Week 8

Radiohead performed a song titled "Bodysnatchers" in 2007.  The song climbed to number 8 on the rock chart in 2008.  According to Starr and Waterman, the sing "is in a sense [...] about the music industry and also serves as an example of Radiohead's creative extension of the basic formula of alternative rock" (Starr and Waterman pg. 558).  Alternative rock combines punk rock with the sound of heavy metal guitars. Traditional rock bands utilize two guitars, but this piece uses three!

The piece draws influence from the Beatles "Within You Without You."  It is a philosophical song that uses instruments from Indian culture such as the tambura.  The piece is about how the music industry controls you as though you were only a puppet!

Smells Like Teen Spirit

The 1980s initially experienced a decline in music sales at the beginning of the decade.  According to Starr and Waterman, "it has been clear that the recovery was due more to the spectacular success of a few recordings by superstar musicians - Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Janet Jackson, and others" (Starr and Waterman pg. 450).

In 1980, Lionel Richie wrote a piece of music titled "Lady" for the musician and performer Kenny Rogers.  "Lady" managed to makes it's way onto a myriad charts at the time including the pop, adult contemporary, country, and rhythm and blues charts.  The appeal of the piece comes from "Roger's husky voice" (Starr and Waterman pg 458) delicately accompanied by a solo piano and additional orchestral layers.  The song is sentimental, a throw back to pre-rock.  If "Lady" is considered a throw-back to pre-rock, "Sweet Dream (Are Made of This)" "exemplifies one of the directions dance music took in the postdisco era" (Starr and Waterman pg. 458).  The piece was performed by a group called "Eurythmics" that included singer Annie Lennox and keyboardist Dave Stewart.  This piece is an example of new wave music which grew from the new wave and punk rock sounds of the 1970s.  It uses digital loops, utilizing music technologies in a way that Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers was hoping to avoid.

Tina Turner had a successful career as part of the duo, the "Ike and Tina Turner Revue" in the 1960s and 1970s.  Tina Turner left her husband due to his abusive behavior in 1976 and began her own career.  Her solo career started out rocky but was offered a recording contract in 1983.  She released her first solo album titled "Private Dancer" in 1984.  This album reached number three on the album charts, staying in the Top 40 for seventy-one weeks!  She released a song titled "What's Love Got to Do with It" which reached number one on the pop charts and number two on the R&B charts.  The song utilizes "an eight-bar instrumental introduction, an unusual thirteen-bar verse [...] comprising seven- and six-bar sections (A), an eight-bar chorus (B), another verse (A), [...] and finally another chorus" (Starr and Waterman pg. 460).  Like Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams," this piece utilizes a synthesizer.

Advances in music technology began to infiltrate all genres. Even Heavy Metal bands were beginning to utilize the "techno" sounds of the 1980s.  Van Halen released a song titled, "Jump" in 1984.  the piece "was in some ways a remarkable departure from standard heavy metal practice" (Starr and Waterman pg. 460).  The main instrument is played by synthesizer rather than the standard electric guitar of Heavy Metal music.

At the same time, Madonna released "Like a Virgin" in 1984.  The piece reached number one on the pop charts and number nine on the R&B charts.  The song was not written by Madonna, but by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.  The message is similar to Tina Turner's in "What's Love Got to Do with It."  However, unlike Turner's song, the form of "Like a Virigin" is much more straightforward.  According to Starr and Waterman, "after a four-bar instrumental introduction that establishes the dance groove, there is an eight-bar verse, which we call A1, [...] a ten bar version of the verse with somewhat different harmonies, which we call A2, [....] and a chorus featuring the hook of the song, which we call B" (Starr and Waterman pg. 480).  Synthesizers are an important part of this piece.  Prince released "When Doves Cry" in the same year.  It was a last-minute addition to his album, "Purple Rain."  The song is almost 6 minutes long.  While many pop songs like Madonna's "Like a Virgin" were the product of a team of people, Prince wrote, performed, and produced this entire piece himself.  Despite the difference in creating the piece, both were popular pieces that brought fame and attention to their performers.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, hip hop became a popular genre of music.  Run-D.M.C. pioneered a rock and hip-hop song titled "Walk This Way" which reached number four on the pop charts and number eight on the R&B charts.  This song was a collaboration between Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith and was a cover version of a song previously recorded by Aerosmith.  After listening to a sample of the original song, we hear the turntable scratching and it quickly turns into a hip-hop song.  This was the first rap song to be heavily rotated on MTV.  In 1988, Public Enemy performed a song titled, "Night of the Living Baseheads."  The lyrics tell a grim tale.  The piece included "digital samples from no fewer than thirteen different recorded sources, among them an early twelve-inch rap single, several soul music records, a gospel music group, a glam rock record, and the sound of drums and air-raid sirens" (Starr and Waterman pg. 500).  Music was beginning to include multiple sounds to create one song.  Yet another song to combine sounds and genres is titled "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana in 1991.  The song "is [a] combination of heavy metal instrumental textures and pop songwriting techniques" (Starr and Waterman pg. 518).  This was the first alternative rock song to ever reach the Top 10 on the charts due to this influence of pop and other  techniques that we are seeing in music from the 1990s.

