Nicholas Chen

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album art for Sienna

track

Sienna

The Marías

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notes:

7/25/2025 public

another spacey minor ii-V-I (with an extra IV or VI depending on the bar)

very similar progression to album art for No One NoticedNo One Noticed, off the same record

also album art for CryCry, another simpy love song

3/3/2025 public

I can't quite put my finger on it, but the synth tones at the start of this song give me the feeling of waking up on a beach with the waves washing over you, like the opening scene of Inception. Fits into the general aquatic theme of the album.


1/30/2025 public

The production on this entire album reminds me of the production on A Moon Shaped Pool, particularly tracks like album art for DaydreamingDaydreaming. They create this underwater feeling through the use of spaced out synths, heavily reverbed guitar tracks, and airy keys
album art for Have You Ever Loved A Woman?
Mentioned in Have You Ever Loved A Woman? Derek & The Dominos

11/21/2025 public

if i were to give a marshall mcluhan type analysis i'd say something about how the modern situationship is embodied more by modern expressions of heartbreak (reverbed out 2 5 1 songs a la the marias and cigarettes after sex - album art for SiennaSienna and album art for Nothing's Gonna Hurt You BabyNothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby ), the reverb a symptom of modern introspectiveness and the 2-5-1 progression a symptom of our craving for resolution to something comfortable

(there is even an indie heartbreak song titled after the trope of 251 indie heartbreak songs - album art for (Another) 251(Another) 251)

on the other hand older music about heartbreak (this song) show comfort with a less linear and more cyclic view of time and relationships. modern situationships are about a fear of commitment and consequences, which comes from a linear view of time, while older generations were more likely to be serial monagamists, which is a consequence of a cyclic view of time. a 2-5-1 progression is built around resolving to the tonic, a blues progression privileges the tonic much less. a blues progression feels like a celebration of the cyclic nonlinear nature of life. it feels like a much healthier way to approach relationships than a 2-5-1 progression