Archive for category Hit Song Analysis
yeah, another mod! “After the Love is Gone”…
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on September 18th, 2012
This is classic! It wasn’t until I read David Foster’s autobiography that I found he wrote this with Maurice, which really makes sense when you listen to it.
(Ben, were you the one who reminded me of this??)
Foster is a master at the slick mod. Maybe sophisticated is a better way to put it. Either way, here’s how it plays out:
Intro and verse:
In F
Prechorus (“Something happened along the way…”):
B flat to F/A to D min to G min to F
then BAM!
E/F# to E to B/D# to G# min to C# min to B maj 7
(this is NUTS when you consider going a #4 or tritone away in a pop song; jazz, sure, but a big pop hit??)
then BAM AGAIN to the Chorus (we haven’t talked about common-tone modulation, but this is a GREAT example of one…):
C min 7 to
F min 7 to
B flat min 7 to
D flat over E flat
A flat minor (whoa!)
B major over D flat
F # major 7 (hold on…)
walk up:
A flat minor 7, B flat minor 7,
C minor 7!! (starts the sequence again!)
I may cover the last chorus modulation on a later post, but this thing is amazing!
Until next time!
Jason
Nikki Minaj (or “does irony work in song lyrics??”)
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on September 12th, 2012
Well, I had planned on discussing irony (or sarcasm) in music lyrics on a future post, but the news just made it more timely than anticipated!
(fyi, I was going link to the song, but the language, wow, I can’t feature that here…)
Nicki says she was being sarcastic, so of course, it was every one else’s fault for not understanding her.
So the question is, can sarcasm or irony work in a lyric?
Here’s a few examples from pop music history that might help answer the question:
This song really confused people when Randy Newman had this out as a single! Does the guy really hate short people?? Randy says it was a song making fun of the ridiculousness of prejudice. Plenty of people thought it was just Randy being a jerk. Apparently those folks just didn’t listen closely to the bridge.
Keri Hilson explains that this was more of an anthem for all women, and NOT a self-adoring song about how awesome she is. What do you think?
Okay, this is the only real reason I wanted to talk about this subject! In my opinion, THIS is how you pull off irony in a lyric. Unbelievable song, production, feel (yeah, can you tell I love this song??) Even if you’re not sure if Tina is serious or being sarcastic, you’re left FEELING sympathetic for Tina. Again, in my opinion, if you’re writing in 1st person, than the likability of the singer is important.
(and a shout out for my buddy Billy Livsey who played the DEFINITIVE dx-7 harmonica solo on both the demo, AND the final record of this hit…)
The conclusion? Tread carefully with those sarcastic lyrics! (But then again, a little controversy goes a long way in selling records…)
Until next time…
Another cool mod…Cliff Richard!
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on August 21st, 2012
Yeah, I know, it’s been more than a few weeks! Sorry to leave you hanging, all 2 of you. 
BUT, the good news is that I keep stumbling upon some fantastic key modulations within some classic songs, thanks to my wandering up and down the produce aisle.
Today’s example is brought to you by the great Cliff Richard.
And just as a tangent, this guy has been in the business a LONG LONG TIME! He shows up in Geoff Emericks’ book on the Beatles (“Here There and Everywhere”), but I only knew of him in the 70s, particularly when this song came out.
Now this song has a couple of things going on harmonically that are pretty cool, including the pedal tone bass in the chorus progression (hanging on the 1 chord, while every body else moves around in the progression) to the 4 with a 6 on top, and the 5 with a 6 on top in the pre chorus.
But we’re interested in the mod: in the chorus, which starts in C, but then heads to A, a minor 3rd LOWER!
Now it only does it for 4 bars.
But the set up is this:
C dom 7 to
F
C over G
G over A
D over A
voila, mod to key of A!
Now if you’ve been following along, that’s a similar mod to Celine’s mod at the end of “All By Myself” where she goes UP a minor 3rd. Semisonic also went UP with the instrumental a minor 3rd.
But this going down thing, crazy!
Sorry to ramble on, but this really is a favorite.
Consider this device when your chorus is getting a little long in the tooth, but you’re not quite sure about introducing a new melodic motif.
(as a side bar, I’d really like to see Ben Folds perform in this get up; gotta love the 70s!)
See you next time!
So who cares about when the verse and chorus starts?? (or “don’t bore us, get to the chorus”!)
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on May 29th, 2012
Well, most of you care I’m sure.
But, as you saw on the previous post, MOST of the songs in the top 20 just don’t mess around when it comes to when stuff happens.
Miranda Lambert’s intro was over 20 seconds (hers was a crazy 37 seconds long! but then again, she’s Miranda Lambert!) And Lady Antebellum’s was 28 seconds.
All the others were 20 seconds or less, with the average being 14.86 seconds (if you throw out Miranda’s and Lady A’s intros).
Then, when you consider the chorus, it’s truly a case of “don’t bore us, get to the chorus” with most of these.
