Mod of the Day

Midnight Oil | Beds Are Burning

“Australian rock ’n’ roll band Midnight Oil broke into the U.S. charts with an explosive single from their album Diesel and Dust. ‘Beds Are Burning’ was powerful on every level: musically, politically, sonically, even visually,” (MixOnline). “In fact, anyone who had an ear to the modern rock radio format in 1988 can almost certainly name this song in three notes: Those effected horn-and-drum blasts make an unforgettable intro. Midnight Oil were already a huge band in Australia before they made Diesel and Dust. They had put out three Top 10 albums and had gained popularity as well as notoriety for their political activism. The lyrics of ‘Beds Are Burning’ demand reparations to Australia’s Pintupi people, who—like Native Americans in the United States—had been relocated and marginalized by whites: ‘The time has come/To say fair’s fair/To pay the rent/To pay our share.’

Midnight Oil was a band with a message as well as ambition, and they enlisted the help of producer Warne Livesey—who had already achieved significant success with The The and Julian Cope, among others—to help take their sounds to a larger audience. ‘We spent a long time with them sending me demos and having conversations about the direction of the record … (It) was one of the last songs they wrote for the album; it was in the last batch of demos they sent me. That demo didn’t have any verse lyrics on it, but it did have the chorus, and it was very long—a jam. I responded immediately to that absolutely first-rate, killer, hook-y chorus with a great lyrical message.'”

After a gradual intro, the verse and pre=chorus are in E major. The iconic 3-note horn line announces the epic chorus in E minor at 1:13. At 1:58, E major returns for the next verse and the pattern continues from there.

Donny Hathaway | Love, Love, Love

“Donny Hathaway was blessed with an effortless musical genius. When the neo-soul movement got underway in the 90s, it became every singer’s default position to pay the utmost respects to him,” (BBC). “If you’ve never heard him, you are in for something of a revelation. Imagine Stevie Wonder and his sweetest and most spiritual – only more so. Unfortunately, he didn’t live to see the tributes. A schizophrenic who suffered severe bouts of depression, Hathaway was to commit suicide at just 33 in 1979. A multi-instrumentalist, he lived and breathed music. He was a gospel singer at the age of three, and was composing music in his head at six. As a student he would lead classes and play Bach and Beethoven.

By the time of his fourth and final studio record, Extension of a Man, in 1973 he’d already recorded a blaxploitation soundtrack, 1972’s Come Back Charleston Blue, and a best-selling collaboration with Roberta Flack. Produced by Arif Mardin and Jerry Wexler, Extension is a rich exploration of the human psyche, borrowing from film scores and classical as much as soul music, exploring form and convention … ‘Love, Love, Love’ is his answer to Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On.’ … Mere words cannot contain the grandeur and ambition of Extension of a Man.“

After a harmonically angular intro, the verse of “Love, Love, Love” falls into an uncomplicated Bb major. At 1:06-1:26, the chorus shifts to Db major. After a brief interlude featuring wordless vocals, 1:46 brings the next verse. Although the focus here is personal instead of societal, it would indeed be impossible to miss the influence of Gaye’s 1971 masterpiece “What’s Going On” in terms of the track’s tempo and feel.

Brenda Holloway | You’ve Made Me So Very Happy

The David Clayton-Thomas-flavored version of Blood, Sweat, and Tears had the big hit version of Brenda Holloway’s song, a Billboard #2 in 1969 (previously featured on MotD). (Rapporteur’s note: I can’t hear that version without thinking of my local ice rink, where it was played endlessly over the PA). Holloway’s own recording was less successful, reaching #39 on Billboard in 1967.

The song is credited to Brenda Holloway, her younger sister Patrice, producer Frank Wilson and Motown founder Berry Gordy. While this release was Brenda’s last for Motown, she continued to record; her latest album, My Love is Your Love, was released in 2003. Sister Patrice Holloway was a Motown artist in her own right, gaining later fame as a member of the cartoon band Josie & the Pussycats. Recorded in Los Angeles, the track features an unusually prominent electric bass part played by session ace Carole Kaye — and some perhaps disturbingly loud finger snaps.

