Music Final Exam

Graceland (Paul Simon)

"global" album recorded in 5 different locations on 3 different continents: Johannesburg, South Africa, London, England, New York City, Los Angeles, and Crowley, Louisiana

Funk

"healthy sweat"

N.W.A.

-*****z With Attitude -Group formed in 1986 with O'shea "Ice Cube Jackson", Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, and Eric "Easy- E" Wright

Grandmaster Flash

-Adopted the mixing techniques of disco DJs, particularly the use of headphones to synchronize the tempos of recordings and create smooth transitions from one dance groove to the next -Refined technique of backspin -"Scratching"

Revivals of older musicals

-Anything goes, show boat, wonderful town -Movie adaptations: Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King

Talking Heads

-Band formed by David Byrne -Represented the more self-consciously artistic and exploratory side of the alternative rock scene

Sly Stone

-Born Sylvester Stewart, began musical career as a gospel singer; studied trumpet, music theory, and composition in college; worked as a disc jockey; first band in 1966 -Gradually developed a style that reflected his own diverse musical experience: jazz, soul, San Fransisco psychedelia, socially engaged lyrics of folk rock

Listening Guide: "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain"

-By Willie Nelson -Red-headed stranger (1975) -Country concept album -Sold over 2 million copies -Unconventional and highly recognizable vocal style

Listening Guide: "I Shot the Sherriff"

-Cover by Eric Clapton's 1974 recording (political song)

Madonna

-Dancer, model who moved into music -Hit recording depended on high degree of collaborative interaction among the singer, songwriter(s), producer, recording engineers, studio session musicians, and others

Three factors that account for Broadway's recent success:

-Emergence of the "mega-musical" -Revivals of older musicals -"Jukebox musicals"

Prince

-Had been making music professionally since the age of 13 as an occasional member of his father's jazz trio -hit recordings were composed, produced, engineered, and performed solely by himself, many at his own studio

Willie Nelson (1933)

-In a group called the outlaws -One of the most influential figures in the progressive country movement who developed a successful career as a professional songwriter in Nashville and later settled in Austin, fusing country music with countercultural sensibilities.

Bob Marley

-Leader of the Wailers and national hero in his Jamaica who was reggae's most effective international ambassador known for songs of determination, rebellion, and faith roots in the Rastafarian belief system

The Velvet Underground

-Lou Reed- Singer and guitarist who had previously worked as a pop songwriter in a brill-building style "music factory" -John Cale- viola player active the avant-grande art music scene in New York who introduced experimental music elements into the mix, including electronic noise and recorded industrial sounds

Reggae

-Mixture of carribean folk and American rhythm and blues, first style of rock developed in third-world countries -Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley

Listening Guide: "Psycho Killer"

-Music and lyrics by David Byrne, Chris Fanz, Tina Weymouth; performed by Talking heads; recorded 1977 -Song inspired by Norman Bates-murderer in Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho -Released in 1977- during the son of Sam killing spree -Electric bass- simple riff reminiscent of mid-1970s funk or disco -Guitars- crispy articulated, interlocking chord patterns -Byrnes voice- lyrics in half-spoken, half-sung style over a simple melody using only a few pitches and staying mainly on the tonic note.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit"

-Music by Nirvana -Lyrics by Kurt Cobain -Performed by Nirvana -Recorded 1991

Afrika Bambaataa

-One of the three first celebrities of hip hop: djs who began their careers in the mid- 1970s - Along with Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash

Kool Herc

-Pioneering hip hop DJ who adapted the disco technique of "mixing" to the hip-hop aesthetic

Punk Rock

-Rebellion against corporate of rock music (the golden age-1975-1978) -"Back to the basics"

"Jukebox Musicals"

-Revue type shows fashioned around a specific repertory of older popular music -Broadway shows fashioned around songs- Aint Misbehavin, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys

Jimmy Cliff

-Star of the 1972 film the Harder they come, and the vocalist on the title track of the soundtrack.

Run D.M.C.

-Trio consisting of MCs Run (Joseph Simmons) and D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels), and the DJ Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) -Perhaps the most influential act in the history of rap music -Recordings released by Def jam records

Michael Jackson

-Worked with veteran producer Quincy Jones to create an album that achieved boundary-crossing popularity -African-American pop music that was aimed squarely at the mainstream center of the market -Age was not the only basis on segmentation of the audience- subtext of fragmentation was a tendency toward increasing resegregation along racial lines of the various audiences for pop -Thriller represented an effort to find ways to mediate among the various genres of early 1980s pop music

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

-Written and performed by Eurythmics

"Doo Wop (That Thing)"

-Written and performed by Lauryn Hill -Recorded 1998

"Holiday in Cambodia"

