History of Popular Music in Britain and North America
MTV -The most developed televisual site for music video clips -academic writing has usually described MTV as if it was an unchanging form -First phase of MTV (81-83), dominant pop form was "New Pop", music whose stress on style perfectly suited marketing through video, British invasion of synth pop acts Duran Duran, Culture Club, The Human League etc) dominated by white musicians -MTV's first ever clip- Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star
Andrew Goodwin Dancing in the Distraction Factory A televisual context: MTV
MTV and racism -MTV followed the music industry by defining rock in essentially racist terms, largely excluded POC from its screens -resolved kind of by developments of rap crosspver music combinging black and white forms (the beastie boys) and rap given its own show- "Yo! MTV raps"
Andrew Goodwin Dancing in the Distraction Factory A televisual context: MTV
-we might define music video boradly as a relation of sound and image (??)- YouTube makes it difficult to draw a line between what is a music video and what is not
Carol Vernallis Unruly Media: You Tube, Music Video and the New Digital Cinema Chapter 10, 'Music Video's Second Aesthetic
Music and performance of the raincoats -in performance they never really challenged passive notions of women -not overly concerned with enunciating lyrics -but one of the first bands releasing records to expand punk's political focus beyond nihilism -group members didn't want to the group to be seen as "just female" -but all their albums had male players featuring
Caroline O'Meara The Raincoats: breaking down punk rock's masculinities
The Raincoats -one of the few all female british punk bands to release records and tour internationally -since late 70s critics have been interested in the idea that music can enact gender, have heard their music as somehow embodying femininity -Raincoats shttered traditionally mascline subjectivity in rock music -equating music with sexuality can be 'dangerous', risks generalisations -raincaost took advantage of punk's "unskilled" performance
Caroline O'Meara The Raincoats: breaking down punk rock's masculinities
Women and punk -punk provided a space for women to fully participate in rock discourse - despite reproducing musical and extra-musical gestures that men had done, they were still seen as being somehow 'female'. -bear in mind persistent sexism of music press -critics were careful not to make a direct connection between supposed inability of the musicians and their gender, but ti was pretty implicit -Ana de Silva of the Raincoats admitted in a Rough Trade interview that the label 'female' applied to the band's output as they had all grown up female
Caroline O'Meara The Raincoats: breaking down punk rock's masculinities
-argument about whether fanzines can actually engage with the music- not in any way professional, but does contain some criticism -with the internet now anyone can be in a fanzine community
Chris Atton Living in the Past?: Value discourses in progressive rock fanzines
-prog rock at height of its success in first half of the 70s, fusing classical models of composition and arrangement with electric instruments and extending form to symphonic poem or multimovement suite -today the dominant characterisation of prog rock is of overblown, pretentious musicians, music far removed from 'real' rock n' roll -critical discourse of pro rock in the 1990s shifted to artisanal, grassroots publishing
Chris Atton Living in the Past?: Value discourses in progressive rock fanzines
Little History of Prog Rock --imperative to create a rock based music that drew on what musicans conceived as sophisticated, 'artistic' modes of musical expression -roots of prog rock lie in upper middle class southern England, public schools
Chris Atton Living in the Past?: Value discourses in progressive rock fanzines
Artistic autonomy and shared culture -essentially rough trade offered a trade of short term financial gain for collaboration/cooperation, dialogue between artist and producers, etc -at Rough Trade interaction was key- musicians often worked part time in warehouses, staff friends with band members
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
Death of punk Punk died a symbolic death post 1980 with Thatcher, but in reality it was incorporated into the mainstream -articles lack research on punk's institutional impact -punk has been deconstructed and is no longer seen as 'working class music' but as an artform influenced by art schools, with lots of punk musicians not from minority backgrounds- negelcts punk's original entrepreneurs of the 80s.
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
Downfall of Rough Trade -shoudln't be seen as democracy gone wrong, as it used financial gains in its boom years to democratise itself -financial mistakes- purchasing computer system that didn't work, setting up warehouse before letting out old one, sinking £5mil into american branch
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
Mainstream media production -excludes the unskilled and underconfident as well as minorities- POC, lower class and women still excluded -democratisation occurs through decentralising cultural resources in London, the ending of powerful media hierachies
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
Post Punk independents and musicians -Establishments like rough trade became a lot more artist friendly 50:50 rates meant musicians could earn tons of money -not always favourable though as musicians would only be payed if advance was earned back -tensions arose in these establishments as musicians faced financial difficulties
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
Punk Independence and democratisation- record labels -although independent record companies were usually praised by punk writers, American R&B entrepreneurs ripped off their artists and British independents weren't overly interested in democratic practices -punk labels from small independents began popping up outside of London- anti establishment -independent distribution networks happened, opposed the the mainstream major record companies0 based in specialist record shops
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
Recording Contracts -Three types of contract- management, publishing and recording. -publishing and recording involve musician rendering their services exclusively for a certain time frame, and the company promotes the artist in turn -Advance for artists- basically a loan for money their recordings will make- but if advance is not repayed in sales musicians could end up in lots of debt, many younger artists unaware of this -Long term contracts often not beneficial for the artists, if the staff who hired them are replaced by unsympathetic ones they're potentially screwed
