Why the opener is fast

Someone asked why "Turn It All the Way Up" is as fast as it is, and whether I thought about slowing it down. I did.

I tried it. At a slower tempo it turned into a different song. It got heavy and a little dark, the kind of thing you'd put on late and alone, and that's not what a first track is for. The chorus wants to move, and so does the room.

So we put it back to where it started, somewhere around 156 beats a minute, and left it. A fast song lives or dies on whether it still feels loose at that speed. This one does. It's quick, but there's space in it, and the chorus lands on the beat like a hand clap.

I think an album opener has one job. It tells you what kind of night you're in for. If the first song is a shrug, you're already thinking about the exit. If it's loud and glad to see you, you'll stay for the next one.

So the opener stays fast. The slower songs get their turn later on.

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