Notes on Music 162, American Pop Songs

05/21/2014 Final – Music 162 Notes Charlie Rich- roots from Arkansas, Sun records, switched from jazz to pop-oriented country music by 1960s  “Behind Closed Doors”  won Country Music Association award (CMA) for entertainer of the year in 1974 John Denver  Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. in New Mexico 1943  Pop oriented hit records despised by many in traditional audience for country music  Addressed environmental causes  Minor star of television/movies, Denver has mass appeal, cross over several charts, pop/country/adult contemporary  “Rocky Mountain High”  considered easy listening today, acoustic guitar  won CMA in 1975 (previous winner supposed to present award), Charlie Rich refused to give him his award though Olivia Newton-John  Born in England 1948  Grew up in Australia  Scored series of top 10 country crossover hits during mid 1970s o “let me be there” o “if you love me let me know” o “Have you never been mellow”  won CMA award for female singer of the year in 1974

o popularity in country music was met with distaste by many hardcore country fans  moved out of country music to jump on the oldies bandwagon o appeared in film Grease Hardcore country  Merle Haggard and the Bakersfield sound o During 1970s some musicians… look up o Captured spirit of so called hardcore country o Born near Bakersfield 1937 o Wandered from place to place as child o At 19, Haggard began serving 3 year sentence at San Quentin o Early 1960s after release worked odd jobs around Bakersfield at clubs/honkytonks o Sound was emerging as the center o “Okie from Muskogee”  song alienated many liberal listeners who previously lauded Haggard as “poet of the common man”  Test q” What is Bakersfield sound/origin? The concept album  Intended as thematically and aesthetically unified works, not simply collections of unrelated cuts: o The Beach Boys Pet Sounds (1966) o The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) o The Who’s “rock opera”  By early 1970s, twelve-inch high-fidelity LP had become primary medium for rock music

Rock comes of age  Many progressive rock musicians viewed themselves as artists and their recordings works of art  Promise of rock music as a zone of interracial interaction seemed to have largely vanished by early 1970s  Early rock festivals (Monterey in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969), regarded as the climax of 1960s counterculture, had become highly profitable mass-audience concerts by mid-1970s  A series of bands that sprang up… LOOK UP Studio Technology 1970s  New recording techniques/experimentation  High-fidelity stereo sound  Sixteen, twenty-four, and thirty-two track recording consoles o Enabled complex aural textures o Could construct any given track on an LP over time o Could add or subtract individual instruments or voices o Could bounce around/replace/switch sounds now with multi track recording process  Recordings took much longer to create and became very expensive  A few multitalented musicians could play all of the instruments on a given track David Bowie, Glam Rock, and Ziggy Stardust  Bowie created character of Ziggy Stardust (persona), an alien who visits earth and becomes rock superstar  “Rise and fall of ziggy stardust and the spiders from mars (1972) o concept album centered on Ziggy  ability to create quasi-fictional stage personae with every new album was a precedent for the image manipulation of 1980s stars like Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Prince o man/woman qualities on stage

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pioneer of “glam rock” o emphasized elaborate, showy appearance and costuming Pink Floyd and “Dark side of the Moon” 1973  Album is based on theme of madness and the things that drive us to it: time, work, money, war, and death o LP starts with sounds of beating heart, ticking clock, type writer, cash register, gunfire and voices of band discussing experiences w/ insanity o LOOK UP Carlos Santana  Born in Mexico, played nightspots of Tijuana  At 15 moved to SF where he was exposed to many influences: o Jazz, Miles Davis, John Coltrane o Salsa, NY based style Latin dance music o Late 1960s SF rock, including Janis Joplin, Hendrix  Got a gig at Woodstock, resulted in large success (on film/soundtrack at Woodstock)  First album.. LOOK UP  Abraxas album 1970  “Oye Como Va” latin percussion instruments into driving rock sound o solos provide good example of a talented rock improviser  uses electric guitar to sustain notes, creating long flowing melodic lines that gradually rise in intensity, lifting the whole band with him  IN BOOK “Night Fever” Disco  Disco derived “discotheque” recorded music for dancing

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Driven by inspiration of black pop music: Motown, soul, funk o Kind of root of hip hop o Spinning turntables o Rise in popularity of social dancing among American middle class o Homosexual community/club scene  Reactionary music: away from concept album, back to singles getting people out again and dancing  Popular alternative to rock music  Couple based dances like the hustle  Disc Jockeys LOOK UP  “Bad Girls” and “Good Times” o Bad girls has greater textural variety  Donna summers lead vocal, responding voices, brass instruments, and a police whistle appear, disappear, and reappear over course of recording  More elaborate from a formal point of view than “good times”  Vocal styles used in 2 recordings are different  Emphatic, expansive style derives from roots in R&B and gospel SKIPPED A DAY (watched pink Floyd movie I think) Michael Shrieve – guest speaker Soul sacrifice carlos Santana drum solo at Woodstock -Transition to rock music:  blues became popular in England  Beatles turned everything around, a lot of British groups sound like them

