I gave myself an assignment for this month's mix: songs that contain modulation / key changes. (I only just learned the word modulation.)
Like many things, you think you're original until you start exploring the internet. Then I realized there are entire blogs dedicated to this quest, and a million crappy articles listing top 10 key changes, etc. There were nerdy ways to go about this and I tried those, reading reddit posts and all the various articles. And then there were lucky moments when I was listening to Stan Kenton's "Send in the Clowns" on the radio and I'm pretty sure that's modulation and if not it really really feels like one.
Also like many things, the exact quality or type of modulation or change is up for intense forum debates, but I am fairly certain that these selections are legit, and either way, what matters to me is their impact and appeal.
And maybe this can spark some lists of our own on Burnmix comments. I feel like I'll be looking out for more all the time.
I hope you'll agree that each of these songs is worth listening to, regardless of the theme. And also, each song has at least one moment where I feel so drawn in, elevated, focused, present, excited, or goosebumpy. Hope you enjoy!
*CAVEAT: In order to get this posted today, I couldn't spend time on the song order, which is painful to admit since it's one of the most fun parts of the process. I may keep fiddling with the order next week, but feel free to suggest any ideas if you beat me to the punch!
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Aretha Franklin / Tracks of My Tears
This version is an all-time favorite.
More Info from Last.FM
Aretha Franklin (March 25, 1942 - August 16, 2018) was a Memphis, Tennessee born and Detroit, Michigan reared American iconic gospel, soul, and R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. Many have called her "The Queen Of Soul" and "Lady Soul". She is renowned for her soul and R&B recordings (on many, of which, she accompanied herself on keyboards and piano, a skill she learned at an early age, learning to play by ear, according to lifetime friend Smokey Robinson) but was also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop, and gospel. Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Impressions / People Get Ready
Dreamy, sweet and timeless.
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The Impressions were an American music group from Chicago, Illinois, active from 1958 until 1983, whose repertoire included doo-wop, gospel, soul, and R&B. The group was founded as The Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks, and Arthur Brooks, who moved to Chicago, Illinois and added Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield to their lineup to become Jerry Butler & the Impressions. By 1962, Butler and the Brookses had departed Read more on Last.fm more...
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Patsy Cline / Crazy
I have such a deep love for Patsy that it feels a bit wimpy to go for such a familiar song of hers but I couldn't find other key changes in her tunes quickly enough to get the mix done. Anyone know of some offhand? I mean, I ADORE her. Have you all seen "Sweet Dreams" the movie story of her life? I watched it at age 9, maybe one of the more impactful movies I've ever seen!
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Patsy Cline (Virginia Patterson Hensley, Winchester, Virginia, September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer. Part of the late 1950s and early 1960s Nashville sound, Cline successfully "crossed over" to pop music and was one of the most influential, successful and acclaimed vocalists of the 20th century. She died in 1963, at the age of 30, in a crash of the private plane of her manager, Randy Hughes, that also killed other country music singers Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Bobby Hebb / Sunny
I've already put a version of Sunny up on a previous list but this original version is so creamy delish.
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Bobby Hebb (July 26, 1938 – August 3, 2010) was an African American singer and songwriter, best known for his writing and recording of Sunny. Hebb made his stage debut on his third birthday, July 26, 1941, when tap dancer Hal Hebb introduced his little brother to show business at The Bijou Theater. This was an appearance on The Jerry Jackson Revue of 1942 even though it was 1941, "that was how Jerry, a big man in vaudeville in the '30s, '40s, and '50s, did things" noted the singer. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Beyonce / Love on Top
Vocally impressive. And happy! Just let yourself enjoy it please.
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This is an incorrect tag for Beyoncé. If you have Last.fm Autocorrection on, it will automatically redirect your scrobbles to the correct tag. However, it is recommended that you change your ID3 tags to the correct artist name. Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Temptations / My Girl
I feel like there is this one spot in my brain that has room for one song in a prominent location and it has been My Girl for decades. Not that it's a favorite song but it is in my top 10 for sure. And if I ever need a song to sing, it is the very first to come to mind. What's yours?
More Info from Last.FM
The Temptations may refer to at least two groups 1. The Temptations are an American Motown singing group whose repertoire has included doo-wop, soul, psychedelia, funk, disco, rnb, and adult contemporary. Formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1960 as The Elgins. The group, known for its finely tuned choreography, distinct harmonies, and stylish suits, has been said to be as influential to soul as The Beatles are to rock. Having sold an estimated 22 million albums by 1982 Read more on Last.fm more...
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Glen Campbell / 500 Miles (Away from Home)
This one is new to me from my research, and I loved the version and the miraculous 12-string wizardry.
