"Circles" - Post Malone, 2019

 Spoiler alert: I know nothing about Post Malone, other than his appearances in beer-alternative commercials and that slick Nirvana tribute he did.  Apparently, Post Malone is a genre bending hip hop artist that has had some massive chart success.  If you listen to his 2019 single, "Circles," that vibe does not clearly come across.  I found many reviews of the song that all praise it for its catchiness, but almost dismiss it due to it departure from Post's normal musical stylings. [1]

Vocal Media's Sean Patrick comes in a bit hotter with his take: "Circles" is a perfect pop song. [2]  He makes some salient points in his article, many of which I agree with.  As someone who had never heard this song prior to analyzing it, I am very impressed.  Not only is this a well crafted pop song with a simple and relatable message, there is some clever musical composition happening under the surface.

November 30th - December 7th, 2019 and January 11, 2020 - "Circles" by Post Malone logs in 3 weeks at the no.1 position!

The form of "Circles" is one of the most simple and effective pop song forms I have analyzed. It starts with an extended 16 measure intro.  The first 8 establish the intro melody and chord progression.  Bass, drums and vocals enter in the next 8 to round out the 16 bar section. 

Then, there's a little color by numbers action happening.  Verse 1 (A) is 16 measures long.  It is immediately followed by the 16 measure chorus (B).  He repeats both sections with the same length.  We do get an 8 measure bridge (C), which is followed by one more 16 measure chorus to end the song.  ABABCB.  This is almost the pop music equivalent to rondo form.  What's interesting is that there is some variation in the performance, especially in the verses. 

Most importantly, the song thrives on this simplicity.  The ultra pop presentation is enhanced by simplistic elements such as the overall structure.  The lesson here may be less is more.  For this song, it certainly seems true, as we will see with the chord progression and aspects of the melody. 

Chord Progressions

"Circles" utilizes the same chord progression throughout.  You could say the same chords keep running in circles?  If this was the intention, Post Malone is taking word painting to another level.

The intro gives us the chord progression right away with a strumming acoustic guitar accompanied by another guitar/synth combo with a melody on top:

Intro - meas. 1-8 (guitar melody and rhythm)

CMaj7 starts off with two strong downbeats and leads into the very cool Emin7/B chord.  Out of the 5 notes, 3 stay the same while the other two resolve down a half and whole step.  It's an interesting and eerie sound that gives this tune its atmospheric sound.  Notes continue to move in small intervals resulting in Fmajor7: E stays while B and G move up a half and whole step, respectively to form the F major chord.  Then, in a wild move, F major7 moves to F minor, seeing the E move up a half step to F and the A move down a half step to Ab.  Super cool voice leading!

The first 3/4 of the progression repeats and instead of Fminor the second time, it stays on F and then plays two beats on a G6 with the E string continuing to ring out.  Also note the quick open G string during the firs Fmaj chord.  It provides the slightest bit of movement in the progression, even when the melody note isn't happening.

Speaking of the melody, it basically outlines C pentatonic, visiting the 6th.  This will quickly become a vocal theme as well as a background melody during the chorus.  The diatonic Cmajor choices over the non-diatonic Fmin result in a continuation of the unique vibe this song puts forward.  

The bass part, which comes in for the next 8 measures of the intro, plays a G over the Fminor chord, resulting in a temporary Fmin/G:

Bass Line

That's basically it.  In the key of Cmajor, the chords flow as follows:

CMaj7  / Emin7/B   / FMaj7  / Fmin   / CMaj7   / Emin7/B  /  FMaj7   /    G6

I           /   iii            / IV          / iv         /  I             /  iii            /  IV          /      V

As seen in several songs, iii - IV is a common progression, as is IV-V, as is iv-I.  I love how these common combinations are combined in an uncommon way.  

Melody

The melody of the song is diatonic to Cmajor, despite some non-diatonic chords.  Again, we see this in the intro melody, first played instrumentally and then sang by Post himself.

Intro - meas. 9-16 (bass and vocal)

Scale intervals 5-6-5-3 are repeated and lead to 3-2-2-3 with the instruments finishing 2-R.  It's a pleasant, mostly stepwise melody that presents a predictable start to the song.  

