The War On Drugs & The Art of Musical Deception

1. 

   @Leonardo-z4l6j

   October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

   Nice! Thanks for helping me to get "a deeper understanding" of this song chord progression, I think these multiple Deceptive Resolutions explains why when I listen to this song I feel like I'm running up a endeless hill with some plains to rest

2. 

   @willis2920

   October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

   Well done. Excellent video and great production. Subscribed

3. 

   @DavidM-ob5ii

   October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

   I have watched this video probably 20 times over the last year while learning music theory. It helps me understand what I'm learning elsewhere, and vice versa. I LOVE the band, and this song, and I love your enthusiasm for the topic. I mean, yeah, we all get that music is intuitive and about feeling at the end of the day but that doesn't mean we can't also find value in being able to communicate in the language of music theory.

   So thanks for all that, and here's my stab at it: a wonderful teacher told me that analyzing a song requires that we analyze it on several levels – starting with the "overall" level, and then by sections, and possibly even at the level of individual measures. For example, a song can be in the "key of Bb" overall, but that doesn't mean every section is. It might modulate to a different key for a section, or become modal. It might be modal most of the time (Dreams by Fleetwood Mac) but take on the tonality of a key for a section. It might also borrow a chord for say a measure or even half a measure, not long enough to give us a new tonal center and so not really "modulating" to the key from which it borrows.

   So the first question for any section is "Is it tonal, or is it modal?" Tonal is generally taken to mean (1) it has at least three different chords (2) a relatively fast harmonic rhythm – meaning the chords change at least every two bars as opposed to a vamp (3) the "tension/release" is provided by the chords themselves and not the vocal or instrumental melody on top of the chords and (4) there's an emphasis on the Tonic (I) chord, which means that the Tonic chord must be present at a minimum, and is likely falling on stronger beats (for example bars 1 and/or 3 of a 4 bar progression). All of which is just to say that while F and Gm are both in the key of Bb, we can't be "in the key of Bb" while vamping between F and Gm for so long. If a piece IS tonal, then the next question is "what's the key?" but the early verses of this song don't seem to be Tonal, so maybe we're jumping the gun by asking which key it's in.

   On the other hand, Modal music generally means it has (1) 1 or 2 chords, maybe 3 at most (once you have 4 different chords, you have definitely outlined all 7 notes of a key, and your ear is going to hear things in that key) (2) long stretches of the same 2 chords or vamp (3) the tension/release is provided more by the vocal or instrumental melodic line than by the chords. (BTW, Blues is kind of it's own category that has some aspects of tonal music and some of modal).So the whole F to Gm vamp might better be described as modal. As you point out later, the C chord is tricky because it introduces the E natural note, whereas up until that point we'd seen Eb. Well, if the F to Gm section is considered to be in the mode of F Mixolydian, then that includes not only the F and Gm chords but also an Eb chord, which we'll see in the bridge. The breakdown section as you say, has a C chord and includes an E natural note. I would suggest that the breakdown shifts to Tonal, becoming F major (aka Ionian) during this section. F Mixolydian and F Major only differ by the Eb (Mixolydian) and E natural (F Major). The breakdown also puts clear emphasis on the F chord, not Bb although Bb is present. Also, as you said, for the C chord to be a "secondary dominant"V/V in Bb it would lead to an F chord, but it doesn't. If we're in the key of F major though, C is just the V chord and all is well.

4. 

   @macaroon147

   October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

   I think he just played chords that he liked hehe

5. 

   @Piccaz82

   October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

   I KNEW this was about ‘An ocean in between the waves’, its progression hooks me every time. This video is so good, thank you

6. 

   @akex519

   October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

   if you really wanted to get technical, couldn’t you say that that C maj chord is a VII/iii leading to d min? either way works though since both chords share two notes

7. 

   @cstanfill2000

   October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

   I think the C major chord is just a major II chord. Same function as a normal ii , just a different quality.

8. 

   @sugarraybarrett2052

   October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

   The heck ya talkin’ ‘bout? All’s I knows is it sounds gud 🤷‍♂️
   (Subscribed).

9. 