Week 6

Rock n' Roll began to morph into just "rock" by the time the 1970s rolled around.  Carole King cowrote and recorded "It's Too Late" at the beginning of the decade in 1971.  She was a prominent example of the importance of the singer-songwriter.  With her popularity, the idea that a performer should want to perform their own music and that singer-songwriters should want to be the ones to perform their songs began to emerge.

Stevie Wonder was a pioneer of having control of his music.  He renegotiated his contract with Motown records so that he could have complete artistic control over his music.  He not only wrote his music, but he would use overdubbing to record most or all of the parts of his pieces for the records.  In addition, he would produce his music.  This can clearly be heard with his hit, "Superstition" that was written and performed by Wonder in 1972.  Wonder was very progressive in his use of music technologies.  He not only utilized overdubbing but used synthesizers in his music as well.  Elton John was another pioneer of having control over his music.  He wrote his music to merge the sounds of rock with his own style.  In 1972, Elton John wrote and released, "Crocodile Rock" which was a nostalgic throwback to the style of the 1950s and 1960s rock.  He took that style and merged it with his own sound. Another pioneer of the time was John Denver.  Live recorded albums were commonplace.  Live recorded singles were rare.  It was so easy to record in a studio with the new technology of the time.  "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" which was released in 1975 was recorded live.

Music of the 1970s was beginning to be longer than the standard 3 minute songs from the previous decades.  Barry White recorded "Love's Theme" in 1973 that is just over 4 minutes long.  Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" is about the same length as well as Wonder's "Superstition."  "The Eagles" took it even further, released "Hotel California" in 1976.  This piece is over 6 minutes long!  "The Eagles" helped to revitalize America's interest in "California" that had begun with "The Beach Boys."  However, "Hotel California" "is pure 1970s.  The sense of loss and disillusionment that is treated so casually in "Crocodile Rock" here assumes a desperate, almost apocalyptic character" (Starr and Waterman pg. 378).

To further push the time limit boundaries that had been around for decades, "Led Zeppelin" released "Stairway to Heaven" in 1971.  "Led Zeppelin" had a unique idea.  They knew this song would be a hit.  But they did not want it to be released as a single.  This pushed the music listener of the time to go out and actually buy the album in order to listen to this song.  This song "was the most frequently requested song on FM radio during the 1970s" (Starr and Waterman pg 389).  Carlos Santanna is another example of a musician who thought outside the box.  Santana was a Mexican guitarist who merged the sounds of his country with rock.  This can be evidenced in his hit, "Oye Como Va."  This utilized the traditional rock band instruments such as the guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard with traditional Mexican instruments such as the guiro.

With the 70s, other genres began to emerge as well.  One of the most popular genres of the mid to late 1970s is disco.  Donna Summer released "Love to Love You Baby" in 1975.  This song is 17 minutes long!!  This is an example of early popular disco.  It was recorded in Germany and released in the United States and became a hit!  This was a testament to the popularity of dancing which put the band in an unimportant spot in nightclubs.  The dance was the most important element!  In addition, there was a "progressive country" music movement by artists who were not happy with the Nashville sound of the time.  This included "Townes Van Zandt" who released "Poncho and Lefty" in 1972.  This piece can be described as using "a spare, unpolished vocal style with guitar accompaniment that often uses more complex harmonies than are typical in country music" (Starr and Waterman pg. 412).  Punk Rock began to emerge as an important genre as well.  The "Talking Heads" recorded "Psycho Killer" in 1977.  "The center of attention on most of Talking Heads recording is David Bryne's trembling, high-pitched voice and eclectic songwriting" (Starr and Waterman pg 432).  This song was inspired by Alfred Hitchcok's film, "Psycho."  "Punk rock" is the rock equivalent of the "progressive country music."  It demanded that rock stay true to it's roots.  Fans of "punk rock" did not want to listen to the "pop" rock that was emerging.  We can see that many genres are emerging as well as many trains of thought as to which direction music should be heading!

