Professional Documents
Culture Documents
- AABA form
- Numerous rehearsed details
- Change in rhythmic density in vocal
- Highest note at the end of the B section
- TPA-style attention to arrangement
Changing the vocal density from A to B section, like Somewhere Over
the Rainbow
Gets this one sequence of notes in there 17 times, just need to hear it
once and youll know it, its called a hook. Something that gets into
your head and it wont let you go.
Attention to detail and structure thats comparable to TPA. Being able
to fuse self-contained guitar based band and TPA detail is what make
them successful
July 1965- Yesterday (from the ablum, Help)
- AABA form
- More complex harmonic and lyric structures
- String Quartet
- Beatles are evolving- moving away from pop song writing
Paul kept going over to the piano and playing this melody, and kept
playing it until he found the words for it. This was the first time that
there was a song on the album where only one of the Beatles are
playing it. Paul went to George Martin and said he wanted to add
something to it, advice was string quartet, which is one of the hardest
to write for. Paul is taking the first step into a different world, first sign
that Beatles are going to stop thinking of themselves of pop
entertainers and thinking of themselves as artists. John and Paul said
that all Beatles would be considered written by Lennon and McCarthy
unless Ringo or Harrison helped too. All were co-written except for
Yestersday. This was the first step towards the end of the Beatles. The
John Lennon kind and the Paul one, eventually results in the collapse of
the band
August 66- Tomorrow Never Knows (from Revolver) (composed by
John Lennon)
- song is based on a drone (influence of non-western culture)
- lyrics are based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead
- vocal is double-tracked and is run through a Leslie speaker
cabinet
- makes use of tape loops (avant-garde) and backwards
recording
- first known use of flanging
Demonstrates the growing influence of non-western culture, and the
technology of the recording studio on the work of The Beatles. This
song would have been unplayable in concert in the 1960s
band in the song is more important than most Motown records (note
the little guitar solos). STAX is process oriented, versus Motown that is
object oriented. Notice that the term Soul is used to identify AfricanAmericans, and the optimistic tone of the song.
Respect - Aretha Franklin, 1967
This song is written by Otis Redding, it wasn't a huge hit. In Otis' mind
this song was literal, but when Aretha sung it, it becomes an anthem
for Civil Rights, asking for respect. This is the beginning of a more
militant sound.
sued by Willie Dixon of Chess Records (You Need Love 1962performed by Muddy Waters)
Can hear the blues influence
Between rock and metal
They have a lot of things from a blues repertoire
U get like a studio/mastery solo
The Last Poets- When the revolution comes
Being spoken as a poem over the beat
- part of reafricanization of culture during the 1960s
1979
-
Final Material
The British Invasion:
US in early 60s
Optimism with Kennedy (Camelot)/ ML King Civil Rights
End of 60s end up with billion dollar industry
Why did the britsh invasion have such an impact? Because of Kennedy
He was the president during the missile crisis, sent someone to the
moon
The New Frontier
He was a remarkable president, was an odd choice. Much younger than
predecessors, was Catholic instead of Protestant. In this case Catholic
seen as undesirable. He was for an American president quite left wing,
for an American president. More centered politically, interested in what
young people had to say and the rights movements.
He said ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can
do for your country
Highly optimistic and people refer to it as Camelot. Mythology of
Camelot and knights of the round table. Round table in a sense there is
no head, everyone has a say and side. Everyone will be listened to and
all that
Idea that service was the important thing and not who you are and all
that real equality people being judged by their merits, and get
opportunities not bc of their parents and things but bc of what they can
do
After success of the missile crisis
See peak
August 1963- Washington
Martin Luther King Jr.- I have a dream
The leader of the civil rights movement
He was a master of speech, he would try out little bits and use them all
the time.
He starts off kinda boring and he can tell hes losing the crowd and so
he starts improvising. Says the iconic I have a dream. Seem like
anything is possible
In November of that year Kennedy went to Dallas Texas, he was
popular
Even though it was November he was so popular that he went between
places in an open top limo and people would line the streets to cheer
him on. Wife Jacqueln
He gets shot in the head and it shatters, his wife is seen getting up on
the back of the car and grabbing pieces of his brain bc of whatever
reason she thinks theyre important. This event resonated so
profoundly he was such an amazing president and so well loved. The
death of Kennedy was the first in a series of events that lead to the
theories of Conspiracy
Kennedy assassinated Nov 22, 1963- Dallas, Texas
This happened at a time when people started questioning if the
government is really doing things in the best interest of the people.
February 1964- The Beatles arrive in New York
They were like a big distraction to stop thinking about Kennedy
Post War Britain- was on the front line all the major cities bombed,
factories and everything destroyed and nation needed to be rebuilt and
it took years. Would say the effects of the war continued into the 1950s
had rations and everything still
All the industries needed to be rebuilt so had unemployment well into
1950s
Return to DIY culture
People dont stop being interested in things like music and hobbies. So
return to DIY as in do it yourself. No one is touring the infrastructure is
being rebuilt so you make the entertainment yourself. See the start of
Skiffle- is a group of teens all of whom owned guitars and left over of a
drum set, maybe a piano, no bass would have wash tub bass. Take a
box put a broom handle and create some kind of a bass. They played
American songs and culture bc Britian wasnt really creating stuff. They
liked Rhythm and Blues, for years and years Britain is full of US army
on the way to Germany. They would bring nylon stockings, cigarettes,
chocolate, and records to sell on black market.