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Bob dylan goes electric at folk festival (almost start riots) o Folk music getting bigger in US  SF movement Haight-Ashbury LSD hippies  Santana grew out of SF  Guest speaker sat in the Filmore with Bob Dylan and Santana o Needed another drummer, got his number (for Santana)  Was asked if he wanted to join the band when he went to the recording studio  How did Santana’s sound develop? o Work on grooves, base song around that o Never rehearsed vocals  Did percussion on some Rolling Stones record The Outlaws  Progressive country music o During late 60’s/70’s mainstream country music dominated by slick Nashville sound, hardcore country (merle haggard) and blends of country/pop promoted by AM radio o New gen. of country artists embracing music and liberal attitudes that grew out of the 60’s counterculture o Hardcore country kinda have roots back in Honky tonk/grass roots o Inspired by honky-tonk and rockabilly mix of Bakersfield country music, singer-songrwriters (Dylan), and country rock (gram parsons) o Songs more intellectual/liberal in outlook than their contemporaries  Artists more concerned w/ testing limits of country music tradition than scoring hits o Willie Nelson  One of mst influential progressive country artists

Born Texas 1933 Developed successful career as a professional songwriter in Nashville before moving back to Texas in 1971  “Crazy” has been a top 10 country/pop hit for Patsy Cline  does some folky stuff, kind of jazz/crooning style  marijuana fan  settled in Austin, where he fit in w/ local music scene  did duo with Julio Inglesias, super popular o “The Outlaws” and Waylon Jennings  rock n roll/pop music roots  Outlaws never cohesive performing group  Wanted: The Outlaws (famous album)  Label Outlaw country was largely product of the record industry  First platinum LP  Compilation album of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelsons early 70s recordings  Stepped out of norm, progressive  “Luckenback, Texas” – Jennings o biggest hit from record helped move country music forward/promotes survival The rise of reggae music  Mix of Caribbean folk music and American R&B  First style of rock era to originate in 3rd world  

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Associated with Kingston, Jamaica During 70s Jamaican musicians Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff achieve measure of commercial success in US American/british rock musicians – including Clapton, Paul Simon, Police, Elvis Costello – found inspiration/profit in style Roots: o Lie in Jamaican equivalent of country music, genre called mento o Mento- mix of Jamaican folk songs, church hymns, sailor shanties, and Cuban influences – arose in rural Jamaica during late 19th century Ska- music genre founded in Jamaica in late 1950s, was precursos to rocksteady/reggae (not tested on details of ska) Ska combine elements of Caribbean mento and calypso w/ American jazz/rhythm and blues Rock Steady o Considerably slower tempo than ska o Some of its leading exponents began to record songs w/ social and political content Rude Boys o Get notes Word reggae derived from “raggay”, a Kingston slang term meaning “raggedy, everyday stuff.” o Question about reggae music origin no one really knows origin Tempo was slowed down even further, creating wide space between notes Hearts of reggae music consists of interlocking rhythmic patterns played by guitar, bass, and drums Each instrument in a reggae band has its own carefully defined role o Guitar plays short, choppy chords on 2nd/4th beats o Bass-drum combination is the irreducible Bob Marley

o Leader of the Wailers  National hero in native Jamaica, most effective international ambassador o 30’s group of people trying to have consciousness about who they were as Africans in Jamaica, man had sense he was God  movement, way of life, Rastafarian  look at stories of bible as model for retribution o songs of determination, rebellion, and faith, rooted in Rastafarian belief system, found worldwide audience that reached from America to Japan and Europe to Africa o 1975-1980, Marley recorded six gold LPS for Island Records o wounded in politically motivated assassination attempt 1976 o half Scottish o died of cancer 1981 age 36 best cover version of I Shot the sheriff, done by Eric Clapton  appears on Clapton’s #1 album from same year Rise of Salsa music  Became popular in NYC dance clubs in mid 70s alongside disco  Rise of independent Latin-oriented record companies (Fania)  Extension of experimental blend of latin ballroom dance music, afro-cuban rumba drumming, and modern Jazz forged by Mario Bauza, Machito, and Dizzy Gillespie in the 1940’s  Stars of salsa o Eddie Palmieri  Approach to piano shaped by jazz  Pushed compositional/harmonic limits of Latin dance music o Willie Colon