   @pas3202

   October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

   Hey mic, this was a nice attempt at musical analysis but I think no offence it comes from a place from a bit too little knowledge about music theory make a video like this analysing a song. The way you went about it is a nice effort, but not really what music theory is about
   The whole thing about “finding out what key it is in” isn’t really as deep as you made it seem
   Although going off the pure progression itself F to Gm repeated you can’t technically tell if the song is in F major or G minor it’s pretty obvious from the cadence choices and musical intuitive feel for the song that it is in Gminor, it just wouldn’t make sense if it was in f major, and you might not know that if you don’t have a decent musical theory understanding of incorporating intuition into it, because music isn’t intangible in the sense that you were describing it in in this video (it was formatted like a science question when in reality it is not the way you would go about or asking questions like these with music)

   Also the modulations to C major chords (using E natural instead of Eb) are taking it temporarily out of the key, it’s not a question of whether it’s in some secret mystery key or something deceptive, just a slight modulation to add texture in a climactic section of the song, not very deep.
   Although I loved the enthusiasm for music theory!
   But even my version of describing this isn’t necessarily necessary either, I doubt Adam thought about any of this while creating the song, and used intuition of what feels right – which at the end of the day is what music is about! Like the whole deceptive cadence thing isn’t really relevant at all or that accurate either in this practical scenario, it is meant for different uses

   Just some constructive criticism!

   Maybe you would be better off focussing on strengths of yours instead of trying to lean into the theory aspect too much, and accidentally misapplying them.

10. 

    @alabothree

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    This is good, but we must remember that music is not about making something fit into a key, it's about mood, and emotion, and feeling.

11. 

    @aldenmartin623

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    Good

12. 

    @removerecords4714

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    Cool

13. 

    @KindLN

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    I first heard of The War on Drugs when "Under the Pressure" played at the end of Bojack Horseman season 5, and never looked back. They have such a distinct sound! I majored in English, not Music, so while I can analyze the fuck out of lyrics ("Under the Pressure" gets my vote for Millennial anthem), melodies don't come as easily… But that's really only half the picture. That's why I need channels like this to analyze music for me! I still don't understand a lot of it, but I get the gist. I love how music can reflect themes in a different way than words, and here… This might be naive, but I'm wondering if part of the point might be that dividing music up into keys is artificial? Like how we think of a wave as a distinct thing, but it's really fluid — two "separate" waves are really the same thing and are connected, and… how do you determine where the wave stops and "the ocean in between the waves" begins?

14. 

    @monk7664

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    Hey man, discovered your videos today. I like your work, and you made me discover this album too! So thanks for that and keep up the good work!

15. 

    @luchilenium

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    I saw your video on the music of the 2010s I was like "hm, good."
    I saw your video on the top ten albums of the 2010s I was like "I like these albums"
    Then I saw you put A Deeper Understanding at number 3 and I was like "yes"
    And you called attention to this video, and I was like "that is like, one of my favourite songs ever"
    Your appreciation of The War on Drugs is those drums kicking in in verse 2.
    This video is that first solo.
    And this comment?
    This comment is the "woo".

16. 

    @IllDawgable

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    So you don't like "Disappearing" from the same album?

17. 

    @steadyrhythms9571

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    came here after you put "a deeper understanding" in your decade list. thank you for doing that, i've been loving their two latest albums very much so, and because of that decided to watch this. excellent video, totally underrated. that takes a lot of depth and close listening to come to do an analysis such as this (even if it's music theory that's, no offense, not TOO mind-boggling). hopefully it gets a few more views after people like me give the band a shot and want to hear more of what you have to say, because you always have something that's worth contributing. definitely one of the best music channels on YT, probably my second favorite (sorry man deep cuts is just sooooo good but you're close behind).

18. 

    @jables1able

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    This is great!

19. 

    @lucalycan

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    Why the fuck does this not have more views? This was so interesting, even with barely any knowledge of music therory.

20. 

    @torcoolguy

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    For some reason I thought this was gonna be about the actual War on Drugs and how music is a part of it (Like, random example, Elvis wanted to be a narc for the FBI because he thought the Beatles were ruining America.), but this is good too.

21. 

    @rossamundbrennan7248

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    First album I ever bought on vinyl.
    I think over analysing non traditional compositions such as this is a recipe for chasing your own tail. I doubt that the band cared about the key changes when they wrote it, they just played what felt right.

22. 

    @AdamSoucyDrums

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    “The Key For the Notes”

    An Autobiography

23. 

    @prpldragon64

    October 4, 2025 at 12:57 am

    Woo¡

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