"By that time," he said, in lightly accented English, "I had left behind the idea of being a guitar hero, of trying to impress people by playing fast melodies.
Most pop songs have a lively, upbeat tune and a fast happy melody.
The song starts with an electric guitar riff which has been compared to English alternative rock/Britpop band Oasis, after which the fast techno melody begins, which, according to biographer Lucy O'Brien in Madonna: Like an Icon, has been described as having a "bubbling psychedelic undertow", as well as combining "melodic pop with bleep-driven techno".
"Chacarera," named after the Argentine folk rhythm that furnishes its pulse, has a fast-bobbing melody like a kite in high wind; it segues almost unnoticed into a tango-rooted cover of "Wild Is the Wind," a staple of Nina Simone (whose swooping style is duly evoked).
And in his "Sumayra," a playful piece with a fast-trickling melody, some well-worn chord changes in the bridge and a walking bass line, Mr. Batiste was stunning: he played a solo in the piano's upper region that was spare, forceful, witty, funky, imaginative and coherent.
The regularly accented left-hand beat, in 4/4 or 2/4 time, was opposed in the right hand by a fast, bouncingly syncopated melody that gave the music its powerful forward impetus.
Even when he sings fast bursts of melody that seem akin to the ecstatic Sufi outbursts of qawwali singers like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, there is a streak of humility and vulnerability.
The words came fast and the melody started to take on a shape.
HOT BOX delivered yet again, with spitfire fast lyrics, a melody that instantly snags your attention, and a beat that's nothing short of electrifying.
Mangle That Tune In the old television game show "Name That Tune," contestants vied to see who could identify a popular melody faster ("I can name that tune in five notes, Tom," a contestant would tell Tom Kennedy, the host of the 1970's version of the show).