Theyd bring pop and R&B and theyd play R&B and when they got
Rock and Roll theyd do the same thing
The Quarrymen:
July 1957 John Lennon/Paul McCartney (Vocals and Guitar)
- begin to write together
They both found out they wrote songs which was rarer and asked him
to join the band at a picnic
JUNE 25TH
Other members kinda fell away, and left with Paul and John
February 1958: George Harrison (Lead Guitar)- younger than them a
little
When got more popular switched from acoustic to electric and tried to
fill out the band
January 1960- Stu Sutcliffe (Bass)- Johns friend cant really play just
joined so hed stop asking
August 1960- The Beatles
Long John and the Silvers
Paul and the Moon Dogs
The Silver Beetles
August 1960- Pete Best (Drums)
August 1960- Hanburg, Germany- Rocker image
Americans were sitting in Germany, still east and west so went to play
there
Eventually Paul became the bass player
Looked like someone from a motorcycle gang, in Britain the gang sub
culture is more prominent, reason is b/c there arent enough jobs or
opportunities
Mods and the Rockers- the 2 gangs
Liverpool- The Cavern Club
The Beatles played over 10,000 hours together as a band over a pretty
short period of time. Had a tight cohesive sound b/c of it
July 1961: Sutcliffe leaves to become an artist (painter)
- McCartney switches to bass
- Sutcliffe dies of a brain haemorrhage in April, 1962, they did
used to get into a lot of bar fights and things, belief is that the
haemorrhage is from a bad blow he took in a fight before at
some point
- Tony Sheraton- hired the beatles to be the backup band
- So most places they ask for the Sheraton record, but
- In Liverpool, ppl were asking for the beatles records
Manager- December, 1961- Brian Epstein
- Owned a shop in Liverpool, kept getting calls about the Beatles
record and decided to see who they were
- He went up and asked them if he could be their manager, had
never managed a band before
He got them to record a demo and sent it all over England, also
changed their image. They were funny, but the swearing and
spitting and stuff would only go so far. So decided to keep the
funny and the charisma and add better clothes, takes them
shopping and gets them suits
Was turned down all over, b/c there was the perception that
guitar based pop music was over and done.
Les Paul around this time Dick Rowe sends the Beatles the
record, Les Paul gets a letter saying they may shut down the
production b/c they thought it was done
June 1962- Parlophone- Division of EMI- major record company, but not
on the main label, its a branch label that specialized in comedy
records
They had records for guy that played pink panther and funny people
2 strokes of luck Brian Epstein marketing them and George Martin
getting them
Producer- George Martin- very good producer from new generation,
would help what they were imagining real
New Drummer: Ringo Starr
September, 1962- Love Me Do- drummer actually wasnt Ringo there
George Martin asked them to replace Pete Best for whatever
reason and they got Ringo Starr. Not sure if it came John they
might have been jealous of his looks or b/c he kept to himself and
didnt do what they did.
Switched before recording before started.
January 1963 Please Please Me
- AABA form
- Numerous rehearsed details
- Change in rhythmic density in vocal
- Highest note at the end of the B section
- TPA-style attention to arrangement
Changing the vocal density from A to B section, like Somewhere Over
the Rainbow
Gets this one sequence of notes in there 17 times, just need to hear it
once and youll know it, its called a hook. Something that gets into
your head and it wont let you go.
Attention to detail and structure thats comparable to TPA. Being able
to fuse self-contained guitar based band and TPA detail is what make
them successful
Pop tour this time is like 2-3 weeks each band plays 20-30 minutes,
depending where they are someone else played first
When went on tour, would play 3-4 but would be releasing new songs
so sometime ppl would come to see them and leave before headliners
November 4, 1963- Royal Variety Performance, London Palladium
Lots of performing arts, if you were invited then you were considered
near the top of your field
26 million Viewers, were headliners
End of 63, Beatles are major British stars
John had a very dark/cynical kind of humor, before they played twist
and shout he said a line, you in the cheap seats can clap your hand
and you In the balcony can just rattle your jewellery, made him very
popular with the Britain middle class
After the war England was in terrible shape, due to the bomb damage.
Lots of unemployment and underemployment, and so didnt have
much of a music industry for the longest time. So dont start to get
back on their feet until into the 1950s. They had some popular singers,
but thus far hadnt had anyone who had broke through into the US and
make an impact
While the Beatles are climbing, EMI was trying to get the Beatles to go
to the US, in 63 the records were being released there but werent
doing well. But manager decided wouldnt go to the states until they
had a hit.
I wanna hold your hand was climbing the charts and so decided to go
Liverpool, the Cavern Club was torn down, and rebuilt a little down the
road later
February, 1964- The Beatles are coming
Billboards everywhere say The Beatles are coming, and the radio and
everything
Portrayed as the British Coming, British Invasion
Started playing them on the radio all the time and had merchandise
Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan show in 1964 for the first time
- Feb 9th Ed Sullivan- 70 Million viewers, at the time one of the
most viewed broadcasts ever for the time
Who was listening?
- young man had wanted to be a professional musician, but wasnt
the best looking and had the inbetween years and say all the
teen idols
- Bruce Springsteen say the Beatles and that day thought hey
maybe I have a chance
- Gene Simmons of Kiss saw the broadcast, not really the sound
but saw the crowd
- Most of the next generation of popular band will have
remembered seeing the Beatles
The Beatles played at a sports arena and were the first, and it sold out,
they didnt know how to set it up, so set it up on a boxing ring and
would rotate it. They invented the first stadium concert. Beatles were
the first to do this.