There’s a somewhat surprising unprepared upward modulation at 2:16 for the final chorus before the fadeout.

Rina Sawayama | This Hell

” … Japanese-British pop superstar Rina Sawayama … was born in Japan and raised in North London. (She) ascended to pop stardom via an unusual trajectory at Cambridge University studying politics, psychology and sociology, and funding her early music with modeling before signing a record deal,” (IMDB). “At the beginning of her song “This Hell,” Rina Sawayama recalls seeing a religious poster condemning so-called sinners for their identities,” (Pitchfork). “She rebukes the hateful messaging with an eye roll—’Don’t know what I did but they seem pretty mad about it’—pulls her chosen family closer, and offers affirmation: ‘This hell is better with you.’

The first track off the SAWAYAMA-follow up Hold the Girl (2022) was inspired by country pop, and that influence is most evident at the track’s intro, which features a neighing horse and a winking tribute to country pop queen Shania Twain (‘let’s go, girls’). From there, she fans these flames into a turbocharged pop banger complete with a glam, unapologetically over-the-top hair metal riff. Not one to pass up a good pop culture reference, Sawayama quotes Paris Hilton’s famous catchphrase and chastises the paparazzi for their cruelty towards Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, and Princess Diana. ‘Got my invitation to eternal damnation,’ she chants. ‘Get in line, pass the wine, bitch.’ With Sawayama, hell is the hottest party in town.”

After an intro in A minor, the verse enters in E major (0:31), then shifts to a pre-chorus and chorus in C major at 0:48. More changes follow from there.

Exposé | Let Me Be the One

“Famous for Latin-flavored dance-pop as well as for adult contemporary ballads, the female vocal trio Exposé enjoyed a great deal of commercial success in the ’80s and early ’90s,” (Qobuz.com). “Exposé was the creation of Miami-based producer/songwriter Lewis A. Martineé, who assembled the original Exposé lineup in 1984.

… Neither Arista Records nor Martineé envisioned Exposé as strictly a club act, and (the group’s 1987 debut album) Exposure received considerable attention from radio thanks to major hits ranging from the adult contemporary ballad ‘Seasons Change’ (which reached number one on Billboard’s pop singles chart) to the R&B/urban-oriented ‘Let Me Be the One,’ which went to #7. Exposure sold more than three million copies in the United States alone.”

Starting with an intro and verse in Eb minor, the synth-driven track shifts to Gb minor for its pre-chorus (0:58 – 1:16) before reverting to the original key for the chorus. The pattern continues from there.

Jan + Dean | Surf City

“‘Surf City’ is part of a proud tradition of songs about imaginary party utopias. It belongs in the same lineage as ‘Funkytown’ and ‘Love Shack’ — starry-eyed dreams about places where everyone is having fun all the time” (Stereogum) … “Jan and Dean didn’t hit their peak until they met Brian Wilson. The duo played a lot of early-’60s shows with the Beach Boys, with the Beach Boys even backing them up a few times.

… Berry wanted to record one of Wilson’s songs. Wilson wouldn’t let them have ‘Surfin’ USA,’ since he knew the Beach Boys were going to record that one. But he hadn’t finished the very similar ‘Surf City’ (1963), though he had written and demoed the first verse and chorus. So Berry finished writing the song, and it became the song that really popularized surf music — and maybe surfing in general — in America … ‘Surf City’ would be Jan and Dean’s only #1, but they kept recording increasingly complex surf-pop jams, often with Wilson, for the next few years (1964’s ‘Dead Man’s Curve’ is a banger).”

Starting in Ab major, the track shifts up to C major at the 2:07 mark before cranking into a chaotic fading outro (normally not heard on the radio … even the short 2:43 run time was often shortened by a DJ’s early fade).

Don McLean | If We Try

“Somehow, enough people have kept Don McLean going through the years in a niche all his own,” (MrMedia) “He has never had a press agent and rarely does interview anymore because, rather dangerously it seems, ‘you get what I think.’ Pete Seeger … hailed him as one of the most talented singer/songwriters he had ever met: ‘He has a clear, intense gaze, a clear voice, and a clear head.’ And angst, lots and lots of pent-up angst for some reason.

