Unit 5
MTV and Video Culture: Michael Jackson (1985-2009)
-As a child star at Motown in the late 60s-70s, Jackson appealed to adults and teens alike ---arguably the greatest child prodigy in the history of American popular music ---uncannily absorbed and translated the performance style of James Brown into the language of Motown crossover -Solo career took off in the late 70s with Off The Wall (1979) released by Epic Records (a CBS subsidiary) produced by Quincy Jones
Hip Hop Enters the Mainstream: Madonna and the Beastie Boys on tour
-Beastie Boys open for Madonna's "Virgin" tour in 1985 -Both slashed by the critics: "singing out of tune and out of rhythm", "their image has completely overshadowed their music". Madonna "stole" Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" & behaved like a brat. -White artists, playing to suburban white audiences but produced by African-Americans [Madonna produced by R&B Reggie Lucas] -Unprecedented Commerical success
New Wave
-New Wave is a sub-genre following the punk explosion of the 70s; opposes "epic" attitude of art rock, embraces technology (synths!)
1988-1991: indie rock sinks and swims with major labels
-The Replacements and Hüsker Dü break "indie" ranks to sign with Warner Bros. (in 1984 and 1985, respectively) --->1988: After only 2 albums from Warner, Hüsker Dü breaks up -1990: Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth consults with Hüsker Dü's Bob Mould, before signing to Geffen (Whitesnake, Elton John...) -Fans consider the Replacements' Warner Bros. albums "lackluster"; what remains of the group eventually breaks up in 1991 -Sonic Youth's staying power under Geffen earns them a status as godfathers of the indie community. -Geffen sees Sonic Youth as a "badge of coolness"—who help them lure Dinosaur Jr and eventually Nirvana to the fold.
The Talking Heads
-The Talking Heads Students at Rhode Island School of Design ~1975, opened for the Ramones at CBGB -connected punk to the "art" crowd -Deftly integrated musical traditions: ---•gospel, funk/disco, West African rhythms, electronic dance music, avant-garde/minimalist music
Sampling Technology and Hip Hop
-Through the 1980s, drum machines and digital sampling devices allowed producers to sequence rhythmic tracks with either synthetic or captured ('sampled") sounds -The results: ----‣increasingly complex original compositions -----‣progression from DJing to "beat-making" to "producing" ----‣period of legal upheaval regarding copyright law
Sampling
lacking composition and recording
State of the Music Industry 1970-1990: Wave of Deregulation 1980-1982
-"Reaganomics:" Reduction or elimination of governmental economic controls; "trickle-down" regressive taxation -1981: three major record companies' market share doubles (40% → 80%) -exploding value of radio and TV ads
Context for Hip-Hop
-1980: former California governor Ronald Reagan wins the presidency -preached small government→divestment from urban public housing projects -"Reaganomics": reduction or elimination of governmental economic controls; "trickle-down" theory of regressive taxation -"War on Drugs": disproportionately affects young male African-Americans -South Bronx, New York: cuts in public services; re-investment in tourism industries lead to a further breakdown of inner-city infrastructure
Hip Hop Enters the Mainstream: Def Jam Records
-1986 saw the release of the first two multiplatinum rap albums --Raising Hell by Run-D.M.C. (#3 Pop) --Licensed to Ill by the Beastie Boys(#1 Pop) -Both were released on a new independent label called Def Jam -Def Jam Co-founded in 1984 by the hip-hop promoter Russell Simmons and the musician-producer Rick Rubin (punk background)
Hip Hop Enters the Mainstream
-1988: The Grammys add a rap category and Billboard added a rap singles chart; Yo! MTV Raps attracts the largest audience in the network's history (DJ Battle from 1998) -Major record companies recognize the commercial potential of hip-hop, set up distribution deals and/or purchased smaller independents (Columbia/Def Jam; RCA/Jive Records; Warner/Tommy Boy, etc.) -Larger labels increased rap's access to mainstream media outlets ----edited/clean versions on pop radio stations ----TV (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, In Living Color) ----Hollywood films (Do the Right Thing, Juice, Menace 2 Society, Boyz N The Hood)
Success of pop in the 90s
-1989, Cleveland OH: Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine is the first "independent record" to reach Platinum status -1991 Seattle, WA: Kurt Cobain / Nirvana'sNevermindmixes post-punk sounds of the Pixies and Sonic Youth with sentiments of raw disillusionment and social criticism of 80s consumer culture (grunge scene) -1992 LA, CA: eponymous debut album of "rap metal" band Rage Against the Machine reaches triple-platinum status and drives the mainstream success of Lollapalooza.