-Written and performed by the Dead Kennedys -Good example of early 1980s hardcore punk rock -Jello Biafra lead singer -Song directed to spoiled children of suburban yuppies -Guitar pyrotechnics

"Like a Virgin"

-Written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly -Performed by Madonna

"Jump"

-Written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and David Lee Roth -Performed by Van Halen -Released 1984

"What's My Name"

-Written by George Clinton, Gary Shider, Snoop Dogg, and David Spradley -Produced by Dr. Dre -Performed by Snoop Doggy Dogg

"Walk This Way"

-Written by Joe Perry and Steven Tyler -Performed by Run-D.M.C. with Perry and Tyler (From Aerosmith) -Recorded 1986

"Nowhere to Stand"

-Written by K.D. Lang -Performed by K.D. Lang and the Reclines -Recorded 1989

Listening Guide: "Pedro Navaja"

-Written by Ruben Blades -Performed by Willie Colon and Ruben Blades (recorded 1977)

Listening Guide: "The Message"

-Written by Sylvia Robinson, Ed Fletcher, and Melle Mel; performed by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five; recorded 1982

"What's Love Got to Do With It"

-Written by Terry Britten and Graham Lye -Performed by Tina Turner

George Clinton

-aka Dr. Funkenstein, an ex-R&B vocal group leader and song writer, hung out with Detroit hippies, listened to the Stooges, and altered his style during the late 1960s -developed a mixture of compelling polyrhythms, psychedelic guitar solos, jazz-influenced horn arrangements, and R&B vocal harmonies

Raves

-dance club and semipublic events partly modeled on the be-ins of the 1960s counterculture -Prevalent use of psychoactive drug ecstasy

Emergence of the "Mega Musical"

-high impact spectacle of staging and sound equivalent to arena rock -Continuous singing, eschewing spoken dialogue with anthem-like songs designed to be memorable, delivered with pop-style vocals, self-consciously elaborate staging fashioned to wow the audience -Andrew Lloyd Weber: Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera -Les Miserables

House Music

-named after the warehouse, a popular gay dance club -developed in Chicago

Union Station

Band where Krauss demonstrates her close connections to traditional bluegrass and interest in creating a distinctive and original sound that grows out of those connections.

Krist Novoselic

Bassist and cofounder of the Seattle-based band Nirvana

Johnny Cash

Begain his career in the mid-1950s as a rockabilly star, was an acclaimed country artist in the 1960s and 1970s, and in the 1990s had a resurgence with his series of "American Recordings"

Grunge Rock

Blend of hardcore punk and metal into the commercial mainstream

Thrash

Blended the fast tempos and rebellious attitude of hardcore with the technical virtuosity of heavy metal guitar playing

Ralph Stanley

Bluegrass veteran who performed with his brother Carter as the Stanley Brothers beginning in 1946 and produced a body of outstanding bluegrass records

Rock Steady

Burru style drumming used in Urban version of ska music; slower tempo than ska

"Sean "Puffy" Combs"

CEO of New York based Bad Boy Records

K.D. Lang

Canadian recording artist whose early work showcases the influence of Patsy Cline who later recorded successful pop material

Digital Samplers

Capable of storing both pre-recorded and synthesized sounds

Alison Krauss

Career before she reached the age of 30 reached much further from strict traditionalism

Eurythmics

Consisted of a core of only two musicians—the singer Annie Lennox (b. 1954 in Scotland) and the keyboardist and technical whiz Dave Stewart (b. 1952 in England). Eurythmics' first chart appearance

New Wave

Corporate rock in more self-consciously artistic and experimental wave

Progressive Country Music

Country rock style like Gram Farsons, inspired by the honky-tonk and rockabilly combination of Bakersfield country music

Gloria Estefan

Cuban born singer who has sold over 90 million albums worldwide. Her formula alternates dance-oriented pop, English-Language love songs, and Spanish-language tracks aimed at an international Latin American audience

Jam Master Jay

DJ known for his influential work with the hip-hop trio Run D.M.C.

Synthesizers

Devices that allow musicians to create or "synthesize" musical sounds- began to appear on rock records in the 1970s.