The average was 46 seconds for the chorus to hit from the start of the song.
As always, there are always exceptions. But it’s always good to keep these kind of details in mind when writing!
Until next time!
Jason Garner
When does the verse start? And when does the chorus start?
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on May 22nd, 2012
In the early days when I tried blogging (no I don’t know if it’s still floating out there or not), this was one of my favorites: Timing the 1st halves of a bunch of songs and seeing when the verse hit, and when the chorus hit.
Okay, this is REALLY geeky stuff, but interesting all the same.
So, pulled from the Billboard COUNTRY charts (I’ll do pop another time), here are the CRITICAL STATS:
josh turner-time is love
0:21 verse 1 hits
0:37 chorus hits
eli young band-even if it breaks your heart
0:09 verse 1 hits
0:30 chorus 1 hits
chris cagle -got my country on
0:19 verse 1 hits
0:49-chorus 1 hits
craig morgan-this ole boy
0:18 verse 1 hits
0:51 chorus 1 hits
luke bryan-drunk on you
0:21 verse 1 hits
0:42 ch 1 hits
brantley gilbert-you don’t know her like I do
0:15-verse 1 hits
0:53-ch 1 hits
eric church-springsteen
0:09-verse 1 hits
0:46-ch 1 hits
zac brown-no hurry
0:13-verse 1 hits
1:16-ch 1 hits
tim mcgraw-better than I used to be
0:11-verse 1 hits
0:46-ch 1 hits
carrie underwood-good girl
0:16-verse 1 hits
0:46-ch 1 hits
jason al dean-fly over states
0:18-verse 1 hits
0:55-ch 1 hits
montgomery gentry-where I come from
0:20-verse 1 hits
0:39-ch 1 hits
miranda lambert-over you
0:37-verse 1 hits
1:19-ch 1 hits
rascal flatts-banjo
0:10-verse 1 hits
0:48-ch 1 hits
taylor swift-ours
0:13-verse 1 hits
1:01-ch 1 hits
lady antebellum-dancin’ away with my heart
0:28-verse 1 hits
0:55-ch 1 hits
blake shelton-drink on it
0:12-verse 1 hits
0:33-ch 1 hits
lee brice-woman like you
0:14-verse 1 hits
0:37-ch 1 hits
jake owen-alone with you (Congrats Catt Gravitt!)
0:18-verse 1 hits
0:46-ch 1 hits
Another mod using the perfect 4th!
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis on May 15th, 2012
I just recently rediscovered this one-hit wonder from the 90′s, that demonstrates using the modulation of a perfect 4th from the verse to chorus, much like Gary Allan’s “watching airplanes” (see on a previous blog post).
In the case of Spacehog (LOVE that band name!), the verse is in the key of E, then to A for their choruses, and then back to E for the next verse.
Clever guys!
See you next time!
Jason Garner
Of course, I’m not sure the song would’ve ever made any traction on the charts if it wasn’t for the cool little “telephone” sound fx in the intro and verses.
Our friend, the key modulation!
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis on May 8th, 2012
I distinctly remember hearing this song for the first time and not believing this was Lindsay Lohan!
More recently, I looked up who wrote it and found two superstars behind it, specifically Greg Wells and Kara DioGuardi.
BTW, if you don’t know these two, do yourself a favor, and look ‘em up!
I’ve always been convinced that there was something magical going on in the chord progression, specifically the key mod.
Here’s the magic: the verse is in the key of C# minor/E major while the chorus is in the key of G# minor/B major, a perfect 5th away! While Gary Allan (“watching airplanes”) went with the perfect 4th mod, the perfect 5th still gives a smooth transition from verse to chorus, while giving a huge emotional lift, or page turn.
And note the end of the chorus steps right back to C# minor/E major.
Nice work Greg and Kara! (I write that as though they’ll ever read this, or that they care!)
See you next time!
Jason
Hit chord progression part 7…
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis on April 24th, 2012
You can count on Lady Antebellum to join the fun with our friend, the 6 min, 4, 1, 5 (okay, inverted 5 over 7) progression.
Are you seeing a trend here??
Or a rut?
I’ll have some new modulation examples next time!
Jason Garner
Hit chord progression, part 6…
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on April 10th, 2012
Toto’s “Africa” was a surprise to find! The chorus kicks back to our good friend, 6 min, 4, 1, 5.
But it’s not quite so obvious due to all the hipness leading up to the chorus, from the asymmetrical verse phrasing, as well as the key change.
The search continues!
Jason
Hit chord progression, part 5!
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on March 5th, 2012
They (Benny Bianco and co.) wear it out on this #1 hit!
What’s really great about this track is the half-time departure at the end of the chorus, the “oh-oh-oh-oh-oh” sing along section. Chord progression changes, as does the groove.
But again, just brilliant use of the chord progression:
6 min, 4 major, 1 major, 5 major.
Until next time…
Jason