Mod of the Day

Ben Folds | Learn to Live With What You Are

“If Elton John had retained his original sense of fun, he might now be doing something along the lines of Ben Folds’ celebrated live act,” (The Guardian). “Having long ago embraced his inner nerd, Folds employs spectacles, piano and wit as weapons against a world that is taller, cooler and sexier, and emerges victorious. Accordingly, there’s an audience who want nothing more than to show their love for the man who describes himself, much to their delight, as a ‘piano-playing asshole.’ They sing every lyric back to him, pretend to be trumpets when requested, and generally assure the pocket-sized North Carolinian that brains beat brawn.”

Before turning his focus fully to the piano, Folds’ longtime instrument of choice was the drums; he still gleefully trots out a small set at some of his live shows to accompany his guest/opening act musicians. “Folds’ very physical playing reminds us that the piano is a percussion instrument, and he bends it to his will – as delicate accompaniment during a solo interlude, and aggressive mainstay elsewhere … a big, clever noise.”

(The video has an actual plot of sorts, but if you prefer to skip to the music, it starts at 0:30). “Learn to Live With What You Are” (2003) begins in E major. After a brief bridge, 3:44 brings a shift up a whole step to F# major for a final chorus. However, the closing seconds of the tune appear to settle back down into E major. Many thanks to our reader/listener Mandy D. for this submission to MotD — her second!

Rick Astley | Take Me to Your Heart

“Best known for his global 1987 hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up,’ Rick Astley is an icon of British pop, his style marked by a rich, deep voice and love of classic soul and R&B,” (Qobuz). “An overnight sensation, Astley topped the U.K. charts with 1987’s Whenever You Need Somebody and again hit the Top Ten with 1988’s, albums that also reached the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 and spawned more hits like ‘Together Forever’ and ‘Whenever You Need Somebody.’

However, looking for more creative autonomy, Astley broke with his production team for 1991’s Free before largely stepping away from the spotlight. He reemerged with 2005’s Portrait and gained widespread viral fame via the “rickrolling” meme, a phenomenon he purportedly found amusing, and which brought a wave of renewed interest in his work, leading to him winning Best Act Ever award at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2016, Astley released 50, an organic, soul-infused production returned to the top of the U.K. Albums Chart. He has continued to enjoy a career renaissance with releases like 2018’s Beautiful Life and 2023’s Are We There Yet?“

1988’s “Take Me to Your Heart” features an instrumental intro in D major, but at 0:17, verse 1 shifts down to C major. The chorus (first heard at 0:49 – 1:05) returns to D major. The keys continue to alternate from there.

Foreigner | Feels Like the First Time

The Foreigner debut has some of the biggest FM rock hits of 1977, like “Cold as Ice,” “Feels Like the First Time,” (and) “Long, Long Way From Home” — songs which still get plenty of radio air time today,” (Classic Rock Forums). “This album had a solid production by Gary Lyons and one of the best songwriters of the 70s, Mick Jones. Jones was involved with each song on this album. Vocalist Lou Gramm is one of the best in the business, with a strong, soaring voice.

… every song is highly polished with flawless musicianship. This album is truly a classic! ‘Feels Like the First Time’ is a grand opening song. A quintessential glam-jam with stellar keyboards, catchy riffs, and an outstanding vocal performance from Gramm. The background vocal harmony layering is a great addition to the already fantastic musical mix.”

Built in G mixolydian overall, the verse for “Feels Like the First Time” features a striking ascending whole step key-of-the-moment series (0:37 and 0:46) before 0:55 brings us the first chorus (returning to the original key). Between 1:49 – 2:21, the relative E minor takes over for the bridge, leading to a series of choruses in the original key for the fading outro.

New York Vocal Collective | Weak

“The three members of SWV all came from New York. Like so many of their peers, those three singers came up singing gospel,” (Stereogum). “SWV never had a gimmick. Their name stood for ‘Sisters With Voices,’ and that was also their sales pitch. They were all ferociously gifted singers, but they were also approachable young around-the-way everywomen, known primarily by their nicknames. When SWV were at their best, you could tell that they were all real-life friends, though their friendships eventually frayed in the old, expected show-business ways. For a couple of weeks, those three young women had the most popular song in America (‘Weak’).”

