Are there *any* mainstream-ish songs wholly or mostly in an odd mode?

[Gagundathar]

I came on here to mention the late great Frank Vincent Zappa.

[WordMan]

@Jragon

You know how you have a “key” in music? You know how that key can be major or minor? You know how which it is depends on what note/chord it starts on, and the typical prograssion of chords from one to another? Well, major and minor are just modes. Major is the ionian (1st) mode. Minor is the aeolian (6th) mode of that same scale. Dorian is 2nd, Phrygian is 3rd, Lydian is 4th, Mixolydian is 5th, and Locrian is 7th. They’re characterized by the chord progression and starting notes of the song. There are also, as noted above, modifications of these modes like “Phrygian Dominant” just like you can have “harmonic minor” etc.

Isn’t an easier way to say this: you know how a Major scale = Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do? Well, what if you started with Re = Re Me Fa So La Ti Do Re? That’s a different mode. And so there is a mode which starts on each note - from So to So, from Ti to Ti, etc. so the gaps in the scale fall in different places.

At least that’s how it was explained to me…but as for songs that use them, other than the stuff on Kind of Blue I have no clue

[alphamatix]

Wiki says Paint It Black is in chromatic minor but I’m too lazy to verify this or check if it qualifies under the conditions of the OP.

[Small_Clanger]

@WordMan

…but as for songs that use them, other than the stuff on Kind of Blue I have no clue

OK, the Tom Lehrer quote didn’t help then

Some explaining. A modal piece of music will only use notes (for tune and chords) belonging to a given mode. “Traditional” songs, y’know Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael, Lennon/McCartney, Barry Manilow ::shudder:: use notes from all over the place. Although they’ll be an obvious key they will modulate temporarily to other keys. So a song in C major will use some (in keyboard terms) ‘black’ notes, and chords borrowed from other keys. Some writers (we’re looking at you Becker ‘n’ Fagan) and jazz types like to pile on the modulations until you can’t make it through a whole bar without multiple changes. Which leads to…

Sometime (in the fifties, you do the googling) some jazz guys got tired of playing over changes all the time and decided that (for example) This piece is in D dorian. All the way though, start to finish. No changes for us thanks.

I guess that rock musicians***** probably found modes by accident, I doubt that Pink Floyd sat round in the studio and decided that Careful With That Axe Eugene should be modal. They just based it on a moody scale. They definitely didn’t with Set the Controls… ‘cause that was a Roger Waters tune (go on Rog, what mode is that in?)
***** Those that use modes at all, and I mean the old school not the modern educated bunch, If Radiohead or Muse use modes (don’t ask me) they know exactly what they’re doing

[gaffa]

I’m totally at a loss about the technical aspects, but Todd Rundgren’s song “Don’t You Ever Listen” is a 12-Tone pop song. He demonstrated it during his guest professorship lecture at Indiana University.

A musician friend was very amused the first time he heard Madness’ “House Of Fun” which is composed of “forbidden” changes.