Posts Tagged song
More great Modulations!
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on March 26th, 2013
So sorry to be absent for awhile, but I recently got to play a cover gig (corporate), and was reminded of some GREAT songs that featured modulations creatively.
This first one features the Queen of Soul, Aretha! The modulation in this case comes after the 2nd chorus, as the featured sax solo (King Curtis).
What’s REALLY interesting, is that this was a late addition to Otis Redding’s original. (I’ve included both for contrast).
Arif Mardin was at the helm on this, so maybe it was his idea.
Keep in mind, this is a similar move to Semisonic’s “Closing Time”, except they did a mod PRIOR to the solo.
Just another tool in the tool shed!
Until next time…
Hal David #4…”I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on December 21st, 2012
Masters of the singable lyrics, this single of Dionne Warwick’s has been covered by at LEAST 30 other artists.
2 points:
1) “Get enough germs to catch pneuomonia”, always makes me laugh!
2) dovetailing the end of the bridge into the last verse “That is why I’m here to remind you….what do you get when you fall in love…” Brilliant!
Okay, so maybe the “so for at least” gets a little sideways in the prosody department, but otherwise, this is another great example of Hal David’s effortless lyric writing (sounds that way anyway).
Just a few more, and we’ll step away from Hal into new territory.
Until next time…
Hal David #3…”Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on November 27th, 2012
This song was such a smash, it was NOT ONLY a #1 for four weeks on Billboard, it also won the Academy award for “Best Original Song”.
Simplicity, prosody, it’s all there.
And let the record show, Ray Stevens turned this song down when he was asked to sing it.
(okay, am I the only guy who wondered what this song had to do with “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” at all?? Truly seemed like a “square into a circle” “cram it in there” job to me)
Until next time…
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…
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 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