“The New York Vocal Collective (brings) together a group of vocalists (balancing) tight ensemble work with individual artistry.” (Broadway World) … ” … (showcasing) what happens when strong singers are placed in a collaborative, high-level a cappella environment, with a focus on both musical precision and emotional connection. The New York Vocal Collective functions as an advanced training ensemble, pulling together singers to workshop, rehearse, and ultimately perform a set of fully arranged contemporary a cappella pieces. It’s not just about blending voices … arrangement, dynamics, and storytelling within a group setting … “

While SWV’s 1993 original version of “Weak” featured a single key change, NY Vocal Collective’s cover, arranged and directed by Ben Bram, features several upward steps. After beginning in F# major, the tune hits its first half-step key change at 2:13, followed by an upward cascade after the bridge (3:07 – 3:17), ending in C# major.

Wilson Pickett | Sugar Sugar

The producers of The Archies animated TV series (1968-1969) “recruited a crew of anonymous songwriters and performers to provide some musical product to be performed by the cartoon band,” (Reverb Raccoon). “To the consternation of everyone who was not taking massive doses of drugs, The Archies scored a #1 hit with ‘Sugar, Sugar.’ The song was written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, who later had his own #1 hit with ‘Rock Me Gently.'” In fact, the track was a worldwide smash hit, and scored #1 positions on the 1969 year-end charts in both the US and Canada.

” … Long story short, The Archies’ ‘Sugar, Sugar’ is the epitome of everything that was wrong with pop music of the late 60’s and early 70’s. No one, except maybe anyone unlucky enough to have lost their virginity at a drive-in movie while it played on the car radio, recalls ‘Sugar, Sugar’ with anything approaching nostalgic affection. But… Let’s give this much-maligned song to another artist. Let’s give it to soul singer Wilson Pickett. This is the guy who had hits with ‘In the Midnight Hour,’ ‘Land of 1000 Dances,’ and ‘Mustang Sally.’

Pickett’s 1970 version of ‘Sugar, Sugar’ is everything that The Archies’ version was not. Meaning that Wilson Pickett’s version can be listened to, fifty years after the fact, without embarrassment. The horns and pulsing organ drive the song, and Wilson Pickett’s vocal shows a passion and sincerity that his animated counterpart failed to achieve. I can listen to this song every day. If I stumble across the original once a year it’s too many times … The moral of this story: Don’t send a cartoon to do a man’s job. Or something like that.” To say nothing of the fact that Pickett’s version features a half-step key change (2:08), a factor missing from the original version! We’ve featured both versions below.

Charles-Marie Widor | Toccata (from Symphony for Organ #5)

Charles-Marie Jean Albert Widor (1844 – 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher,” (Regent Classic Organs). “He was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there. In 1863 he moved to Brussels to study organ technique with Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens and composition with François-Joseph Fétis. After this term of study Widor moved to Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life.

Widor wrote music for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles and composed four operas and a ballet. He is probably most notable for his works for the organ which include ten Organ Symphonies, three Symphonies for orchestra with organ, Suite Latine, Trois Nouvelles Pièces, and six arrangements of works by Bach. Many would say that the ten organ symphonies are his most significant contribution to the organ repertoire.

The most famous of the ten organ symphonies is Symphony for Organ No. 5 in F minor, Op. 42, No. 1. This was composed by Widor in 1879, with numerous revisions published by the composer in later years. The full symphony lasts for about 35 minutes. The first movement of the 5th Symphony is a set of variations on a theme … which starts gently and has a number of points with dramatic dynamic contrast.”

Beginning in F major, the Symphony’s first movement, Allegro, features many passing keys of the moment, but there is a clear, sustained shift to D major at 2:29.

The Jam | Absolute Beginners

“The Jam were the most popular band to emerge from the initial wave of British punk rock in 1977; along with the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Buzzcocks, the Jam had the highest impact on pop music,” (Qobuz). “While they could barely get noticed in America, the trio became genuine superstars in Britain, with an impressive string of Top Ten singles in the late ’70s and early ’80s. The Jam could never have a hit in America because they were thoroughly and defiantly British … More than any other group, the Jam kept the tradition of the three-minute, hook-driven British guitar pop alive through the ’70s and ’80s, providing a blueprint for generations of bands to come.

Under the direction of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Paul Weller, the trio spearheaded a revival of mid-’60s mod groups, in the style of the Who and the Small Faces. Like the mod bands, the group dressed stylishly, worshipped American R&B, and played it loud and rough. By the time of the group’s third album, Weller’s songwriting had grown substantially, as he was beginning to write social commentaries and pop songs in the vein of the Kinks … as the Jam grew more popular and musically accessible, Weller became more insistent and stubborn about his beliefs, supporting leftist causes and adhering to the pop aesthetics of ’60s British rock without ever succumbing to hippie values. Paradoxically, that meant even when their music became more pop than punk, they never abandoned the punk values — if anything, Weller stuck to the strident independent ethics of 1977 more than any other punk band just by refusing to change.”

