Tag: USA

Brian David Gilbert (2Wins2) | Just One Day

For a guy who’s racked up five-million-plus views on a video entitled “I Read All 337 Books in Skyrim So You Don’t Have To” on the Youtube channel for the popular gaming site Polygon, Brian David Gilbert is orders of magnitude more musical than you’d have any right to expect. But then multiply that sentiment by many, many Polygon videos, combine it with an effortlessly musical one-man sendup of classic late 90s/early 2000s boy band cliches, and <scene>.

Members of the thankfully fictitious sibling boy band 2Winz2 apparently focus on drive-by insults as much as they do on their latest single. The 2021 release “Just One Day” suggests that quartet member Dale’s days in 2W2 might be numbered — and not by his choice. The lyrics are not to be missed.

At 2:30, the much-maligned Dale earnestly dives into the bridge: his moment in the sun has arrived. By 2:43, a key change kicks in — but is rendered almost completely inaudible by thoughtless use of a blender, followed by an intra-band quarrel that shows Dale’s future with the group is in serious question.

Many thanks to first-time contributor Alex D. for this hilarious tune!

Phony Ppl | Why iii Love the Moon

Phony Ppl, a Brooklyn-based band with a neo-soul/hiphop focus, grew out of the school friendship of vocalist Elbie Thrie and keyboardist Aja Grant. “Thrie and Grant met in middle school,” Rolling Stone reports. “’We found out we lived two blocks from each other. It was the first time my parents would let me out of the house by myself, to go to Elbie’s: Oh, he’ll be okay. They’re playing music.‘ … A lot of our influences were us listening to new music that was actually super old music from the Sixties and Seventies.’”

Members of the band delved into music study at Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, the School of Rock, and learning on the fly in musical theatre pit bands. Rolling Stone continues: “’Why iii Love the Moon,’ a hypnotic ballad on Yesterday’s Tomorrow (2015) combining vintage Earth, Wind and Fire with Kaya-style Bob Marley, that began as a voice memo … ‘Aja had the chords; I had the concept. We actually put the first time we played it on the record. That’s what you hear, us testing everything.’ Thrie smiles. ‘We tried to make it sound more shitty. But that’s the original tape.’”

After a dreamy intro, the track starts in earnest in Eb minor at 0:26. From 3:34 – 3:55, a trippy bridge shifts gears and airdrops us into B minor. The casually improvised percussion hints at the the tune’s homegrown origins as a voice memo. At 4:36, we’re suddenly back in Eb for the duration.

Pretenders | Didn’t Want to Be This Lonely

The single “Didn’t Want to Be This Lonely” was released in the spring of 2020 as part of the album Hate For Sale, Pretenders’ eleventh studio album. Frontwoman and songwriter Chrissie Hynde co-wrote tracks for the album with guitarist James Walbourne, a first for the Hynde: “I wanted to write with him since day one. James is especially sought after and has recorded with Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Gahan, and The Rails, to name but a few,” Rockpit reports. The comic book-inspired video for the tune was produced entirely during COVID lockdown.

Starting in C major, the tune features not only the usual I/IV/V rock chords, but also plenty of bVIIs. That addition becomes a fulcrum — the V of the new key — when the tune jumps up to Eb major at 2:02.

Many thanks to our distinguished frequent contributor JB for this submission!

Moody Joody | Lockeland

Alternative pop/rock duo Moody Joody might not be mainstream, but their new and unique sound caught the attention of Spotify, which placed the 2021 single “Lockeland” on one of its most followed curated indie-pop playlists. This intense focus put the track on top of Moody Joody’s profile as the duo’s most streamed song, and rightfully so! 

The chill-but-driven groove doesn’t align with the flamboyance typical of most key-changing tracks. But the “driving with the windows down” adventure vibes of the song definitely warrant the beautifully executed key change at 2:41. When all the instruments drop out and the vocals make a surprise a cappella entrance — an energizing whole-step up — you can feel the wind in your hair. 

So Much Better (from “Legally Blonde”)

We conclude our week-long series on Legally Blonde with “So Much Better,” the Act 1 finale. After breaking up with Elle, Warner proposes to his new girlfriend Vivienne right in front of Elle, leaving her devastated. Immediately after, however, Professor Callahan posts the list of who has been selected for his highly coveted internship positions, and Elle makes the cut. She realizes that life is about more than just one guy, and she has more potential than she previously knew. Key changes at 0:38, 0:51, 1:03, 1:29, 1:41, 2:04, 2:28, 2:37, and 2:50.

Legally Blonde (from “Legally Blonde”)

The fourth installment in our week-long series on Legally Blonde:

The title song from the musical comes in Act 2. After Elle makes a discovery in the courtroom that is crucial to helping Callahan’s case defending Brook Windham, he asks the rest of his defense team to leave and forcibly kisses Elle; she responds by slapping him, and Callahan fires her from the case. Elle starts to question if Callahan ever really respected her for her intellect and whether she should stay at Harvard. Key changes at 0:49, 1:06, 1:23, 2:07, 2:23, and 2:42.

Whipped Into Shape (from “Legally Blonde”)

“Whipped Into Shape,” the third installment of our Legally Blonde series, opens Act 2 of the show and introduces us to Brooke Windham, a fitness instructor who has been accused of murder and is being defended by Elle’s tutor Professor Callahan. Key changes at 2:34, 3:06, 3:13, 3:21, 3:29, 3:37, and 3:54.

Ireland (from “Legally Blonde”)

The second in our Legally Blonde series this week:

“Ireland” introduces us to the hairdresser Paulette, who comforts Elle after Warner unexpectedly breaks up with her. Over the course of the song, Paulette narrates her own complicated romantic history, accompanied by her beloved Irish “Celtic Moods” CD. Key changes at 0:22, 1:15, 1:30, 2:05, and 2:23.

Omigod You Guys (from “Legally Blonde”)

The first of our week-long series of tunes from Legally Blonde:

The opening song in the show, “Omigod You Guys” introduces us to Elle Woods and her fellow Delta Nu’s, who are helping Elle pick out a dress for her planned proposal to Warner Huntington III later that night. Key changes at 0:47, 1:14, 1:31, 1:54, 2:23, 3:04, 3:16, 3:36, 3:49, 4:28, 4:45, 4:51, 5:05, and 5:19.

Garbage | Breaking Up the Girl

“The voice and mind behind 90s alt-rock anthems ‘Happy When it Rains’, ‘Stupid Girl’ and ‘Supervixen’ hates talking about individual songs, or the meaning of lyrics, or what makes this or that tune a good single,” The Guardian reports.

Despite becoming a “tough-talking, smart-mouthed, big-boot-wearing icon to a generation,” Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson, an Edinburgh native, has often had trouble with the business side of the music business. ‘When we first started out, we were signed to an indie label. We had a lot of freedom. Then we got sold like a commodity to a record label that did not give a flying fuck about our music or our career or us as people. And it was a nightmare. They had all these corporate expectations about us. We didn’t care if we weren’t the biggest band in the world! But to this record label, if you’re not the biggest band in the world, then you’re worthless. I just do not adhere to that principle.’ All the artists she loves, from Patti Smith to Siouxsie Sioux, ‘didn’t sell anything.'”

2001’s “Breaking Up the Girl” features plenty of the pristine, highly-produced wall-of-sound textures for which the band is famous. The video — which looks to have been shot in a computer chip manufacturer’s clean room with the aid of a robotic arm — is also standard fare for the band’s singularly stark visual aesthetic. At 2:33, the dense groove falls entirely away, clearing the stage for a whole-step modulation before rebuilding itself for a final iteration of the hook at 3:08.