Post enters with verse 1, using similar syncopation to the intro guitar ostinato.  

Verse 1 - meas.1-8

He starts on a B, the major 7 of C and the 5th of Emin.  That resolves up a half step to C.  In measure 4, he sings the A natural, 6th of Cmajor and major 3rd against the Fmin chord.  While this should clash, it doesn't.  There is almost an audio illusion going on where our ear retains the F major and because the Fmin is far back enough in the mix, and exists from two contrary half step resolutions (E↑F; A↓Ab).  It doesn't come off as a wildly new chord either, it's more of a pivot.  When we hear the same melody in measure 8, the chord remains on F major, so it sounds completely correct.

After these 8 measures, the rhythmic theme continues with new pitches.  He moves his primary pitch to E, now major 3rd of C and root of the Emin.  When we get to Fminor, once again, he sings a "wrong" note.  The E over the Fminor results in a Fmin-maj7 chord, a classic mysterious sound.  It's short lived though and we return to chord tones.  The last measure of the verse banks on the D, 5th of G, even though it's not sounding, and resolves to the tonic.

Verse 1 - meas.9-16

Verse 2 is very different from verse 1.  The empty measures from verse 1 are filled in and for 8 measures, the syncopation borrowed from the guitar part, is abandoned.  The notes change as well, exploring a G in the first 8 and a C in the second 8.   If you account for both verses, his primary pitches are B, E, G and C....he covers each note in the CMajor7 chord.  Too cool!

Verse 2

The second 8 measures introduce a rhythmic theme borrowed from the chorus and augmented in rhythm.  "Special," "sex though," and "echoes" are reminiscent of the "run away" syncopation in the choruses.  In looking at the Fminor measures (4 and 12 above) he avoids harmonic clashes in this verse.  In measure 4, he rests and in measure 12, he sings a C, part of the F minor chord.  

The end of this verse uses a figure we will see in the bridge as he, once again, uses C pentatonic to rise 6-R-2-3.  This verse, like verse 1, and the chorus, and the bridge, uses diatonic pitches to fill out the melody.  

Let's dissect the chorus.  Here's what Post sings in the chorus:

Chorus - Melody Only

The first 6 bars present a line that descends from E to B, bumps back to C and finishes with A-G.  It's all diatonic and, once again, outlines notes of C pentatonic.   In measure 7, he changes the pattern and employs some syncopation on the the repeated "run aways," which eventually passes through F (not C pentatonic) and up to the G.

Measures 8-11 use similar patterns and transition with measure 12, more musings in C major.  Measures 13-16 combine the first 6 measures with the middle "run aways," recylcing themes and getting melodies stuck in your head!

On top of this great melody, there is some substantial vocal harmony added.  a higher part that begins a 4th apart from the melody eventually works its way into 3rds.  As the melody progresses, a lower voice comes into the mix, a third lower than the melody.  

Chorus with harmony

In measures 9-12 of the chorus, we actually hear a reprise of the intro melody figure, played by a keyboard.  The last 4 measures pick up with familiar harmony.  While transcribing this chorus, my ear was definitely playing tricks on me.  Harmonic overtone, studio effect or sang harmony?  Some of the time, I wasn't completely sure.  In the last 2 measures though, I definitely got both higher and lower parts accompanying Post's melody.

The entire chorus is comprised of diatonic melodic passages that are almost all derived from C pentatonic.  When the F pitch is introduced, it coincides with the F or G6 chords, making perfect sense for the cadence and resolves to the C in some fashion.  

There is a bridge, once again built upon the same harmonic foundation.  Here, Post lays down more diatonic C major passages and hinges on the F-E motion a bit more than before.  Rhythmically, he sticks to some of the same patterns, he just more phrases together.  The section, in turn, moves along at a quicker pace, helping to feel like a proper bridge, which is marginally succeeds at, in part thanks to the rhythm section backing off a bit.

Bridge

There is some interesting symmetry with the line "it's only me," happening in measures 3 and 7.  He ends the bridge with the familiar "let it go" flourish from verse 2.  

  

Lyrics

"Circles" tells the story of someone trapped in the negative cycle of  relationship.  The lyrical content here is certainly relatable to many.  Post Malone is good at making powerful statements in plain speak.  (There are plenty of articles about the meaning of this song, so take my analysis for what it is.  Here's a similar, but alternate take to consider [3]).

