Chapter 10: Mainstream Rock, Punk, and New Wave
Punk Structure
- Attacked authority, with difficult-to-discern vocals, sloppy distorted guitars, and loud drums However, because of a return-from-complexity aesthetic, it is fairly conventional in structure - Disrupted the status quo, but the music had connections to early rock
The Clash
- British punk group - The political protestors to the nihilist Sex Pistols - Released The Clash, then Given 'em Enough Rope, then entered US markets with London Calling (radio fav Train in Vain) Wide range of musical styles, with Sandinista! (1980) incorporating R&B, reggae, ska, and other influences Also had the song I fought the law
MC5
- Early aggressive punk group in Detroit - Kick Out the James - Aspect of confrontation key to pop
The Velvet Underground
- Early punk group formed by songwriter/guitarist/singer Lou Reed and composer/bassist/violist John Cale - Associated with Andy Warhol - Also Sterling Morrison on guitar and Maureen Tucker on drums, later added the singer Nico - Avant-garde ideas in a pop context focusing on the darker side of urban life - Aspect of confrontation key to pop
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Florida new wave band - Adapted 1960s folk with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, then You're Gonna Get It - Recorded for Shelter, then MCA with Damn the Torpedoes - Marketed as new wave with visual similarity and sonic connection
The Wings
- Formed by Paul McCartney of the Beatles and wife Linda, Denny Laine, and Denny Seiqall - Many successful albums like Band on the Run
Cheap Trick
- Mainstream rock group that appeared in the late 1970s - Combined power-chord guitar with pop hooks like in I Want You to Want Me (1979)
The Buzzcocks
- Pop-influenced British punk group - Successful albums like Another Music in a Different Kitchen and Love Bites
Rush
- Progressive rock group in the mid-late 1970s - Canadian power trio that released 4th album 2112 (concept album) in 1976 and followed with increasingly more popular records - Depended on guitar playing, so avoided classical pretension - High-pitched vocals, virtuosic drumming, and poetic lyrics kept them popular through today
Elton John
- Singer-songwriter active in the 1970s - Explored rock band backing with a string of hit albums and singles like Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1976) with Kiki Dee - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Jackson Browne
- Singer-songwriter active in the 1970s - Part of the 1970s country rock scene but released his most memorable music in the late 1970s - The Pretender, Runnin' on Empty, Hold Out
Fleetwood Mac
- Started as a British blues band and had some success - After a lineup change it focused on mainstream rock and ballads - The album Fleetwood Mac hit number one in the US the next year - Then Rumours was even more successful, dominating pop and selling more copies than any other album
Hotel California
- The Eagles' - New Kid in Town, Hotel California, and Life in the Fast Lane - Joe Walsh replaced Bernie Leadon on the album and it was harder rocking and more mainstream
Television
- Beginnings of the New York punk scene - Formed by school friends Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine - Performed at CBGB with the Patti Smith Group - Turned it into the home of the NY punk scene
The Slits
- British punk group - All female trio with Cut
Alan Parsons Project
- Progressive rock in the mid-late 1970s - A recording engineer for the Beatles and Pink Floyd that released a series of concept albums
Bob Dylan
- Singer-songwriter active in the 1970s - Returned to touring with Planet Waves (1974), then released Blood on the Tracks (1975) and toured with the Rolling Thunder Revue - Then he released more albums and went fundamentalist Christian
Mainstream Rock Formula in the 1970s
- Streamlined musical elements - Earlier longer tracks had multiple sections, often with compound AABA formal scheme - Later they were compressed into radio-friendly lengths - Distorted guitar sounds with progressive rock touches
Punk
- 1967 to 1975 - Music seemed pretty static to FM radio listeners until 1977, when punk - It was spearheaded by the Sex Pistols and first came to mainstream attention in the UK - America ignored it, endorsing "new wave" instead - However, the roots of punk were actually American - Many other cities saw a growing punk scene, but it was centered in NY - In the late 1970s the punk subculture became national, with radical clothing/hair and a DIY aesthetic (homemade over professional)