Afrika Bambaataa (Kevin Donovan, b. 1960 in the Bronx)
-A prominent South Bronx street gang leader in the early 1970s -Mid -1970s: pilgrimage to Africa, influenced by exposure to Zulu culture -Founded "Zulu Nation" in NYC, focused on community building -Used samples from diverse sources including Euro-Disco bands (e.g. Kraftwerk) on tracks like "Planet Rock" (1982) -Recently stepped down from Zulu Nation after four allegations of past sexual abuse
Prince Rogers Nelson (1956-2016)
-Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota -Taught himself piano, guitar, and drums by age 14 -Helped define the soul-pop "Minneapolis Sound" of the late 70s/early 80s --‣replaced trad. horn sections with synthesizers --‣funky rhythms and bass lines --‣danceable tempos -Freely mixed elements from a diverse musical palette (funk, disco, psychedelic rock, urban folk, guitar-based rock, new wave)
Hip Hop entering the mainstream: Gangsta Rap
-By the time N.W.A. released Straight Outta Compton in 1988, hip-hop culture had already become highly politicized and controversial -N.W.A. presented a version of the L.A. gang life without distance or moral judgement -Crystallized middle-class America's (white and black, liberal and conservative) objections to rap music ---glorification of sex and violence ---misogyny ---(homophobia not as problematic)
NWA
-Dr Dre -Ice Cube -Eazy E -MC Ren -DJ Yella
1980s: Video kills the radio star (MTV)
-Founded in 1981, MTV was joint venture of Warner Bros. and American express (later bought out by Viacom International) ---venture made possible by the deregulation of the airwaves and the advent of cable television ---MTV originally conceived as a tool for directly marketing Warner and other major label artists ---marketing campaign recycled a 1960s breakfast cereal commercial into "I Want My MTV" slogan
Roots of Rap Music: The Old School
-Innovative DJs increasingly attracted large and excited crowds, but tended to draw their attention away from dancing →MCs were added to hype the crowds and keep people moving -Kool Herc was one of the first DJs to rhyme phrases over the "breakbeats" produced on his turntables -Early influential MCs included Melle Mel and Kid Creole, both of whom joined with Flash in Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five --"rapping" derived from a tradition of verbal performance called "toasting," a form of poetic storytelling with roots in the trickster tales of West Africa
MTV and Video Culture: Michael Jackson (1985-2009) (cont.)
-MTV had its biggest audience wherever HBO and other premium channels had subscribers ---mainly in the Midwest ---played videos by white mainstream rock artists and New Wave bands -Out of more than 750 videos shown on MTV during the channel's first eighteen months, only about twenty featured African Americans -The mammoth success of Michael Jackson's Thriller, released by Columbia Records in 1982, forced a change in MTV's essentially all- white rock music format.
Post Punk Diversifying 1978-1988 (cont. pt. 2)
-Minneapolis-based Hüsker Dü(1979-1988): --Blends energy/experimentalism of hardcore punk with lighter, pop melodies.Vicious, emotionally moving, always progressive. --1984 double-album Zen Arcade sets the new standard of complexity and drive for the hard-core sub-genre. -Their hometown friends, The Replacements (1979-1991): --Wrote melodic, almost folky, extremely personal music that still embraced the punk aesthetic of amateurism and self-destruction. -1981 (Los Angeles): Black Flag and TheMinutemen release debut albums & tour together, both are known for diversifying the hardcore sound with rhythmic complexity and dynamic range.
Prince (cont.)
-Prince's commitment to stylistic diversity locates him squarely within a continuum of African-American musical culture ---this creative imperative had a major impact in a time of rigid genre definition -Prince and the "Uptown" utopia --‣a domain of racial and sexual indeterminacy and freedom apart from the creative and social dictates of mass society
Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler, b. 1958 in Barbados)
-Refined Kool Herc's approach by adopting the headphone mixing techniques of disco DJ -Helped popularize "BACKSPINNING" and "SCRATCHING" practices → key elements of hip hop's sonic signature even after the music largely went digital -extended the use of turntables as "talking" instruments→ echoes blues musician's adaptations of the guitar -helped elevate technological virtuosity as a critical component of hip-hop
MTV and Video Culture: Michael Jackson (1985-2009) (cont. pt. 2)
-Thriller (1982) --The best-selling album ever, with worldwide sales in excess of 100 million copies (U.S. #1 album for 37 weeks in 1983) --Successfully mediated among the various genres of early 1980s pop music --guest artists included Paul McCartney and Eddie Van Halen --Video for "Thriller" (dir. John Landis) sets a new standard for the medium emphasizing narrative --Jackson's understanding of video culture allowed him to crossover as a multi-faceted performer rather than as just a singer
late 80s: post punk decline
-U.S. hardcore bands area collective: rely heavily on one another to set up shows, share equipment, couch-surf, etc. --despite millions of devoted fans, revenue was scarce
Roots of Rap Music: The Old School (cont.)