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
Rise of the Specialist Record Shops -By 1970 specialist record shops were 32% of all music outlets- i.e. Good Vibrations, Rough Trade -after Sex Pistol's infamous swearing on TV, British punk became an international focus and these shops formed labels
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
Rough Trade's expansion -RT always had ambitions to go international- had German and American distribution branches -but by '81, the international investment was too great and RT owed money to distribution labels, so booking agemcy ewas hired off and shop went independent -financial problems caused by organisational issues -
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
The New Pop -conflicts at rough trade resulted in a move closer to standard industry practices in early 80s -advances between musicians were no longer equal- for example the Smiths' monumental advance- tensions at RT
David Hesmondhalgh Post Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: The success and failure of rough trade
Beyonce's Baby Boy vs Kylie Minogue's Can't get you out of my head Beyonce's- "exemplar of this mode of representing black female sexuality" -"untamed uncontrolled body"
Diane Railton and Paul Watson Music Video and the Politics of Representation Music video in black and white: Race and femininity
Christina Aguilera- "Can't hold us down" -Aguilera and Lil' Kim articulating very feminist lyrics in the song -visually- video set in "non white space" of Manhattan's lower east side, Aguilera styles to look "non white" with black hair, velo tracksuit, kohled eyes, gold hoops- "marks of otherness"
Diane Railton and Paul Watson Music Video and the Politics of Representation Music video in black and white: Race and femininity
Context (?) of black female sexuality -black bodies were seen as "more primitive, more sexually intensive" -references to Saartje Baartman, borugh to Europe from Africa and displayed to demonstrate that black bodies were different
Diane Railton and Paul Watson Music Video and the Politics of Representation Music video in black and white: Race and femininity
Sexual identity in Music Video -black people presented as hypersexual "as fact" (what?), white people have more fludity of sexualisation (whatttt)
Diane Railton and Paul Watson Music Video and the Politics of Representation Music video in black and white: Race and femininity
'bland' music of the 50s- -Period between end of the war and Elvis Presley is often disparaged, viewed as merely conforming studio pop
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
1950s Folk Music distinctions- -sharp distinction between middle class white folk market and working class rural country and western- "hillbilly" music -Nashville became advertised as "folk headquarters" -1943- demand for folk music increasing, bands began to come up with arrangements of folk tunes and new tunes in folk styles
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Context- after WWII, America had no sense of 'normal life', but an idealised view of stability- American Dream -US only major land nation not damaged by war, led to prosperity in the following decade with baby and building booms -Obviously not a great time for everyone- segregation, prejudice towards POC
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Development of Electronic Instruments- - steel guitar, electric organ, and early synthesizers like the Novachord became available -Les Paul- hits between '48 and '53 with electronic collages of his wife Mary Ford's voice- though miller preferred 'juxtaposed odd instrumental pairings' -Miller got Les Paul sound by using 6 guitars simultaneously, other odd instrumental pairings included Dinah Shore with bagpipes etc, but tried many things and was very innovative.
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Downfall of swing orchestras- -Large string orchestras failed after war, after clinging on for a long time -amplification developments meant smaller groups were needed -1946- bands were struggling to break even from summer touring- bands under Benny Goodman, Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey etc disbanded orchestras, Duke Ellington following -(Ellington's band later reformed yey) -'schmaltz' bands in swanky hotels survived, held on being viewed as 'easy listening' bands -Dance orchestras no longer core of popular music
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Folk music and producers- -Trad. folk music had radio and album presence, partyl thanks to Alan Lomax, who complied albums for Decca and produced radio series -Lomax was a supporter of folk as 'the sound of the American people' -Lomax remembered more as a pianist, but was in part responsible for the folk integration/mainstream revival -he worked with radio orchestras in the 40s, using trad. tune setting by Copland and Ruth Crawford Seeger
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Golden age of Westerns -1950s Westerns dominated prime time television, Hollywood cowboy music did bear some relation to music of real life cowboys -Crosby was really the only mainstream singer with Western repetoire but many other followed suit -e.g. Vaughan Monroe- Abe Lyman (a producer) signed Monroe to star in the film Singing Guns- song resonated more with the public than the film, particularly the novelty clip clop song 'mule train'.
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Miller and Johnnie Ray- OKeh records put out a record called Whisky and Gin Blues in 1953 by a gay half deaf singer named Johnnie Ray- regarded by Miller as the first rock n' roll record -Miller made Ray a star through this and other more folk orientated records, also rag time and folk duets, which Ray seems to have been happy with -Ray's voice connected across genres and was seen as 'sincere' -whilst Miller was partly responsible for folk integration, he also belonged to a music snobbering generation who's tastes were founded in concert halls, who viewed folk songs as "raw materials" that were essentially primitive and needed refining.
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Miller's Success- -Miller saw himself as on a par with legends of music production such as Jerry Wexler(famous R&B producer) -Miller did help Columbia become America's top pop label in'51-54 -Miller saw these song productions not as songs, but three minute musicals that needed casting (?)
