On October 18, 2011, when fall was actually cold and Billy Bush was still employed, I dragged 38 songs into a new playlist. Among them were Mariah Carey’s perfect pop track “Always Be My Baby,” Beyoncé’s wonderfully endless “Love On Top,” Des’ree’s effortless and empowering “You Gotta Be,” and Bonnie Tyler’s karaoke standard “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” I named it “Adventures in Key Changes,” in honor of my favorite movie about Elizabeth Shue going on an adventure.
Over the past five years, I’ve done my best to add every song with key change I hear (or think of) into the playlist, which has in a way become part of my identity. Key changes heard in public will lead to people shouting, “Key change!” at me. Every few months a friend will text me something like, “key change in michael w smith’s go west young man.” But the pressure to update has never felt like a burden. On the contrary, it’s a minor blessing.
Today, on its five-year anniversary, Adventures In Key Changes contains 120 tracks. It’s an eclectic mix of voices and genres whose single unifying factor—the key change—always satisfies. Listen. Subscribe. And, by all means, send me an email at [email protected] if you think of one I need to add to the list.
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Still here. Still without airbrushing. Still with teeth.
