Music Exam 4

Van Halen, "Jump" (1984)

-Eddie Van Halen (electric guitar) -Heavy metal -Synthesizer, in addition to electric guitar -Straightforward video; "stage performance"

New Technologies of the 1980s

-Digital sound recording -Synthesizers continued to develop -Compact discs~ The first CDs went on sale in 1983 -MTV (Music Television)

MTV

-Music Television -Launched in 1981 -Contributed to the wide-spread popularity of new music through videos -Image and style became more important than ever: Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince

The Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made out of This)"

-New wave; synth-pop -Annie Lenox: simple, deadpan vocal style, blues influence -Lyrics uniquely combine cynicism, sensuality, and hope for the future

"Sweet Dreams" (House version)

Samples from the Eurythmics' 1982 song: Synth-pop Steve Angello's remix: -Many other artists remixed the original song Released in 2004 Frequently heard in dance clubs

Ani DiFranco

Singer-songwriter Combines elements and punk rock "Homespun" low-tech music More than 100 original songs by age 19 Avoided corporate music business Built a successful independent record label (Righteous Babe Records) Played around 200 live concerts every year Mainstream popularity by mid-90s

Prince

Almost forty million recordings sold First album in 1979 (Prince) Nine Top 10 albums between 1982 and 1992 Composed, performed, and recorded more than 75 songs each year Three Number 1 albums -Purple Rain (1984) -Around the World in a Day (1985) -Batman (1989)

Lauryn Hill

Alternative hip-hop Response to violence and sexism of gangsta rap artists Commitment to female empowerment -Builds on the ground-breaking example of Queen Latifah Hill raps and sings in her own distinctive voice Mid-1990s hip-hop trio, the Fugees (NJ) -Number 1 hit in 1996 with their second album, The Score -Blend of rap, reggae, and R&B Hill's debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) -Number 1 album, selling 7 million copies in little over a year -Number 1 hit "Doo Wop (That Thing)" Video: Split-screen -1960s fashion; R&B; doo top -1990s ("present") fashion; hip-hop

Reality TV

American Idol (first aired in 2002, on FOX) -Open public auditions throughout the US -Various stages of competition -Celebrity judges -Audience voting The Voice (first aired in 2011 on NBC) -Blind auditions -Coaching throughout the season

M.C. Hammer

Stanley Kirk Burrell Rapper from Oakland, CA Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em -Held the Number 1 position for 21 weeks and sold over 10 million copies Bestselling rap album of all time "U Can't Touch This" (1990) Sample: "Super Freak" Rick James (1981)

Two different electronic dance music? (two cities)

Detroit Techno Chicago House

Alternative Rock, 1980s-1990s

Strong underground rock scenes developed in towns across the U.S. "Post-punk" The most influential indie rock bands of the 1980s were R.E.M. (formed in 1980 in Athens, Georgia) and Sonic Youth (formed in NYC in 1981)

1980s Alternative Rock: Hardcore

Developed in clubs on the West Coast An extreme variation of punk, pioneered during the early 1980s by bands on the West Coast (e.g., the Dead Kennedys) These groups took the frenzied energy of the Sex Pistols and other punk bands and pushed it to the limit Led to Metallica's even more intense thrash style "Holiday in Cambodia" The Dead Kennedys, 1981

Radiohead

Active since 1985 English alternative rock band -"Modern rock" by the mid-2000s Experimental, electronic music Also traditional instrumentation Considered by many the most influential band in recent decades

Auto-tune

Audio processor First commercial use: Cher, "Believe" (1998) Uses: -To correct tuning of recorded voices and other instruments -Special effects -Remixes of existing music and other sounds Soon became a common (overused?) element of style Removes the nature human quality, especially from singing Negative press

ADAT (1992)

Digital tape recorder

k.d. lang

Born in rural Canada Alternative country Image conflicted with conservative world of country music Released 2 albums in early 80s "Absolute Torch and Twang" (1989 -Grammy best female country vocal performance Pop crossover in 1990s

House and Techno

Electronic dance music DJs Synthesizers Sampling Drum machines Influenced by disco, funk, synth-pop, reggae, etc.

