Ask Yourself By Mark Foster And Greg Kurstin

“Ask Yourself” is a song written by Mark Foster and Greg Kurstin (Track Listing), and was released on March 18, 2014 (Spin.com) as part of Foster the Peoples sophomore album, Supermodel. This song is formally interesting due to the fact that there are so many pieces that are put together to create a clean flow from start to finish. The song begins with an intro that lasts roughly twenty-seven seconds. It begins with a soft acoustic guitar, however, it soon builds when the bass guitar and drums join in simultaneously. The music in the intro is the same music that is heard in verses one and two, so it is difficult to guess when the verse begins. The beginning of verse one is given away when Foster begins singing the lyrics. The acoustic guitar can still be heard with the bass line and drums playing in the background. The music in this verse, as well as in the second verse, is very calming. One would think a soft acoustic guitar would be paired with lyrics with a similar feel. However, in “Ask Yourself,” the lyrics are rather dark compared to the sound of the music.
The guitar is no longer acoustic, but electric, and the bass increases in pitch. Though the bass line in the verse has lots of movement, the bass line in the chorus is absolutely full of motion. Foster is then joined by what sounds to be a choir, singing the lyrics of the chorus with him in the background. Though the music in the verses and chorus are noticeably different, it is easy to tell that they are part of the same song. If the song was broken up, and pieces from multiple other songs were mixed in, a listener could easily identify the parts that make up “Ask Yourself.” But suddenly, the music drops off before the chorus seems to be over. It is because the first chorus is only a fragment of the full