Prog-rock royalty Yes released their blockbuster album 90125 in 1982, featuring a far more radio-ready sound than most of the band’s other output. “Leave It,” the album’s second single, reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video, directed by Godley & Creme, utilized cutting-edge digital effects for that era.
The intro (through 0:21) is in D major, as is the bridge from 2:46-3:17. The remainder of the tune is in G minor. Happy weekend to all!
“Weekend in New England” was written by Randy Edelman and released on Barry Manilow‘s 1976 album This One’s For You. The track hit #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was also #1 on the Adult Contemporary (Easy Listening) chart. Key change, standard direct half step from C to Db, at 2:54.
A submission from Vladimir Dragovic, one of MotD’s newest fans:
“Nik Kershaw is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He is arguably most popular for the song ‘The Riddle’ from the 1984 album of the same name. Kershaw called the tune’s lyrics ‘nonsense, rubbish, bollocks, the confused ramblings of an 80s popstar.’
The key change is rather interesting: the ever-shifting bridge (2:16 – 2:36) modulates from the original key of F# minor to G Major, then into G minor”
Broadway’s Waitress, by Sara Bareilles, has been running at the Brooks Atkinson since 2016. “What Baking Can Do” features the rare downward modulation, from Gb to F, at 0:52, made even more noteworthy by an ascending melody. Gb returns at 1:28, and the song returns to F at 2:58 and concludes there. Performed here by original cast member and Tony Winner Jessie Mueller.
From MotD fan Kent P., a first-time contributor:
“My Brother Lived in San Francisco” is the most heartbreaking song about AIDS I know (and I make a point to seek them out). It’s from the off-Broadway show (song cycle) Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (1989), based on the NAMES Project Quilt.
It begins in C for two verses about specific people (real or composites?), then modulates up to C# for the third verse, into a more upbeat feel, to address the general sociological phenomenon of San Francisco as a gay mecca in the 1970s/80s, symbolizing the hope and happiness the City represented. Lastly, the tune unexpectedly makes a devastating full-tone drop to B for the unadorned reprise of the refrain, hitting us with the gut-wretching reminder of what the song is really about. Modulating down is rare enough, never mind a full step, but the emotional journey of this song hits so much harder because of it.”
Vocalist/pianist/composer Rufus Wainwright released “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk,” the first track on his sophomore album Poses, in 2001. Wainwright benefited from classical piano and composition training and has carved out two career niches: a unique brand of chamber pop and opera composition. From AllMusic‘s review: the tune “combines classic Gershwin/Brian Wilson pop feels along with a strong sense of French cabaret show tunes” — nowhere more clearly than in this live version.
Starting in E major, a modulation to E minor hits at 0:50 and reverts to E major at 1:26; the pattern continues from there.
Continuing with Scott Alan‘s music, this is Shoshana Bean (currently starring in Waitress on Broadway) singing “Home” (2008) with an epic key change at 5:42.
There’s a lot of banter at the start of this live video; skip to 2:15 if you want to go straight to the music.
UK songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Dave Stewart, probably best known as half of Eurythmics, has also enjoyed a busy career as a solo rock/pop artist, music producer, and music video director. His solo release “Heart of Stone” (1994) modulates at 1:53. Then, after a guitar solo which might have come from a dream journal, Stewart falls like timber at the downward modulation back to the original key.
Yes, that is legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins!
Many thanks to MotD fan John Powhida for this submission.
Scott Alan‘s “Never Neverland” (2007), performed here by three-time Tony Award nominee vocalist Stephanie J. Block, alternates between A and F major throughout the song.
“Birdhouse In Your Soul,” a 1989 single from the always-quirky They Might Be Giants, reached #3 on the US Modern Rock Tracks Chart, performed well on college radio, and has been the alternative rock band’s best-performing release to date. The tune bounces back and forth between C major and Eb major throughout (starting at 0:27), with the exception of an early instrumental bridge from 1:24 – 1:43, which plays by its own rulebook.
Also stranger than fiction: the tune was later covered by Broadway stars Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene for the TV series Pushing Daisies (see second video below).
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