Songs with wrong chords (or notes)

Forgive me if there's already thread on this topic (I did a quick search, couldn't find anything). I was listening to La Roux's "Quicksand" for the first time yesterday, and for the most part it was totally my thing. But then there's this chord on the chorus (the 3rd or 2nd one, can't remember) that sounds completely wrong, though it may also just be the bassline note. I have the same problem with a few otherwise "perfectly good" songs, like Paris' "Captain Morgan". I am specifically looking for examples of pop songs with otherwise relatively conventional harmonic structure. Is this thing completely subjective?

Kingsmen's Louie Louie?

Dammit I wanted to post this on ILM!

Were you ever burdened with an education in western art music? It seems that people who pick up on these things are the people who have experience or education in restrictive environments, where certain combinations of notes were seen as wrong or bad, when in fact there's nothing inherently wrong or bad about them.

Accidental

I think it's subjective. I think I know what you mean about the La Roux thing. When it goes to the third chord it's somehow confusing in a way I can't articulate. It doesn't sound 'wrong' to me but somehow it's not what I'm expecting. Then it comes back down for the final chord and it makes perfect sense. There's a blocky angularity about that chord progression and the way it jumps up and down, which, for me, is part of the song's appeal, even though at the same time it's faintly unsettling.

Were you ever burdened with an education in western art music? It seems that people who pick up on these things are the people who have experience or education in restrictive environments, where certain combinations of notes were seen as wrong or bad, when in fact there's nothing inherently wrong or bad about them.

― ian, Monday, December 8, 2008 8:42 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

No I wouldn't say I had an education in a restrictive environment. But I've always tend to like melodic (not difficult, by western standards) stuff better. There are still a lot of songs with "difficult" and unexpected chords that I like though.

LCD soundsystem - never as tired when i'm waking up

guitar player plays note in one part of the progression that's not part of key/scale that everyone else is in. could be intentional i suppose, but it sounds more like he just used the wrong scale

Obvious mistakes on recordings

Umm let's not do a whole semantics-masquerading-as-philosophy thing over the difference between "wrong" as morally/aesthetically wrong and "wrong" as in "seems to accidentally violate the rules and conventions the song generally subscribes to"

No let's do that, we have newer posters who haven't had that fight yet.

Except that it is as boring a plot device as The Prime Directive.

Joy Division - "She's Lost Control"

what does new poster sam york think