History of Rock Chapter 10

CBGB goes new wave cont.

-"One Way or Another" gives a good example of their new, hard rocking style -Their 1981 hit, "Rapture" shows a style that evolved to include a rapped section that looks forward to the rising hip-hop movement in New York

The Entertainer

-Billy Joel song takes satirical look at the realities of the music industry at the time and makes reference to his song, "Piano Man" which was cut from 5:40- 3:05

Peter Framton

-English rocker Peter Frampton's live album, Frampton Comes Alive, was an early platinum album that sold over 13 million copies and featured approachable, middle-of-the-road songs that focused on his guitar playing and melodic singing

Elvis Costello

-In December 1977, the British singer Elvis Costello's appeared on SaturdayNight Live as a stand in for the Sex Pistols, who were having trouble getting into the country -Costello's label and SNL producers agreed that he would sing his catchy single"Less Than Zero", a song about a disgraced British politician - After starting the song, Costello stopped the performance and then played "Radio Radio" that pointed a finger at corporate controlled broadcasting and the commercialization of both television and radio - The performance resulted in Costello being banned from the show for 12 years

Journey

-Included musicians from Santana, the Steve Miller Band, and Frank Zappa, but had only moderate success until their 4th album, Infinity, at which time singer Steve Perry Joined the band -DONT STOP BELIEVIN, an enduring hit

The Rise of New Wave

-Increasing coverage in music magazines such as Rolling Stone helped bring punk into the American mainstream by giving significant coverage to the concerts and events that surrounded them - Seen as being dangerous and potentially embarrassing, the music business decided to tame punk's bad reputation by remaking it as"new wave" -The idea was to replace the nihilist and protest-oriented aspects of punk with an image that was artsy and ironic - Since many of the CBGB groups had backgrounds in the arts, this strategy worked out well - Blondie and the Talking Heads, both CBGB regulars, were some of the first punk artists to break into the mainstream

Devo

-The group Devo took irony to new limits and used costumes and space-age sounds to adopt the image of futuristic beings from 1950s science fiction films - Their mechanized version of "[I Can't Get No] Satisfaction" is an example of their early work

Pangs of rock history cont.

-These groups also returned to topics of teenage romance and placed less emphasis on musical virtuosity -All of these point to an inspiration that look to the rock and roll that existed before Sgt. Pepper -That said, the goal of these groups was not so much aimed at rejecting the music that came after Sgt. Pepper in favor of older styles, but rather to make ironic references to earlier music to offer critique the present and a vision of the future

Kick Out The Jams

MC5 song, representative of aggressive sound

Show Me the Way

Peter Frampton song

Venus in Furs

The Velvet Underground song

Punk underground

- Between 1967-1975, most of the rock world was focused on psychedelia and mainstream rock, but the punk movement was getting its start underground - Among the most important early influences on punk was The Velvet Underground, which was associated with the artist Andy Warhol for a time in the 1960s -Warhol was famous for adapting element from everyday life and refocusing them in an artistic context

singer-songwriter

- By the mid-1970s, singer-songwriters commonly fronted bands, which allowed them to explore harder rock styles in their music -Bob Dylan toured with The Band and a group he called the RollingThunder Revue -Elton John continued to explore rock band backing in the late 1970s with a string of hits, including "Philadelphia Freedom" - Paul Simon's music reflected his influences in jazz, gospel, and rhythm and blues

Big albums cont.

-"Big albums" - or albums selling a million or more copies- became an increasingly common phenomenon in the late 70s, prompted RIAA to create Platinum award -Big albums made the record business attractive to investors and multi-national corporations, many of whom had no experience in music but hoped to cash in on album sales -The scope of concert tours and the size of venues for rock concerts also increased during the time, moving from theaters and ballrooms to stadiums and sports arenas

Roots of punk in the US cont,

-American record labels, however, were quick to tone down the style, instead endorsing a style they called "new wave" -While the American mainstream market did not register punk until the early 1980s, the style had its most important roots in the mid-1960s New York underground scene - Like R&B, punk was exported to the UK only to return and be reintroduced as New Wave

AOR cont.

-As "album oriented rock" stations increased, there was also a decrease in the freedom of individual DJs to choose their own music -Programmers increasingly thought that rock songs did not leave enough time for commercials and by end of the decade, there was a move away from broadcasting extended tracks toward songs that were 4-5 minutes long

The Sex Pistols cont.

