Mod of the Day

The High Llamas | Triads

“Under the direction of multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and arranger Sean O’Hagan, the High Llamas have developed a very specific sonic fingerprint — Baroque ’60s melodies, sweeping orchestral strings, and warmly bleeping vintage synths all co-mingled in smooth harmonies — that helped define the indie sound of the ’90s and has proven to be influential to quite a few artists in the decades that followed,” (TiVo/Qobuz). “The group released albums throughout the decade that balanced Steely Dan-styled soft rock songcraft (Gideon Gaye), circular arrangements (Hawaii), and trippy easy listening music (Cold and Bouncy) but never strayed far from O’Hagan’s original idiosyncratic template.

… O’Hagan’s debut solo album, High Llamas, was released in 1990, and the Beach Boys-inspired instrumentation (and general West Coast smoothness) of the record provided a glimpse at where things were headed. O’Hagan then formed the High Llamas as a vehicle to indulge his Baroque pop/Beach Boys/space age electronic interests, and released Santa Barbara in 1992 … “

“Triads” (from 1999’s Snowbug) features an increasingly intense intro based on alternating G major and F/G chords. Verse 1 begins with a syncopated melody driven by a light swing feel at 0:43. An interlude/chorus(?) built around G# minor with a prominent hook from the vibes, supported by low brass, is in effect from 1:13 – 1:51. Then we’re back to verse 2, again in G major. The two sections continue to alternate throughout, until the tune begins to gradually deconstruct itself in its final minute or two.

Many thanks to regular contributor Ari S. for yet another distinctive find, which she describes as “dripping with Bacharach influence.”

Barry Mann | Who Put the Bomp?

“Exactly who put the bomp in the bomp-bomp-bomp, the ram in the rama-dama-ding-dong and the oop in the oop-shoop, and the wop in doo-wop, remains a mystery mired in the greasy annals of teenage pre-history, back around the late 1940s and early 1950s,” (The Guardian). “Maybe it’s better that way, that the glories of the bomp belong not to an individual or two, but to a cavalcade of creators. You didn’t need instruments, just a few guys who could sing, a stairwell for an amplifier and a dream of following heroes like The Inkspots or the Mills Brothers, or just of impressing the girls from the next block.

… It was flashy, ridiculous, and dated, but extravagant and beautiful (doo-wop groups often named themselves after cars – The Cadillacs, The Impalas, The Bel-Airs). And just as the motor industry has never indulged in chrome and fins in the same way, so pop has never equalled doo-wop’s surreal Esperanto.”

Barry Mann went on to marry his songwriting partner Cynthia Weil, set up camp in NYC’s famed Brill Building, and crank out hits for a variety of artists (Songwriters Hall of Fame). Among their more recognizable tunes are “On Broadway,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” “Here You Come Again,” “Just Once,” and “Sometimes When We Touch.” But “Bomp” got Mann’s career started with chart success in 1961, peaking at #7. The doo-wop flavored pop tune shifts up a half-step at 1:22 — very close to the half-way mark for the single. The track easily hit the standard of the day for radio play: a run time of under three minutes.

Joan Jett + the Blackhearts | Little Liar

“Joan Jett calls out a duplicitous lover in ‘Little Liar,’ the follow-up to her hit ‘I Hate Myself For Loving You,” (Songfacts). “She wrote both songs with Desmond Child, who was also working with Aerosmith (‘Dude (Looks Like A Lady)’) and Bon Jovi (‘Born to Be My Baby’) around this time.

… ‘Little Liar’ (1988) was a modest hit for Jett, reaching #19 in the US. Her biggest hits came early in the ’80s and were mostly covers, including ‘I Love Rock and Roll,’ originally by The Arrows. Jett had the chops to write her own songs, but there was such a big well of songs by male artists that she could transform, and those went over very well – ‘Crimson And Clover’ (Tommy James and the Shondells) and ‘Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)’ (Gary Glitter) are examples. “Little Liar” is one of the biggest hits she had a hand in writing; others include ‘Bad Reputation’ and ‘Fake Friends.'”

After a start in D minor, the second half of verse 1 shifts up to F minor at 0:34. At 0:44, verse 2 reverts to D minor and then features another jump into F minor at 0:54. The chorus (1:03 – 1:28) remains in F minor. Verse 3 (1:28) and chorus 2 (1:49) follow the same pattern. From 2:09 – 2:28, an instrumental chorus shifts to Ab minor. At 2:28, there’s another verse in D minor, but the last choruses of this raw power ballad jump all the way up to Ab minor again at 2:51 — this time with no intermediate step — to end the track.