Distinct approach to salsa music add touch of W. African, Panamanian, Columbian, Brazilian and Puerto Rican music  Street-wise image/relentlessly energetic o Ruban – “Pedro Navaja”  Conceived as a homage to the song “Mack the Knife” from the threepenny opera  Story of violent death of a tough guy who attacks prostitute  Enormous impact on latin American audiences  Including Latin New York  Arrangement provides sophisticated musical frame for the narrative portrait STUDYING TIPS – draw more info from slides/discussion in class Pink Floyd- what is concept album? Whats the concept? Willie nelson- what is significant thing of him? Why do we talk about 

him?  Represents progressive country music What was the name of the group of progressive musicians?  The Outlaws (Willie nelson played in it) “Psycho Killer” 1970s punk and new wave  during 70s, first “alternative” movements emerged within rock music  by 1975 rock music, which had begun as vital part of 60s counterculture, become closely connected w/ center of popular taste new wave  developed alongside punk rock, approached critique of corporate rock  use of electronic instruments (synthesizer)  term new wave soon picked up by record companies themselves, who began using it in the late 70s

punk  cultural style- attitude defined by a rebellion against authority and rejection of middle class values (along with music genre)  represent turn toward authentic, risk-taking spirit of early rock n roll and away from the pomposity/self-conscious artistry of album oriented rock.  About the sound, not picky about chord sound or voice Origins:  Took shape in NYC mid 70s  New wave more commercial  3 groups frequently cited as ancestors of punk music and of the later genres like alternative o Velvet Underground  Formed NY  Promoted by pop art star Andy Warhol (banana cover art)  Shows influence of Bob Dylan  Later work rough-edged, chaotic, loud, anti-commercial, lyrics about sex deviancy, drugs, violence, social alienation o The Stooges  Working class, motorcycle riding, leather-jacketed ancestors of punk rock  Iggy Stooge aka Iggy Pop famous for outrageous stage performances, included flinging self into crowd, cutting self with beer bottles, rubbing self w/ raw meet o NY Dolls  Exert major influence on musical/visual style of punk rock movement (dress almost like drag but hard-punk look)  Drug/alcohol abuse, did establish certain core features of punk antifashion/help create new underground rock music scene in NYC  Reunite 2009 to critical acclaim  Lead singer David Johansen, aka Buster

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First bonafide punk band formed 1974 in NY: THE RAMONES o High speed energetic, extremely loud soud influenced english punk groups such as Sex pistols or the Clash o Become blueprint in 80s for LA hardcore bands o Not flashy like other artists, just them on stage  Talking Heads (more new wave) almost a little anti-punk, not cool guys o Represented more self conscious artistic/exploratory side to alternative rock scene o First album Talking Heads:77 achieve critical acclaim o Style reflect interest of minimalism, emphasize use of combinations of a limited number of basic elements- colors, shapes, sounds, or words. Awkwardism o Psycho Killer –listening, David Byrne lead singer  Deliver lyrics in nervous, schizophrenic stream of consciousness voice  Simple guitar chords (no distortion)  Unique from what everyone else is doing o Dressed almost nerdy o Set pace for new wave production  Change in rock and roll that goes to 1980s “Tear the Roof off the Sucker” FUNK MUSIC  Funk o By early 70’s, term “funk” was being used as a label for a genre of popular music characterized by  Strong dance-oriented rhythms  Catchy melodies  Call-and-response exchanges

o 1973 burst into scene  Kool and the Gangs “jungle boogie” and “Hollywood swinging”  Play that funky music- wild cherry o George Clinton (group called Parliament or Funkadelic)  Iconic to bringing folk forward  Aka Dr Funkenstein  Develop mix of compelling polyrhythms, psychedelic guitar solos, jazz-influenced horn arrangements  “Give up the Funk” (tear the roof off the sucker)  from LP Mothership Connection  crazy costumes, smoke machine, lazers  heavy syncopated electric bass lines Rap/Hip Hop  Rap Emerged 70s as part of hip-hop  Forged by African American/Caribbean American youth o Visual art graffiti o Dance (breakdancing, the freak) o Music, dress, and speech  Hip-hop was at first local phenomenon, centered in certain neighborhoods in Bronx, most economically devastated area of NY  Rejection of mainstream dance music by black/Puerto Rican listeners o Profoundly shaped by techniques of disco DJS  Kool Herc

