Author: Mod of the Day

Ian Dury + the Blockheads | Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

After multiple requests from *two* regular contributors, JB and Rob Penttinen, here is “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick” (1978) by Ian Dury. Stricken by polio in his native UK at age 7, Dury didn’t allow anything to slow him down. His band, Ian Dury (and the Blockheads), mixed funk textures, gonzo punk sensibilities, and cutting lyrics.

The track features F minor verses and F major choruses, with a few quick nods to F minor even during the choruses. It reached #1 in the UK, #2 in Australia, and Top 10 across much of Europe.

Sergio Mendes | Lua Soberana

The winner of the 1993 Recording Academy / GRAMMYs for Best World Music Album, Sergio Mendes‘ Brasilieiro featured 14 tracks, including “Lua Soberana” (Sovereign Moon). The album featured American contemporary jazz musicians such as pianist Russell Ferrante of the Yellowjackets and rock drummer Jeff Porcaro of Toto as well as a huge slate of Brazilian musicians.

The tune doesn’t feature one lone modulation, but rather an ever-shifting harmonic continuum.

0:00 unaccompanied verse
0:35 A major verse
1:08 multi-key chorus
1:38 A major verse
1:54 multi-key chorus
2:24 transition
2:32 B major verse
2:49 instrumental bridge
3:23 B major verse

Aimee Mann | I Should’ve Known

Busy mod scout JB has submitted “I Should’ve Known” by singer/songwriter Aimee Mann, formerly the frontwoman of the 80s band ‘Til Tuesday. The track was from her first solo album, Whatever (1993.) AllMusic‘s review gushes that Mann’s “blend of wit, smarts, cynicism, and downright hum-ability make for a wonderfully pleasing collection of catchy songs…Lyrically, it is often hard to know whether Mann is spilling her guts out over a love or a deal gone bad. In fact, it is often a combination.”

The tune modulates as the bridge starts at 2:25.

The Four Freshmen | Shangrila

The Four Freshmen, formed in 1948, released “Shangrila” in 1962. Known as a vocal band because all of the group’s members self-accompanied the quartet’s vocals with their own instrumental playing, the Freshmen featured jazz-infused open harmonies. According to his biographer, a young Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys found the 1950s output of the Freshmen to be an inspiration: “It brings a feeling of love inside me…that feeling of harmony.” The modulation is at 1:39.

Lady Gaga | Perfect Illusion

“Perfect Illusion,” a 2016 dance release by Lady Gaga, reached #15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in France, Finland, and Greece. It also achieved a top 10 ranking in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Scotland, and Slovakia. The Verge​ likened the song to “Bad Romance” but with the “extra adrenaline shot of a big stadium rock song and some twinkly, vaguely creepy ’80s synthesizers.” The whole-step modulation is at 1:50.

Robert John | Sad Eyes

1979 saw the release of the soft rock tune “Sad Eyes,” written and performed by Robert John. It topped the US pop charts and went top 10 on the US Adult Contemporary, Australian pop, and Canadian pop charts. The track was one of only a handful of non-disco tunes to hit #1 on the pop charts that year as the disco mega-trend started to wind down.

Starting off gently in breakup anthem mode, the song jumps into overdrive as John revs up his striking falsetto at 3:32, preparing for a whole-step modulation at 3:36.

Stevie Wonder | Sweetest Somebody I Know

Stevie Wonder‘s “Sweetest Somebody I Know” is from his 2005 album A Time to Love. From AllMusic’s album review: “Many of these songs, save for their warm and polished digital production values, could have easily found a home in Talking Book, Music of My Mind, or any of the other albums for which Wonder will forever be praised. In an age when the majority of R&B is about money, drugs, infidelity, or getting it on, Wonder‘s lyrics (especially during the love songs) recall the simplicity and innocence of early Motown without sounding trite.” The key change is at 3:01.

Hank Snow | I’ve Been Everywhere

“I’ve Been Everywhere” is a song which was originally made popular upon its initial Australian releases (with Aussie place names) in 1959 and 1962. In 1962, the song was also a #1 US country hit by Hank Snow — with multiple half-step modulations at 1:12, 1:37, and 2:03.

More recently, Johnny Cash had another country hit with the tune in 1996, with several TV ad placements; the video is posted second. However, Cash’s version has no modulations.