“I Wanna Get Better,” released in 2014, was the debut single of the indie band Bleachers, fronted by Jack Abramoff. ” [I see this song as] the story of my existence so far and a lot of the things I struggled with,” Abramoff said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “A lot of things on the album, including this song, are about loss…It feels joyous, but for me it’s very desperate.”
Abramoff recorded all the instruments himself in addition to singing the lead vocal. The track was critically acclaimed and remains the group’s #1 song. It begins in E and modulates very briefly up a step to F# major at 1:52 before returning to E at 2:02.
“Diane Birch has an earthy and ethereal articulation, somewhat reminiscent of Stevie Nick’s Fleetwood Mac material.” (Popmatters). “The singer-songwriter passionately croons of love and life using everything from dubstep beats to her solo piano playing to accent the emotionalism of her voice. Her vocals suggest dust and wonder, experience and naivety, the ache of one who yearns for something not within reach and the satisfied grin of one who has made it.”
From NPR’s profile of Birch: “The singer, songwriter and pianist had an eclectic musical upbringing. Her music is filled with the language and sounds of gospel and church music — her father was a preacher. She also lived in Zimbabwe and Australia, where her parents constantly played classical records, as a child. ‘I’d wake up to [soprano] Joan Sutherland screaming in my ear,’ Birch says. ‘It’s an amazing alarm clock — that’s the best kind of scream.'”
The relaxed waltz of Birch’s 2009 release “Photograph” starts in F major, but shifts to D major for the chorus at 0:40; 1:08 – 1:16 brings an gradual and oblique shift back to the original key. There’s an instrumental bridge in Bb major from 2:28 – 2:58, but at 3:33, a gospel-heavy outro appears out of nowhere, with a completely new meter and yet another new key: A major.
“I’ve Learned To Let Things Go,” with music and lyrics by John Bucchino, was included in It’s Only Life, a concert revue of Bucchino’s music that was performed at Lincoln Center in 2006. It is performed here by cast member Jessica Molaskey, and modulates from A up to C at 2:25.
Contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist Stacie Orrico released “her 2000 debut album, Genuine, is a combination of Christian pop with an urban flare and has been compared stylistically to both Christina Aguilera and Lauryn Hill.” (AllMusic) She has worked with noted CCM artist Michael W. Smith as a producer and served as an opening act for Destiny’s Child. After the pace of the music business led her to take a break and get a restaurant job, she returned in 2007 to release another album.
Orrico’s 2003 single “(There’s Gotta Be) More to Life” is “an inspirational mid-tempo number with the chorus ‘There’s gotta be more to life than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me,’ (MTV). ‘I think so many times we feel like we’re lacking something in our lives and we try to fill it with the wrong things,’ she explained. ‘Sometimes it’s drugs, sometimes it’s a relationship you shouldn’t be in.'”
Orrico clearly demonstrates the same pop sensibilities of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who are her contemporaries. After a start in F minor, the tune shifts up a half-step at 2:03. Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!
“The Promise” was featured on the 2008 album Out of Control, recorded by the British girl group Girls Aloud. The track was praised by critics, debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and won Best British Single at the 2009 Brit Awards.
The track has a laid back groove and sounds like it could be from Dirty Dancing or Saturday Night Fever. It begins in A and modulates up to Bb for the final chorus at 3:33.
This holiday classic, written by Frank Lesser in 1947, was originally recorded by Margaret Whiting and has been covered by dozens of artists since. American singer/songwriter Ledisi included the song on her 2008 album It’s Christmas. It modulates coming out of the guitar solo from Db up to D at 2:16
“Taylor Swift is that rarest of pop phenomena: a superstar who managed to completely cross over from country to the mainstream,” (AllMusic). “Others have performed similar moves — notably, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson both became enduring pop culture icons based on their 1970s work — but Swift shed her country roots like they were a second skin; it was a necessary molting to reveal she was perhaps the sharpest, savviest populist singer/songwriter of her generation, one who could harness the zeitgeist, make it personal and, just as impressively, perform the reverse.”
Originally released in 2008 on the album Fearless, “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is just one of the many tunes which Swift has re-recorded recently. After her original masters were sold in a way she deeply disagreed with, she decided to re-record and re-release her earlier material: “If she couldn’t own the rights to the recordings that made her one of the most successful musical artists of all time, at least she could undercut their value and present her loyal fan base with a way to enjoy that music without benefitting her nemeses,” (Stereogum). Billboard‘s ranking of the 50 best songs of 2021 included the tune as #46: “vintage Taylor Swift that still feels fresh in 2021.”
“Mr. Perfectly Fine” features a short instrumental interlude at 2:43; a bridge follows at 2:56 which tapers off to the point where the groove drops out altogether. The full texture returns with a bang at 3:45, along with a full-step modulation. Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for sending in this song!
“I’m All About You” is featured on American singer Aaron Carter’s third studio album, Oh Aaron, released in 2001. The track was the third and final single released for the record, which reached the #7 spot on the Billboard 20o and was certified Platinum. Carter, who was a contestant on Dancing With The Stars and appeared on Broadway in Seussical, passed away last week at age 34.
The track begins in C major and modulates up to D following the bridge at 2:37.
“Poison Ivy” is featured on the Jonas Brothers’ 2009 album Lines, Vines and Trying Times. The track, which features a horn section, was partially inspired by the English indie rock band The Zutons. “We were really inspired by the Zutons,” Joe Jonas said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “We heard their new record, You Can Do Anything, when we were in Europe last year and got everyone around us hooked on it.”
The song begins in G and modulates down to Eb at 3:06.
Written by Swedish producer/songwriters Kristian Lundin and Andreas Carlsson, “Everyone” was featured on the Backstreet Boy’s 2000 album Black & Blue. Rolling Stone critic Barry Walters described the song as “a celebration of the [group] and the power of their audience.” The album was hugely successful, selling over 5 million copies in its first week of sales.
The tune remains in C minor until shifting up a step to D minor for the final chorus at 2:33.
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