Tour lasts for 2 weeks- 2 million albums, $2.5 million in merchandising
- hysteria known as Beatlemania
After 2 weeks return to London, February 1964, and the reception is
insane
- 50,000 people showed up at Heathrow airport to see them get off
a plane
- almost as bad in NY when they were leaving, had to shut down
the airport
April 1964
- 12 songs in the Billboard top 100 pop, including positions 1 to 5
Three weeks in April- 60% of all record sales
July 64- A Hard Days Night, first movie, was actually a good movie
and the Beatles were funny and could act
End of 4th US Tour in 65- made $65 million dollars
End of 65 tour, play in the first outdoor sports stadium
- Shea Stadium August 1965, close to 75,000 people in and around
stadium
- First time it was in this big of a place, play in a baseball stadium
on a little stand and just use the baseball stadium pa and lights
They have already redirected the course of popular music, they took
something that was almost dead, the self-contained band and made it
back with a level of popularity no one could imagine
Importance- Template for what is to follow
Bands for the next 20 years or so until hiphop
Start of British invasion
Leaders of Mersey Beat, which are bands that are very similar to early
Beatles and following their steps
Mersey Beat: Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers, The Swinging
Blue Jeans
July 1965- Their 2nd film : Help and album
Is a comedy film, features a story about Ringo getting a ring stuck on
his finger, and that is is wanted by a religious group or something.
The film was so successful, that The Monkeys were created by Help,
network tv try to capitalize on it and make a show after it
Was a song that went unnoticed at first, it suggested that change was
afoot
July 1965- Yesterday (from the ablum, Help)
- AABA form
- More complex harmonic and lyric structures
- String Quartet
Beatles are evolving- moving away from pop song writing
Paul kept going over to the piano and playing this melody, and kept
playing it until he found the words for it. This was the first time that
there was a song on the album where only one of the Beatles are
playing it. Paul went to George Martin and said he wanted to add
something to it, advice was string quartet, which is one of the hardest
to write for. Paul is taking the first step into a different world, first sign
that Beatles are going to stop thinking of themselves of pop
entertainers and thinking of themselves as artists. John and Paul said
that all Beatles would be considered written by Lennon and McCarthy
unless Ringo or Harrison helped too. All were co-written except for
Yestersday. This was the first step towards the end of the Beatles. The
John Lennon kind and the Paul one, eventually results in the collapse of
the band
JULY 2ND
The song yesterday is an early sign of what is about to come, the
division of Paul and John. The band moves from just thinking of
themselves as pop musicians, they are becoming to see themselves as
artists. Chuck Berry had a constant style, but The Beatles are evolving,
bringing other things into their music and changing their sound. They
got to meet Bob Dylan, they thought he was a brilliant song writer,
John thought his lyrics were extraordinary. Bob said to John and Paul
your songs are incredible, but your lyrics dont say anything they are
empty. John took this hard and to heart and tried to create more
intricate prices of work. At the time didnt notice the song help and
implications at the time
August 65 Help
Revolver
August 66
Rubber Soul didnt have the name of the band on it. The covers used to
be like a billboard to advertise the album. The Beatles started to think
of the cover as an extension of the album. They were looking at the
pictures and someone knocked over what they were projecting on and
the image got distorted and stretched. And said aha. So this cover
didnt advertise the songs or the album, had an image of the band
representing the album. For Revolver they have a drawing of the 4 of
them and they have image coming out of their heads, and theyre little
earlier pictures of them. The real Beatles are the line drawings and the
thoughts are photographs, reversed the real and the abstract. Still pop
writing but different kinds of songs are being added
August 66- Tomorrow Never Knows (from Revolver) (composed by
John Lennon)
- song is based on a drone (influence of non-western culture)
- lyrics are based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead
- vocal is double-tracked and is run through a Leslie speaker
cabinet
- makes use of tape loops (avant-garde) and backwards
recording
- first known use of flanging
They were meeting a lot of ppl the lead guitar player George in
particular got interested in Indian music, the classical music of India
was studying the Sitar, like classical Indian guitar. This song was using
a lot of Indian instruments, they dont do much with harmony, they
have a lot rhythm and stuff.
A Vena makes the drone noise in the background, doesnt have chord
changes of anything. Lyrically, debate of what he based his lyrics on,
but might be based partially on some Tibetan book
They start working with George Martin, and get to know all about and
experience with multi-track recording. So for this song, John records it
once, and then records it again listening to the original and try to sing
it as similar as possible. And so get a unique quality to it, the little
differences add to it. Mostly sounds like one person with a special
quality. Double tracking is difficult, its really hard to sing the exact
same way twice. Johns voice is double tracked, and also run through a
Leslie, which spins and adds like a surreal sort of sound quality.
Classical musicians were experimenting with looping reels of tape,
theyd record something, then clip it and make a loop and let it play. In
this song they had 8 tape loops and had them play and used mixers
and had a couple people controlling the tape loops. Basically very
weird.
2 guitar solos, one where George plays a sitar, and the other a guitar,
both solos are backwards, flip the tape, get very odd sounds
Now John and Paul kind of work independently and create songs and
bring the almost finished songs to the other after
Demonstrates the growing influence of non-western culture, and the
technology of the recording studio on the work of The Beatles.
This song would have been unplayable in concert in the 1960s.
Beatles are getting to the point where they are not caring if they can
play it live
They have sounds they want to explore, but were also getting sick of
the fame
No days off, cant go places, would get mobbed. They had a crazy
schedule .