Digital Sequencers

Devices that record musical data rather than musical sound and allow the creation of repeated sound sequences (loops), the manipulation of rhythmic grooves, and the transmission of recorded data from one program or device to another

Born in the USA

Dominated by up-tempo, rocking songs, with Springsteen shouting away in full voice and grand style and the band playing full tilt behind him

Hardcore

Extreme variation of punk pioneered during the 1980s by bands in San Fransisco and Los Angeles; took the frenzied energy of the Ramones and the Sex Pistols and pushed it to the limit, playing simple riff-based songs at impossibly fast tempos and screaming nihilistic lyrics over a chaotic wall of guitar chords

Iggy Pop

Famous for his outrageous stage performances, which include flinging himself into the crowd

Synth-Pop

First type of popular music explicitly defined by its use of electronic sound synthesis

Techno

Focused on DJ/producers, who often attempt to remain annonymous

David Byrne

Formed Talking heads in 1974 with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, who met as art students at the Rhode Island school of design

Public Enemy

Founded in 1982, organized around a core set of members who met as college students, drawn together by their interest in hip-hop culture and political activism.

Tina Turner

Had been in the limelight for over 20 years when she recorded this song; recording debut took place in 1960 as a member of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue

Lauryn Hill

Hip-hop artist whose work is a self-conscious alternative to the violence and sexism of rap stars such as Dr. Dre, the notorious B.I.G. and 2pac Shakur

Hip-Hop

Hip-hop culture-forged by African American, Puerto Rican, and Caribbean American youth in New York City in the late 1970s; includes distinctive styles of visual art (graffiti), dance, dress, and speech. -Initially a local phenomenon-centered in certain neighborhoods in the Bronx

The Stooges

Iggy Pop- famous for his outrageous stage performances, which included flinging himself into the crowd, cutting himself with beer bottles, and rubbing himself with raw meat.

Paul Simon

Interest in music that was not indigenous to the US manifested in songs long before Graceland

Flavor Fav

MC who provided streetwise commentary on recordings by Public Enemy

Gangsta Rap

Marginal variant of hip-hop featuring highly stylized narratives of dilemmas faced by urban communities: poverty, drug addiction, and violence, from a first-person, present tense viewpoint that combines a grim survivalist outlook on life with a gleeful celebration of the gangster lifestyle

Mento

Mixture of Jamaican folk songs, church hymns

Sex Pistols

Most outrageous and famous punk band, formed in 1975 London.

Thriller

Much consists of up-tempo, synthesizer and bass-riven, danceable music that occupies a middle ground between the heavy funk of an artist like George Clinton the brighter but still beat-obsessed sound that characterized many new wave bands

MTV

Music television- changed the way the music industry operated, rapidly becoming the preferred method for launching a new act or promoting the latest release

Political Stance

Opposed American imperialism overseas, destruction of human rights and the environment, and hypocritical and soulless suburban lifestyle

Van Halen

Pop-metal band from the 1980s, featuring virtuosic guitar (and eventually synthesizer) performances by Eddie Van Halen; famous for songs like "Panama" and "Jump."

Beastie Boys

Rap trio that was the first commercially successful white act in hip-hop

Ice T

Recorded the theme song for colors, Dennis Hopper's violent film about gang-police warfare in South Central Los Angeles

Funk Music

Represented another back-to-basics impetus: the impulse to dance

Salsa

Rhythmically charged, harmonically advanced style in the dance clubs of New York; salsa or "hot sauce"- verbal metaphor for the intensity, passion, and rhythmic flow.

Digital Recording

Samples the sound waves and breaks them down into a stream of numbers (0s and 1s)

Ska

Sharp offbeat accents, combinations of brass instruments and saxophone

Eddie Vedder

Singer best known for his work with pearl jam

Kurt Cobain

Singer, guitarist, and cofounder of the Seattle-based band Nirvana whose suicide deeply affected many music fans.

Ani Difranco

Spent career resisting the lure of the corporate music business, releasing an album, and playing approx. 200 live performances per year while building up a successful independent record label and substantial grassroots following

Johnny Rotten

Stage name for John Lydon, singer

Minimalism

Stresses the use of combinations of a limited number of basic elements, popular in the art music scene the 1960s and 1970s, represented in the works of composers such as Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass

World Music

Term used in the late 1980s by independent record label owners and concert promoters, replacing terms such as "traditional music", "International music", and "ethnic music"

Bruce Springsteen

Throughout the 1970s forged a progressively more successful career in pop music while continuing to cast both his music and his personal image in the light of the rebellious rock 'n' rollers of the 1950s and the socially conscious folk rockers of the 1960s.

Analog Recording

Transforms the energy of sound waves into either physical imprints or electronic waveforms that closely follow the shape of the sound waves themselves.

Waylon Jennings (1937-2002)

Was the center piece of the outlaws

Vanilla Ice

White rapper considered hip-hop's icon of "wackness" (weakness)

"When Doves Cry"

Written, performed and produced by Prince

Garage Band

amateur bands of questionable skill that practiced in garages.

Raggay

everyday stuff

M.C. Hammer

rapper from Oakland, CA, whose Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em became the best selling rap album of all time