-As a result, record labels in both the US and the UK became very hesitant to sign new punk bands, fearing a similar scenario - For this reason, British punk bands did not enjoy American success until they were recategorized as "new wave"

The rise of new wave cont

-As mentioned earlier, punk had virtually no presence in mainstream rock in the US during its early days, but this began to change in 1977 - In late 1977 and early 1978, The Sex Pistols toured the US, but rather than playing prominent venues in the Northeast and on the West Coast, they band toured the US South, a calculated move that produced a number of headlines

Musically conservative

-As the recording industry strove for large numbers of album sales, it also became more musically conservative -Record companies became less likely to take chances on groups that would only sell 350K which would have been acceptable just a few years ago -For this reason, critics often lament the late 1970s as a time when music became just another way to make money, regardless of how it sounded or what it stood for

British New Wavers in America

-Aside from The Sex Pistols and The Clash, few British punk rockers became popular in the United States, but some British New Wave artists did enjoy American success -Elvis Costello, who would go on to become one of rock's most heralded songwriters, was one of the first British New Wavers to chart in the US, despite his SNL performance - "Pump It Up" is a good example of his early style - The Police were another British new wave group who had commercially successful releases in both the United States and the UK -While they will be discussed further in the next chapter, their hit single"Roxanne", from their debut album, gives an example of their early style, which incorporated a strong reggae influence

Billy Joel

-Billy Joel was another singer-songwriter who performed with a band -He had a series of successful albums from the late 1970s into the 1980s which explored a variety of musical styles from different eras - His music from this period features his piano playing and vocals as the center of attention with backed by members of his band

Van Halen

-Blended element of hard rock with blues-based vocals by David Lee Roth and futuristic guitar sounds by guitarist Eddie Van Halen

CBGB goes new wave

-Blondie's song "Heart of Glass" was the first of several hit singles for the group in both the United States and the UK - While Blondie's style did not resemble American stereotypes of punk, their music successfully fused their roots in the style with aspects that played well on US radio

Electric Light Orchestra

-British bands such as Electric Light Orchestra also reworked the progressive rock style -Their early songs show a strong influence from the Sgt. Pepper era Beatles -They broke through the US with 5th album Eldorado, which was followed by several hits

Kansas

-Broke into the mainstream in 1977 with 4th album, Leftoverture, which featured the hit -"Carry on my Wayward Son" -Their album, Point of Know Return, was their most successful and contained the ballad "Dust in the Wind"

Roots of punk in the US

-By 1977, American listeners began to hear about a new, UK-based movement called punk, which initially failed to catch on in the United States due to its aggressive image - Punk first came to mainstream attention in the UK , where groups like the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, and the Clash placed singles and albums on the British charts

Rush

-Canadian power trio, concept album 2112 -Alex Lifeson's guitar playing for harmonic color instead of keyboard avoided classical pretensions of progressive rock -Bassist Geddy Lee high pitch vocals reminscent of Yes and Led Zepplin -Neil Port virtuosic drumming and poet lyrics

The New York Dolls

-Connected the New York scene of the late 60s with the growing punk movement of the mid 70s -The group coupled makeup and costumes with a tough and reckless image, and while they were not commercially successful, they are seen as an important step between the art-based experimental music of the Velvet Underground and the New York Punk scene that followed

The Velvet Underground

-Group was led by Lou Reed and John Cale, with Reeds lyrics focusing on the darker side of urban life and Cale interested in applying avante-garde techniques to popular music

Fleetwood Mac

-Had several successful mainstream rock albums, including Rumours, which spent 31 weeks at number 1 on Billboard charts -album produced hit "Go Your Own Way" -No previous album had sold so many records

The Eagles

-Hotel California followed Peter Framptons album as a successful big album, in which the group abandoned it's country-rock approach for more mainstream style

Malcolm McLaren cont.

-In 1973, he relaunched his store as "Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die", and befriended members of the New York Dolls who had wandered into his shop - McLaren provided clothes for the group and even helped to manage them in NY during he first months of 1975, but return to London after the group broke up - McLaren then renamed his clothing shop "Sex" and specialized in leather clothing and fetish wear

Big album

-In addition to radio, record businesses also became increasingly corporate in the 1970s as it became clear there was money to be made on rock music -Prior to 1970, most bands would be thrilled if their album sold 500K copies, which would have earned them the Gold award from Record Industry Association of America

Blondie

-Influenced by 1960s girl groups and went on to become one of the most commercially successful CBGB bands, but only after punk was brought to the attention of mainstream via UK artists

Queen

-Led by Freddie Mercury and Brian May, Queen was influenced by the late Beatles, glam rock, and progressive rock -The group had a long string of hits throughout the 70s and 80s -"Bohemian Rhapsody" remains the groups best-known songs -Mercury's death of AID in 1991 raised awareness of the disease and of sexual stereotypes in rock

The Talking Heads

-Made up of students from the Rhode Island School of Design, The Talking Heads debuted at CBGB in 1975 and became one of New Wave's leading bands - Their style channeled punk's rebellion into a new, artsy direction that turned violence into introspective vocals and complex music -"Psycho Killer" gives an example of their early style, which feature spare accompaniment and unique vocal style

Boston

-Many bands that formed in the late 1970s blended various features of earlier styles to create radio-friendly tracks -The band BOSTON blended blues rock with aspects of progressive rock to produce music that sold well

