Mod of the Day

Talking Heads | Psycho Killer

A contribution from our frequent mod flyer JB: “Psycho Killer,” a single from the debut album of the American art punk band Talking Heads, Talking Heads 77 (1977), reached #92 on the Billboard hot 100. The tune also earned a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

AllMusic calls the track a “deceptively funky ‘New Wave/No Wave song’ with an insistent rhythm, and one of the most memorable, driving bass lines in rock and roll.” From Robert Christgau’s review in The Village Voice: “…these are spoiled kids, but without the callowness or adolescent misogyny…in the end the record proves not only that the detachment of craft can coexist with a frightening intensity of feeling—something most artists know—but that the most inarticulate rage can be rationalized. Which means they’re punks after all.”

The tune overall is in A minor, with an intermittent overlay of A major in this live version; not surprising, given the absolute primacy of Tina Weymouth’s iconic bassline. The bridge (3:28 – 4:05) is an odd mix, but is built around A major. The modulation hits with zero warning and a complete lack of fuss at the bridge, which continues with a choppy energy, befitting the perpetual motion machine that the band has set in place. Unlike the studio version, this live performance features Adrian Belew, known for his work with King Crimson, on guitar; Belew’s solo could probably win the award for “Best Guitar in the role of a Theremin.”

Frédéric Chopin | Prelude in Db Major, Op. 28, #15 (Vladimir Horowitz, piano)

One of Frédéric Chopin‘s most beloved works, his Prelude in Db Major, Op. 28, No. 15 (1838) is often called the “Raindrop” prelude — the repeating patter of Ab/G#3 throughout the piece symbolizing raindrops. The piece is a large-scale ABA form, beginning and ending in Db Major, with the middle section in the parallel C# minor (the change to minor occurs at 1:35; the return to major at 4:05.) This piece has been on my mind over the last few weeks, as I think it presents as an interesting metaphor for the times we are living in: the first A section our lives before lockdown, the B section our darker present, and the final A section the light we will return to, with the incessant repetition of the Ab/G# our unyielding heartbeat, our humanity, staying consistent throughout. Performed here by the unparalleled Vladimir Horowitz.

Thomas Dolby | The Flat Earth

After releasing his debut album Golden Age of Wireless, which featured his iconic hit “She Blinded Me With Science,” UK songwriter / keyboardist / synthesist / vocalist Thomas Dolby‘s work took a turn towards the atmospheric. Much of his second album, The Flat Earth, had a gentler, more organic sound. A huge contributing factor to the sound of both albums was bassist Matthew Seligman, whose imaginative, wide-ranging style is front and center in the mix throughout. Much of Seligman’s work on The Flat Earth was on fretless bass, further burnishing the sound.

Seligman also worked with David Bowie and The Thompson Twins; did session work for Morrissey, Tori Amos, the Waterboys, and more; and co-founded The Soft Boys. He passed away last week from complications of COVID-19 at the age of 64.

AllMusic reports that Seligman’s bass on The Flat Earth “is a welcome addition — throughout the album his work is lavish, growling, popping through octaves, funk-a-fied and twinkling with harmonics. The title track is a wondrous R&B daydream of piano and Motown stabs of rhythm guitar…”

Although the tune is largely in Db major, there’s a short bridge in D major (3:33 – 4:02), striated by layers of nearly wordless vocals, before a transition back to the original key.

Theme from “Steven Universe Future”

Steven Universe Future was an American animated series which aired on Cartoon Network for only a few months, wrapping up in March 2020. It revisited the longer-running series Steven Universe and a movie by the same name.

Starting with a brief a capella intro in Eb major, there’s an upward sweep to E major at 0:05; the theme remains in E major for all of its remaining 25 seconds!

Milli Vanilli | Blame It On the Rain

The misrepresentation which surrounded late-80s Munich-based pop artists Milli Vanilli has become legend. In a nutshell, the studio personnel didn’t match the stage personnel … In 1990, the band won a Grammy for Best New Artist. Later, it became the only musical group to ever have the award rescinded; the frontmen were dancers and lipsyncers who’d played no role whatsoever in the creation of the hit album, Girl You Know It’s True (1989).