-Until the release of the Sugar Hill Gang's 12-inch single "Rapper's Delight" (1979) hip-hop music was a largely a local phenomenon -provided the first indication of rap's potential crossover appeal (#4 R&B, #36 Pop) -popularized the use of the term "rapper" as an equivalent for "MC" -Unexpected crossover success paved the way for hip hop's commercial breakthrough in the mid-late 80s
DJ Kool Herc (Clive Campbell)
-born in Jamaica, raised in NY among Jamaican sound (reggae, ska and dub) -Began spinning records in the mid-70s at neighborhood block parties, gym dances, dance clubs, and public parks. -Noticed that his audiences responded energetically to the rhythm "breaks" on funk and salsa records --A popular one was the break from "Amen, Brother"—a.k.a. the Amen Break -Originated "break-beat DJ-ing": use of 2 records to create a perpetual break beat by switching back and forth between the turntables
SST records
-created by Black Flag guitarist, Greg Ginn. Featured The Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Bad Brains, Firehose, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, and Hüsker Dü (the label's biggest seller) -was unable to press high enough quantity of records; bands complained about questionable bookkeeping and payment practices
Elements of Hip Hop Culture
-emerged first as a phenomenon, centering in certain neighborhoods of the Bronx and mostly economically depressed areas of NY City -More than just RAP, it's a cultural complex that includes: --distinct styles of visual art (graffiti) --break dancing --wild style fashion --technological experimentation
State of the Music Industry 1970-1990: Cassette Technology (1979-1990s)
-empowers consumers -boomboxes, walkmen →music becomes portable, personal -unrestricted copying; "mix-tapes" = haven for consumer re-appropriation and redistribution of pop culture -Expansion of U.S. culture in USSR & developing nations
Prince and "Purple Rain"
-reached a massive crossover audience with its embrace of rock-based inflections and an integrated band -title track leans clearly towards anthemic classic rock; cross-references Hendrix/Van Halen guitar heroism with New Wave aesthetics -Synergistic marketing campaign with MTV -->WB spent 3.5 million buying ads on the network -->the album advertised the film which in turn sold the album -->videos airing on MTV promoted both -->the Purple Rain tour reenacted scenes from the film
Elements of Hip Hop Culture (cont.)
1. The DJ: a musician appropriating (and re-appropriating) recorded music, to manipulate beats and other samples 2. The MC: a speaker, rapping (mixing an amplified voice rhythmically with dance music), representing group identity. 3. Graffers: visual expressions of group identity, claiming neighborhood territory 4. B-Boying/Breakdancing: athletic representational dance •contrast planned ensemble dancing / planned or improvised "solos" 5. KNOWLEDGE [coined later by Grandmaster Flash]: •all other elements require this "core" as a foundation and a goal
Post Punk Diversifying 1978-1988 (cont.)
1978: Former Roxy member, Brian Eno noticed underground NYC bands --coins term "No Wave" (as opposed toNew Wave, which Eno had helped define in turn) --Produces anthology No New Yo r k—theseminal album of the noise rock scene. -1981: Sonic Youth (guitar-centered experimental band) is formed --formed by students of No Wave composer Glenn Branca --Toured Europe ('82-83); the first noise band to gain wide appeal and critical acclaim with Bad Moon Rising('85) --lead singer Kim Gordon mentored Kurt Cobain, before his rise to fame.
Post Punk Diversifying 1978-1988
•In the 1980s, a variety of DIY musicians and "art" educated musicians react against punk's repackaging as New Wave for mass consumption •Strive to maintain the anti-authoritarian ideology and urgency of punk •Incorporate some elements of "classic rock": melody, virtuosity, lyrical complexity; generally harsher sound
