Tag: alternative

Stone Temple Pilots | Sour Girl

Stone Temple Pilots, fronted by the late Scott Weiland, released “Sour Girl” in 1999. The intro (through 0:19) emphasizes G major as a key area, although it also features a flat 7th. The verse (0:19 – 0:56) flips quickly back and forth from D major to D minor (an F# is featured on the melody line on the word “sour ” — coupled with the restless bassline, often suggesting D minor as it shifts as often as every eighth note — adds to the ambiguity).

A far more detailed and scholarly analysis of the tune can be found on the Aaron Krerowicz site.

Lisa Loeb | Bring Me Up

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.

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.