AOR
- Album-oriented rock - FM radio developed into this adult rock in the 1970s - Less freedom for disc jockeys to choose their own music, with program directors - Stations were heavily formatted nad extended tracks nad rock symphonies weren't radio friendly anymore - The ideal length of songs was 4-5 minutes to allow for commercials since young people listened for free - Major corporations bought radio stations and the growing perception was that AOR abandoned rock rebellion and it became corporate rock
Queen
- Beatles-inspired progressive rock group in the mid-late 1970s - Freddie Mercury and Brian May - First UK success was Queen II, first US was Sheer Heart Attack - A Night at the Opera, containing Bohemian Rhapsody (boosted in Wayne's World), established as a cross between David Bowie and progressive rock - Continued their success with A Day at the Races and News of the World, then The Game - Mercury never disclosed his sexual orientation but died of AIDS in 1991, raising public awareness and forcing rock fans to confront sexual stereotypes
Patti Smith Group
- Beginnings of the New York punk scene - Formed by Poet Patti Smith, rock critic Lenny Kaye, and pianist Richard Sohl in 1974 when they released a cover of Hey Joe in 1974 - First band from NY punk to sign a major label record deal - Released Horses late 1975, which charted - Gloria started with a recitation by Smith that seems unrelated but builds in intensity and winds its way to an energetic chorus
New York Dolls
- Beginnings of the New York punk scene - Fronted by David Johansen and incorporated glam (makeup, costumes) into gritty, hard-driving rock (tough image) - Sold poorly but was an important step between art-based experimental Velvet Underground and later punk
More Than a Feeling
- Boston progressive rock song - Compound AABA design - A sections are verse-chorus pairs, B instrumental guitar solo - Harmony guitar parts were progressive rock touches
The Police
- British new wave performer - Debuted with Outlandos d'Amour and became known for complex drumming, literary lyrics, and atmospheric guitar - Not much success with singles until late 1980, but albums like Regatta de Blanc and Zenyatta Mondatta were very popular - Every Breath You Take
Elvis Costello
- British new wave performer - Signed with Stiff and was distributed by Colombia - Known for aggressive and clever attacks on the status quo - My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, Armed Forces
The Jam
- British punk group - Drew from mod and the Kinks and the Who, with In The City Later This Is the Modern World demonstrated blend of hard-driving rhythm with catchy pop hooks Success continued with All Mod Cons, Setting Sons, and Sound Affects, extremely popular in the UK
X-Ray Spex
- British punk group - Fronted by a woman with Germ Free Adolescents
Siouxsie and the Banshees
- British punk group - Signed with Polydor and released Hong Kong Garden - Continued success with covers like Dear Prudence - The first female-fronted punk group
CBGB
- Country, Blue Grass, and Blues: Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers, opened in 1973 and was a form for punk and new wave - Deserted bar in lower Manhattan
Mainstream Rock in the 1970s
- Different rock styles had started to blend together, extending earlier styles and pulling together elements that had previously been used to distinguish among styles - Pushed by corporate rock - Popular groups from the 60s continued success - Miss You (1973, Rolling Stones) - The Joker (Steve Miller Band) - Groups from the early 1970s built their success - KISS reached commercial peak with Alive! and Alive II
Iggy Pop
- Early punk group - An outrageous performer who challenged the audience at performances in Detroit (Fun House) with a very raw sound - Loud guitars, heavy drumming, screaming, I wanna be your dog - Aspect of confrontation key to pop
Feels Like the First Time
- Foreigner progressive rock song - Compound AABA design - Bridge between verse 2 and the chorus in the 2nd A section and no return to the verse in the final A section - High synthesizer arpeggios were progressive rock touches
Doobie Brothers
- Group from the early 1970s that built their success in the later half of the decade - Replaced Tom Johnston with Michael McDonald and added more jazz - Reached their peak with Minute by Minute (1979)
Heart vs. Blondie