Clive Campbell Migrate from Kingston Jamaica Godfather of hip hop (1st important dj) Use 2 turn tables with same track Isolated breaks of certain popular record/mixed them into middle of other records  Grandmaster Flash  Afrika Bambaataa Edward Said, Orientalism  How does one represent other cultures?  What is another culture? Orientalism and “the other”  “The Orient” – the middle east, asia, etc – constructed as a reverse image of the West – Europe, USA  The West – masculine, honest, etc.  The east – feminine, deceptive, etc.  Madame Butterfly o French novel, to American play, to Italian opera (Puccini) o Opera + Western gaze = aestheticization of tragic story and “beautifully dying for love.”  M Butterfly o True story o Shi Pei Pu, who Song is based on, a Chinese opera star, spy, and female impersonator o Boursicot (whom Gallimard is based on) was a cause celebre, a dupe, a traitor, a laughing stock – Shi Pei Pu had all the power     

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Performing gender o Gender construction and performance o If the idea of an “ideal woman” is created by men (because, ideal for whom?), then the best person to perform that role IS a man. Epic Theatre o “I thought you might want to take this opportunity to stretch your legs.. I’ll be here when you return, right where you left me.”  Direct address to the audience  Onstage transformation, global political themes David Henry Hwang o Born 1957, raised in chinese evangelical tradition – sheltered upbringing but good grades (Stanford) o Becomes interested in theatre, and stages play in his dorm (FOB) – parents agree to support him if they think its any good. Miss Saigon 1989 (play) o Schonberg/Boubil’s follow up to Les Miserables, an updating of Butterfly to 1970s Viet Nam o A big hit – the 12th longest running show on Broadway o Actor Jonathan Pryce  White guy, play role of Asian pimp character o But…  He acts very white/ it is very racist  Yellow face Hwangs Work o FOB, The Dance and the Railroad, M Butterfly, Yellow Face, Chinglish o Libretto to Tarzan, a version of Alice in Wonderland, and opera based on The Fly

o Miss Saigons original director, Nicholas Hytner, is artistic director of the National Theatre in London – now showing? Yellow Face o “History moves on, MISSED A DAY Born in the USA (1984)  Bruce springsteen  Throughout 70s springsteen forged progressively  Every man kind of person (real americans) o Social consciousness into music  Kind of came out of bob Dylan  Springsteen songs reflect working class origins and sympathies o Relate stories of still young but aging men/women  w/ dead end jobs (or no jobs)  looking for romance/excitement  seeking meaningful outlets for their energies and hopes “Baby I’m a star” – production of celebrity  by 80s the “star-making machinery behind popular song” had grown to unprecedented proportions  playing songs over and over again – eventually like it o other people hyping up other artists o definitely fostered by MTV o marketing image became big  Madonna

80s-90s popularity 2nd to Michael Jackson between 84-94 scored 28 top 10 singles, 11 reached #1 recreates entire image early songs bad but captured everyone w/ her persona has very focused vision of her music and image 2nd album Like a Virgin shot to top of album charts  sold over 10 million copies  single – Like A Virgin written by Billy Steinberg/Tom Kelly performed by Madonna #1 pop and #9 r&b  overseen by her longtime collaborator Shep Pettibone  can hear her punching in every line and stopping o matured as artist over time, began writing her own songs CH 14 “Smells like Teen Spirit”  Hip hop breaks out 1980s-19902 o mid 80s rap moves mainstream o 86 saw release of 2 multiplatinum rap albums  run dmc raising hell  Beastie boys – licensed to Ill  Both albums on independent label called DEF JAM o o o o o o

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Cofounded by promoter Russell Simmons and music-produced Rick Rubin Run DMC – trio  Adidas corporation/run dmc sign 1.5 million promotional deal  Would sing last word of a rap together  Walk this way- aerosmith/run dmc  Song one of the most significant things in past 30 years  Brought together rock fans and hip hops fans  MCs Run (Joseph Simmons) and DMC (Darryl McDaniels)  Dj Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) The Beastie Boys  85 signed by Def Jam  appeared in movie Krush groove- one of first films of hip-hop culture  toured as opening act for Madonna and run dmc

o NWA  Recordings express gangsta life, images of sex/violence  Ice cube, dr. dre  Formed Compton, ca 1936 o Snoop Doggy Dogg  Calvin Broadus, born Long Beach 1971  Big marijuana enthusiast, expressed culture and lifestyle of gangsters in easy way for more audiences to understand  “Whats my Name”