‘To be remembered at all, to me, is a wonderful honor,’ McLean says. “But to have ‘And I Love You So,’ ‘Vincent,’ ‘Castles,’ ‘American Pie,’ and a version of ‘Crying’ that stands up to Roy Orbison’s – to have a handful of songs like that, to be remembered by any one of them, I would be very proud of that. I think that those songs are damned near perfect in a lot of ways,’ he says of his own output, ‘even in terms of the records that were made … You shouldn’t get the songs confused with the records. It’s like getting a screenplay confused with the film. You might start out with a great screenplay, but you choose the wrong actors, the wrong director and you come up with a bad film (from) a good story.”

Known primarily for his iconic tunes “American Pie” and “Vincent,” McLean has released two dozen albums. His 1972 folk-pop track “If We Try” begins in A major, shifts gradually to G major for the chorus (0:31 – 0:58).

One Day (from “Groundhog Day”)

“In the role that won him the 2017 Olivier, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Award for Best Actor, Andy Karl plays Phil Connors—a disgruntled big-city weatherman mysteriously stuck in small-town America reliving the same day over and over and over again—with no consequences, no regrets, no tomorrows, and no hangovers,” (Broadway.com). “But once he starts getting to know associate TV producer Rita Hanson, he discovers it’s a day of second, third, and fourth chances.

“Tim Minchin, with too many credits to mention, perfects the music and lyrics for Groundhog Day,” (New York Theatre Guide). “Minchin’s score makes a joyful noise, to be sure, but it is not unalloyed hoopla. As one of the shows recurring lines underscores — for all the toe tapping mania — ‘there’s a sense of sadness’ (and, I would argue, of substance). While there is a nod to Leonard Cohen and another to Jerome Kern … this is an original score that will endure. The sometimes dense lyrics, by turns funny and poignant — in the mode of Sondheim — leave you stretching to sort it all out at times. It’s more than worth the effort.”

Starting in Eb major, the piece shifts to G major after the solos and as the chorus enters at 1:52. The footage is from the rehearsals for the 2023 return of the show at London’s Old Vic Theatre.

Shalamar | A Night to Remember

“‘A Night to Remember’ was the second single from American disco group Shalamar (members are Howard Hewett, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel), and their sixth studio album Friends (1982).” (StoryOfSong). “It was written by Nidra Beard from American band Dynasty, as well as Dana Meyers and Charmaine Sylvers from The Sylvers. The song is also associated with the introduction of the moonwalk dance by Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniel, when the group performed the track live on UK music show Top of the Pops in 1982.

… The music video for the track was released in 1982 … ‘A Night to Remember’ hit charts in only the UK and the USA, charting at #5 in the UK Singles chart, and #44 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles, and #15 on the US Billboard Dance chart.”

After a start in D minor, the tune shifts to Eb minor from the 2:02 mark to the track’s end. As for the moonwalk moment on Top of the Pops: most of the band couldn’t make it the UK, leaving Jeffrey Daniel to wow the crowd with his solo dance moves (see second video below).

The Who | I Can See For Miles

“The Who had exactly one top 10 hit in America. It wasn’t ‘My Generation,’ which peaked at #74 here in the States,” (American Songwriter). “‘Substitute” and ‘I’m a Boy’ both reached top five in England and ultimately failed to chart in the U.S. ‘Pictures of Lily,’ #4 in the UK, peaked at #51 here. The one big success? ‘I Can See for Miles,’ which soared all the way to #9 in 1967. All of this to say, you can’t go by the charts alone … The slow start in record sales surprised Pete Townshend, who wrote, ‘(it) wasn’t shooting up the charts as a single, which was a shock to me; I really had expected my masterwork to sweep us to eternal glory.'”

The song is ranked #40 on Dave Marsh’s “The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made,” #37 on NME‘s “The Top 100 Singles of All-Time,” and #162 on Pitchfork‘s ‘The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s.’ It was ranked #262 on Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in 2010.

Built primarily in E major, the tune shifts up to A major at 2:54. Upon closer listening, the verses are a mix of major and minor, while the choruses remain on the major side of the ledger.