Music Comparison

I'm the Scatman

Scatman's World

Scatman John is a late artist that combined techno and jazz ‘scat’ (quickly pronouncing meaningless syllables) I chose to compare “I’m the Scatman” and “Scatman’s World”. The lyrics for the songs are both inspirational; I’m the Scatman talks about how everyone stutters in some way, but if you keep going it looks like nothing ever happened. Scatman’s World talks about the world and how people can make it a better place. Both songs use repetition and frequent segments of scatting.

            The melody for the songs are somewhat similar. I’m the Scatman spoken more than sung, though at a very fast pace. Scatman’s World does have some parts that are spoken, but mostly it is singing. The range is wider on Scatman’s World, and there is a key change near the end, while I’m the Scatman does not. The instrumentation for both is from techno of the time; basic midi instruments, drums, bass, etc. This was revolutionary at the time, as nobody would have considered putting the good old jazz in with new electronic music.

            The rhythm of the songs is based in jazz. There is a lot of syncopation all over the score, and a lot of off beats in the bass. Yet the instruments do feel like early techno. It is an interesting combination.

The intensity is the same for both songs; driving and fairly loud throughout. The pitch, however is different. The basic key for Scatman’s World is higher than it is for “I’m the Scatman”, and the key change makes it go even higher, at least for the sung parts. The spoken phrases are similar in pitch.

            The timbre of the songs is also similar. The spoken lyrics have a slight grumble to them, and the sung parts are clear and loud. The instruments are early techno instruments, so they can be compared to basic midi instruments.

            Finally, the speed of “I’m the Scatman” is much faster than for “Scatman’s World”. Just listening to the spoken parts of the songs shows this clearly.

           I really like this fusion of two seemingly unrelated genres, and I'm sad that Scatman John died before I discovered his work.