New category. The progression more common than Hondas.

I’ve mentioned before my preoccupation with the number of songs that feature the progression Emin, C, G, D. In the fifties it would have been G Emin C, D, but then, what with all the fruit basket turnover of the sixties it morphed into the Emin, C, G, D we’ve lived with for a long, long time.

So, instead of just noting these songs as they fly through my ears, I’m going to actually keep a list. Feel free to help. Bear in mind, the progression doesn’t literally have to be emin, C, G, D. It can be any key transposition thereof — Amin, F, C, G, for instance. The only other requirement is that it be a significant part of the song’s structure, verse or chorus usually.

My plan is to have just this one post as the list, defining a category all its own. Good times. I might do the same technique of one-post-as-category for the collection of “executive” products.

Let’s start with:

Sarah Mclaughlin’s Building a Mystery

Warren Zevon’s Splendid Isolation (covered here by Pete Yorn)

UPDATE 06/09/08

Warren Zevon’s Play it all Night Long

Joan Osborne’s What if God was One of Us

Brooks and Dunn’s Ain’t Nothing Bout You

UPDATE 06/21/08

Kelly Clarkson’s Here I am

Toto’s Africa

Bruce Springsteen’s Radio Nowhere

UPDATE 07/02/08

Shania Twain’s That Don’t Impress Me Much (Extra credit on this one because the chorus is actually the same progression except that you start on the C.)