Tag: 2010s

Beyonce and Dixie Chicks | Daddy Lessons

Here’s Dixie Chicks and Beyoncé collaborating on a live performance of Beyonce’s “Daddy Lessons” at the 2016 CMA Country Music Awards. The track is from the 2016 Lemonade album. Rolling Stone reports that “according to a story by the AP, Beyoncé submitted ‘Daddy Lessons’ for nomination in the (Grammy) country category, but the Academy’s country-music committee shunned the song.”

Starting in A minor, the tune shifts to D major for a bridge at 4:00, then back to A minor at 4:35.

Fever | Josh Turner (feat. Allison Young)

From MotD regular Paul Steckler comes this update on a 1959 pop classic:

“Everyone knows the famous version of ‘Fever’ by Peggy Lee. She added lyrics to the original release, performed by Little Willie John in 1956. In 2019, we have a guitar-and-voice version by Josh Turner and Allison Young.”

Josh’s bio states that he “started playing at 13, when his PlayStation 2 was confiscated.”

Modulations at 1:35 and 2:11.

Dirty Loops | Lost In You

Dirty Loops‘ “Lost In You” was released on their 2014 album Loopified. The whole song is a total bop, but the key change at 3:04 is definitely a highlight.

From AllMusic’s review of the album, executive produced by David Foster: “…one part jazz fusion trio, one part electronic dance outfit, and one part contemporary pop act. Dirty Loops certainly have chops to spare and layer each track with enough jazz-informed chord progressions, arpeggiated six-string basslines, frenetic drum fills, and melismatic vocal breakdowns to fill any number of Stevie Wonder albums (to name-drop an obvious influence). Thankfully, they also don’t forget to bring the pop melody…”

AJR | Weak

AJR is an American pop band led by three brothers, Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met. The New York Post describes the band’s sound as an “electric” mix of “pop, doo-wop, electronic, and dubstep.” In 2019, the band’s third album debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 and reached #1 on the Top Rock Albums chart. In an interview with Allaccess.com, the trio said “…our songs might be known, but we are not famous.” The band’s 2016 single, Weak, “came from balancing the need to give into temptation with the importance of staying strong.”

“Weak” features a whole-step key change at 2:56.

Astral Drive | Sing to the World

“SIng to the World” (2019) by Astral Drive is a track from “a long lost album from the 1970s that only existed in (songwriter / performer Phil Thornalley‘s) own mind. A labor of love that is very much the statement of a lifelong music fan living in the modern world,” reports Thornalley’s label, Lojinx.

Along with a sustained career as a sideman and/or producer for bands such as The Cure, The Psychedelic Furs, Duran Duran, and Paul McCartney, Thornalley also co-wrote Natalie Imbruglia‘s smash hit “Torn.”

The tune is based on G major until the bridge shifts us to Bb major at 1:29 before returning to G at 1:51.

On My Way (from “Violet”)

“On My Way” is the opening number of the first show I music directed at my alma mater, St. Olaf College — Jeanine Tesori‘s VIOLET. It sets the stage beautifully for the show, thanks in large part to the key changes! The song starts in F major and modulates to D at 1:42. At 2:30 there is a transitory bridge before a return to D at 2:57, and a final shift up a step to E at 3:32. This recording is from the 2014 Broadway production starring Sutton Foster.

Thomas Dolby | Simone

Best known for his 1982 dance/funk mega-hit “She Blinded Me With Science,” Thomas Dolby has continued to make music in the decades since. He was also pivotal in the process of advancing the tech behind cell phone ring tones and is now the Homewood Professor for the Arts at John Hopkins University’s Peabody Recording Arts and Sciences program.

Dolby’s 2011 release, A Map of the Floating City, is a full slate of harmonically wide-ranging tunes which were recorded onboard his solar and wind-powered converted lifeboat studio, The Nutmeg of Consolation, at his North Sea beach house in eastern England. “Simone” unfurls the tale of a trans woman’s romance with Dolby’s usual flare for timelessness. This fan-produced video beautifully captures Dolby’s penchant for a retro (and often retro-futuristic) mood.

Starting in Bb, the tune shifts to Ab minor partway through the chorus (at 1:28). At 1:47, verse 2 is in B major. The pivots continue throughout the tune, with harmonic transitions marking each new form section.

Girls’ Generation | Mr. Mr.

“Mr. Mr.” by K-Pop group Girls’ Generation (2014) charted at #3 on the Korea K-Pop Hot 100 and #4 Billboard World Digital Songs chart. AllMusic’s review states that the track mixes “a hip-hop beat and EDM-inspired buildups and drops.”

After being introduced to verses, choruses, a spare breakdown at 2:40, and a bridge at 3:02, we’re hit with a big half-step key change at 3:19, only to run smack into another monster upward half-step shift at 3:35.

Lizzo | Lingerie

NSFW: Lizzo‘s 2019 track “Lingerie” (from the Cuz I Love You album) debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200. The track simmers at an almost impossibly slow, insistent tempo but still somehow manages a behind-the-beat delivery. From AllMusic‘s review: “she continues to embrace her gospel roots and the full power of her voice. It’s a journey she began on (previous albums), which feel like dress rehearsals for what she unleashes…”

Half-step modulations at 1:25 and 2:26.