Nik Kershaw‘s classic 1986 New Wave release, Radio Musicola, was full of the UK singer’s moody, richly textured sound; the title track was no exception.
A textbook half-step ascending direct modulation at 2:03; a bridge (2:21 – 2:40) ending with a downward half-step modulation to the original key; and another modulation back to the second key at 3:06.
Released 40 years ago this week, 1978’s top-grossing movie, Grease, featured “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” a hit single by Olivia Newton-John. Modulations between each verse and chorus: 1:11, 1:47, and 2:19.
Here’s a single by Jonah Nilsson, vocalist and keyboardist for powerhouse Swedish funk/pop band Dirty Loops, “Coffee Break.” Starting out with a minimalist rap, Nilsson rapidly shifts to singing supple yet rhythmically precise lines over his trademark wall-to-wall harmonic textures.
Key shifts hit at 0:53, 2:02, 2:10, 2:17, and 2:41, plus a few other quick keys-of-the-moment.
From MotD member Rob Penttinen, who happened across this modulation while casually listening to the radio as he did housework(!)
The hit Michael Jackson 1979 release Off the Wall, featuring the smash hit single “Rock With You,” was produced by the legendary Quincy Jones. The 4-on-the floor groove was the sound of the clearly waning phase of Disco. Key change at 2:32.
The Spinners‘ 1975 R&B release “Games People Play” begins with deceptive simplicity. But then a long line of compound chords starts at 0:41, joined by a descending chromatic bassline at 0:54. We return to the original key as we reach verse 2 at 1:05 … Etc.! There’s no single prominent modulation, but rather a feeling of pivoting easily and frequently between keys.
Today we feature “Scared of the Dark” by Steps, UK Eurovision winners, released in 2017. Twelve hours after its release, it reached number one on the UK’s iTunes charts and debuted at #37 on the UK Singles Chart. The key change is at 3:05.
Bruce Hornsby created a unique Americana-inflected pop style through his early 1980s work with Bruce Hornsby and the Range. In “Look Out Any Window,” (1988) ” … Bruce chooses to highlight the concern of environmental degradation at the hands of big business,” (Bruuuce.com) “By pointing a broad, sweeping accusatory finger at ‘Far away, men too busy getting rich to care,’ he taps into a popular sentiment among young, concerned, (though invariably middle class) western teenagers.
The song was written at a time just before concerns over the Ozone Layer and ‘Greenhouse Effect’ were about to burst into major headline news stories … The lyrics also tap into a wider sense of regional discontent at centralist government, or urban/rural divide: The valiant, subsistence labourers – ‘There’s a man working in a field’ and ‘There’s a man working in a boat’ – against the likes of the ‘Big boys telling you everything they’re gonna do,’ and ‘Fat cat builderman, turning this into a wasteland.'”
An instrumental bridge (2:52 – 3:28) which modulates and then reverts to the original key as it reaches the final pre-chorus.
Closing out the week with a 2001 hit from the Irish singer Samantha Mumba, “Always Come Back to Your Love.” Key change at 2:30. Enjoy and have a good weekend!
More vintage 90s coming at you today with 1999’s “Bring It All Back” by S Club 7. Key change at 2:42. Enjoy!
Matthew Wilder’s “Break My Stride,” released in 1983, featured a unique pop/reggae mix that made it a hit on the dance floor. It reached #5 in the US and #4 in the UK. The bridge, starting at 1:45, modulates at 2:03 as it returns to the last chorus.
modulationoftheday.home.blog 