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Miller's instrumentation and ethnic material- -hit with Rosemary Clooney and "come on-a my house"- she was resistant but it was a successful hit- instrumentation used honky-tonk keyboard -harpsichord brought miller much success, frequently in the top 20 -in general 50s brought varieties in ethnic sources for pop music- e.g. the first African entry in the charts, as well as mambo crazes and calypso and polynesian music -surprisingly limited range of performers- Miller actually criticised for producing cheap, 'tasteless' music-he himself said there was little 'artistic satisfaction' from the music created
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Mitch Miller and "A&R Men"- -oboist in radio orchestras in the 40s -went on to be v influential record producer in the 50s -became an "A&R man" (artist and repetoire) as pop focus shifted more towards recording and performance, became cheaper to hire individual vocalists -Miller at one time the highest payed oboist in the country, played under Stokowski and Thomas Beecham
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Mitch Miller's folk singers- -Mitch Miller produced same Mule Train song as Monroe with nightclub singer Frankie Laine -Laine's 'mule train' was his first song that hit the million, -Laine's breakthrough hit, 'that's my desire', was so bluesy it was released into the race charts- Miller got him to record a variant of 'Ol' man river' also. -Miller also recorded with the weavers, who were at the forefront of the folk revival, flip side to famous 'Irene' was 'Tzena, Tzena, Tzena,' based on an Israeli hora. -Miller found singer Albert Cernik, renamed him Guy Mitchell, Cernik was familiar with Westerns having worked as a cowboy
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Segregation of black and white music- -Segregation in America led to movements of African Americans to urbanised areas- led to African American culture being associated with Urban life -this led to musical differences characterised with black, stripped down 'heavy' beats in comparison to typically white 'dreamy' music
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
Sinatra's career- -1930s big band singers were as anonymous as instrumentalists- e.g. Sinatra performing anonymously with the Pied Pipers in 1940 -Sinatra was actually criticised for embarking on solo career, out of the ordinary at the time -sinatra was influenced by Crosby, one of the leading singing stars of the day, but Crosby made his mark partly through charisma and personality -1942- Sinatra goes solo- initially seemed to be a mistake but was given break at NY paramount theatre show appearing on the same bill as Benny Goodman -Sinatra seen as the first modern teen idol, show on CBS -fangirl hysteria was encouraged by his press agent and left Sinatra often the butt of the joke, often emasculated for not fighting during the war and his lean physique made fun of -Sinatra liked by soldiers bc of annual forces broadcasts, but actually dislikd by many, behind Perry Como and Crosby in the charts at end of the 40s -Many artists more willing to move with the times than Sinatra, who favoured Tin Pan Alley compositions- part of Crosby's success is down to his flexibility -(Sinatra wasn't familiar with country repetoire) -1960- sinatra;s career in trouble, under the orders of money making record producers who wanted a branch out into folk -country music seen as very low to urban jazz fans of Sinatra, due to redneck attiudes and music snobbery
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 12- Selling the American Ballad
African Rhythmic Rock in the charts -stronger emphasis on african rhytmic roots than in any other musical period- "exotica" craze actually helped create an audience for recordings of genuine African musicians-i.e. the Drummer Guy Warren who recorded for both Decca and RCA
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 16- Twisting girls changed the world
African church dance roots -many new steps had African black church roots, gospel influence also apparent through songs like "shout" by the Isley brothers (in African congregations to be possesed by the spirit is to shout) -Isley brothers later song "twist and shout" covered by the Beatles
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 16- Twisting girls changed the world
Dancing in the 60s -horn and reed accompanients giving way to electric guitars, but teenage dancers were still pretty much doing paired up dancing -group and line dances were also a thing and competitions were televised- though they were very clean and white -60s pop came along and changed this
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 16- Twisting girls changed the world
Little Eva and the Locomotion -followed this with a tune called the "turkey trot" in which the dancers danced like turkeys -both songs instructional dance songs -
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 16- Twisting girls changed the world
Repackaging black R&B singles -repacking black R&B singles on LPs aimed at white customers had been a thing since 1956- but as more white dancers realised what they'd been missing DJs recycled old R&B hits for a new audience "Oldies but Goodies" -both the twist and oldies sets were still reliant on black performers
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 16- Twisting girls changed the world
The Twist -twist a gyrating dance move- back in the 30s Basie and Sinatra recorded twist- orientated songs -"mixure of the shimmy, the hula, the charleston and rock n' roll.." -signalled a change in popular music, lots of rock n' roll dance records in 1962 in the charts
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 16- Twisting girls changed the world
-Beatles made rock into the popular concert and album category of their time, 60s brought a respect for popular music and a popularity for artistic experimentation that had not previously been matched -In this process the dancefloor nature of the beatles had been abandoned- beatle-led movement marked the end of rock n' roll but the whole process of black and whit musicians evolving by adapting one another's styles.
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 17: Say you want a Revolution
Beatle's popularity -breadth of appeal was pretty astonishing- not just rock n' rollers but young teenage girls, easyn listening fans, folk audiences, devotees of jazz and classical music (string octet of eleanor rigby)- Brensetin liked them!
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 17: Say you want a Revolution
Beatlemania -Beatlemania arrived before the beatles did, reports of them being chased around england- dreamboat image happened almost instantaneously unlike sinatra -needed 'British invasion' in america as escapism from Kennedy's assassination (maybe?)