The album’s title track was the best-known single from the outfit. But another standout single, “Blame It On the Rain,” written by American songwriter Diane Warren, is packed with unprepared, off-kilter modulations:

0:00 | B major intro
0:38 | Bb major verse
1:05 | B major pre-chorus, chorus
1:44 | Bb major verse
2:11 | B major pre-chorus, chorus
2:49 | Ab major bridge
2:57 | C major chorus

With just as much oddness as the key changes, the tune ends suddenly, mid-phrase, on a IV chord. From AllMusic: “It’s hard to imagine why there was such a fuss about an album so transparent, lightweight, and intentionally disposable…But when it comes down to it, this music is so manufactured, it doesn’t sound like anyone is really singing. And that’s what’s sort of cool about it.”

Many thanks to prolific mod scout JB for the submission!

We’re All In This Together (from “High School Musical”)

Recognizing a sentiment that is invoked frequently these days, today we feature “We’re All In This Together” from High School Musical (2006). Key changes abound, with the tune modulating by whole step between verses and choruses throughout — 0:25, 0:42, 0:58, 1:36, 1:52, 2:00, 2:33, 2:50.

Boyz II Men | Pass You By

AllMusic.com describes the sound of the remarkable R&B/Soul/Pop vocal quartet Boys II Men: “aching, tremulous harmonies (which) lifted some of the biggest pop hits of the 1990s…According to no less an authority than the RIAA, B2M are the most commercially successful R&B group of all time. They sold ludicrous numbers of records and were involved in three of the longest-running number one pop singles in history, and they did it as a unit of equals.”

“Pass You By” (2000) wasn’t one of those many runaway hits (it reached only #27 on the R&B/Hiphop chart, although it did better in Europe and Australia). The tune nonetheless scored a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. The lush arrangement and raw emotion of the vocals suggests something a little weightier than the average breakup song; the video goes even further in suggesting the onward-and-upward route.

Starting in B minor, the tune builds in intensity through a few verses and choruses. At 2:27, a short bridge arrives, giving way to another chorus at 2:38, ascending upward a full step into C# minor.

Tom Lehrer | We Will All Go Together When We Go

Today we feature a guest post from frequent MotD contributor Jonathan Jharms Harms — Tom Lehrer’s “We Will All Go Together When We Go” (1967).

“Lots of unprepared modulations to communicate the unhinged nature of the song, while still keeping the ‘high propriety’ style intact to mask the insanity. Guess I’m specifically referencing verses 3 and 6. Those two have unnatural unprepared modulations that both evoke military marches and unstable harmonic shifts, but they’re mixed in with more natural 1/2 step increases from verse to verse, a much more normal form of modulation.”

Glen Campbell | By the Time I Get to Phoenix

Glen Campbell’s breakthrough single, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” (1967) reached #2 on the US Country charts, #1 on the Canadian Country charts, and #26 on the US pop charts. The tune was written by Jimmy Webb, perhaps best known for writing “MacArthur Park.” The Philadelphia Daily News reported that Frank Sinatra called it “the best torch song ever written.” BMI ranked the tune #20 on its list of Best Songs of the Century. An example of the “Nashville Sound,” also known as “Countrypolitan,” the tune garnered Grammy awards for Best Male Vocal Performance and Best Contemporary Male Solo Vocal Performance.

The list of artists who’ve covered the track is nothing short of staggering. A partial list: Isaac Hayes, Anne Murray, Dionne Warwick, Engelbert Humperdinck, Reba McEntire, Nick Cave + the Bad Seeds, and … Sinatra.

F major is in effect until 2:22, when the tune modulates to D Major at the very end, just as Campbell sings the last few words of the lyric.

Madness | The Sun and the Rain

The Guardian suggests that Madness “are still perhaps England’s greatest post-Beatles singles group. ‘The Sun and the Rain’ was a tribute to precipitation, and what could be more English than that? Accompanied by an urgent, string-laden stomp,” the lyric speaks of “standing up in the falling down.” The track was released in 1983 as a stand-alone single, reaching 10 weeks on the UK Singles chart (peaking at #5). It later appeared on the group’s subsequent album, but only after its strong showing as a single.

Setting the tone, there’s a quick key change from the intro into the first verse at 0:34. Taking a back seat to the band’s unique piano-driven post-ska sound and goofy, irreverent style, the main modulation drops with minimal fanfare between two choruses at 2:49. Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for this submission!