The band was losing interest in public performance
1966:
June-Japan
Start to see the cracks forming, great band, but not as good as before,
cant hear themselves, instruments not in tune. Screaming got so loud
that couldnt hear the other members even, was so crazy, it started to
piss them off since all he could hear was screaming. He knows no one
can understand what hes saying, he snaps a little and starts shouting
in fake Japanese and they still scream happily
July- The Philippines
Its July in the Philippines, 2 huge concerts were tired. The dictators
wife asked them to a dinner they thought and said no b/c they were
tired. Were harassed while leaving it was terrible and were extorted to
pay the amount that they were paid to play the 2 concerts in the first
place
Back to the US, John was acknowledged as being the intellectual of the
group. Had a long interview and got to the topic of the culture of the
Baby Boomers that were in their 20s and the generation gap. John was
asked about religion, he was an agnostic/ atheist but still took spiritual
practices very seriously, and he say the difference btw a organized
religion and the practice. HE said Jesus was alright, he had good ideas,
but people took the ideals and might have distorted them, and doesnt
know about Christianity. HE said The Beatles were bigger than Jesus.
What he meant was most people would rather go to a Beatles concert
than Church.
August- The US
What comes out is an article, with just that one quote.
He refused to say he was sorry, b/c they didnt really understand what
he said.
There were death threats, Beatles burning of the posters and things
Bigger than Jesus
August 29th 1966 Candlestick park in San Fransisco
Was the last time the Beatles preformed publicly
June 1967- Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
One of the most important records
Its important b/c it is the first album that includes all of the lyrics on
the album cover, b/c the Beatles want you to understand the lyrics.
Want you to sit and listen to it with the lyrics and understand it. Gave
you something to look at the artwork from the cover, can sit and look
at it while you listen to it.
Is considered by most pop music historians to make a significant
transition, from Rock n Roll to Rock.
Rock n Roll is about dancing and Rock is about listening. Went from like
background music to music you sit and listen and focus on it. Move to
the world of art, kind of like classical.
Considered to be the first concept album, lose definition of concept
album. Most basic idea its an album where all of the songs/ pieces of
music are supposed to be linked by some kind of idea or a concept.
That idea can vary widely, can be just an idea like madness (Dark Side
of the Moon). Can be telling a story a narrative even. This album was
intended to be a concept album, John and Paul were talking to George
Martin, and thought itd be cool to have an album that was about their
childhood, eventually they kinda strayed from the idea. So they didnt
consider it one, but historians consider it one.
The British Blues Revival:
London- interest in blues
Chess Tour
So goes to Jagger and Richards and tells them they should write songs,
Loog calls Lennon and McCarthy and asks them to show them how to
write a song and they write one and give it to them. Starts them on
thinking.
guy who turned down the Beatles signs them
The Beatles and Stones know each other and hang out sometimes.
Englands Newest Hitmakers
-mostly blues covers
includes 2 original songs by Keith/Jagger
Go to US and record album, most songs covers of Blues tunes, one
song around and around was a Chuck Berry song
King Bee- April 1964
- blues form
- cover of song by Slim Harpo (1957)
stick very closely to the original, the thing thats most striking is
Jaggers voice the way he sings it, hes captured the accent and
everything the essence of the song. These are Brians heros and he
wants to as close to the original as possible.
This comes out when the Beatles are just coming into their huge
success. The Stones were farily well attended in cities but in the South
and smaller places were not so well.
Take off in 1965 when Richards and Jagger assert more control over the
band
February, 1965 (I Cant Get No,) Satisfaction (Jagger/Richards)
- See textbook for listening guide
- First US number one pop
1967- Lets Spend the Night Together
- Verse/Chorus
The Stones brought black music and sounds back to the US and to
England really. Helped restart the careers of some people
Rolling Stones taken from a Muddy Waters song,
They grow in popularity through the 1960s and by the end they are
very popular only rivalled by the Beatles
The band leaves behind the Blues covers and go towards original
songs, and Brian gets less and less interested. They still keep much of
the influence of Blues music.
He withdraws from the band and more time with drinking and drugs
In the Spring of 1969 getting ready for a major US tour, they live up to
their bad boy image and have had some run ins with the law over drug
use.
They are trying to get work visas to go to the US to play, most
members law issues had been resolved, but Brian had some
outstanding charges
Brian thought he was still important enough to still need him and wait,
they gave him the choice, he can leave the band or that they tour is
happening without him.
Couple months later in June or May, Brian was found dead in his
swimming pool 27 years old
They keep replacing him, until they end up sticking with Ron Wood
1973, hes still with the band. The bass player quit and died and
replaced by Darrel Jones.
The line up was pretty stable and over 50 years as a band
Ringo from poverty, started rough around of edges but are turned into
clean image.
Stones started with good standing, actually both in school (university
and stuff)
Jagger is actually an expert in internet trading. All had a pretty solid
middle class background. Turned them into the anti-beatles
Both present us with something wed seen before
The Beatles- a structure where the emphasis is what we would describe
as object orientation that when John and Paul in the early days they
would rehearse to get all of the elements in place perfectly. Very
rehearsed and have very specific ideas they want to realize have a
finished sound in their head. They have a correct end point they are
looking for
Stones- are process oriented, when you listen to stones records there
are mistakes, there are elements of the performance that are loose,
not the tightness of the Beatles, even an element of imrpov. With the
stones the important part was getting the feel right, capturing the
energy of the moment. They record it and go wow that was good they
keep it, they didnt care if a couple notes were out of place, they left it
Have been looking at both processes, but have until now been
separated by skin colour
Black process oriented and white object oriented.
