Le Temps est Tendu

Booker T, who led possibly the greatest non-jazz instrumental band ever, tells Terry Gross (about 25 minutes in) about the melody of the group's greatest song, "Time Is Tight":

I wrote that in Paris, on the banks of the River Seine...If you listen to the melody, listen to the simplicity of it, I think that was born out of my classical roots, actually. It's not a 12-bar blues; it's an odd number of bars. I listen to people like Jean Sibelius, people who wrote these long, flowing melodies, and found a personal comfort in that type of thing. And a lot of people tell me that song makes them feel relaxed and comfortable.

Oui.