My guesses are as follows: Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Queen Bey, Kanye, Pink, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Lorde, Grimes, XXXTENTACION, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo.

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Eurythmics - Winter Wonderland

This is clearly not the original version, but it doesn't sway my point. This song, in all renditions, begins in one key in the verses and changes key twice during the chorus, ascending by two whole tones and then one whole tone. In this Eurythmics version, the verses are in G major, the first two lines of the chorus are in B major, and the last two lines of the chorus are in D major. The song ends in G major. It's almost like the excitement level ramps up as the singer talks about getting married. Notably, there are no minor chords in this song, which makes it feel artificially happy, which to me makes sense because this song is whimsical. But what I find most fascinating is the transitions. We jump from G major straight to B major: the G descends to F# while the D ascends to D# and the B stays put. Then we jump right into D major: the F# remains as the D# descends to D and the B descends to A. Then we have a V-I to G again to restart the cycle. Illustrated: G B D/ F# B D#/ F# A D While it has no bearing on anything, I'd like to point out that all three keys share the chord Esus2 (E F# B.)

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DEVO went lo-fi ambient? Is this a Spotify goof?

What do you think of their latest singles, assuming that it really is DEVO being as anti-DEVO as possible? This stumped me. If it really is DEVO, then this is absolutely genius because it's almost like they're aware that people don't listen to DEVO or their messages, so they don't want to be DEVO. https://open.spotify.com/track/23UbddBFEMzyVV5QzX8FW0?si=PDsWrb3PShW0H1OAydRRsw https://open.spotify.com/track/5hTcwQSqajE5wruijdqsSU?si=_Z9Ck4DxT0qucsDCm0R9Vg

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When, in your opinion, does a modern rock song expire into a classic rock song?

A: 15 years B: 20 years C: 25 years D: 30 years E: 40 years F: 50 years G: other

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What are your least favorite modern music cliches?

Some for me are when they do an uplifting key change at the end (a phenomenon which has existed for decades,) when they use too much tape wear effect to make it purposefully warbly for no good reason, when they lower the pitch of a singer's voice by an octave, and when the song just ends with no finality like the tape was cut (unless it's part of a progressive rock album.)

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Talking Heads - Stay Up Late

The verses have a progression of A, G, F, E, and the choruses go A, G, E. I think that the verses are subtly clever because A leads to E in a I V I motion, but in A Mixolydian, G is part of the scale, and I think that descending to F#m would make it sound too "major." So they opt for F instead, which is a half step above E, the target. You still have the line cliche, but with that Talking Heads wit thrown in. I also find it fascinating that, in root position, we have the backwards alphabet in the fifths (E D C B A) with F and G occurring in the root notes during the sequence. The song is about the absurdity of being an infant, so it makes sense. A C# E / G B D / F A C / E G# B

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Devo - Gut Feeling

youtu.be

E5 (Em?), G, C, A, D, E5... are the chords to mostly the entire song until the outro sticks to D5, C5, D5 to the end. My question is: what is the key center? Assuming E5 is a stand-in for Em, we have the following options: E: i III VI IV bVII i... or i III VI V/bVII bVII G: vi I IV ii V vi... or vi I IV V/V V C: iii V I VI II iii... or iii V I V/ii II A: v bVII bIII I IV v... D: ii IV bVII V I... I am leaning toward G personally because it looks the most natural with Roman numeral analysis in mind. Thoughts?

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Justice - D.A.N.C.E

The intro has the following progression: A E / F#m E / D B / E (2x) > D / Dm / C#m Cm / B7 This precedes a line cliche chorus: line cliche of F#m, E, D#m, D Then we have a bridge with a jazzy twist: F#m / E / D#m7 / Dadd9, E7add6/D It took me multiple listens to constrict the bridge chords namely due to that last chord. I didn't hear an F or an F# but it was definitely over D, so that was my best guess based on E's relationship with the tonic, which I believe is F# in F# minor. A couple of intriguing points: 1: The V/VII in the intro to a dance hit? Mesmerizing. 2: The diminished sounding bridge with the VII7 adds some spice to the track.

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The Beach Boys - 'Til I Die

The chord progression is mellow and traipsing, yet a bit unsettling. Abmaj7, Bb6, C, Bb6, C, Dmadd9/F, Esus4/B, Cmaj7, Emadd9, Gmaj7

i.e. early Poppy (pop) and modern Poppy (metal)

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Styx - The Grand Illusion

I find it odd that this song starts in what sounds like F major for literally only the first ten seconds before it modulates into Ab major for the verses and Db major for the choruses. You never hear any inkling of the F major tonality again after the first seconds.

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Aerosmith - Crying

The verses are in G minor, and the pre-choruses and choruses are in A major; the bridge is in Bb major and then the song ends in A major. Weird but smooth transitions.

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Awolnation - Lie Love Live Love

Do you know of any other songs by other artists that change keys into the tritone? This track has verses in E major, choruses in G major, and a coda in Bb major.