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 17: Say you want a Revolution
Beatles and music evolution -"I'm sick of british accented youths ripping off black American audiences and, because they're white, being accepted by the American audience"- Mitch Miller -makes as much sense to see the Beatles as signaling the end of a music careeras beginning a new one- started out as a live band but led to studio based albums such as Rubber soul and Revolver- record makers as much as performers
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 17: Say you want a Revolution
Beatles model discotheques -beatles invasion overlapped with the discotheque craze, joints that played records instead of having a live band -they were cheaper than live music
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 17: Say you want a Revolution
The Beatles and classical music -Beatles amde new york cocnert debut at Carnegie hall, but emphasised lack of respect for venue by opening with "Roll over Beethoven"- later when they wanted to be taken seriously they made the music less dance orientated as opposed to playing for classical crowds -however Rubber Soul had elements of French chanson and North indian sitar, and McCartney was citing the influence of Stockhausen -Beatles target audience had changed now they were hiring symhony musicians as backing
Elijah Wald How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 17: Say you want a Revolution
-music on the radio provided a background to people's daily lives, but on TV people wanted to watch the singers they were hearing -When television went national it drew away most of the big corporate sponsorships from radio and radio became more dependent on recorded music- orchestras and live jazz bands essentially vanished -Demise of radio actually beneficial for fans of classical country jazz and ethnic styles- led to a variety of indie outfit stations -These stations were often local- for instance Haley's song "Rock the Joint" was the third version of that song by a Philadelphia band
Elijah Wald How the Beatles destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 13- Rock the Joint
Music, Race and TV -cliche of TV allowed surburban families to "invite stars into their living rooms"- when it came to black entertainers this turned nasty -Due to channel freezes most areas had no television until the end of the period, so target audience was white middle class viewers
Elijah Wald How the Beatles destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 13- Rock the Joint
Paul Whiteman, Charlie Gracie and Bill Haley -1942- Whiteman presenting show TV Teen Club- ended big band touring then -1947- Became the first coast to coast DJ as host of the Paul Whiteman Club, and then hosted Teen Club in 1948 (a talent contest) -Charlie Gracie, a sixteen year old guitarist, played on it- came from a swing and country and Western background- influenced by Bill Haley -Haley grew up in Pennsylvania, landed a job as a vocalist for a hillbilly act, was a singing cowboy on local radio in 1947, in a group called the Saddlemen. -The Saddlemen thought of as "the most versatile band in the land" sand "Rock the Joint", seen in many ways as a "race record" -Country artists started to become popular as a result of wartime migration -Connection between swing and rock n' roll- Haley hired musicians with swing backgrounds- his guitarist Art Ryerson had been in Whiteman's band, and he had a saxophonist who had been in Ralph Pompilli, and a later guitarist who had worked with Benny Goodman. -Haley's group became the defining rock n' roll band when his recording of "Rock around the clock" was the opening music for a film called "Blackboard jungle"- a film emphasising generational conflict between jazz and rock
Elijah Wald How the Beatles destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 13- Rock the Joint
Rock n' Roll and Jazz Count Basie- rock n' roll began from black music, "got the kids dancing again- that's a blessing" -societal bias against R&B and rock n' roll- R&B accused of developing juvenile delinquency, in the same way jazz had been othered in its own time -Many black jazz outfits like King Oliver to Basie based their core repertoire on Southern blues styles hitting the mainstream -although black audiences constantly pioneered and adopted new styes faster than white one, they stayed closer to rural styles as buffer between country and city was thinner in African American culture due to segregation crowding city dwellers together -postwar white pop scene styles of country and Western allowed Haley and Honky tonk "Rockabillys" to emerge, giving way to people like Presley- argued as the "only white man who could sing the blues" -Rock n' Roll style was not defined in musical terms- didn't become a common phrase until 1956. -1950s- lots of white teenagers drawn to black music as there were slow progressions in civil rights- important to remember that it made a lot of white people uneasy, wasn't all progressive -Interesting that in the more racist South, rhythm and blues records were widely listened to by white people even though segregation was very much enforced (kind of the opposite way round in the North- slightly simplistic though there was variation)
Elijah Wald How the Beatles destroyed Rock n' Roll Chapter 13- Rock the Joint
-Neo progressive rock seen by some as the next step from the golden age- one view presented -fans essentially shape the genre, but there's a lot of hate on Neo Prog? seen as a revival of Prog rock but looked down upon, which doesn't make much sense -Neo Prog seen as too commerical
Jarl A. Ahlkvist What Makes Rock Music "Prog?" Fan Evaluation and the Struggle to Define Progressive Rock
-fan written reviews of symphonic and neo-progrssive rock albums reflect and project a struggle over what makes rock music "prog" -the ties that bind these two styles are a source os tension between fans who hear neo progressive rock as a logical progression from the symphonic golden age and those who question its legitimacy as progressive rock
Jarl A. Ahlkvist What Makes Rock Music "Prog?" Fan Evaluation and the Struggle to Define Progressive Rock
Symphonic and Neo-Progressive Rock -by 1973 progressive rock- commonly referred to as "prog" widely recognised label for a style of rock music - in the early 70s most commercially successful widely precognised prog was the symphonic variant, record industry helped a few symphonic bands like Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) to succeed commercially -fan and scholarly writing on prog rock typically presents the symphonic style as synonymous with prog rock in general
Jarl A. Ahlkvist What Makes Rock Music "Prog?" Fan Evaluation and the Struggle to Define Progressive Rock
contemporary prog rock fanzines -Gentle Giant and Van der Graaf Generator highlight fan's interest in details of prog music and its history -in writing online reviews of prog rock albums, today's fans engage in a discourse about a changing progressive rock paradigm -fan written album reviews are the result of a mode of aesthetic agency
Jarl A. Ahlkvist What Makes Rock Music "Prog?" Fan Evaluation and the Struggle to Define Progressive Rock
MTV as postmodern -elements of MTV privleging the video clip, creation of environment and its commercial brand shaped definition of the channel as quintessentially postmodern