Music is Changing!

“You Can’t Hurry Love” was performed by the “Supremes” in 1966.  Originally written by the team of Holland-Dozier-Holand, the piece is an example of just how much sophistication and intricacy that Motown Records could produce in their music.  The opening A section is about half the length of the B and C sections that follow.  It is unclear as to whether it is supposed to act as introduction or not.  But after the A section, the B section starts with the same underlying chords that came in the A section.  The C section changes to a completely different melody and instead of going to A with the conclusion of the C section, it goes back to B and C again.  We are beginning to see the drift away from the Tin Pan Alley AABA and ABAC forms from the previous years.  Composers are beginning to experiment with forms in innovative and new ways.

An example of a group that continuously pushed the boundaries in order to think outside of the box in new, innovative ways is “The Beatles.”  The Beatles recorded a piece titled “Please Please Me” in 1962. This was their first top ten hit in Britain but was unsuccessful when it was originally released in the United States in 1963.  However, once the group journeyed to America and “Beatlemania” began, the song was, once again, played on American radios and it gained popularity!  This is an example of early Beatles songwriting.  It following the typical AABA in under two minutes time.  They change words that don’t rhyme together so that they will rhyme. 

Another example of a Beatles song that came after “Please Please Me” is called “A Hard Day’s Night.”  It his number one in 1964.  Once again, the overall form is AABA but they are beginning to work with more subtle touches with the piece.  It plays with a twelve-bar blues form in the A section but are not exactly twelve-bar blues.  They change the structure of the words from the typical a-a-b form.  We can see The Beatles continue to evolve when they released “Yesterday” in 1965.  This piece reached number one on the pop charts that year and has remained one of their most popular pieces of all time.  It, once again, uses the typical Tin Pan Alley AABA form.  The lyrics talk of broken romance and moving on.  For this piece, they chose to have a solo voice (Paul McCartney) accompanied by acoustic guitar and orchestral string instruments rather than the electric guitar that had become so typical of rock n’ roll.  In this sense, it pays homage more to Tin Pan Alley style rather than modern rock (which really fits with the words of “Yesterday” – “why she had to go, she wouldn’t say.”  In a sense, we could be talking about the Tin Pan Alley style rather than a broken romance!). 

In 1966, The Beatles released “Eleanor Rigby” which was not as popular as some of their other song, reaching number eleven on the pop charts.  There is no introduction or preparation of the voice.  It enters at the onset of the piece.  The instruments are playing chords on a regular, steady beat with brief rhythmic interludes between vocal parts.  At around the same time as “Beatlemania,”  “The Beach Boys” were also taking America by storm.  From Southern California, Brian Wilson wrote most of their music about the sun and the sand.  Brian Wilson, the leader of “The Beach Boys,” began to play with forms that were not traditional.  We begin with an A section followed by B and then A and B again.  After the second B section, we dive into a C section followed by a brief instrumental transition.  Instead of going back to A  to close out the song, they head into a D section followed by another transition and then end it on variations of B instead of A.  Brian Wilson was heavily influenced by “The Beatles” and “The Beatles” were heavily influenced by the songs of “The Beach Boys.”  The two groups pushed each other to be better musicians and to think outside the box.

At the same time, “soul music” was coming into play.  Sam Cooke, in 1964 recorded a piece titled, “A Change is Gonna Come” which was a politically charged statement.  He used his gospel roots to serenade his audience while his talked about a “change” coming.  At the same time, James Brown and Aretha Franklin were doing the exact same thing.  James Brown recorded a piece called “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” in 1965.  This piece uses the twelve-bar blues stanza and an instrumental riff throughout.  “Respect” by Aretha Franklin is all about respect for people.  In her version, it is about respect for women.  Starr and Waterman state, “none of Franklin’s play with the gender issues implicit in “Respect” would have any effect if it weren’t for the overwhelming power and assurance with which she delivers the song and makes it her own” (Starr and Waterman pg. 337).  Music was really beginning to take on social and political issues.  Bob Dylan recorded “Like a Rolling Stone” in 1965.  This was a huge influence on the music industry as it “effectively put an end to existing restrictions on length, subject matter, and poetic diction that had exercised a controlling influence on the creation of pop records” (Starr and Waterman pg. 345). Music, during this era, was really changing.  Composers and musicians were pushing the boundaries of the typical structures, time lengths, and lyrics that had become standard since the early 1900s.  