We couldn't turn around 'til we were upside down

I'll be the bad guy now, but know I ain't too proud

The two parties can't walk away from the relationship until it's completely upside down, though they likely knew it would end up there in the first place.   Post Malone decides he will initiate the break up, becoming the bad guy, even though he's not proud of it.

He goes on to lament about the struggles of the relationship and makes a bold and honest statement that, once again, is relatable to many.

You thought that it was special, special

But it was just the sex though, the sex though

The chorus has one of my favorite lines and sentiments of the song.  It sees Post Malone, knee deep in the struggle of ending this relationship for good, going on the passive aggressive offensive:

I dare you to do something

I'm waiting on you again, so I don't take the blame

I love the image of him daring this person to do something, knowing that if he makes the next move, he will most certainly be to blame.  He did already admit to being the bad guy, though........

There's also the sweeping refrain of "let it go" that appears at the end of verse 2 and in the bridge.

In the end, these two keep "feeding the flame" and this negative cycle continues to run them around in circles.  Easily understood, relatable lyrics that are clever, personal and honest.  

Common Threads

Repeated Melodic Motifs - rhythmic motifs are repeated, with varying pitches, all over the place.  We also see phrases within the sections repeated.  Repetition is key in this one.

Diatonic Melody - despite non-diatonic chords, the melody stays diatonic.  Moving largely in steps and through the C major pentatonic scale.

Texture Changes - there are a few textures here, mostly driven by the presence or absence of drums and bass.  The song actually ends with the sparse texture presented in the intro. 

Vocal Harmony - the vocal harmonies add an ethereal quality to the melody and occur in each chorus.

Song Title Used In Hook - "running in circles...."  "run away" is arguably more prevalent, but "circles" makes it in regardless.

Singular Chord Progression - Not sure if this one will endure as a common thread, but it's worth mentioning.

Chord Count - 5 - CMaj7, Emin7/B, FMaj7, Fmin, G6

5 chords throughout the song is slightly higher than the average chord count of the time, as I have analyzed.  That being said, the fact that the 5 chords are spread over one chord progression is even more impressive.

Final Takeaways

I really like "Circles."  The musical composition is sneaky good, even if the overall presentation is uber poppy.  I actually listened to Post Malone's record, Hollywood Is Bleeding.  My first impression was actually exactly what I expected from an artist who gets labeled as "pop/rap."  He didn't do too much rapping, but there were several guests who did.  "Circles" features a little bit of Post's "billy goat" vibrato, thankfully.  It comes off much more prominently on the recorder.   At first I though it was an effect, but watching some live videos, he's definitely part goat.  It's a cool effect, but like most pop music, gets tiresome after a while. 

Pop records end up having this glossy finish that makes every song sound the same.  I determined this is mostly do to the drum sounds and syncopated cymbal patterns that permeate modern pop.  Hollywood Is Bleeding has plenty of that, but a few songs did stick out as sounding different.  "Circles" was certainly one of them.  I'm glad I took a moment to become acquainted with Post Malone and though I like this song, his other stuff isn't really that appealing to me.  Not to say in the future I wouldn't check something out, but for now, I came, I saw and I'm moving on.

What do you think of "Circles?"  Did you pick up on any of the nuanced details or did they get swallowed up by the poppyness?  Leave me a comment!

Up next time, we star the journey "On the 3's!"  Let's kick things off, keeping in the past themes, with the song that was number 1 in the first week of August, 2013.     June 22nd - September 7th, 2013 - A massive 12 week run at no.1..."Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, featuring T.I. and Pharrell, reigns supreme.  Reading the no.1 hit songs in 2013 is like a time warp.  I was playing in a cover band at the time and played many of these popular songs, including "Blurred Lines."  Hopefully the nostalgia factor will kick in and make this one interesting!

[1]https://vulturehound.co.uk/2019/09/post-malone-circles-single-review/
[2]https://vocal.media/beat/song-review-circles-by-post-malone-is-pop-perfection
[3]https://justrandomthings.com/2019/08/31/post-malone-circles-lyrics-review-and-song-meaning/