Tag: rock

The Nice | Country Pie Brandenburg Concerto #6

Chalk up another mod for frequent contributor JB: According to AllMusic, the Nice “bridged the gap between mid-’60s psychedelic pop and 70s art rock, laying the groundwork for the entire progressive rock explosion in the process. It was with the Nice that Keith Emerson began his transformation from an unknown musician into an international rock star with Emerson, Lake & Palmer.” Over time, the band pulled excerpts from an eclectic range of composers including Sibelius, Janacek, Brubeck, Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, and more, including this 1969 tune featuring a J. S. Bach melody.

At 2:28, there’s a short bridge based on a quote from the Brandenburg Concerto #3; at 2:46, after a pause, the tune modulates up a whole step.

Bruce Springsteen | Hungry Heart

Marking Bruce Springsteen‘s debut on MotD, “Hungry Heart” was the lead single on Springsteen’s 1980 album The River and hit #5 on the pop charts. Originally written for The Ramones, the tune ended up becoming a keeper for the Boss instead, winning the Rolling Stone Reader’s Poll for best single of the year.

The early instrumental bridge brings a modulation from C# major to E major at 1:37, and then reverts to the original key at 1:55.

The Beach Boys | I Get Around

The Beach Boys‘ first charting single, 1964’s “I Get Around,” was co-written by band members Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Starting in G major, the tune transitions to Ab major at 1:06.

Rolling Stone magazine’s Anthony DeCurtis praised Wilson’s tendency to be “very complex and have every single thing you do have an emotional impact, and have the hearer not even be aware of it — just hear it the first time and get it. That’s hard.”

The Babys | Every Time I Think of You

1979’s “Every Time I Think of You” by the UK band The Babys (yes, that’s the spelling) has too many modulations to track. Each verse/chorus pairing, after its series of modulations, reverts to the original key for the start of the next cycle. The frontman was John Waite, who later enjoyed a successful solo performance career. The tune hit top 10 in the US, Canada, and Australia.

Yes | Leave It

Prog-rock royalty Yes released their blockbuster album 90125 in 1982, featuring a far more radio-ready sound than most of the band’s other output. “Leave It,” the album’s second single, reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video, directed by Godley & Creme, utilized cutting-edge digital effects for that era.

The intro (through 0:21) is in D major, as is the bridge from 2:46-3:17. The remainder of the tune is in G minor. Happy weekend to all!

Dave Stewart | Heart of Stone

UK songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Dave Stewart, probably best known as half of Eurythmics, has also enjoyed a busy career as a solo rock/pop artist, music producer, and music video director. His solo release “Heart of Stone” (1994) modulates at 1:53. Then, after a guitar solo which might have come from a dream journal, Stewart falls like timber at the downward modulation back to the original key.

Yes, that is legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins!

Many thanks to MotD fan John Powhida for this submission.

They Might Be Giants | Birdhouse In Your Soul

“Birdhouse In Your Soul,” a 1989 single from the always-quirky They Might Be Giants, reached #3 on the US Modern Rock Tracks Chart, performed well on college radio, and has been the alternative rock band’s best-performing release to date. The tune bounces back and forth between C major and Eb major throughout (starting at 0:27), with the exception of an early instrumental bridge from 1:24 – 1:43, which plays by its own rulebook.

Also stranger than fiction: the tune was later covered by Broadway stars Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene for the TV series Pushing Daisies (see second video below).

Led Zeppelin | All of My Love

1979’s “All of My Love” by Led Zeppelin is a rock ballad co-written by the band’s lead vocalist, Robert Plant, and Zeppelin’s bassist John Paul Jones. The tune was written in honor of Plant’s son, who tragically died of a sudden illness as a pre-schooler. From PopMatters‘ review: “the saddest and most heartfelt Zeppelin song … which hauntingly enough sounds like a foreshadowing of a band on the path to an impending and unforeseeable dissolution.” Indeed, the hugely popular band broke up the very next year in the wake of drummer John Bonham‘s death.

A direct whole-step modulation hits at the 4:25 mark.

John Mayer | Bigger Than My Body

The first single from John Mayer‘s second album, Heavier Things (2003), was the mid-tempo tune “Bigger Than My Body.” Billboard reported that the tune “delivers a contagious melody, an exhilarating arrangement and lyrics that are thoughtful and touching without stooping to sentimentality or bombast.”

Primarily built around E major, the tune’s bridge centers around F major from 2:39 – 3:06, then reverts to E major.