far were bad hands. Who knows, maybe after a few more good days, things will change for the better." @tadeojablonski105-2022.



Melody

Has a G key and a minor mode. The song's melody consistently has G minor chords. It has 95 chord complexity, 27 melodic complexity, 32 chord-melody tension, 86 chord progression novelty, and 28 chord bass melody. It has a very repetitive beat which uses the lyrics to add emotion behind his music. 



Pitch, Rang, and Interval

The song's interval is G minor, C minor, and D minor, all minor chords built off the 1st, 4th, and 5th scale degrees. It is consistent throughout the whole song just like the melody. The reason it has tender, laid-back, and non-shallot feelings even though the lyrics talk about a few hard times is because the music is mostly repetitive and soft beats in the background.



Resources:

Article by Thomas Galindo March 22, 2023 americansongwriter.com 

https://www.youtube.com/@mr.moseby2456

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Cube

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/ice-cube/it-was-a-good-day/

https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/ice-cube/today-was-a-good-day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7reiN0f-Zkk/@tadeojablonski105





Comments

  1. CamrynOctober 4, 2024 at 3:50 PM

    I LOVE your song choice! I recently just saw him in concert and he did play this song! I found it very interesting how the pitch, range, interval, and melody all add to the emotion of the song and his voice. ( The title is inaccurate - The song is called "It Was a Good Day" )

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jarrod PearlOctober 9, 2024 at 6:11 PM

    Fantastic song choice. I don't usually listen to rap that often, but I do enjoy Ice Cube's work. I think you described the Dynamics of the song perfectly. It definitely gives off a chilled-out, relaxed, and feel-good vibe. Just listening to this song helped relax me after a stressful day. The way your source describes the lyrics is amazing and accurate.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Never Enough- Music Analysis #1

-
Image
  I pick the song Never Enough  from the musical The Greatest Showman . I chose this song because it is one song that I absolutely love to play. From the lyrics to the dynamics and accents, it is a beautiful piece showing the character's emotions. The song was written by Pasek and Paul and performed by Loran Allred. The song is known to be hard to sing due to the wide vocal range. But still brings gladness to its listeners. Here is a direct link to the song-  Never Enough- Greatest Showman- 2017  -USA Dynamics    Who doesn't love energy in their music? When you can feel the passion of the lyrics when you hear the instruments play certain dynamics? Well, that is what the song Never Enough  does for me. When I listen to the song I can't help but be overcome with joy.    The song's opening measures start sounding like a lullaby, and then it builds a sentimental atmosphere when the first verse starts. We begin to see more energy build up as the chorus goes on, and the chara
Read more
-
Image
  Hello there, My name is Cynthia, and I have loved music ever since I was a little girl. At age six, I started taking piano lessons and have been playing for about twelve years now. I love listening to many different types of music, including pop, BNB, rap, rock, and anything in between. There are only two types of music that I dislike, and that is Country and Christian.  I like to play classical music, including Beethoven, Bach, and Joe Hisaishi. However, I can also play jazz blues, folk songs, Disney songs, and pop songs.  Here are some types of music that I like to play and listen to.
Read more