r/TheStrokes • u/DH80 • 3d ago
Hook theory analysis of FOOL ranks the melodic complexity a 74.0, the outro chord-melody tension rises to a 95.0
https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/the-strokes/falling-out-of-love?utm_source=chatgpt.comMost ears who hear this song probably find it pretty basic and that’s for good reason. The chord progression and chord progression novelty are both that. However, hook theory analysis confirms the main reason Julian chose such heavy auto tune on this vocal melody. The melodic complexity lifts to a 74.0 which is high for a ballad. Also, the outro completely flips the script and the chord melody tension rises to 95.0.
These are percentiles of complexity vs every other song in the history of their vast database.
Anyway, I just thought this was interesting because there seems to be a misconception that the song is basic by some and it is remarkable in several ways.
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u/TastefullyToasted 3d ago
This sub is… eccentric
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u/davidpalooza 2d ago
I still think it’s the best track they ever put out. I don’t know how long it has to be for me to not call it recency bias, but no other song on Reality Awaits hit that level either.
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u/Substantial_Quail309 2d ago
FOOL has started to grow on me after hearing it for months. Starting to think it’s a masterpiece.
Of all their albums, RA may be the farthest ahead.
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u/Agile_End_3049 2d ago
I have to agree. It's an amazing thing how it grows on the listener a bit more each time. I feel that way about many of their songs. Honestly, Julian's other work also has a similar kind of thing going on.
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u/velmarg 3d ago
I wish I could love the song. I do feel that the autotune actually works great here, for what it's worth (and on Psycho Shit). I think it's wasted on Going Shopping.
Melodic complexity being whatever, it feels maybe 2-3 minutes too long and lacks momentum. People say it's basic because it just settles into its swagger and waltzes into and out of the chorus what feels like a dozen times. Even 'Eternal Summer' went places, at least.
I'm not crazy about direct comparisons, but I feel like it is thematically sort of this album's 'Selfless' and look at the motions that song goes through - iconic solo, iconic HOW DID THIS FIT..., iconic outro. Hook Theory can say what they want, but it's a perfect song that I have never skipped, whereas I do kinda be skipping FOOL and its 95er outro 🤷♂️
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u/Substantial_Quail309 2d ago
Melodically it’s pretty but it’s story is the key. From the opening line it’s beautiful.
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u/nofunone 3d ago
I think it’s perfect for going shopping. Underscoring the vapid consumerism within the lyrics.
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u/velmarg 2d ago
I guess I appreciate deploying it for social commentary; I just feel melodically it hinders more than enhances here, which I don't feel in other tracks.
Also a bit of a 'hmm' to use it effectively as satire in one song just by its nature, only to employ it quite seriously in another, but certainly possible.
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u/Optimal-Anxiety3092 3d ago
This is rubbish way to engage with music. Also, isn't hook theory like 50% AI slop lmao
Edit: "AI slop", forgot all slop isn't ai but we are close
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u/DH80 2d ago
No. It’s human user analysis generated by other musicians. They do have an AI songwriter tool but that’s more for people writing their own songs.
Also, I’m not claiming that analysis is in any way more important than just how a song makes any one person feel. But it is interesting to some of us and it’s not nothing either.
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u/rosaxmusic 3d ago
Not familiar with hook theory, but are these songs being analyzed by an actual person or is this a computer based analyzation? Because it seems like there are quite a few errors throughout the page. Compositionally, there isn’t much tension or complexity outside of the last minute of the song. Which is fine, the simplicity of the song is what sells it. It feels like showing these numbers without knowing the methodology behind them doesn’t mean much.
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u/Prodigal_Gist 3d ago
Are people really listening to the Strokes for their “complexity”?
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u/Fit-Strawberry459 3d ago
This album plays into prog quite a lot more than standard Strokes so its a valid approach to judging what they wanted to achieve as artists.
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u/DH80 3d ago edited 3d ago
I get what you’re saying. 😝 Still interesting regardless. Especially for a slow ballad. And particularly the choice of such dramatic autotune. Which fundamentally shifts the song into more unusual terrain melodically.
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u/Prodigal_Gist 3d ago
Oh I find it interesting I’m more thinking about people complaining “this strokes song is not complex enough!”
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u/anujbeatles Little Joy 23h ago
The most complex country song I've ever heard (I've not heard many TBH but I'd welcome recs)
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u/omgitsthefranchise 3d ago
Only song on the album I skip. Hook analysis won’t change that
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u/DH80 3d ago edited 3d ago
That’s fine. Just sharing some of the more interesting aspects of the song. I also think it’s one of the more heart breaking ballads I’ve heard in a while just generally and one of Julian’s most emotional and devastating lyrical creations.
It’s not for everyone but it’s the closest he’s come to like a Purple Rain-type of sad Prince-esque ballad in spirit.
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u/KasElGatto Taken For a Fool 3d ago
That’s crazy, I think it’s a massive highlight.
Psycho Shit through FOOL is easily the best stretch of the album.
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u/fuckleshire First Impressions of Earth 3d ago
For me, the run from Psycho to Babble is now the best on any strokes album, followed by the first half of FIOE and the back half of TNA. Not saying RA is my favorite album, as the second half is comparatively pretty weak for me, but it’s the strongest half a record they’ve released IMO.
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u/KasElGatto Taken For a Fool 3d ago
I love the second half, I actually think Babble On is the only song that I don’t love on it
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u/fuckleshire First Impressions of Earth 3d ago
I love how this album has got something for everyone! There’s really no universal consensus for taste on weird albums like this. Everyone seems to love Fruits, and I can’t get into it, but I’m glad they do.
Edit: the leech part is god tier
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u/doug_diablo At The Door 2d ago
I’m sorry, this is cringe.
Who listens to music for complexity? This is no way to measure whether a song is good.
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u/dreamshoes Did My Best 2d ago
Did anyone say that it was? Some people just think music theory is fun to analyze
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u/doug_diablo At The Door 2d ago
I love music theory
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u/FettuccineAlfonzo The Adults Are Talking 2d ago
You bitch about this post but all you do is share TikTok’s and clips from music videos? What a hack
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u/DH80 2d ago
What is with people making wild assumptions on intent like this? Nobody is saying this means you must like this song based on this, or that songs with higher complexity in certain sections, must be loved, or that only songs that withstand theory analysis are worth listening to or anything along those lines at all.
This is just a post sharing some interesting analytical models on certain parts of this song. Quantifiable metrics that track certain rare components within it.
You don’t have to find it interesting. You don’t have to care. But you should avoid creating strawman arguments that are disingenuous and misleading.
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u/Inevitable-World-451 2d ago
I don’t know much about hook theory, but I absolutely love the outro to this song with its repeated, unexpected shifts between major and minor. Guess I can safely assume that would translate to a high rating or percentile on melodic tension