Snoop Doggy Dogg

Calvin Broads, born in Long Beach, CA Doggystyle, 1993 -Debuted at the top of the album charts -Included gold single "What's My Name" (1993) -Designed for the pop charts: Dance style, sampling, smooth recording style

Gangsta Rap

Chronicles the issues faced by urban communities Told in first-person, present-tense Combines a grim, survivalist outlook on life with a gleeful celebration of the gangster lifestyle Ice-T, N.W.A., Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tupac Shakur, and the Notorious B.I.G. Hip-hop feuds and rivalries: West Coast vs. East Coast -West Coast: Tupac Shakur -East Coast: Notorious B.I.G.

"Walk This Way" (1986)

Collaboration between Run-D.M.C and Aerosmith Sampling -Drum pattern and guitar riff from Aerosmith's original recording of "Walk This Way" (1975) Turn table scratching Rapping (verses) Steven Tyler's strained, high-pitched voice (chorus) Video features confrontation of the two artists/two genres

Queen Latifah

Dana Owens New Jersey native Hip-hop artist, model, actress, producer, talk show host, activist One of the first women to be extremely successful in the male dominated hip-hop world

Purple Rain (1984)

Film and soundtrack established Prince as a pop superstar Bestselling album of 1984 -Number 1 position for 24 weeks -Five hit singles, including "When Doves Cry" Draws heavily on the details of Prince's life Blurs boundaries between the fiction and reality

iPod and iTunes (2001)

First model could store up to 1000 songs iPod and other MP3 players have come to dominate the market for portable listening devices iTunes (2001) became the top music retailer in the U.S. by 2008

Latina Pop Superstars

Floria Estefan : "Coming out of the Dark" (1991) Selena: "Amor prohibido" (1994)

Beastie Boys

Formed in NYC in 1981 First punk; later hip-hop One of the first groups to sign with Def Jam -Later signed with Capitol Records Involved in legal battles (sampling)

Public Enemy

Founded in 1982 Core members met as college students -Common interest in hip hop culture and political and social activism -Two MCs, one DJ -"Minister of Information", Professor Griff -Dancers

"Like a Virgin" (1984)

From Madonna's second album Like a Virgin Number 1 pop and number 9 R&B Motown influence Synthesizers Vocal Style reflects Madonna's manipulation of female stereotypes: -Soft, intimate breathiness of Hollywood sex symbols (e.g., Marilyn Monroe) -Throaty, tougher sound of 1960s singers (e.g., Ronnie Spector, "Be My Baby")

"Bodysnatchers" - Radiohead

From album In Rainbows (2007) Released in U.S. as a single in 2008 -Peaked at number 8 on the charts Recorded in one take Studio set up in abandoned house Instrumentation: -Traditional guitar (with heavy distortion), bass, and drums; vocals -Also eerie sounding electric keyboard

"U.N.I.T.Y." (1993)

From the album Black Reign Queen Latifah's response to misogynistic rap Describes disrespectful treatment of women by strangers as well as family Descriptions escalate in each subsequent verse Chorus: sung in a Jamaican dialect; reggae and R&B influence Verses: rapped in an aggressive tone that reflects the kind of rap she is answering Sample: saxophone from "A Message from the Inner City" (The Crusaders, 1973) Despite use of non-radio friendly language, it was widely promoted because of its message Video features masculine and feminine imagery

Hip-Hop Breaks Out (1980s-90s)

In the mid-1980s, rap moved into the popular mainstream. 1986: The first two multiplatinum rap albums released by Def Jam (independent label) -Raising Hell by Run-D.M.C. -Licensed to Ill by the Beastie Boys Expansion of the hip-hop audience -> commercial success -Millions of young white fans, attracted by the rebelliousness of the genre

"Night of the Living Baseheads" (1988)

Hit single by Public Enemy Lyrics address the crack cocaine epidemic in urban centers -"base" = cocaine Many samples are used on recording Extended video includes a mock-T.V. report; images of whites and blacks throughout society using crack -Illustrates the widespread drug use in American society -Zombies demonstrate the effect of the drug on the body

"Thriller" (song)

Long video (more than 13 min) A "mini-film" MTV Video -Drama, special effects, and extended dance scene Combines funk, disco, rap -Horror-movie star Vincent Price Changed the direction of video format

