"Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" is a song by the Australian band

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...

, released as a single in 2011. It was recorded during the sessions for the ''

Innerspeaker ''Innerspeaker'' (sometimes stylised as ''InnerSpeaker'') is the debut studio album by Australian musical project Tame Impala, released on 21 May 2010 by Modular Recordings. The album was recorded and produced by musician Kevin Parker at a remote ...

'' album in 2009, and released as the fourth single from that album. The single features artwork from Australian artist

Leif Podhajsky Leif Podhajsky is an Australian graphic designer and art director, well known for his distinctive album art working with artists such as Tame Impala, Bonobo, Foals, Kylie Minogue, Of Monsters and Men, Lykke Li, Toy, The Horrors, Mount Kimbie, ...

, who also created the artwork for ''Innerspeaker'' and the follow-up ''

Lonerism ''Lonerism'' is the second studio album by Australian musical project Tame Impala, released on 5 October 2012 by Modular Recordings. Like the band's debut studio album, '' Innerspeaker'' (2010), ''Lonerism'' was written, recorded, performed, an ...

''.

Composition

"Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" was written by Kevin Parker in the key of

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

in a 4/4

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

. It is based around four repeating barre

chords Chord or chords may refer to: Art and music * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord, a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * The Chords (British band), 1970s British mod ...

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic ...

B-flat major B-flat major is a major scale based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor. The B-flat major scale is: Changes needed for ...

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp, on the F. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: Change ...

and

, played on electric guitar, to create a trance-like, hypnotic and spacious atmosphere, while the bass is played

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

ically to fill in the guitar spaces. It starts with three

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock music, rock, popular music, pop, jazz, an ...

hits on the drums, which was included by Parker as a tribute to the

Outkast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...

song

Hey Ya! "Hey Ya!" is a song by American hip hop duo Outkast, performed by its member André 3000, who wrote and produced the song. Along with " The Way You Move", recorded by Outkast's other member Big Boi and which featured Sleepy Brown, "Hey Ya! ...

which starts with an uncommon three

upbeat Up beat may refer to: *Upbeat, in music, the last beat in the previous bar which immediately precedes the downbeat *Anacrusis, a note (or sequence of notes) which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase * ''Upbeat'' (album), by t ...

s, rather than the more common four upbeats. Before the verse starts, a pitch-shifted, delayed, fuzz guitar kicks in, which many mistook for a

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

, to play a

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

in the F major scale, featuring stereo

panning Pan or PAN may refer to: Food * Pan (cooking), a piece of cooking equipment * Harina P.A.N., a pre-cooked corn meal * Pan or Paan, a North Indian term for betel Prefix * ''Pan-'', a prefix meaning "all", "of everything", or "involving all ...

effects to give it a sense of movement. The verse starts, featuring Parker's vocals, which are reverbed and delayed. The

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

are minimal and only featured in the verses, while a heavily chorused, distorted guitar plays a

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

in the choruses. Another verse comes in repeating the same lyrics, which gives way to a

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

outro, featuring many guitar

overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more a ...

with

effects Effect may refer to: * A result or change of something ** List of effects ** Cause and effect, an idiom describing causality Pharmacy and pharmacology * Drug effect, a change resulting from the administration of a drug ** Therapeutic effect, ...

added to them coming to a

crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation by the performer depending ...

. At only 3:19, "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" is the shortest track on ''

''.

Music video

While an official music video was never made,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

created an unofficial video. It features the band playing a rendition of "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" in a

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

. It was shot in 3D and features strong 3D effects and warbly images that make use of the extra dimension.

Live performances

"Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" has featured in almost every single Tame Impala

set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

since the release of ''

'', and was later added to the beginning of the set in 2011, transitioning into "Alter Ego". Live, Parker occasionally incorporates a heavily reverbed,

improvised Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melody, melodic passage, instrumental section (music), section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, classical, electric guitar, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and ...

in the outro, using the F major scale. It was performed on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

'' on the 12 August 2011 episode to an American audience of 3.6 million viewers, on Tame Impala's live television debut. Former bassist Nick Allbrook wasn't present for the performance when there was a delay in the delivery of his

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

and was slow to get through

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

. Tame Impala's

guitar technician A guitar technician (or guitar tech) is a member of a music ensemble's road crew who maintains and sets up the musical equipment for one or more guitarists. Depending on the type and size of band, the guitar tech may be responsible for stringing ...

, Matt Handley, filled in for Allbrook on bass.

Track listing

# "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" – 3:19 # "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" (

Erol Alkan Erol Alkan (born 30 May 1974) is an English DJ and Record producer, producer of Turkish Cypriot descent. He grew up in Archway in North London. Career DJ and club promoter In 1993, Erol Alkan started DJing in various Indie (music), indie n ...

rework) – 8:14 # "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" (Erol Alkan

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

) – 8:14 # "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" (Erol Alkan rework edit) – 4:15

Personnel

* Kevin Parker – all vocals and instrumentation

References

External links

* {{Tame Impala 2010 songs 2011 singles Tame Impala songs Song recordings produced by Kevin Parker Songs written by Kevin Parker (musician) Modular Recordings singles