World after Elvis, both processes are available to both kinds
Seen in the British invasion
Other important bands:
The Yardbirds (Blues Influence)
Big part of the blues revival, are a notable for an astonishing set of
guitar players that pass through their ranks. Start as R&B cover band,
and kick over the cymbal. Went through a lot of sticks. Why did they
smash the instruments? The who would smash the instruments that
they were playing at the end. In some places you take what you used
or had and smash the glasses or plates at weddings, so no one else
can use them. The item that made the promise is gone and it cant be
undone. B/c that moment can never be reproduced. Its a symbolic
idea. The idea is that they sanctify that musical moment b/c the
instrument is gone. The who flip the convention, the moment is
important not the instrument.
Kiss at the end he will go get a guitar and smash it and throw the
pieces, and seemed empty, because it wasnt really one he played and
he never heard it.
Pete will go on to write 2 rock operas, Q and Tomm
JULY 9TH
# Soul to Funk
The development is connected to the Civil Rights movement and the
development of African-American identity.
Soul appears at the end of the golden age of Rock n Roll, in the late
1950s. As the civil rights movement makes progress, the african
american culture looks forward and starts rejecting the sounds of the
past. The new sound that emerges, Soul, has spiritual roots connected
to the vocal style of Gospel. Soul is celebratory music, danceable and
with rhythms reminiscent of R&B. Arrangements and lyric style are
inspired by TPA, thus cleaner and tackling themes of idealized love
instead of sex, say.
One of the most important locations for Soul is Detroit, more
specifically the Motown label (watch **Standing in the Shadows of
Motown**). Another city is Memphis, which we have seen before and
will see again, specifically Stax Records which was an old movie
theater. Fame Records in Muscle Shoals, in Alabama was another
important label.
## Motown
Motown was founded in 1959 by Berry Gordy, and it is the first
important label owned by an African-American. Gordy had experience
with promoting boxers and worked in the automotive industry. Detroit
at this point was the capital of the Auto industry of North America, at
its peak.
What he wanted to do when he started the record company was to
apply what he learned in the automotive industry to the record
industry. Motown was recognized as the largest business owned by an
African-American, and it was quite inspirational to the Black
community. He applied the concept of the Assembly Line to his work,
similar to TPA but finally with Black artists too; another big difference
with TPA is that Gordy wanted to create a single massive factory of
Black music, unlike TPA which was scattered in many different labels.
He had many songwriters, some of which were Holland/Dozier/Holland,
Smokey Robinson, who became a very important figure within . Gordy
wanted his music to appeal to everyone, not only the African-American
community, and hired Maxine Powell to run a finishing school, aimed at
teaching etiquette. He also hired a choreographer, Cholly Atkins.
Motown had a house band, The Funk Brothers, who would work out
arrangements and record songs; the purpose of this was branding, in
fact the only person that changed among records was the singer, so
the sound was Motown's own.
**We watched:** Shop Around - Smokey and the Miracles, 1960
Notice the way Smokey acts on stage, which is much milder than
previous styles, and that is deliberate. Motown wanted the public
perception to be brought away from the ou-of-control stereotype of
Black people held by the White middle class. Also notice the matching
suits, for the same exact reason.
Interesting to note that the idea of band remains distant to Black
culture, which focuses on individuals.
*The Supremes* is probably the most iconic band of Motown,
composed of three women, one of whom was Diana Ross, which wasn't
even considered the best singer of the group, but proceeded to have a
very successful solo career.
**We listened to:** Stop in The Name of Love, The Supremes, 1965
The song contains a sort of unusual instrument, the Vibraphone, of the
same family of the Xylophone and usually associated with Jazz, which
was regarded as art more than music and was somewhat distant from
popular culture. The Vibraphone signals urban sophistication and links
to Gordy's vision. Another instrument used is a tambourine, carrying
the beat, which is dancey. The gospel influence is not prevalent, and
that is also deliberately rooted in the desire of Gordy to appeal to
White audiences.
## Atlantic Records
Atlantic records is still gigantic, and Jerry Wexler was a very influential
man there. He signed Ray Charles and coined the name Rhythm and
Blues. He discovered many artists.
## STAX
Stax was formed in 1959, initially as Satellite Records by Jim Steward
and Estelle Axton. Stax, like Motown, had a house band: Booker T and
the M.G.s, who had hits themselves, unlike Motown. Booker T and the
M.G.s was an interracial band, which was very uncommon, especially in
Memphis. This was often a problem, because the south had laws
prohibiting Black and White people to play on the same stage or stay
at the same hotel.
Stax was far less controlled than Motown, and less interested in hits.
They recorded what they liked, and the decision was made in group.
They would often record the same song many times and pick among
them. This resulted often in mistakes in the recordings, which was not
the case at all at Motown, which wasn't bad, but just a different
approach.
**Otis Redding** was a famous name coming out of STAX, his first hit
was Try A Little Tenderness in 1966, which wasn't his first recording.
**We watched:** A Little Tenderness - Otis Redding, 1966
Many of the songs produced by STAX were new songs, unlike this one,
who was written in the 1920s and was hit for many artists. Notice Otis'
performance aesthetics. The performance is very different from what
we saw with the Smokey Robinson performance, first of all Otis is not
lip synching, and the band is visible, unlike Motown. Also, unlike
Motown's artists, Otis is not trained to known which camera is currently
recording, and he's often not even with his eyes open; his attention is
much more into his singing than his performance. STAX has a lot more
of *African retention* than Motown. The performance is Cathartic and
characterized by unrestrained energy.