Foreigner

-Many of the most popular new groups in the late 1970s were made up of musicians who were active in other groups in the late 60s and early in 70s -The British-American band Foreigner blended rhythm and blues vocals, blues-rock guitar, and prominent keyboards influenced by progressive rock -Most of all of the members in the group performed professionally before joining the group

The Sex Pistols

-McLaren then went on to manage the group, the Sex Pistols, which developed a reputation for outrageous behavior at their concerts and gained notoriety for using foul language on air when they filled in at the last minute for Queen on a British television show -Despite their reputation, the group was very successful the UK Top 40, which led to three separate record companies signing them but then dropping them before their first album, with the record companies paying the group advances in each instance

Punk center

-NY was the national center of punk, though other cities had punk scenes, as well: Cleveland, Detroit, LA, Boston -In the late 70s, punk became a national subculture, united by DIY aesthetic in fashion that included ripped jeans, safety pins, and mohawk haircuts

Pangs of Rock History

-One of the most distinctive aspects of New Wave bands was that they had a clear fascination with both the sounds and visual images of earlier musical styles, which set it apart from the hippie rock that preceded it - New Wave musicians moved away from and critiqued the principles of mainstream rock through ironic references to earlier music - The songs that these groups wrote were often shorter and less complex than the music that was built on the hippie aesthetic

Patti Smith Group

-Poet Patti Smith and guitarist Lenny Kaye formed the Patti Smith Group and became the first group from emerging NY punk scene to sign record deal -Smith and others would often perform at a bar in lower Manhattan called CBGB (Country, Bluegrass, and Blues) which became the home of the New York Punk scene

The Cars

-The Cars were among the first new wave bands to be played on FM rock radio, and their music was characterized by references to 1950s rock styles, as in - "My Best Friend's Girl"

Styx

-The Chicago group Styx often sang about progressive topics, including space, the future, and science fiction -Their big break came with their 7th album, the Grand Illusion, which included the song "Come Sail Away" -Even though both groups took inspiration from the lofty concepts of Prog rock movement, they also were able to trim their music down to 4-5 minutes standard for radio play

MC5

-The Detroit band MC5 cultivated an aggressive sound and were important in the later punk scene -In addition to their music, the confrontational styles of Velvets, Iggy Pop, and MC5 were also influential on NY punk rock

The Ramones

-The Ramones also performed at CBCB, they had stripped-down, high-energy style, that focused on short simple songs that were played very fast -Despite the group's importance in the history of punk music, the group had little commercial success in the US

Corporate rock

-The profitability of rock radio also encouraged major corporations, who were mainly interested in financial bottom line, to buy radio stations -As AOR grew, advertising and listener demographics began to figure heavily into programming choices -For this reason, many listeners thought that AOR had abandoned the rebelliousness that was once central to rock music and began to referring to it as "corporate rock"

Malcolm Mclaren

-The rise of punk in the UK can be seen as reflecting the circumstances resulting from the economic recession that was occurring at the time - Malcolm McLaren, who ran a clothing store in London called Let It Rock, helped this socioeconomic frustration find a voice in the punk movement -While his original interest was in early rock and roll, his shop specialized in biker jackets and other 1950s clothing

Van Halen song

-Their debut album featured a cover of "YOU REALLY GOT ME" by the Kinks

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers adapted the folk-rock style of Bob Dylan or the Byrds, but they were considered to be and marketed as a new wave group in the late 1970s, as with -"American Girl"

Progressive rock revamped

-While many of the groups that originated the progressive rock movement had faded by the mid-decade, two American bands, Kansas and Styx, revamped the progressive rock style in the late 70s

B-52

-While the B-52s achieved their greatest success in the 1980s with music that contained references to the pre-psychedelic era - Their 1978 hit, "Rock Lobster", has become closely associated with the New Wave movement

Iggy Pop

-While the Velvet Underground was obsessed with dark, downtrodden realities, Iggy Pop was known for his outrageous performances -Pop would often walk on the audience's hands and smear peanut butter all over his body

Album oriented rock

-the radio industry saw tremendous growth in the 1970s -by beginning of the decade, FM radio stations were broadcasting rock music and focused on playing extended album cuts, following model established by Tom Donahue in SF

X Offender

Blondie song, influence by girl groups

More Than a Feeling

Boston song

Don't Bring Me Down

Electric Light Orchestra song

Feels Like the First Time

Foreigner song

Looking for a Kiss

New York Dolls song

Gloria

Patti Smith Group song -Van Morrison's "Gloria" gives an example of how their music would often begin with recitation that seems unrelated to the tune, but eventually builds to an energetic rendering of the chorus

Blitzkrieg Bop

The Ramones, played very fast

Anarchy in the UK

The Sex Pistols song

I Wanna be your dog

The Stooges song (Iggy Pop)