- Here debuted with Dreamboat Annie in 1976 and had a harder edge than Blondie - Leader Anne Wilson was tough and powerful, representing mainstream - Debbie Harry of Blondie was more musically limited with way less blues influence (new wave) - Wilson is incredibly forceful with Straight On and Alone, while Harry rejects the hippie aesthetic and is more amateur in Heart of Glass
Talking Heads
- Made ofstudents from the Rhode Island School of Design and was successful at CBGB from the start - Talking Heads in 1977, with a signature spare instrumental accompaniment and spastic vocal delivery - Then More Songs about Buildings and Food, Fear of Music, and Remain in Light, growing increasingly successful w/intellectual and artsy character; one song was Psycho Killers - Brian Eno produced, an important rock experimenter
Boston
- Mainstream rock group that appeared in the late 1970s - Blended blues rock and progressive rock and was successful - First album Boston! climbed to number 3 - More Than a Feeling exemplified compact rock song with several highly organized instrumental sections
Foreigner
- Mainstream rock group that appeared in the late 1970s - Established with the albums Foreigner and Double Vision Each member except Lou Gramm had performed professionally - Blues-rock guitar hooks and an R&B-inspired vocal approach - Used keyboards prominently - Feels Like the First Time 1978
Journey
- Mainstream rock group that appeared in the late 1970s - Formed by Neil Schon and Greg Rolie of Santana combining with Ross Valory of Steve Miller and Aynsley Dunbar of Zappa - Moderate success until singer Steve Perry came for album Infinity, which contained Lights and Feelin' That Way (radio successes) - Soaring tenor voice and guitar-driven sound drew on progressive rock
Van Halen
- Mainstream rock group that appeared in the late 1970s - Van Halen and Roth - Showed emerging California metal scene, blending hard-driving rock with blues vocals and futuristic guitar - Radio favorite with the album Van Halen, containing Runnin' with the Devil, and later Van Halen II and Women and Children First
Dream Weaver
- Mainstream rock song released by American Gary Wright in late 1975 - He was originally in a band before going solo - Relies on synthesized sounds with futuristic imagery - Warm timbres saturated with reverb and echo like progressive rock keyboardists - Ultimately optimistic
The B-52s
- More southern new wave band - Gained a national following with The B-52s and performing on SNL - Wild Planet in 1980 only broadened success - Music full of references to pre psychedelic music, with surf-style guitar riffs, electric organ sound, and girl-group vocals - Greatest success in the late 1980s
Progressive Rock in the Late 1970s
- Mostly done by the mid-70s, except Yes - Many older groups disbanded or changed members
Cars
- New wave band in the 1970s - Based in Boston and signed to Elektra, breaking onto FM rock radio with debut release The Cars in 1978 - Followed with Candy-O and continued to top the charts, with early rock styles pervading their music
Blondie
- New wave band in the 1970s - Plastic Letters did well in the UK but Parallel Lines did well in both, and several smash hit singles in the US followed - Music didn't fit American stereotypes of punk - Heart of Glass
The Knack
- New wave band that signed with Capitol - Their album Get the Knack, styled like the Beatles, only gave them limited success
Devo
- New wave band that was the most iconic new age band, with futuristic image - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! was produced by Brian Eno in 1978 and was popular in England, cover of Satisfaction - Popularity in the US came with Freedom of Choice in 1980
My Best Friend's Girl
- New wave song by the Cars - Handclaps reminiscent of girl groups/Beatles - Guitar licks in passages linking choruses - Repeated organ chords like guitar bands - Vocal hiccups like Buddy Holly - Form similar to Boston with simpler material
Cars (song)
- New wave song released in 1979 by Englishman Gary Numan - He was originally in a band before going solo - Relies on synthesized sounds with futuristic imagery - Drier and harsher - Rejects optimistic ideals
New Wave and Rock History
- New wave was fascinated with earlier musical styles, copying previous artists' images and stylistic references even in the music itself - Rock music from psychedelia to late 1970s was based on the hippie aesthetic, dealing with important issues - New wave musicians scaled this back - Thus references were always pre-Sgt. Pepper, not advocating a return but critiquing the present
Frampton Comes Alive!
