Tag: USA

BIlly Joel | All for Lena

A long-overdue MotD debut for Billy Joel​: “All for Lena” is a non-single track from Joel’s 1980 album Glass Houses. The album topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked #4 on Billboard​’s 1980 year-end album chart. The track reached #40 on the UK pop charts, where it was released as a single.

AllMusic​’s review reports “…it’s nice to hear Joel scale back his showman tendencies and deliver a solid pop/rock record … it’s the closest Joel ever got to a pure rock album.” The lyrics seem to suggest a dark, unrequited romantic fascination, right down to Joel’s uncharacteristically edgy vocal. The tune is in A minor, with brief patches of A major between 1:54 – 2:08 and 3:04 – 3:17.

Joan Jett + The Blackhearts | Bad Reputation

“Bad Reputation,” an uptempo guitar-fueled tune which clocks in at well under three minutes, was the title track of a 1981 album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Thanks to MotD fan Rob Penttinen for submitting this track!

Music Connection Magazine reports that “Jett took the record to a number of major record labels, none of which were interested in releasing the project. Rather than continue to hunt for a willing label, Laguna (the producer) and Jett decided to fund the pressing of the album themselves … (and) sold directly to concert-goers and record stores out of Laguna’s car trunk.”

Typical of Jett, (also known as “The Godmother of Punk”), the track is a classic 3-chord rocker — with the exception of a full-step modulation at 1:07.

Hall + Oates | I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)

Another track from the “obvious” files: “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” by Hall & Oates has been staring me in the face for decades, but its modulations only just hit me. Perhaps an explanation might lie in its catchy groove: sampled repeatedly by hiphop artists for the intro’s distinctive percussion, layered hooks, and bass line, the DNA of the 1982 track has gradually transcended its original mainstream pop context.

After an extended F minor vamp intro, the verse begins in C minor (0:58), then shifts to a bright C major for the pre-chorus (1:15) before reverting back to F minor for the chorus (1:32), etc.

Pat Metheny | Are You Going With Me?

It’s difficult to categorize contemporary guitar/guitar synth pioneer Pat Metheny‘s “Are You Going With Me?” (1989). But the key changes are far less ambiguous.

The tune’s intensity grows little by little, driven by the Metheny Group’s trademark wordless vocals and Lyle Mays‘ fluid keyboard lines. The performance was likely heightened by the huge scale of the live setting, Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. The first modulation hits at 3:44; the second key change “telegraphs” melodically by hinting at the shift slightly before its arrival at 5:20.

AJR | Weak

AJR is an American pop band led by three brothers, Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met. The New York Post describes the band’s sound as an “electric” mix of “pop, doo-wop, electronic, and dubstep.” In 2019, the band’s third album debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 and reached #1 on the Top Rock Albums chart. In an interview with Allaccess.com, the trio said “…our songs might be known, but we are not famous.” The band’s 2016 single, Weak, “came from balancing the need to give into temptation with the importance of staying strong.”

“Weak” features a whole-step key change at 2:56.

Aretha Franklin | The Dark End of the Street

Q: What do Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, The Eels, and Cat Power all have in common with Aretha Franklin?

A: They’ve all covered “The Dark End of the Street,” originally recorded by the unfairly overlooked soul singer James Carr in 1967.

Our Twitter follower @bradfarberman submitted Aretha’s 1970 version, which modulates at 2:28; it clearly illustrates why the Queen of Soul won the #1 slot on Rolling Stone‘s “Best Singers of All Time” list.

Kool + the Gang | September Love

Funk/pop superstars Kool and the Gang, best known for 1980’s uptempo mega-hit “Celebrate,” took a decidedly mellower turn in the early 80s. According to AllMusic, the band “left the fast lanes of funk for the smoother ride of the adult-oriented R&B expressway.” The 1983 album In the Heart produced a lead single, “Joanna,” which hit #2 (pop) in the US, #2 (pop) in the UK, and #1 on the US R&B chart.

No stranger to a broad harmonic vocabulary, the band outdid itself on the mod scale with the ballad “September Love,” a non-single track. Modulations begin with an almost jarring early shift as the first verse starts at 0:21, followed by more key changes at 1:15, 1:49, 2:43, 3:18, and 3:59.

Merle Hazard | (Gimme Some of That) Ol’ Atonal Music

Weekend bonus mod: Merle Hazard is billed as “America’s foremost country singer/economist.” According to his website, his songs have appeared in The Economist and the Financial Times; on the PBS NewsHour and on radio; and in college classrooms.

Hazard explains: “I love Tom Lehrer and Cole Porter. In some ways, they are my natural musical home, more than country. I listened to a lot of Tom Lehrer and Top 40 pop, growing up. The name ‘Merle Hazard’ is first and foremost a pun on the economic concept of ‘moral hazard.’ It is also a tip of the cowboy hat to the Merles who preceded, particularly Merle Travis and the late, great Merle Haggard.”

“(Gimme Some of That) Ol’ Atonal Music” (2019) modulates at 1:36 and 2:22.

Doobie Brothers | What a Fool Believes

From MotD fan Jonathan Jharms Harms comes a beautifully detailed breakdown of an all-time best pop modulation we featured in 2017.

“If you’re like me, you’ve found yourself on a night on the town with friends, singing along to the The Doobie Brothers‘ 1979 classic ‘What a Fool Believes’ – but when the chorus comes, no one can find the right note. Is it the alcohol? Is it your memory? Nope – it’s modulation! Modulation written so smoothly you never noticed.

Songwriter Michael McDonald, after emphasizing the IV chord in every phrase of the song, makes the most soulful (and innocuous) of changes in the chorus – beginning the chorus a minor iv instead of a major IV. But wait – no – that was a pivot to a new key! Before you know it, we transition from C# major to E major – a strange jump to a very unrelated key, but without you ever noticing. Only the most observant will notice the A naturals turning into A sharps as the chorus fades into Verse 3, back to C# major.

Unlike other modulations that are all about calling attention to themselves or ‘raising the stakes,’ this one simply takes you on a ride. Maybe that’s why we’re still singing (or failing to sing) this amazing song, 40 years later.”

Knower | Overtime

Some hard funk/electronica from KNOWER: The band has recently opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and has featured prestigious guest artists such as percussionist/vocalist Nate Wood of Kneebody and keyboardist/vocalist Jonah Nilsson of Dirty Loops.

The frenetic pace of “Overtime” (2017) finds the entire band in an almost impossible flow state, led by drummer/keyboardist/composer Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi, vocalist. After the tune starts in F# minor, the main groove hits at 0:33. A modulation to G# minor (0:50) is introduced by a 2-bar break, sparely punctuated by a few huge syncopated kicks. At 1:18, the tune reverts to F# minor and the cycle repeats.