Tyler, the Creator's 'See You Again' Is a Musical Story

9/9/2018 · 363 words · watch on YouTube · all videos

About this transcript This was pulled from the video's captions by machine. It is not a script: the punctuation is missing, the paragraphing is arbitrary, and it will have misheard things. It is here so the words are searchable and quotable. Every timestamp links back to the moment it came from, so you can check me. Where it disagrees with the video, the video is right.

0:00 Despite being one of the richest sounding songs in the album *Flower Boy*, Tyler, the Creator's "See You Again" opens without any music at all, in acapella.

[Song clip]

The lyrics begin to paint a simple picture for us: reality and fantasy, the musical story that the song tells. The latter being illustrated with musical complexity, and the former with silence.

As the next iteration of the chorus comes in, everything's fattened up and we get further complexity. We get a sense that Tyler's fantasy is opening up to us, more complexity yielding more emotionality, until he snaps back to reality.

Now the fantasy is almost completely revealed. The chorus exists inside deep background synths, themselves against a piano, Tyler's voice, a brief high-pitched synth, and a glockenspiel, making the fantasy feel bright and lofty. At the same time, a subtle synth fills the background, contrasting against the rest of the instrumentation, but making everything feel rich and full.

1:01 That loftiness becomes further elevated as synths contrast against Kali Uchis's voice when it comes in, ending every verse on a sharp and bitter tritone. It's what gives the song a kind of reluctant feeling, as though Tyler doesn't want to stop indulging in his fantasy.

The incoming clapping creates a rising feeling until the bass finally drops. Now the fantasy reaches its apex. Tyler's voice wraps over an orchestral synth similar in tone to Lenny Kravitz's "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over", as brief synths like neurons firing create chaos, Tyler almost opening up to his fantasy lover.

1:51 The first section of the song then repeats, but a slightly sour synth trumpet is also heard, darkening the mood of Tyler's fantasy as we fully understand that his lover isn't real.

A final repeat of Kali Uchis's section tells us Tyler doesn't really care. This song's pretty amazing. Thanks for watching.

2:31 This video is brought to you by the news website Cheddar, and if you're interested in short-form condensed video essays like this, then their YouTube channel is a great place to look, especially if you're into food. I know I am. Give their videos a watch, and maybe subscribe while you're there.

[Music]

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