There are some personal phenomena that, as is implied, cannot be explained. To me, these take the form of "jazzy basslines/melodies that attempt to invoke some memory I can't grasp." I can't really simplify that, but there are a few songs I know with interesting scales (if any of you are jazz buffs, perhaps you can tell me if the four clips I'll post have a scale in common - something like a major 7th?) Basically when I listen to them, I feel like I'm trying to remember something (from childhood? from no where in particular?) that I can never put my finger on. And it's probably safe to say that nobody else has this weird sense come to them when listening to these or any other songs.
Spinnin' by Bernard Wright (sampled in Skee Lo's "I Wish")
Definitely a jazz based section - piano may add to the effect I'm talking about.
Space by Galt McDermot (sampled in Woohah by Busta Rhymes)
Not quite the same effect, even though it has a similar staccato bassline as "Spinnin"
Deja Vu by Beyonce
Granted her voice overpowers everything, but there's the same bassline type phrase as in "Spinnin"
Get Involved by Raphael Saadiq
This one is more done by the 'guitar' than the bass and uses the vocals to add to the chord as well.
Murmur Twins by Yu Tokiwa
Aside from annoying most of you, it has sort of crazy-piano + bass which also gives me the same feeling.
Anyone who can make sense of what it is that appeals to me in these songs would intrigue me. I do wonder, however, if there is some ability for music/songs/chords/scales to activate certain parts of our brain to make us think of something. Is there a receptor in people's brains (or musicians' brains) that sets off some reaction when hearing one type of chord/song as opposed to another? Most of us can discern a "happy" song from a "sad" one being that typically we think of major as happy and minor as sad, and that even certain keys are happier and sadder than others. (I might even say major 7ths are sadder than minor chords sometimes, too).
Just a musing. If anyone isn't very musical and wants examples of minor vs. major vs. major 7th chords, I'd be happy to share them.
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Unfortunately my knowledge of music theory is too limited to be able to deconstruct those bass lines in any way other than pointing out that they are all funk grooves.
It's actually not a strange question you pose at all. There are quite a large number of people who study exactly what it is about certain types of musical patterns that evoke a reaction. I mean, as for the funk groove jogging your memory, my guess is that you have a childhood association with it or something like that. But certainly we are all accustomed to linking sounds with certain feelings or customs. A trumpet fanfare is regal, lots of percussion might make you want to dance. If I get some time, maybe I'll look through some library materials and see if I can find anything about the topic.
What is also interesting is how we are so accustomed to Western scale patterns. A lot of people have a difficult time listening to Indian music (i.e. tablas and sitars) because their scales and song forms are so different from our own. What sounds beautiful in one part of the world is intolerable in another. Amazing.
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