File Sharing and Free downloading

MP3.com (1997) -The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed lawsuit in 2000 -MP3.com was forced to remove all illegal files Napster (1999) -RIAA lawsuit in 2001 -Reopened as online store; purchased by Rhapsody in 2011 Peer-to-Peer (2001) -File sharing networks -No central server -Supreme Court ruling in 2005: violation of copyright laws on massive scale

"Go" (1991)

Moby's breakout hit Various mixes of the song on the full album Features a variety of samples -Instrumental and vocal -Pop-culture references: Music from Twin Peaks -Sould singer Jocelyn Brown Energy builds throughout the track

Pro-tools (1991)

Music software program Designed for personal computers Editing software -Pitch and tempo -Quality of a singer's voice -Instrumentalist's timbre

Techno

Musical Influences: punk rock, experimental art music, black popular music (funk and hip-hop) Various effects: -Stark, futuristic sounds -Energetic funkiness -World music influences -Otherworldly sonic atmospheres Mainstream appeal (film, television, commercials)

MySpace and YouTube

MySpace (2003) -More than 100 million subscribers by 2006, including thousands of musicians who made their recording available through it -Sued by Universal in 2006, but in 2008 all of the major companies partners with MySpace Music to sell downloads and stream tracks for free YouTube (2005) serves as a major outlet for streaming popular music and music videos

Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

Popular since the late-1960s (Jackson 5) Gained renewed popularity in the 1980s with Thriller (1982) -Top-selling album of all time (more than 40 million sold) -Reached a broad audience -Collaborations Unprecedented popularity

"Doo Wop (That Thing)" Lauryn Hill (1998)

R&B elements -Strong lead vocal (soul) -Four-part vocal harmony (doo-wop) -Horn section (soul) Hip-hop elements -Rapped verses -Digital drum machine Hill's penetrating observations on male and female behavior -First verse directed at female listeners -Second verse directed at male listeners

Prince Rogers Nelson (b. 1958)

Raised in middle-class Minneapolis, Minnesota Grew up hearing a wide range of music -James Brown, Santana, Joni Mitchell, many others Mixed-race heritage -African-American, Italian, and Native American ancestry

Madona (b. 1958)

Raised in suburb of Detroit -Motown influence Moved to NYC in 1977 -Modeling -Discos Popularity was second only to Michael Jackson's (1980s-90s) Twenty-eight Top 10 singles, eleven of which reached the top spot on the charts (1984-94)

Recent Technologies

Streaming music and video libraries -Numberous sources; pop music, classical, etc. Virtual performances -Online, live streaming; performers no longer need to be in the same location Holograms -Allows "new" performances by long-gone artists; "Collaborations"

"When Doves Cry" (1984)

The arrangement of "When Doves Cry" can be divided into two major sections: Section One: -About three and a half minutes in length -A presentation of the song -Alternation of verse (A) and chorus (B) Section Two: -Consists of a series of eight-bar phrases -Instrumental solos, sung phrases, and other vocal effects are sometimes layered, and sometimes alternated one after the other

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana

Top 10 hit from the album Nevermind (1991) Combination of heavy metal instrumental textures and pop songwriting techniques Sleek and well-focused sound Four-chord harmonic progression -Unfolds from hook at beginning Simple Formal Structure -Clearly divided sections Carefully crafted pop single

Grunge Rock: Nirvana

Trio centered on singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain Debut album: Bleach (1989) -Sold 35k copies Associated with the "Seattle sound" Commonly referred to as grunge rock

Run - D.M.C.

Trio: -2 MCs: Run (Joseph Simmons); D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels) -1 DJ: Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) Adidas Corporation and Run-D.M.C. signed a $1.5 million promotional deal

Dance Music in the Digital Age

Up-tempo, repetitive, electronic dance music -Developed in the club scenes: NY, Chicago, and Detroit Many subcategories; most widely-known: -House (Chicago, late 1970s) -Techno (Detroit, mid 1980s) Live performances by DJs

The Internet

Vast joining of millions of computers linked by a global network MP3 (1995) - digital file compression system that enables sound files to be compressed -Smaller files=easier and faster to upload/download Later, music streaming services