Category: Elise

Dave Edmunds | Girls Talk

The 1970s post-punk UK songwriting scene brought to light many dynamic songwriters and performers — including Elvis Costello and Dave Edmunds. The original version of “Girls Talk,” written in 1979 by Costello, clocked in at only two minutes in length, as bare-bones as could be. Edmunds’ cover version, released the same year, added plenty of new features, including a fuller sound and three modulations: the first at the end of the intro (0:11); the second for the duration of an instrumental verse (2:07); and third, returning to the main key at the end of that verse (2:22).

The Crusaders feat. Randy Crawford | Street Life

Stacked with compound chords from its very first measure, “Street Life” (vocalist Randy Crawford, along with The Crusaders, featuring Joe Sample) was one of the most harmonically rich hits of the Disco area (1979). Modulating up a half-step at 1:33, the compound chords hit again around the 2:00 mark, dropping us back into the original key — and then up again at 3:32. The track made a strong appearance on the US pop, soul, and disco charts and hit #5 on the UK pop charts.

Paula Cole feat. Peter Gabriel | Hush, Hush, Hush

“Hush, Hush, Hush,” a supporting track on Paula Cole‘s breakout 1996 album This Fire (the single was something about cowboys), guest features the singer/songwriter’s mentor, Peter Gabriel as well as some gorgeous and unusual instrumental features. Starting in a minor key, a transition to a major-key bridge starts at 2:01; at 2:33, we return to the original key. An unexpected 4-chord repeating harmonic progression loops from 2:50 to the end.

Nik Kershaw | Radio Musicola

Nik Kershaw‘s classic 1986 New Wave release, Radio Musicola, was full of the UK singer’s moody, richly textured sound; the title track was no exception.

A textbook half-step ascending direct modulation at 2:03; a bridge (2:21 – 2:40) ending with a downward half-step modulation to the original key; and another modulation back to the second key at 3:06.

Jonah Nilsson | Coffee Break

Here’s a single by Jonah Nilsson, vocalist and keyboardist for powerhouse Swedish funk/pop band Dirty Loops, “Coffee Break.” Starting out with a minimalist rap, Nilsson rapidly shifts to singing supple yet rhythmically precise lines over his trademark wall-to-wall harmonic textures.

Key shifts hit at 0:53, 2:02, 2:10, 2:17, and 2:41, plus a few other quick keys-of-the-moment.

US3 | The Love of My Life

Us3, a hiphop group with members from both the US and UK, is probably best known for the sample-heavy 90s hit “Cantaloop/Flip Fantasia.”

Like most of Us3’s output, “The Love of My Life” (2009) draws heavily on dense jazz-infused textures and chord progressions. But the sound is also driven by Hiphop grooves and lyrical traditions. The tune modulates up two whole steps at 0:38, pivoting between these two keys throughout: 0:56, 2:30, and 2:49.

Chris Thile and Sarah Jarosz | Power Off and Carry On

The former weekly radio show A Prarie Home Companion is now titled Live from Here. Its new host, Bluegrass star mandolinist / vocalist Chris Thile, serves up plenty of gorgeous tunes himself in addition to material from an eclectic mix of visiting artists.

“Power Off and Carry On” (2018) has a distinct ABA form; the B section, far more than just a bridge, is an extended modulated section from 1:45 to 3:33, where the tune returns to its original key. A wonderful illustration of the contemporary edge of Newgrass with a stunning assist from vocalist / multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jarosz.

The Spinners | Games People Play

The Spinners‘ 1975 R&B release “Games People Play” begins with deceptive simplicity. But then a long line of compound chords starts at 0:41, joined by a descending chromatic bassline at 0:54. We return to the original key as we reach verse 2 at 1:05 … Etc.! There’s no single prominent modulation, but rather a feeling of pivoting easily and frequently between keys.

Bruce Hornsby and the Range | Look Out Any Window

Bruce Hornsby created a unique Americana-inflected pop style through his early 1980s work with Bruce Hornsby and the Range. In “Look Out Any Window,” (1988) ” … Bruce chooses to highlight the concern of environmental degradation at the hands of big business,” (Bruuuce.com) “By pointing a broad, sweeping accusatory finger at ‘Far away, men too busy getting rich to care,’ he taps into a popular sentiment among young, concerned, (though invariably middle class) western teenagers.

The song was written at a time just before concerns over the Ozone Layer and ‘Greenhouse Effect’ were about to burst into major headline news stories … The lyrics also tap into a wider sense of regional discontent at centralist government, or urban/rural divide: The valiant, subsistence labourers – ‘There’s a man working in a field’ and ‘There’s a man working in a boat’ – against the likes of the ‘Big boys telling you everything they’re gonna do,’ and ‘Fat cat builderman, turning this into a wasteland.'”

An instrumental bridge (2:52 – 3:28) which modulates and then reverts to the original key as it reaches the final pre-chorus.