Justin Smith 'Comparable to MTV- but better': The impact of the Chart Show on British Music Video Culture, 1986-1998
Beach Boys v the Beatles and rubber soul -Beach boys from california in the early 60s, brought together doo wop and rock n' roll -Beatles played rock n' roll in Liverpool- first album Please Please me was essentially a recording of a live set- as time progressed the beatles explored a range of genres unfamilar to many Western ears, used sitars etc -Rubber soul seen as a standout album, perhaps because it is the first album they worked on uninterrupted before going on tour? -Pet sounds by comparison was an album in which one member took over production
Laura Tunbridge The Song Cycle
Brian Wilson and pet sounds -musical world of pet sounds belonged to Wilson, used bicycle bells, dog whilstles, trains, and instrumentation on harpsichord strings, woodwind brass, percussion and theremin. -only after recording the songs did wilson put them into order -didn't do as well commercially as other beach boys songs
Laura Tunbridge The Song Cycle
Concept albums today -modern composers have taken on concept album formats- for example John Corigliano's "Mr Tambourine Man: Seven poems by Bob Dylan" -Gabriel Kahane's Craiglistlieder (2008), an 8 song pastche of personal adds from Craigslist
Laura Tunbridge The Song Cycle
Phil spector -producer who used instruments and overdubbing to create a "wall of sound"- i.e. the Ronettes' "Be my baby", with it's "symphony for the kids" sounds, would have a big influence on later concept albums like Pet Sounds and Sgt Pepper's Lonely hearts club band
Laura Tunbridge The Song Cycle
Sergeant Pepper -Beatles gave last commerical concert in San Fran in 1966 then began recording Sergeant Pepper -characters and false identities created i.e. Billy Shears -if Sgt Pepper is a concept album it is a production concept album- used musical styles and instruments on range of devices i.e. multitracking, overdubbing, fade ins, reversed playback, doppler effects etc. -A Day in the life- longer than anything they had previously recorded- used sections written alternately by lennon and McCartney -Album cover- most elaborate of all their albums- collage of many great people on it like marilyn monroe and Stockhausen
Laura Tunbridge The Song Cycle
The Song Cycle -Travis A Jackson attempts to define the concept album as "an original recorded project that through its thematic, harmonic, timbral and/or sonic materials as well as lyrical forms can be read as as linked around a set of ideas" -concept albums usually structured around a predetermined musical or lyrical idea -dissemination of concept albums through recordings marks it as belonging to popular not classical music -prior to concept albums there were 'topical albums, which occasionally had vocal interludes (four freshmen) as well as albums pursuing an 'internal plot', or narrative set ups (like the letter in 1959) -some prior albums were crafted to achieve a particular atmosphere, such as Sinatra's "In the wee small hours of the morning" (1955, Capitol), all lush arrangements formed a coherent sound world
Laura Tunbridge The Song Cycle
Brian Wilson and the Beach boys' sound -23 at the time of pet sounds, largely self taught, but came from a musically inclined family influenced by jazz and rock n' roll -beach boys' sound of wilson's falsetto at the top of block chords, "Four freshman" vocal sound, -at some point became influenced by Phil Spector's production work with the "wall of sound", distinctive timbres through novel instrumental combinations -Wilson wasn't phased by competition of the beatles until rubber soul came out, decided he was going to make "greatest rock n' roll album ever made!" -Typically beach boys would not appear in studio to record vocals until backing track was completed
Philip Lambert Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds
Motivic elements in Pet Sounds -e.g. in Don't talk (Pt your head on my shoulder), piano and mandolin echo the melodic gesture, and represent feelings of the lovers -stepwise rising ("we both could say") from Gb to Cb and the instrumental response also rising before stepping back down
Philip Lambert Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds
Ordering of Pet Sounds -the sequence Wilson put the songs in had a strong sense of shape and focus and logic of narrative from song to song -narrative begins as two young lovers imagine a future together, idealistic dreaming (wouldn't it be nice) -followed by a song about the strength of their relationship (You still believe in me) -In the thirs song (That's not me) narrator describes his own struggle wth maturity and emotional commitment -then a simple meditation on the depth of their love and feelings words can't express (don't talk) -a change: the narrator has the upper hand, more mature attitude and lover is unpredictable (I'm waiting for the day) -(let's go away for a while)- instrumental interlude -(Sloop John B)- lovers travel away together, figuratively or literally? -Side B- confessional love song with doubt and uncertainty (God only knows) -soul searching (I know there's an answer) -love cannot be expected to last (here today) -narrator has realised they don't belong together (I just wasn't made for these times) - instrumental summary of sounds (Pet sounds) -final song on love that could have been but was destined to die (Caroline No)
Philip Lambert Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds analysis -most song structures follow common practice, key ambiguity in 'Don't talk' and 'caroline no' -'That's not me' and 'let's go away for a while' start and end in different keys -Similar key relations to sergeant Pepper, recurrence of Bb as a tonic on side B- though beach boys have always had tonal mobility
Philip Lambert Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds as concept album -predates Sergeant Pepper by a year -Pet soudns v much an artistic statement, repays repeated listening and close scrutiny
Philip Lambert Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds
Pet sounds -landmark beach boys album released in 1966, to mixed public reaction- received wide acclaim as one of rock's first "concept albums" -represents milestone of artistic revolution of group's primary creative focus, Brian Wilson -songs are associated and interrlated via recurrent motives and harmonic patterns, expressing personal themes of romance and heartbreak. -Pet sounds stands as Wilson's primary artistic achievement -Paull Mccartney described Pet Sounds as "my inspriation for making Sergeant Pepper"
Philip Lambert Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds
Reception of pet sounds -mixed reaction- fell short of commercial response expected for a beach boys album -fared better in england thanks to publicist derek taylor but was still odd
Philip Lambert Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds
final sounds of Pet Sounds -as song fades wilson adds bells of train crossing signal, and sounds of his pet dogs barking (literal pet sounds)cgm
Philip Lambert Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds
"Black roots, white fruits" -black innovation and white popularisation -due to racism black music rarely broke into the mainstream and was greatly affected by the political climate, as it still is today.