 lyrics about establishing street cred o Gangsta Rap  Chronicles dilemmas faced by urban communities from a 1st-person, present tense viewpoint  Controversial become images exploited to sell records and play into records of negative stereotypes of black culture, like the minstrel show  Certain pushback, act gangsta to play records  White people who don’t get it see this and play into stereotypes  Not representative of black community Techno  Up-tempo, repetitive, electronic dance music  Developed in club scenes of cities such as NY, Chicago, Detroit  Cross fertilized developments in London  Culture focused on djs and producers o Often attempt to remain anonymous  Most techno “groups” are in fact solo acts or teams of 2-3 djs: Orb, Orbital, Prodigy, and Moby  Roots traced to Detroit area, Michigan  During 80s group of African americans invent form of techno music in predominantly white area in town of Bellebille  Detroit techno grounded in different cultural scene from that which had spawned Motown sound. o Repetitive (driving electronic bass drum) – dance to the beat so repetition works o Instruments sound electronic  House music o Earlier than techno, named after the Warehouse – (a gay dance club) developing in Chicago

o Pioneered by Frankie Knuckles, dj from NY who worked at the Warehouse from 79-83 o Many recordings purely instrumental w/ elements of European synth-pop, latin soul, reggae, rap, and jazz o Sample technique – record voice, note, etc. and spread that across keyboard (run the trap, damn son where’d)  In 1990s techno music began to diversify into dozens of specialized subcategories o Often disguised by their relative “hardness”, a quality connected w/ the tempo or bpm of recordings o Forms of techno were influenced Alternate Currents  By end on 90s almost every major genre sprouted alt. subgenre o Alternative dance o Adult alt pop/rock o Alt country o Alt country rock o Alt contemporary o Alt metal o Alt rap o Alternative pop/rock  Alternative rock 80s-90s o Strong underground rock scene in US o Most influential indie band REM  Reinterpretation of punk aesthetic incorporated aspects of folk rock and a propensity for catchy melodic hooks  Hardcore

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o Develop clubs west coast o Extreme variation of punk, pioneered by bands in SF (Dead Kennedys) and LA (The germs, Black Flag, X, Suicidal Tendencies, and the Circle Jerks) o Grew out of surfer culture, surf-punks and transferred to the growing skater culture o Butthole surfers/Ramones/Sex pistols pushed punk movement to the limit (anarchy almost) o Holiday in Cambodia by the Dead Kennedys  Released on independent label Alternative Tentacles in 1981  Lyrics written by singer Jello Biafra brim w/ merciless sarcasm  Directed at spoiled children of suburban yuppies  Fast tempo  Guitar techniques – slides, whoops, scratches  I don’t care what happens to me attitude Grunge (hardcore was important precursor) o Originate in Seattle in mid 80s-mid 90s o Subgenre of alt rock that emerged as fusion of punk, alternative, and heavy metal o Characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars/contrasting song dynamics o Lyrics typically angst-filed, often addressing themes such as social alienation, apathy, frustration, sadness, fear, and depression o Scene coalesced around local record label Sub Pop o Nirvana  1992 commercial breakthrough of alt rock achieved by Nirvana  between 92-92 Nirvana release 2 multiplatinum records  nirvana hit it big and it was weird because they were part of the counterculture, mainstream was brought to them

trio – singer/guitar- Kurt cobain, bass- Krist novoselic, drummer Dave Grohl  debut album Bleach 1989  sold 35000 copies  91 group sign with major label DGC  album Nevermind quickly sell out  song that set it off – Smells like Teen Spirit single on Nevermind- top 10 hit  video very famous  combo of heavy metal instrumental textures/pop songwriting techniques  combines 4 chord heavy metal harmonic progression w/ somewhat conventional formal structure, made up of 4, 8, and 12 bar sections  heavy guitar sound  cheerleaders w/ anarchy sign on outfit  mosh pit  slower tempo than hardcore, lyrics more clear Womens voices  Ani Difranco o Born 1970 NY o Folk singer dressed in punk rock clothing o Spent career resisting lure of corporate music business, releasing an album and playing upward of 200 hundred live dates per year o Built successful independent record label (righteous babe records), substantial grassroots following o At age 9, began performing covers of Beatles songs at local coffeehouse 

o By 19 had written over 100 original songs/relocated to NYC to pursure career o By mid 90s got attention, put out album by 95 (Not a Pretty Girl)  Self-revealing lyrics  Austere, minimalist studio sound, focus on voice and guitar  Lauryn Hill o Hip hop artist whose work is self conscious alternative to violence o Start career with Fugees o “Doo Wop” turns to men in audience opening up rapid fire volley of wordplay that attacks men, gangstas, tough guys acts WED JUNE 4 Mtv change industry – becomes all about youth, beauty, celebrity If your goal is money and fame, don’t do it. Find what you love and maybe if you are lucky you will get to turn that into a living About 5 song ex. Ch 11-15, added more (must be able to identify genre)