- Peter Frampton's live album - Approachable, middle of the road rock - Platinum (1 million + copies)
The Blondies
- Played CBGB in 1974 as the Stilettos before changing their names - Released Blondie in 1976, with the song X Offender showing girl-group influences with spoken intro, happy driving beat, backup vocals, although it wasn't successful
Electric Light Orchestra
- Progressive rock group in the mid-late 1970s - Formed out of the British psychedelic band Move and now featured guitarist Jeff Lynne - Rock band with chamber strings accompaniment, Beatles-inspired - Broke through in US with concept album Eldorado, then hit singles
Styx
- Progressive rock group in the mid-late 1970s - Made progressive rock more economic, with progressive topics and lengthy but less complex tracks - The Grand Illusion gave commercial success in 1977 - Also Cornerstone, Paradise Theater, and Kilroy Was Here - Come Sail Away 1977
Kansas
- Progressive rock group in the mid-late 1970s - Moderate success until Leftoverture with Carry On Wayward Son in 1977, which pared progressive music down to 4 minute radio-preferred songs - Best album Point of No Return with Dust in the Wind
The Ramones
- Punk group that played under stage names and produced stripped-down, high-energy rock with short, simple songs played fast - Legally changed their last names to Ramone - Signed with Sire Records and released Ramones in 1976 - Never very popular in the US but succeeded in the UK - Blitzkrieg Bop
Anarchy in the UK
- Punk song by the Sex Pistols - Simple verse structure - Only exceptions are two bridges inserted, but has no solos/riffs - Driving guitar, bass, and drums are clear features of early punk
Bruce Springsteen
- Singer-songwriter active in the 1970s - Backed by the E-Street Band and was established with 3rd album Born to Run - Wrote autobiographical lyrics and embraced rock's past
Bob Seger
- Singer-songwriter active in the 1970s - Fronted the Silver Bullet Band - Broke out with the album Night Moves (Night Moves, Mainstreet) - Style featured folksy lyrics about every problems, gravelly vocals, and memorable rock hooks - Classics like Old Time Rock & Roll and Against the Wind
Paul Simon
- Singer-songwriter active in the 1970s - Played jazz, R&B, and gospel, like in Slip Slidin' Away - One-Trick Pony album was musically complex, but the movie had mixed reviews - Backed up by the Oak Ridge Boys
Billy Joel
- Singer-songwriter active in the 1970s - Second album Piano Man launching his career - Just the Way You Are 1977 - Several years of meh music, then The Stranger and 53nd Street - Piano and vocals as center of attention on ballads and up-tempo rock songs backed by a band - Glass Houses (1980) engaged earlier rock and poop styles - It's Still Rock and Roll to Me discussed older forms of rock nad was musically modeled on late 1950s rock
Singer-Songwriters in the 1970s
- Started to front bands - Explored harder rock while keeping the intimate bond, so bands weren't the focus
The Sex Pistols
- Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Glen Matlock, & John Lydon (called Johnny Rotten) started a band on stolen instruments that McLaren managed/launched - They signed with EMI and released Anarchy in the UK - They cussed on live TV and became notorious, dropped from several labels and paid advance money Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols went straight to #1 - Everywhere they went, more punk bands sprung up It was absolutely hated by the mainstream music industry
Rise of New Wave
- Tamed more aggressive elements of punk and discussed urban alienation - The Sex Pistols toured the American South in late 1977 and made the US aware of punk - Continued with Elvis Costello's breakthrough SNL performance - Punk had a reputation for being dangerous and was rebranded as "new wave" - CBGB bands took advantage and became stars (Blondie, Talking Head, Television but not in US, Patti Smith Group)
Malcolm McLaren
- The UK was having an economic recession and youth had no jobs and were prone to despair that turned to anger - Ended up with greater stylistic range than later UK punk groups - McLaren owned a shop called Let It Rock and relaunched it Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die and befriended the New York Dolls - He was impressed by the NY underground punk scene, especially R. Hell, and renamed his shop Sex to sell leather/fetish clothing - He managed and launched the Sex Pistols
Big Albums
- The growth of hippie culture showed money could be made in rock music - The "big album" emerged as more and more albums became gold (500,000 copies sold) and the RIAA created the platinum award for 1 million copies - Made so much money that corporations brought up record labels - Concerts became larger with major labels (Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan) and musicians began to partake in expensive habits (drugs) - Looking for mega-hit albums encouraged a conservative attitude - Record companies killed the spirit of rock by not taking chances or caring about the music, just caring about money