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
'personality jocks' and R&B -'50s local radio was very loosely structured- independent dee-jays were in control- records were the obvious cheapest option for programming, and DJs replaced live entertainment personalities of the 30s and 40s. -DJs often experimented with "speciality" music in answer to trivial network radio, and R&B proved popular with both white and black audiences- artists such as Fats Domino -Initially the Deep South was the centre for R&B radio but gradually as the market expanded so did the stations that played it -later white R&B deejays followed such as Alan Freed, remebered as the "father of Rock n' Roll".
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Black Musical culture and the industry -companies had lost touch with black musical culture, black muscians were developing styles close to the blues- Louis Jordan and his band redefined band instrumentation, with a smaller horn section and a rhythm orientated focus. -Following rhythm and blues stars in the late 40s literally had to scream to be heard over the instruments but this somehow made it seem more expressive. -Major labels continues to ignore the 'race market' so lots of independent labels formed, over 400, which were relatively successful despite a lack of materials, funds and distribution, and although they charged more per single, black people especially we willing to pay it.
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Blues from regional to national -migration of army GIs around America as well as more Southern African Americans moving north -if a large group of people settled in one area, it was the responsibility of the local radio station to introduce programming that would be popular -This programming angered many established musicians, as this was seen as a threat to the era of big bands and live radio music. (black musicians were genrally banned form radio performances, unless they happened to be very popular)
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Disadvantages for black R&B artists + covers -R&B perhaps did not expand in popularity in its original form due to the turnover of artists working in the field, so there was little room for well established artists -this fast turnover-many artists at the top of the charts could not be found a year later- often because black musicians did not have access to good advice about record contracts, royalties, marketing etc, so were often swindled out of publishing rights and underpaid for record sales. Major record companies were no more principled in their treatment of black musicians -major labels often capitalised on the songs of black artists by releasing covers by white artists often in the same chart life as the original and often outselling it. (e.g. Sh-boom, the Crew Cuts in particular raided the R&B charts, and Pat Boone in particular built his career on singing these covers) -However by 1956 R&B had merged/changed into rock n' roll, and the original versions of songs were more in demand by white audiences -The copyright laws of the 50s had aided this process of song covers as it was impossible to copyright a particular recording of a song , only the original sheet music. This meant the performer suffered, and the performer was usually black. -abuse also happened in terms of royalty payments, money was supposed to be divided equally between the writer and publisher, but many performers who wrote their own material never got their royalties. -technological innovations of the time also suppressed black music/musicians- 45 and 33 rpm records that were devleoped in the 50s required different, newer playback equipment- due to a lack of money, the black record audience were slower to switch play back equipment, still using shellac records in 1956. -The success of R&B, esp. in these conditions, is still unparalleled
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Hybrid R&B -The music from independent radio statiosn was the forerunner of rock n' roll in a hybrid form, encompassing diverse styles of gospe, blues and jazz. -Johnny Otis- in the early 40s hybrid music developed on the West Coast- when the big bands broke down Otis and similar artists didn't just strip down to a guitar and rhythm section, but kept small number of horns and saxes- rock and roll came out of this. -By the time rock n' roll was established as an independent style the horns reduced further first to one saxophone then none at all. -music that became rock n' roll originated from almost every region in America, with most of its influences and innovators being black. Many R&B artists corssed over into rock n' roll, e.g. Ray Charles, Fats Domino
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Mixed cultures in the South Phillips' singers had all to some degree grown up in an environment that mixed cultures in the South- This gave rise to Rockabilly, and influenced rock n' roll itself. -Presley from Mississippi then moved to Memphis Tennessee as a teenager -Rockabilly music was legit and integrated black lased blues with country and Western Styles but it still in effect dominates the achievements of black artists- Johnny Otis commented on this
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Record Industry inventions -Invention of magnetic tape (by the /Nazis in WWII) increased sound quality, but also made it possible for anyone to record anywhere- e.g. Sam Philips in Memphis who went on to record BBKing to Elvis Presley. -1948- Invention of 'high fidelity'- "battle of the speeds" between Columbia's 33rpm and RCA's 45rpm- meant that Columbia's 33 rpm record yielded excellent sound quality/durability- could be shipped faster for cheaper and a lot more durable, and encouraged independent production. -Records didn't require huge production sums now, and weren't subject to government regulations like radio frequencies were, so became a relatively inexpensive medium and they became the staple of the music industry. -with the last 50s invention of television, the network radio and revenue decreased, and local radio became effective for local advertisers- this helped to revitalise the smaller record indistry and in turn the popularise R&B.
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Recorded music on the radio -1940s- outcry from musicians as radio stations began to program recorded music- American Federation of Musicians ordered a ban on recording -but AFTRA (American Fed of Television and Radio Artists- essentially vocalists) didn't join the strike- this aided the rise of vocalists who dominated the pop charts (Crosby, Sinatra)- but there were not very many black artists -This essentially culled the big band scene, combined with the post war economy, 20 piece orchestras could no logner be supported -The situation was worse for black artists, who disappeared from the pop charts
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Records and Resources -during the war there was a shellac shortage (the major material in records- old records were actually recycled, old ones had to be handed in in exchange for a new one) -speciality genres such as jazz bore the brunt of the cutbacks, but the lack of speciality actually increased the demand- in this way country music was back in the mainstream
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Rise of Rhythm & Blues and ASCAP -publishing society ASCAP was a closed society prior to WWII, they regulated music selection and extended considerable power over public tastes- largely taste was for musical numbers -of 170 members in the society, 2 were black -ASCAP became worth a lot more after rules came into place where writers of songs were entitled to compensation for public performances of their work- when this was extended to include radio ASCAP's income increased by 12% in 1939. -ASCAP intended to double radio fees in 1940, and the organisation for broadcasters (the BMI) boycotted them in 1941 for this and their lack of representation- BMI introduced regional musical styles -This led to what has been described as an aesthetic 'schism' between middle class and working class black music, jazz was assimilated into the mainstream styles but the blues was still considered 'race music'.
