ranking the modes
1) phrygian. it’s sad in this really evocative way; the primary feeling is loss. that minor 2nd also just sounds cool
2) dorian. mysterious, pretty, very versatile. i love to walk down that upper tetrachord.
3) aeolian. it’s common, but that’s because it’s nice! cool space-y feel. if modes had bloom this would have the most tasteful amount.
4) locrian. really interesting! can sound either quirky/weird or incredibly bleak and apocalyptic. really depends. i like it either way!
5) ionian. not a lot to say about this. i feel like it represents the bright/beautiful side of nature. dorian would be the entirety of it. and then phrygian is the scary parts.
6) mixolydian. discount dorian with a lame dominant 7 tonic. dorian is to mixolydian as wood is to particle board. maybe useful if you are writing for some kind of racist jungle fantasy quest (”retrieving the golden idol of the primitive savages for your king” sort of deal) or rock and roll, where it can be actually good; otherwise useless.
7) lydian. fuck lydian. i hate lydian. you know when the sun is so bright, you get a headache? imagine what that’s like on venus. so many toxic chemicals in the air, you are probably on fire. so close to the sun, you would probably be on fire in any case. (don’t quote me on that, i am not an astronomer or a biologist.) lydian is the sun; your ears are a spaceship taking you to venus. pull a van gogh before you are blinded by the shitty augmented fourth and resultant vomit-worthy chord progressions. this is venus, so now your vomit is on fire, congratulations! fuck lydian.