**We listened to:** Soul Man - Sam and Dave, 1967
This record has a mistake, as mentioned before: the trumpet players
miss the first "pph". The horns are not prevalent and complex, and the
band in the song is more important than most Motown records (note
the little guitar solos). STAX is process oriented, versus Motown that is
object oriented. Notice that the term Soul is used to identify AfricanAmericans, and the optimistic tone of the song.
## Aretha Franklin
By 1965 we are starting to see riots in black areas of major American
cities. The artist who shows the change in the optimistic paradigm is
Aretha Franklin, who was born in a very religious family and had sung
in church. Interestingly, a past in the church was a matter of pride for
Black singer.
**We listened to:** Respect - Aretha Franklin, 1967
This song is written by Otis Redding, it wasn't a huge hit. In Otis' mind
this song was literal, but when Aretha sung it, it becomes an anthem
for Civil Rights, asking for respect. This is the beginning of a more
militant sound.
## Funk
As Soul begins to find a new way to express itself, a new form of music
manifests itself: Funk. Funk was deliberately invented by James Brown,
unlike Rock n Roll and others. James Brown is a show man, so much he
clothes changes twice at his funeral... He's the Soul Brother \#1.
### James Brown
James Brown was very respected, his album Live at Apollo is generally
considered to be the first album by a Black artist to sell more than a
million copies. He records many songs in the style of Soul that are
huge hits with Black and White audiences.
**We listened to:** I Feel Good - James Brown, 1965
This song follows the same pattern as most hits by him: 12-bar blues,
12-bar blues, 4-bar break, 8-bar bridge, 12-bar blues. The Gospel
influence is major in him, a second he's screaming a second he's
whispering. Horns are there but not complex and prevalent. Lyrics are
of idealized love. The message is not in the lyrics, but in the
performance.
Brown was famous among White audiences, which is interesting, and
that is because of the AABA structure. James Brown said: "Black folks
like the blues, white folks like something a little different in the
middle". The AABA was deliberate and very successful.
### Re-Africanization of Black culture
Between 1965 and 1967 inner city riots are at their peak. In 1967, in
Detroit, a riot so big that 19 square miles of it were burned down
occurred. The riot lasted 3 days and cause many deaths and injured.
After the riot the army came into Detroit to re-establish order. This
summer is known as The Long Hot Summer.
To make it worse, on April 4th of 1968, Martin Luther King is
assassinated in Memphis. The following period is known as the ReAfricanization of culture, reflecting into clothing change and re
definition of what it "means" to be African-American. Names change
(drop the slave name and get back the African name: big example is
Cassius Clay -> Mohammed Ali).
Black culture is making an effort to distinct itself. James Brown decides
to coin a new style: Funk.
JULY 16TH
James Brown- Funk
Reaficization of black culture, red flag, late 60s a lot less access to
information. The process that was being used, a lot of the information
being used was the kind of information that middleclass whites would
have on the matter. Decision to create a new separate culture. Martin
Luther King died, he was the main person for the non-violent
movement, attracted many even sympathetic white. When he passed,
his kind of ideas were moved to the side and more aggressive
movements took precedence.
James Brown, creates funk
Say It Loud (Im Black and Im Proud) 1968
Introduces new style
Get Up (I feel like being a sex machine)1970
After re-africanization of soul
A minute 30 into the song theres no chord change, AABA form 12-bar
blues, 1 chord
What has he changed? He is deprivilageing the melody and harmony,
they are no longer important, there are 2 chords.
No real melody in what hes doing, but is enjoyable
Were tuning into the rhythm and articulation, be cautious b/c known
for rhythm right, in terms of percussion. James works with the
stereotypical information, hes thinking of the entire band in terms of
rhythm like a west African drum ensemle
Deprivilage of melody and harmony
Privilege of Rhythm
Interlock groove- based on African Drum Groups
Have the master drummer (here James), and they start
And then the rest usually repeat a simple pattern and put them all
together to from an interlocking groove.
Over this the master drummer plays a solo.
All the instruments are being treated like percussion instruments,
rhythm and articulation are the main elements.
Community
James knows the sense of community is important, its usually a drum
circle, everyone is important. In the song James asks to count it off,
and asks it go to the bridge, and the band members respond. The idea
of community is important.
Sly and Family Stone- hear the voices of the band in the background,
hearing the voices is important until the genre stabilizes. Equality and
community from drum circle
They left after 3 songs, Dylan didnt give up, and electric was a
permanent change for him.
The point was the controversy over integrity in rock n roll and that you
couldnt have the same integrity in rock n roll. Idea that it was sell out
music. Bob Dylan addresses that you can play the electric guitar and
still have integrity. This door will be important so many later. Group it
with a social movement
and stuff moves all over the place. The idea to stimulate the
brain
Drugs, did end up with some serious complications, but at the
time those who followed the practice were interested in
experimenting with drugs in the hope of higher consciousness
Music:
- Loud
- Longer or unusual song forms
- Jamming (collective improvisation)
- Lighting Shows
Counter culture nails down the stadium concert thing based on the
Beatles, they wanted it loud, b/c multiple senses were going at the
same time. Can feel the music b/c of the volume. The more senses you
get going the greater the response you get. The current lighting shows
come from this stuff, they wanted to stimulate the ppl. Flashing lights,
some to see the band, some to flash and give the audience something
else to add
Had long and unusual song forms, there was a cone of expectation of
what we expect to hear, when someone steps out of the cone, try to
keep up and understand, like whats happening. Potential for surprise if
you dont know what the band might do.