Missing Persons | Words

“Notwithstanding singer Dale Bozzio’s outrageous auto-sexploitation and the overall commercial-record-industry-hype packaging that permeated the group, Missing Persons were one positive manifestation of the ’80s accommodation between new and old in rock,” (Trouser Press). “Designed to shift product but retaining high musical standards and an adventurous outlook, Missing Persons fell between genres, simultaneously offending and intriguing intelligent sensibilities.

Originally built on the core of Bozzio, her then husband — drummer/keyboardist Terry (once a Zappa employee and a member of would-be supergroup U.K.) — plus ex-Zappa guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, Missing Persons changed their name from U.S. Drag and were given a boost by producer Ken Scott who recorded and released their debut EP on 7-inch; it became a hit when picked up and reissued as a 12-inch by Capitol (1982). In the latter form, it contained both ‘Words’ and ‘Destination Unknown,’ idiosyncratic songs that also turned up on the first LP.”

After a start in A major for the intro and verse, the chorus shifts up to B major at 0:54 before a return to the original key for the next verse (1:10). The pattern continues from there.

Eddie Kendricks | If You Let Me

“By 1972, Eddie Kendricks, the Temptations singer who led the ensemble through classics like ‘Just My Imagination,’ was ready for a new sound,” (Downbeat). “The vocalist’s first solo effort, 1971’s aptly titled All By Myself, still hewed toward classic Motown, so when Kendricks was set to record its follow-up, People … Hold On, he enlisted a new raft of players to back him,” and enlisted a group called the Young Senators … “‘We took Motown away from the Motown Sound,’ Young Senators percussionist Jimi Dougans, 74, said recently about the pivotal 1972 Kendricks album. ‘If you listen to any Motown records, they had a certain rhythm, a certain groove … They locked into that, and that’s the Motown Sound. Even the producer [of People], Frank Wilson, said we wanted to get away from that.’

… Motown had enjoyed stratospheric success, finding an uncanny ability to cross over. But People—accented with a heavy swing—seemed less pop-oriented. If Motown had been The Sound of Young America, this music was the sound of the streets, and the title was no accident. People was one for the people, not for Middle America. Tracks like ‘If You Let Me’ and ‘Eddie’s Love’ showcased slinky two-step rhythms and horn charts steeped in an urban sound that never were intended to appeal to every demographic in America.”

“If You Let Me” doesn’t clearly state its Bb tonic chord until the 0:18 mark; its unpredictable harmonic sensibility and frequent syncopations don’t allow us to get too comfortable. Starting at 0:43, a contrasting section briefly implies that Ab is the new key, but at 0:52, a strong cadence in Bb re-asserts the original key. The contrasting section repeats several times throughout the track.

Skeeter Davis | The End of the World

“Although she was a mainstay on the country charts for decades, Skeeter Davis’ crossover success on the pop charts was mostly limited to a pair of Top-10 singles,” (American Songwriter). “But one of those songs, her 1962 hit ‘The End of the World,’ stands as one of the greatest songs ever about the aftermath of a devastating loss.

… ‘The End of the World’ was written by the songwriting pair of Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee. Dee, the lyricist, was inspired to write the song by the death of her father, although the lyrics keep the loss general enough to make it seem like it could be a breakup. In any case, Davis’ performance, understated and vulnerable, took it to another level. Instead of remaining within country music circles, ‘The End of the World’ took off when New York DJs started spinning it on the regular. Not only did it work its way into the pop charts, hitting #2 in 1962, but it also hit the Top 5 on the Hot R&B, Easy Listening, and Country charts, an unprecedented feat.”

After a start in Bb major, a shift up to B major at 1:56 is followed by a partially spoken verse, leading up to a sung rubato for the balance of the verse as the tune draws to its end. Although it feels far from rushed, the 12/8 ballad has a run time of under 2:45.

Stan Freberg | The Yellow Rose of Texas

Bandleader Mitch Miller (“follow the bouncing ball!”) scored a #1 hit with “The Yellow Rose of Texas” in 1955. Actor and comedian Stan Freberg couldn’t resist taking aim at such a plump and corny target and released his own parody version soon thereafter. Freberg wrote many such goofy song parodies, and recorded comedy albums lampooning American culture. To this writer, his crowning achievement was the “Great American Soups” commercial for Heinz, done up as a Busby Berkeley-styled extravaganza, featuring dancer Ann Miller.

In Freberg’s parody, also released in 1955, the “Yankee drummer” drowns out the rest of the band and his singing. In fact, the session drummer was Alvin Stoller, who played on Mitch Miller’s hit version. Stoller was primarily a jazz drummer, playing with many prominent artists during his career; in particular, he backed Frank Sinatra for much of the 1950s. The session banjo player also gets in on the overplaying. There is a half-step upward modulation at 0:40.