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Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American rock and country music singer, musician, songwriter, television host and actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a music and comedy variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television from January 1969 through June 1972. During his 50 years in show business, Campbell released more than 70 albums. He sold 45 million records and accumulated 12 RIAA Gold albums, four Platinum albums and one Double-platinum album. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Ella Fitzgerald / Mack the Knife (Live in Berlin 1960)
Bobby Darin's version is more obvious in the modulation moments but this version has been dazzling to me for years. She's the best.
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Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) was an American jazz vocalist with a vocal range spanning three octaves (D♭3 to D♭6). Often referred to as the "First Lady of Song" and the "Queen of Jazz" or just simply "Lady Ella", she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. Fitzgerald was a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Janis Joplin / Me and Bobby McGee
Tim has been talking about Janis regularly after seeing the new doc on her (highly recommended) and it got me back to her even though I don't really go for her music much in my daily life. Great song. Also liked a Willie Nelson version I came across. I mean he is a dude that can cover so many songs so well.
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Janis Joplin (born 19 January 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas, United States, died 4 October 1970 in Los Angeles, California) was an American singer, songwriter, composer and painter. Originally the lead singer for the blues rock band Big Brother & The Holding Company, Joplin left the band in late 1968 for a solo career. She released two solo albums, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969) and Pearl (1971), the latter released after her death. During her solo career, she was backed by the Kozmic Blues Band and later, the Full Tilt Boogie Band. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Leonard Cohen / Stories of the Street
Another life assignment is for Bryn to understand Leonard Cohen. I must know a million songs of his sung by other folks too, and I respect him in principle but don't really know a thing about him. I like this song, I do know that.
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Leonard Norman Cohen CC GOQ (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality, and romantic relationships. Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, Cohen received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Michael Jackson / Man in the Mirror
Stupendous song. One of my current faves for the karaoke room. Also one of the songs that makes it onto nearly every list of top modulations in music. And we should probably all start our day, every day, with this song, shouldn't we?
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Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, died June 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California), Was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Dubbed the King of Pop, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest entertainers of all time. He was also known for his philanthropy, charitable fundraising, and lifestyle, residing in a private amusement park he called Neverland Ranch and often becoming the focus of tabloid scrutiny. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Quincy Jones and his Orchestra / I Hear A Symphony
This is a Supremes hit but I kinda wasn't feeling that as my song selection, even though the modulations are pretty awesome -- so I went with this version which totally grabbed me and had a nice edge mixed in.
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Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American music impresario, musical arranger, record producer, and film composer. During 50 years in the entertainment industry Jones' work has earned him more than 70 Grammy Award nominations, more than 25 Grammy Awards, and a Grammy Legends Award in 1991. He is best known as the producer of two of the top-selling records of all time: the album Thriller, by pop icon Michael Jackson, and the charity song “We Are the World”. Also known for work with Frank Sinatra. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grapelli, Stephanie Grapelli / La Mer
Also wanted to go on a search for an interesting alternate to the overplayed (yet still good) Charles Trenet version. I always fall for Django and Grapelli.
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Jean "Django" Reinhardt (23 January 1910 - 16 May 1953) was a Belgian guitarist and composer credited with popularizing Gypsy jazz, as well as conceptualizing the style together with several other Gypsy musicians. Reinhardt's nickname purportedly means "I Awake" in the Romani language, however it may also simply have been a diminutive, or local Walloon version, of "Jean". He severely injured two of the digits on his left hand as a youth, and changed his guitar playing style to adapt to his handicap. Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Beatles / Penny Lane
I'm not a big Beatles gal, but this resonates with me. There are tons of modulation moments in Beatles music but I don't actually want to put them on very much. But I'd like to sing this with Simone and feel optimistic and jump around a little and sway to it.
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The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the most influential band of all time. The group were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop Read more on Last.fm more...
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The University of Pennsylvania Band / All I Need Is a Miracle
Does anyone else cry when they hear marching bands? I want so badly to join one out here in Portland. Anyway, this song is a great example of modulation but I didn't want to go with the original and instead found this fun version.
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Whitney Houston / How Will I Know
She is also the queen of modulation lists for "I Will Always Love You" but this one was a sparkler for me in the 80s and still so fun to sing and dance along with.
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Whitney Houston (born on August 9, 1963 in Newark, New Jersey, death announced February 11, 2012 in Los Angeles, California) was a Grammy and Emmy Award winning American R&B/pop singer, actress, former fashion model, record and movie producer. Whitney Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all-time, with more than 200 million combined albums, singles, and videos sold worldwide. She was known for her soulful dramatic mezzo-soprano voice, vocal power, range and melismatic skill. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Stan Kenton / Send in the Clowns
I think this is somehow peaceful and badass at the same time. I love coming across new songs while I'm driving.
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Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 August 25, 1979) led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator. Origins Stan Kenton was born in Wichita, Kansas, and raised first in Colorado and then in California. He learned piano as a child, and while still a teenager toured with various bands. In June 1941 he formed his own band, which developed into one of the best-known West Coast ensembles of the Forties. Read more on Last.fm more...
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