Jamming, play a song the audience knows, but may move away from
the recording and making up stuff on the spot, no one knows whats
gonna happen the potential for surprise and stuff
Truckin The Grateful Dead (1970)
- influenced by Folk Rock
strong influence by Bob Dylan, Folk Rock. Are paradigm of the counter
culture in terms of what they do, the connection to the culture and
their approach to live performance. The idea of jamming, collective
improvisation, and the music they recorded were the starting point for
what they would do in concert
Feel relaxed in that they could change it if they want easily each time,
they arent obvious in calling attention to their talent, unassuming.
In concert what they did was kept playing when it should have ended
for a long time. They do whatever they want with the songs each time,
and is different each time. Other concerts now follow set and
everything exactly b/c of timed pyrotechnics and lights and stuff.
Grateful dead would have a different concert each time. They would go
out each night with no clue what theyd play and would improv. So new
each night, in that way they were a paradigm of counter culture, they
had no set thing
More aggressive sound develops
Less obvious folk image
Acid Rock
White Rabbit- Jefferson Airplane (1967)
Base on Alice and Wonderland, references drugs.
Idea we are blinded by materialism
The song is one long crescendo, it starts off very quietly, and just gets
louder
Drug reference, drug rush and crash, structured around the arc of a
drug trip
Example of acid rock, but it is different from a lot of the other music of
the period
Was a short song, but the trend was long songs, to experiment with the
songs.
White rabbit was a major commercial hit, counter culture didnt
produce a lot of popular or hit music
Since the songs were too long, or too weird and experimental. White
rabbit is a good example but is different from a lot of music of the
counter culture. Its meant to reject the values of the parents, and
wanting to have a hit or trying to get one is not what they aim for.
Since hits were a sign of the parent culture and material values.
Song that incorporates a lot of lyrics relating to counter culture and
things like drug use and everything, it does have an experimental
form/ structure.
1967- peak year, that summer known as the summer of love
Album was Sgt.Pepper, the defining album and what it was trying to do
After 1967: goes into decline, b/c of drugs the drug trade was worth a
lot and moved in to try and control it (gangs and stuff) and the health
risks as well took a toll. The idea of Beatitude, was the inward looking,
look inside to see the truth, but if you look inward then nothing gets
fixed and there were things that needed fixing. The failure of civil
rights, Vietnam war, full scale shooting could be drafted and people
could die. So youth culture starts looking outward to make change
Youth Culture becomes more politically active
Focus on Civil Rights and the Draft/Vietnam
Youth International Party (Yippies)
go to Washington, civil disobedience and riots become common place.
They get a political party, and seen as the spokespeople for the
counter culture
Jerry Rubin/Abbie Hoffman, the leading spokesmen for yippies
This is happening at the same time were black culture is reafricanization.
JULY 23RD
4 listening examples
70 or so MC
Cumulative, more from stuff after term test 2
60-65% new stuff
Reading questions, but reading questions are not cumulative, only
worry about reading on the new study guide posted
Listening section not cumulative, only songs since term test 2
Shift
-
reasonable for dancing. Lyrics follow the model of chuck berry. Like
what they sing about.
Heavy metal in contrast has a much higher level of distortion in the
guitar and voice and distortion can be found in other instruments like
bass. Extremes in tempos. Lyrics have reference to fantasy, religious
references, imagery involving unstable mental states
Founding Bands
1/ Black Sabbath
2/ Deep Purple
3/ Led Zeppelin
Black
-
Sabbath:
British
doomy music
madness/futility of war
Heavy Metal/Rock radios didnt like them b/c long songs. Critiques
hated it too, Rolling Stone compared it to Buffalo Farts. The genre
became a genre for those left out. The only place to see them were at
concerts. Almost like a form of worship pay amage to those that
represent you
Becomes focal point:
- form of worship
- adulation of technical mastery
- success of the individual/corporation
- fans as musicians- want to be the band
Many musicians went, learn how its done,
disconnect from the 1960s most clearly shown by ideas, that it was a
collective a group effort and mind set
Hard Rock is a rejection of the collective, embracing of the individual,
not just the you personal, an individual with power.
Look at the names, the band names dont have The in it. Before all
the bands were called the somethings, and were meant to be like
plural, group, collective. Now its not plural, all singular name, an
individual, an individual image.
Logos, they are like a brand, kiss has the same recognizable logo. Have
corporate identities.
Failure of the collective mindset. Now you wanting to be the individual
in power.
Hip Hop
By the early 1970s, predominantly black inner-city neighbourhoods
were suffering. In the Bronx area of NYC, African-Americans who had
achieved a middle-class standard of living had moved to the suburbs
leaving only working class families, and the poor. In 1972, the Cross
Bronx Expressway was completed, meaning the whole neighbourhood
could now be avoided except for those who lived there. Local standards
of living collapsed.