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Rock n' Roll: Black or White?- Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley -Chuck Berry would lkely have been crowned the King of Rock n' Roll, if he was not black. His demo of "Ida Reed" had alreayd been rejected from major record labels such as Capitol because it sounded "too country" for a black man- Leonard Chess gave the tune a bigger bear and changed the title to "Maybellene" and it was an accepted hit going to no. 5 -Berry's influence defined the style of rock n' roll, first guitar hero, related rhythm & blues to white teenage culture without disowning his blackness. -Berry sent to prison for engagements with underage girl (racial undertones) but he made a comeback later -Next wave of rock n' roll in the charts was white "rockabilly" music by Elvis PResley, Johnny Cash etc, related to country music of Buddy Holly, Everly Brothers. Music regarded as amalgamation of R&B and country and Western, traditions by both black and white artists that both differentiated from Tin Pan Alley pop. -Elements of both musics- Presley and other sang with country drawl, but had up tempo lyric phrasing and driving rhythms clearly from R&B. -Phenomenon of Billy Haley's Rock Around the Clock- unlikely middle aged guitarist who's heroes played Western swing, but Haley had a sound like Louis Jordan with shuffle rhythms and similar riffs -seen by some as a usrupation of black music with redneck ethos
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
Traditional Music influences in America -Country music seen to have developed from Anglo Celtic folk traditions of British immigrants who settled in the Appalachian Mountains -Rockabilly artists were often from the slave owning south, had cultural interaction with African cultures, despite legally enforced segregation. Musically, elements from African music such as tonal inflection, instrumentation, "blue notes" and call and response prominent in the rockabilly style may well have developed from this history. -originally the blue was largely improvisational, with no standard form of rhythmic pattern, before interacting with European diatonic scales- deviations from diatonic scale known as 'blue notes' but there is much debate as to whether this can be classed as an "Africanism" -Call and response is also very much present in rock and roll, in African culture this is used in religous ceremonies and prevalent in gospel music -Rhythmic base was perhaps black music's biggest contribution to rock n' roll- African music is very polyrhythmic, and musical practices of slaves in America often involved percussive practices such as finger popping, hand clapping and foot stomping -Perhaps the most poignant example of black music and musicians influencing rock and roll0 Sam Phillips, founder of archetypal rockabilly label Sun used to say, "If only I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars." (Elvis Presley happened as well)
Reebee Garofalo Crossing over: From Black Rhythm & Blues to White Rock n' Roll
-Politics permeates popular music studies -popular musi has been prominent in articulating process of social change, translating political radicalism into a more accessible idiom, but these can be watered down and neutralised by the music industry
Roy Shukar Understanding Popular Music Culture Chapter 12 'Revolution'
Conscience Rock -popular musician stars joining and reinforcing international concern at grim effects of mass famine in Africa, thirs World Debt and anti nuclear, environmental and other international causes. -Concert for Bangladesh, Live Aid, Sun city, Rock the Debt, Nelson Mandela tribute concerts, Amnesty International tours, Greanpeace concerts, Rock against AIDS -Band Aid's "Do They know it's Christmas?" first of a number of singles to raise public consciousness, but was also very successful -Live Aid broadcast worldwide via television with David Bowie, Queen, U2 and Paul McCartney -Live aid critqued as being naive and having moral superiority- at least charity and aid is the first step?
