Tag: 2000s

Garbage | Cup of Coffee

In a catalog replete with minor key paeans to misery, Garbage’s “Cup of Coffee” (2001) might be Exhibit A.

The Guardian calls Garbage’s sound “mongrel pop…(a) smelting-pot studio project cooked up from industrial remix sensibilities.” The focus on production and varying textures is certainly in the forefront here. The repeating triple eighth-note pattern which starts the tune continues throughout the relative hush of the verses — forming an uneven ground in combination with the 4/4 meter. Vocalist Shirley Manson unflinchingly increases the volume, intensity, and narrative on the choruses.

Starting in F# minor, the tune modulates up a whole step at 2:52 — uncharacteristically, during one of the song’s lowest-energy sections. This reverent fan-made video is patched together from various clips, but certainly captures the mood.

Hall + Oates | Ooh Child

“Ooh Child” was originally released as a single in 1970 by Five Stairsteps. The song’s uplifting, hopeful message led to its ranking of #402 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Performed here by Hall & Oates for their 2004 release, Our Kind of Soul, the verses and chorus modulate back and forth throughout.

Say the Word (feat. Laura Johnson, from “The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown”)

“Say The Word” is from Kerrigan-Lowdermilk‘s 2009 musical The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, performed here by Laura Osnes. Key changes are at 1:25, 2:02, 2:25, and 3:20.

Mike Stern | What Might Have Been

Genre-hopping guitarist Mike Stern has worked with Miles Davis, Brecker Brothers, and Blood Sweat And Tears. He delivers a beautiful contemporary jazz fusion ballad in “What Might Have Been” (2002). Stern takes one of the guitar’s few weak links (the ability to strongly sustain a note without effects) and augments it by doubling it with the human voice, employing the enigmatic wordless vocals of Elisabeth Kontomanou.

The modulation is at 1:30, with a return to the original key at 2:05; after the guitar solo, the pattern repeats at 3:54 and 4:29.

Jonatha Brooke | New Dress

After co-founding The Story in the early 1990s, singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke struck out on a solo career. From AllMusic: “She has always penned tunes that danced just outside the box with poetic lyrics, creative arrangements, and complex chord progressions.”

“New Dress” (2001) jumps back and forth between both A major and A minor throughout the verses and choruses. A short, string-drenched bridge (2:07 – 2:27) presents a few more harmonic pivots. Neil Finn of Crowded House provides wonderful support in covering the quirky backing vocal lines, which frequently include chromatic motion and outline the chord color; 1:05 – 1:15 is a clear illustration.

“Queer Eye” themes (2003 and 2018)

Not a modulation per se, but an interesting reharmonization of the theme of a “make-better” TV franchise which has enjoyed two successful runs in different decades. Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, which ran in the early 2000s, featured a theme by Widelife in a major key.

The updated Queer Eye, which just finished its third season, features a theme by Betty Who which maintains some of the elements of the original — but overall takes a more minimalist approach in a minor key.

Rufus Wainwright | Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk

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.