However, the young people of the area still wished to find ways of
artistic expression. Like Great Britain after WWII, the youth of the Bronx
adopted a folk-like, DIY approach to creating culture. In the world of
dance we see the development of Break Dancing. In visual art,
technique of Graffiti Art takes shape. And while music lessons and
instruments were too expensive for most, a technique of creating new
music using records, turntables and the human voice began to take
shape. This was the origin of rap
-
folk culture
South Bronx. NYC- 1970s
Rap/Break Dancing/Graffiti Art
Hip-hop emerges in the dying days of 1969, if you didnt live in the
Bronx you would have no clue about it. Build expressways, and no
longer got the traffic so stores failed. If could move you did, but if
couldnt you were trapped. No power, no influence, no one cared. The
resources they needed just dried up. What we saw in Britain happens,
go back to folk culture and do it yourself. Get dance, break dancing,
get visual art, graffiti art as an expression on surfaces, best stuff new
subway cars for 2 or 3 weeks tons of ppl would see it. Music, got rap,
couldnt afford lessons or instruments. Had a turn table could put old
record on and rap over them
Word game where you tell stories and insult your opponent, marks for
one-upping your opponent
Precursors:
I/ Signifying / The Dozens
- Oral word game
- Ritualized insulting
- African origin
Word game where you tell stories and insult your opponent, marks for
one-upping your opponent
The insulting thing has a long history, in African culture, shows an
interest in word play and improvisation.
ones were. They were toasting themselves. Get to end of 60s and start
70s, these ppl went to NYC or great Britain.
4/ Jazz/Militant Black Poetry
- part of reafricanization of culture during the 1960s
The Last Poets- When the revolution comes
Being spoken as a poem over the beat
Prehistory:
We first see the Jamaican practice appear in the US in 1973. During the
late 1960s and early 1970s, increasing numbers of Jamaicans move to
the US, many of whom settle in NY. A young man who went by the
name of Kool Herc, a Jamaican immigrant, begins to hold Yard Dance
style events on the streets of the Bronx. He uses two turntables to
extend the most exciting parts of a song, becoming the first person we
know of to recompose a song using a turntable. He also engaged in
Jamaican-style toasting. When asked what he was doing with the two
turntables, Herc described the technique as cutting and mixing
Prehistory:
1973, Kool Herc:
- 2 turntables
- extends exciting moments of a song- breaks
- cutting and mixing
- toasting
Renaming good, was an immigrant from Jamaica, was like an SSM, help
Yard Parties.
They noticed that some songs had like a peak, where ppl would dance
the most intensely, had 2 tables, and would have the same record on
both, and would extend the peak. He was rearranging the song, when
asked to describe it, he played on the term of the needle cutting the
grooves on the record and come up with cutting and mixing. Back and
forth btw 2 copies of the same record. He would toast too.
By 1976, Grand Master Flash had developed a much faster version of
Hercs technique. Employing the practice of back spinning a record,
Flash was able to better control the music, and mix two records
together over only a few seconds. He described this as the Quick Mix
1976, Grand Master Flash
- Develops Kool Hercs techniques
- quick mix
- variety of sources
- sampling
He noticed that if you leave the record on while you backspin you hear
something, and most ppl just thought ick. Theodore liked the sound it
made, he noticed you could get cool noises based on how you spun the
record. He seems to be the first one to start scratching. B/c the
turntable is a technology of consumption, the ppl who designed the
turntable designed it to be used in a particular way, you put the record
on and it plays you consume the sound. When he starts using the
record like its an instrument, he turns the turn table into a technology
of production. Takes the elements and creates something new. In his
hands the turn table is a musical instrument. This really launches the
idea of hip hop
By 1979, this style had become very popular within the South Bronx,
but was still largely unknown outside this small part of NYC. Some local
record producers had considered recording rap, but is was not until the
end of that year that Sylvia Robinson, a minor soul star from the 1960s
and owner of a local record label called Sugar Hill Records, produced
the song Rappers Delight. Featuring three local artists, the lyrics
were rapped over music based on the most popular song of the year; a
disco hit called Good Times by Chic
1st recorded hit song:
- Sugar Hill Gang: Rappers Delight
- Released 10/79: #4 RnB #36Pop
- Based on the song Good Time by Chic (6/79 #1 Pop and RnB)
Silvia Robinson has a little record company Sugar Hill records. She like
many ppl has noticed the thing that the kids have been doing, the kid
plays the record and the other raps, it was very popular would even
hire for birthdays. Goes to get pizza and the kid making it is doing the
talking think over the top of the record thats a huge hit Good Times.
She asks the kid to come in he brings some friends are 3 of them total,
phones a couple musicians and get them to get the beat from Good
Times.
Hes telling you what hes doing. Cause usually if you hear them talking
into the mic its a test. Its so new that unless you live in Brooklyn you
dont know what it is.
Over the first half of the 1980s, Rap grew in popularity with younger
black audiences, but was largely rejected by white fans of older styles
such as Rock and even older black audiences who preferred soul and
funk. MTV, the first 24-hour music-video station began broadcasting in
the summer of 1981 was initially aimed at a white rock and pop
audience, but refused to include Rap videos in its programming. But in
1986, Hip-Hip artists Run DMC collaborated with Aerosmith to produce
a Hip Hop version of the rock bands 1977 hit, Walk This Way. The
song was a success with both rock and hip-hop audiences and the
video was the first hip-hop production to go into high rotation on MTV,
exposing it to a massive audience and cementing the success of the
new style.
They kept releasing hip hop songs
Got one about life in the inner city first political message
Keep releasing songs and its ignored mostly until 1985 even MTV
ignored it
Rap Excluded from MTV until 1985 Walk this Way
Run DMC/ Aerosmith
Aerosmith were kinda doing badly/ out of money run down. So agreed
to do the video