Rock n' Roll

This week we explored music following World War 2 and leading into the Rock n' Roll Era.  We begin by discussing Frank Sinatra and Nat "King" Cole. Frank Sinatra recorded a song titled, "Nancy (With the Laughing Face" in 1945.  Originally written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Phil Silvers, the piece "peaked at number ten on the Billboard charts" (Starr and Waterman pg. 209).  In the song, string instruments are used as the instrumental accompaniment to the singing by Sinatra.  Previously, this would not have occurred, and it sets Swing Era music apart from what came before.  The piece uses a thirty-two bar AABA form which is borrowed from previous Tin Pan Alley music.  "Sinatra's voice is relaxed and unforced" (Starr and Waterman pg. 209) in the style of the crooners.  Nat "King" Cole's "Nature Boy," similarly, uses a full orchestral accompaniment.  "Nature Boy" was composed by Eden Ahbez and was number one on the Billboard pop charts for a total of eight weeks!  In contrast to Sinatra's "Nancy," the piece is written in an ABAB form.  Cole's voice is also smooth as it enters and is foreshadowed by the French Horn.  Sinatra's style was smooth and connected with long phrases.  However, Cole's phrases are short and he "treats each note as a somewhat distinct entity" (Starr and Waterman pg. 209).

As we move from Swing Era to Rhythm and Blues, we see a style called jump blues emerge as the "first successful category of rhythm and blues" (Starr and Waterman pg. 221).  It emerged just after World War II.  There was a rhythm section made up of bass, piano, drums, and the occasional guitar accompanied by one or more horns.  The jump bands played boogie-woogie style music that relied on "wild" stage performances.  Louis Jordan's Tympany Five recorded a piece titled, "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie" in 1946 with Decca Records.  The piece uses a twelve-bar blues form and "combines elements of African American music with Tin Pan Alley song" (Starr and Waterman pg. 222).  We can see the Swing Style and the Rhythm and Blues styles are connected through their influence of Tin Pan Alley Form.

The 1950s ushered in the era of "Rock n' Roll."  Rock n' Roll was a term originally used by a disc-jockey named Alan Freed.  Freed noticed that many white teenagers were requesting the Rhythm and Blues songs he played on his nighttime radio show in Clevland.  He coined the term Rock n' Roll, using words taken from lyrics of the songs he played on his show, in order to market his show.  With Rock n' Roll came "cover versions" of songs, meaning a performer releases their own version of a song already recorded.  A prime example of this is the song, "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" which was originally recorded by Big Joe Turner in 1954.  The original version is full of sexual innuendo and it hit number one on the R&B charts and number twenty-two on the pop charts.  Bill Haley and the Comets, a country and western group, heard the song and wanted to release a cover version.  They changed the style of the piece to fit their country and western feel and they changed some the lyrics, making it a "cleaner" version of the song for released on AM radio.  Haley's version reached number seven on the pop charts but did not cross over to the R&B charts signaling that African Americans preferred the original version better while White American preferred this country version.

In 1955, Chuck Berry released a song titled, "Maybellene."  The piece "introduced listeneres to an already full form style of songwriting, singing, and guitar playing that would exercise a primal influence on virtually all the rock n' roll to follow" (Starr and Waterman pg. 255).  "Maybellene" was an uptempo song which was unheard of for vocal music at the time.  The explosive tempo did not allow for much time for breathing by the singer, but Berry performed it well.  The piece is based on the twelve-bar blues form connecting it to the previous songs.  Despite the changing styles, we still see the influences of the past.  Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally"  is also built on the twelve-bar blues form.  Berry and Richard both adapted the twelve-bar blues form to fit their needs.  They wanted their songs to reach the pop audiences and so they adapted the form in order to do so. In addition, the Coasters recorded a song titled "Charlie Brown" in 1958.  Charlie Brown is similar to "Long Tall Sally" in it's influence and use of the twelve-bar blues form.

In 1956, Elvis Presley released his biggest his, "Don't Be Cruel."  This too is based on the twelve-bar blues form.  Presley's style is influenced by blues and country.  "The strong backbeat throughout evokes rhythm and blues, while the repeated electric guitar figure at the opening is reminiscent of rhythmic ideas favored by western swing bands" (Starr and Waterman pg. 264).  We are beginning to see a mix of many styles that are shaping the Rock n' Roll genre.  This is evidenced further in Ritchie Valen's "La Bamba" which reached number twenty-two on the pop charts.  Valen took a folk song from Mexico and adapted it for the pop culture of the United States.  We are seeing a melting pot of cultures from English Ballads, African American song cultures, White American song cultures, and Hispanic American song cultures.  They have combined to form "Rock n' Roll."