The first musical artist to have a #1 hit (Stay / “I Missed You”) without the benefit of a contract with a record label, Lisa Loeb has gone on to release many other distinctive tunes. There’s a modulation in “Bring Me Up” (2002) during the bridge (2:10 to 2:39); then the tune reverts to its original key on its verse-based outro.
Tag: alternative
Duncan Sheik | Barely Breathing
Duncan Sheik‘s tunes are full of quirks — harmonic and otherwise — but fewer full modulations. His best-known hit, 1996’s “Barely Breathing,” sticks to fairly straightforward territory through the first two verses and choruses. But then the bridge (2:40) presents several short but compelling key-of-the-moment segments (I major / V minor pairs) that don’t closely relate to the rest of the tune — but then, that’s often true of a good bridge. By 3:09, we’re ready to dive back into the familiarity (and relative simplicity) of the chorus as it reverts to the original key.
Ben Folds Five | Don’t Change Your Plans
Ben Folds, probably best known for his 1997 single “Brick” with his band Ben Folds Five, features several modulations in 1999’s “Don’t Change Your Plans.” Centered around Folds’ trademark confessional storytelling, this song’s first modulation is in the middle of the multi-section bridge (2:20); the last, a rare downward modulation, is in the closing seconds of the tune (4:46). There are several other modulations in between as the lyrics shuttle between future and past, hopefulness and melancholy.