“Absolute Beginners” (1981) begins in D major; at 0:53, the chorus shifts down to B major, but the tune ends decisively in E major. Despite not getting much airplay in the US, the video couldn’t adhere any more closely to the standards of the earliest days of MTV, featuring over-exposed, over-lit footage.

Swing Out Sister | Where the Hell Did I Go Wrong

“Swing Out Sister are a sophisticated pop duo from the U.K. Singer Corinne Drewery and multi-instrumentalist/arranger Andy Connell’s sound ranges from jazz, classic, and modern pop to hooky EDM and synth pop,” (AllMusic). “1987’s It’s Better to Travel hit the top spot on the British album charts. 1989’s cinematic Kaleidoscope World resonated in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.” Many other releases followed, received with varying success around the world.

” … Nottingham-born Corinne Drewery was a fashion designer and model. After moving to London in 1977, she attended Central St. Martin’s with a certain Sade Adu. Drewery had no professional musical experience. She met Connell by chance at the Hacienda Club just after the band had completed their demos and signed with Phonogram. They discovered a shared love for vintage Blue Note and Riverside jazz, the scores of John Barry and Ennio Morricone, the funky Brazilian fusion of Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, the high-class pop of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the sweeping cinematic soul of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Motown, Stax/Volt, and singers Dionne Warwick, Nina Simone, and Dusty Springfield. After a brief audition,” Drewery was invited “to be a full member — just in time to release their official first single, ‘Blue Mood,’ late that year … The single didn’t do much, but its follow-up, 1986’s “Breakout,” was a Top Ten hit in Great Britain and Japan.

… The group’s appetite for experimentation was far from sated, however. 2001’s Somewhere Deep in the Night offered a wide range of haunting vocal harmonies set in soaring string arrangements that owed an unapologetic debt to film composers such as Michel LeGrande, Francis Lai, and Pierre Barouh. It offered several instrumental tracks showcasing Connell’s arrangements. Issued in England, Japan, and Europe, its singles, including “Where the Hell Did I Go Wrong” … and the sweeping, hallucinatory title track were far too adventurous to chart.”

Starting in a D major that spends very little time on or even near its tonic chord, “Where the Hell Did I Go Wrong” shifts to Bb major for its chorus at 1:03. At 1:26, the pattern continues, with more shifts in tonality following. Many thanks to Ari S. for this wonderful find — her ninth contribution to MotD!

Dolly Parton | Baby, I’m Burnin’

“’Baby, I’m Burnin” is a killer disco track that still sounds great today,” (Country Universe). “Very much of the era, but not overwhelmed by it. A big reason that it works is that Parton’s jubilant persona is a good fit for dance music in its late 1970s form. When the genre moved toward synthesized sounds in the 1980s, her natural warmth would often sound out of place. But she sounds great here. She knows she’s singing a silly song for people to dance to, and she commits to it wholeheartedly.

And don’t let the cotton candy substance of the song fool you. A great disco song isn’t any easier to write than a great country song, and having a talent for the latter doesn’t necessarily translate to having one for the former. It’s a keeper, and one that’s proven timeless enough for her to still open her shows with it today.”

There’s a disco-infused country version of “Baby, I’m Burnin'” (1978) and a country-infused disco version; this video is from the latter category. At 3:41, after what sounds like both an electronic and acoustic percussion break, the tune moves up a half step.

Neal Hefti + His Orchestra | Gotham City Municipal Swing Band

Let’s face it, most people know Neal Hefti’s music through his television theme songs. He wrote the theme for The Odd Couple and of course, the Batman theme song. Holy (if stately) Wayne Manor!

But before this television work, Hefti was a respected trumpeter and arranger for big bands dating back to the 1930s. He was a member of Woody Herman’s band, and wrote for Buddy Rich, Charlie Barnet, and Harry James. After moving to California in 1960, he wrote several film scores, including for the movie version of The Odd Couple. His film, television, and recordings earned him ten Grammy nominations, with two of those becoming awards. Besides the theme, he wrote a number of other songs for the Batman TV show, collected on a 1966 RCA release, Batman Theme & Other Bat Songs. The tune here comes from that album.

Admittedly, the tune is lightweight, if excellently played and recorded, as befits the associated subject matter — no complaints brooked. Upward modulations at 1:17 and 1:52.