Somewhat unusual among R.E.M.‘s often somber output, 1989’s “Stand” features double direct whole-step modulations (2:30 and 2:48) towards the end of this bouncy, catchy Top 10 hit.
Guitarist Peter Buck described it as “without a doubt, […] the stupidest song we’ve ever written. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though.” He humbly compared the song to The Kingsmen’s “Louie, Louie” in terms of lyrical content.
“The Show Goes On,” an album cut from Bruce Hornsby and the Range‘s second album Scenes from the Southside (1988), follows Bruce Hornsby‘s production template for his early work with his backing band before he went solo in the 90s. The tune’s overall D major tonality transitions into G major during the bridge (4:08 – 4:33).
Aretha Franklin was a legendary soul/gospel/R&B/pop vocalist — but also a civil rights icon and humanitarian.
Though it wasn’t one of the mega-hits among her huge catalog, this track clearly shows Aretha’s warm, dignified persona and the uncontainable range of her artistry. “United Together” (1980) modulates at 3:50.
Shape-shifting guitarist/vocalist George Benson, a Pittsburgh native, had a string of hits in the 1970s and 1980s, pulling from his 36 albums to date. “20/20” (1984) made a splash on three charts: #45/Pop, #20/R&B, and #3/Jazz.
The tune features a bridge with plenty of compound chords (1:50 – 2:25) which remains in the original key. The third verse (2:25) hits with a direct modulation, followed by Benson’s effortless duet combination of guitar and wordless vocals.
Score another mod for MotD member Rob P., who suggested this tune:
The UK’s Wang Chung had a few huge new wave/pop hits in the 80s, including “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” (1986). “’When we came up with the original line, I then went away and wrote with a Hey Jude-style ballad around it, trying to be ironic,” (American Songwriter). “And then when we got in the studio with Peter Wolf, he was like, This is an amazing dance hit, you rock the tempo, you’ve got to really deliver what the title suggests.’
By leaning into the good-timey vibes of the title with a big old synths-and-horns production, Wang Chung danced all the way to #2 on the U.S. pop charts in 1986. The song almost immediately cemented itself in the world of pop culture … Everybody Have Fun Tonight’ rebuilt Wang Chung’s image in one fell swoop. It might have taken them a while to settle on that band moniker, but they wielded it like a weapon on their biggest hit.”
The verse and choruses seem pretty straightforward, but then the bridge (2:32) catches us off guard with a few distinct sections — and two modulations — before returning to the original key at 3:29.
During the summer of 1981, Rick Springfield‘s power pop hit “Jessie’s Girl” completed its climb up the charts, finally hitting #1 in August — six months after its release and just as MTV hit the airwaves. Song of the summer? An understatement.
The bridge, starting at 1:39, transitions with a direct modulation to an instrumental section at 2:00, changing back to the original key at 2:14.
In honor of his 70th birthday today, here’s “Parallel Lines,” a 1989 release from Todd Rundgren‘s album Nearly Human. The huge band was a complete departure from Rundgren’s history of standard 4-piece rock ensembles. Bridge at 2:21, modulation at 3:10.
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.
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.
Matthew Wilder’s “Break My Stride,” released in 1983, featured a unique pop/reggae mix that made it a hit on the dance floor. It reached #5 in the US and #4 in the UK. The bridge, starting at 1:45, modulates at 2:03 as it returns to the last chorus.
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