Jeff Goldblum + the Mildred Schnitzer Orchestra (feat. Scarlett Johansson) | The Best Is Yet to Come

Having starred “as The Wizard of Oz with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the critically acclaimed global box office smash Wicked, Jeff Goldblum’s storied career now spans six decades of award-winning work as a starring actor in film, television, and theater,” (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra). “He has also produced both film and television projects and is an Oscar nominated director for his short feature film, Little Surprises. Goldblum’s many cinema credits include The Big Chill, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and The Fly— and box office behemoths Independence Day, Jurassic Park, and Thor Ragnorak. As a pianist, “… Goldblum launched the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra 30 years ago. Since then, he and his band have performed for delighted audiences … playing contemporary arrangements of classic jazz and American Songbook standards.

“Speaking to the New York Times, Goldblum explains that he picked up the piano at a young age: ‘I’m from Pittsburgh and was one of four kids, so our parents got us music lessons, very wisely and nicely and life-changing-ly,’ he says. ‘I had a facility for it. But I didn’t yet know the joys of discipline.’ After a couple of years of vague commitment to lessons, it took an intro to jazz to really focus our Jeff.” (Classic FM) … “’That did something to my innards. That’s when I got better, because I wanted to learn that thing.'”

“The Best Is Yet To Come” (1959) was written by the team of Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, who also wrote Frank Sinatra’s 1957 classic “Witchcraft.” (Songfacts). The tune is perhaps most associated with Sinatra; the phrase “The Best Is Yet To Come” is etched into the singer’s gravestone. But Goldblum’s version 2025 version takes a very different approach, with its bossa nova feel complimenting the vocals of actor Scarlett Johansson. The chromatic exactitude of the melody turns each long phrase its own little world, making the frequent key changes almost an afterthought. The intro is built in Bb minor, but as verse 1 starts at 0:17, there’s a shift to D major; verse 2 shifts to F# major at 0:42. More shifts continue throughout.

Lou Christie | Lightnin’ Strikes

“’Listen to me, baby, you gotta understand / You’re old enough to know the makings of a man.’ That’s how Lou Christie opens ‘Lightnin’ Strikes,’ his one #1 hit,” (Stereogum). “He sounds like an early-’60s teenybopper crooner, slick and composed. But as the song builds and unfurls, he comes more and more unhinged before jumping into a wild Frankie Valli falsetto on the chorus.

… Christie, born Lugee Sacco in Pittsburgh, was a gifted classical musician and singer when he was a teenager. When he was 15, he met the 37-year-old classical concert pianist Twyla Herbert, and the two of them started a long and presumably pretty unconventional songwriting partnership. Just out of high school, Christie recorded a few singles that he’d written with Herbert, and one of them, 1963’s ‘Two Faces Have I,’ made it to #6 in 1963. Soon afterward, he was drafted into the Army. After being discharged, he signed with MGM Records, but the label didn’t like ‘Lightnin’ Strikes,’ so Christie paid out of his pocket to get radio DJs to play it. The scheme worked out, and ‘Lightnin’ Strikes,’ another Christie/Herbert collaboration, made it to #1 a couple of months after it came out.

… The producer, Four Seasons member Charles Callelo, used New York session musicians to chase the Phil Spector sound. It’s full of pounding pianos and stabbing guitars and howling backing singers, and there’s a wild and borderline avant-garde bass solo in there, too.”

After the gentle verse starts in Eb major, the tune shifts to C major for the first pre-chorus section at 0:22, intensifies through another pre-chorus section at 0:36, and then opens into the huge chorus in F minor at 0:44. After all of that, the second cycle through the form starts at only 0:58! The pattern continues from there. The lyrics were bordering on NSFW for the era, but the novelty of the wildly contrasting sections seemed to carry the day.

Pretenders | Message of Love

“Over their 44-year career, the Pretenders have never chased trends or followed fashions to stay relevant,” (The Guardian). “But they didn’t need to. Their influential jangling sound – helpfully described on their T-shirts as ‘two guitar, bass and drums’ – has become timeless. It’s also still the perfect vehicle for (Chrissie) Hynde’s voice, an instantly recognisable mix of sand and honey, attitude and yearning … “

Seeing this singular band in its prime reveals what a huge blast they were having. Little wonder that Pretenders benefited — more than most bands — from a nascent MTV, accelerating their career via video.

“Message of Love,” from Pretenders’ sophomore release Pretenders II (1981), is built in an up-tuned A major overall, its gears rotating around clanging syncopated guitar chords. A profoundly different extended bridge starts at 1:22; the bassline has shifted to a smooth walking line and the key shifts to C mixolydian and then D mixolydian at 1:55. At 2:09, we’ve fallen back into line for the next verse in the original key. 2:45 brings a mostly instrumental outro in F major.