OK, musical people.

[jacquez]

This is basically flummery's fault. I am listening (once again) to the Flobots "Handlebars" and I am (once again) wondering what this song structure is called

Comments

[firimari]

I have nothing useful to add, but just want to say "I'm the Doctor, Look me up" is really the bestest line from the library two-parter.

[firimari]

Also, I've now watched that video like 5 times already.

[jacquez]

it is made of win!

[killabeez]

You start out small (I can ride my bike with no handlebars) and then you escalate to something really big (I can end the planet in a holocaust) and then you go back to small again.

I believe that's called the Brontosaurus structure. My theory is that Brontosauruses are very very small at one end, great big in the middle, and very very small again at the other end. And that's my theory, and what it is too.

(alternately, it's the snake that has swallowed an elephant structure)

[jacquez]

[cyano]

I used that image in Pictionary once when Elephant was the word.

My sister got it instantly, and everyone accused us of cheating.

not *my* fault they ignant.

[jacquez]

It would only be cheating if you used the other one.

Re: structure name

[jacquez]

that is the most hilarious references section in the history of EVER.

I'm not sure it's mise en abyme, but I am more and more convinced that what I am looking for is not some kind of musical or lyrical structure, but a storytelling or rhetorical structure.

Re: structure name

[r_transpose_p]

I was going to say "Its either a term I"ve never heard of, or a term we've all heard of, and just never thought to use in this context"

Then I started poking around starting from the "music dynamics" pages on wikipedia, and found this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonata_form#Definition_as_a_formal_model

I don't think its quite right, since it specifies a lot of fancy stuff probably not in the pieces you're describing -- also I am guessing the "play something (some number of times), repeat it but louder and faster (some number of times), play the original again" must predate, not only classical music theory, but probably things like "written language" "agriculture" and "permanent settlements" as well ;)

[r_transpose_p]

Is that userpic David Bowie?

[jacquez]

Yep.