Roy Shukar Understanding Popular Music Culture Chapter 12 'Revolution'
Musical campaigns and statements -1985- global phenomenon addressing the issue of famine in Africa with Bob Geldof -Beastie Boys Concerts for Tibet -mainstream artists generally viewed as "apolitical" can also have the opportunity to present messages, i.e. Destiny's Child's "Independent Women" and Shania Twain's "black eyes blue tears" about domestic violence
Roy Shukar Understanding Popular Music Culture Chapter 12 'Revolution'
Politics of Rock -rock as a genre most commonly associated with political potential, though many will enjoy a rock performer's music without ever subscribing to their politics -popular music not necessarily the preserve of the political left- i.e. George Bush's inaugurations included many blues and soula rtists, white supremacist organisations like the National Front have used punk rock and hardcore music
Roy Shukar Understanding Popular Music Culture Chapter 12 'Revolution'
Rock Against Bush: The Dixie Chicks -organisations working to get young people to register to vote (Rock the Vote, punk voter) and some were explicitly against Bush
Roy Shukar Understanding Popular Music Culture Chapter 12 'Revolution'
Rock Against Racism (RAR) -partially successful mass campaign to confront racism in inner city Britain in the 1970s, new immigrant communities often targeted by the National Front and others -RAR used demonstrations, concerts, magazines, leading bands like the clash contributed -RAR strengthened idea that popular music could be about more than entertainment and provided inspiration for similar 80s campaigns
Roy Shukar Understanding Popular Music Culture Chapter 12 'Revolution'
The 1960s: Give Peace a Chance -'60s a benchmark for popular music and political activism- music played important role in the civil rights movements of the 1960s, and in anti=Vietnam war movement. -John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance and 'Power to the people' who chanted lyrics for peace marches and rallies -Marvin Gaye, 'What's Going On' perhaps most politically explicit no. 1 ever -Vietnam War- as it escalated opposition to it grew- Kent State University, 1970- National Guard fired on and killed 4 student demonstrators, Neil Young composed 'Ohio'- seems to have an impact
Roy Shukar Understanding Popular Music Culture Chapter 12 'Revolution'
"Girl Group" identities --not all 'girl group' singers had adolescent voices -some maintained the girl group identity up until their mid 20s, the oldest being 39 when her last hit came out! (Sue Thompson, paper tiger) -Dusty Springfield, even though fit in this genre, was compared to young black males(?) -contrary to some scholarly belief performers may not have had multimedia performances to present their identities, which were often concealed by producers (for instance the Marvelettes/The Chantels didn't have photos in the early days in order to conceal their blackness)
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
Bodily harm in girl group songs -some songs conflicted with typical notions of girlhood as they were linked to violence- e.g. the Crystals' "he hit me and it felt like a kiss" which trivialises abuse, was actually banned from radio stations, pulled from shelves -Shangri-La's "Past Present and future" with a subject of date rape
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
Girl group military groupies to widows - 1960s signified the Vietnam war- military men as objects of desire and long distance hetero relationships were everywhere -some girl group songs touched on the negatives of war, like the Orchid's "Soldier Boy", which lamented the farewell of a boyfriend, and the Shangri-La's "Long live our love" a toast to a lover away at war who may not come home
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
Idealised girl in postwar American -Susan Douglas writes that women of the '50s and '60s were bombarded with norms and constraints of the ideal woman -women were expected to be domestically subordinate- essentially always passive (and white- racism was very much apparent)
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
Independent or submissive: Lesley Gore & others -Lesley Gore- white middle class Jewish teen- had feminist single "you don't own me" which challenged submissive relationships -Gore wrote a song about wanting to be a man so she could reap the benefits of male privilege- also sang songs dealing with the "boys will be boys" attitudes prevalent in society -her songs alternate between feminist and subordinate, but she was able to speak out from a safe, white middle class position without being dragged through the mud
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
Politically and socially concious girl group songs -Racial/class equality often featured in these songs- Supremes, whilst upbeat, touched on civil rights movement -the Supremes refused to return to South Africa after being called "honorary whites", Dolores "La La" Brookes refused to sign autographs for white fans whilst segregation was enforced, Dusty Springfield would only perform to integrated audiences -The Lewis sisters' song "stay with your own kind"- interracial relationships happened in girl groups so this was relevant -protest against war- Estelle Bennett's "in the year 2000"- nuclear holocaust themes- musical dissonance and biblical lyrics from Genesis and sound bytes from Hitler's speeches (not a girl group tho?) -"Uptown" the crystals (Cynthia Weill) drew inspiration from West Side Story and class/racial discrepancies -conversely other singers were in great positions of privilege- e.g. the Calendar Girls' "People will talk", consoling a poorer boyfriend who can't afford to buy his girlfriend nice things, or the Secret's "The Other side of town", girl laments class difference from a position of white, middle class privilege
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
Pre-marital sex in girl group songs -The Shirelles "will you love me tomorrow?" speaks of premarital sex in 1961- precurses the women's movement of 2nd wave feminism- however, this song still posed the girls in an innocent, vulnerable position -girl group songs often portrayed the women as innocent and still waiting for their first sexual experience, but could also be seen as being sexually independent by waiting -some songs mentioning premarital sex were in conjunction with the invention of birth control so often these encountered weren't seen as immoral. -Unplanned pregnancies often featured- e.g. Diana Ross and the supremes' "Love Child" was based on Ross' personal experiences
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
Same sex relationships in girl group songs -Lesley Gore subsequently identified as a lesbian, interesting given her feminist stance -the Jaynetts' song "Sally go round the Roses" was interpreted as having meanings relating to lesbianism- conflicting in relation to arguments of "compulsory heterosexuality" in girl group culture
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
Subject of girl group songs --some surprising subjects features in lyrics of girl group songs- for instance feminism, same sex relationships, teen pregnancy etc- subversion of the concept of the idealised girl? -Success of some of these songs means that target audience were already exposed to this- could lead to a reevaluation of scholarly articles on the subject.
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
The "Girl Group" Genre -defined as having key elements of teenage topics, material by songwriters, less rock n' roll accompaniment and more instrumental, and with young vocalists with interacting voices -this means some historically famous girl groups do not qualify as such- i.e. the Liverbirds, Goldie or the Gingerbreads as they were all instrumentalists and the content isn't quite adolescent -we might not always know a girl group when we see it or hear it -apparently girl groups often wrote the lyrics themselves -although some production was high fidelity with lush orchestration, a lot of it had the same production value as your average rock song.
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s
The Bobbettes -1957- 5 black girls 11-15 provided a "template for the 'girl group' genre with a song called "Mr Lea" about their grammar school principle -Actually supposed to be an insulting song but the lyrics had been changed- a rewrite four years later called "I shot Mr Lee" accused him of cheating and that gained them airplay (52 in top 100) -50s and 60s girl groups were previously thought as being overly passive, but more recent scholarly thinking has seen these groups as essential to popular culture to a definition of "girlhood"
Will Stoss Bouffants, beehives, and breaking gender norms: Rethinking "Girl group" music of the 1950s and 60s