I signed up for a songwriting course a couple of years ago, which I studies for a month or so. We learned about stable and unstable structures, chord progressions, etc, and there were the usual references to great songs and Songwriters, such as Lennon, Bowie, Paul Simon. I'm pretty sure none of those guys studied songwriting theory, they just wrote what sounded right to them. They occasionally did something innovative and different, but it still worked in the context of the song. Sometimes we like the output and sometimes we don't, but opinion will always be split. But they usually fit within a spectrum of acceptability.
I don't know with this song whether there was a deliberate attempt to do something innovative, or whether this was just the way the song evolved. Personally it does nothing for me, despite the grand production. I do like listening to music that challenges me, but this doesn't for some reason. It just sounds like a lot of modern music, but flatter, like I'm watching traffic go round the M25. Music's a strange and personal thing.
But, I do agree that there are no rules, or even conventions. It's about musical norms; exposure to a spectrum of musical structures and notation that we've grown to feel comfortable with.
Mike
