Tag: soundtrack

I Know Him So Well (from “Chess”)

“I Know Him So Well” was originally released on a 1984 concept album, and subsequent musical, Chess. The original recording remains in the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest selling UK chart ever for a female duo. Here it is performed by a male duo, John Barrowman MBE and Daniel Boys, with an epic key change, up a minor third, at 3:14.

Say the Word (feat. Laura Johnson, from “The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown”)

“Say The Word” is from Kerrigan-Lowdermilk‘s 2009 musical The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, performed here by Laura Osnes. Key changes are at 1:25, 2:02, 2:25, and 3:20.

“Queer Eye” themes (2003 and 2018)

Not a modulation per se, but an interesting reharmonization of the theme of a “make-better” TV franchise which has enjoyed two successful runs in different decades. Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, which ran in the early 2000s, featured a theme by Widelife in a major key.

The updated Queer Eye, which just finished its third season, features a theme by Betty Who which maintains some of the elements of the original — but overall takes a more minimalist approach in a minor key.

What Baking Can Do (from “Waitress”)

Broadway’s Waitress, by Sara Bareilles, has been running at the Brooks Atkinson since 2016. “What Baking Can Do” features the rare downward modulation, from Gb to F, at 0:52, made even more noteworthy by an ascending melody. Gb returns at 1:28, and the song returns to F at 2:58 and concludes there. Performed here by original cast member and Tony Winner Jessie Mueller.

My Brother Lived in San Francisco (from “Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens”)

From MotD fan Kent P., a first-time contributor:

“My Brother Lived in San Francisco” is the most heartbreaking song about AIDS I know (and I make a point to seek them out). It’s from the off-Broadway show (song cycle) Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (1989), based on the NAMES Project Quilt.

It begins in C for two verses about specific people (real or composites?), then modulates up to C# for the third verse, into a more upbeat feel, to address the general sociological phenomenon of San Francisco as a gay mecca in the 1970s/80s, symbolizing the hope and happiness the City represented. Lastly, the tune unexpectedly makes a devastating full-tone drop to B for the unadorned reprise of the refrain, hitting us with the gut-wretching reminder of what the song is really about. Modulating down is rare enough, never mind a full step, but the emotional journey of this song hits so much harder because of it.”