1960s Flashcards

1
Q

why is 1960 referred to as “the day the music died”?

A

declining state of pop music:
- Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper killed in plane crash
- Eddie Cochran killed in car accident in London
- Elvis enlisted in army
- Little Richard left music to become a minister
- Chuck Berry incarcerated
- DJ Alan Freed disgraced in payola scandal
rock n roll replaced by rising popularity of teen idols

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2
Q

what was the Brill Building? which genre emerged out of it?

A
  • a commercial enterprise located in central Manhattan which took the successful rock n roll formula and reintroduced the stylistic features and production process of Tin Pan Alley (nicknamed “teen” pan alley)
  • girl groups: new form of pop music comprised predominantly of young Black women with songs composed by young (often female, often Jewish) songwriters (like Carol King); featured layered vocal arrangements with call-and-response between lead and backup singers
  • Phil Spector’s trademark “wall of sound”
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3
Q

who was Phil Spector?

A
  • producer working in the Brill Building who pioneered the wall of sound technique: involved overdubbing instruments and playing them in the same room to make a bigger sound
  • he was very controlling of the artists under his label as well as the women in his life
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4
Q

describe the urban folk revival

A
  • a revival of the tradition of country blues singers
  • emphasized authenticity and sincerity over commerciality
  • often contained political left-wing messages, correlating with the rise of the civil rights movement
  • strophic form (verses only)
  • voice and acoustic guitar, fingerpicking
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5
Q

what did Dylan famously do in 1965? what was its impact?

A
  • performed at Newport festival with an electric guitar, which was controversial since the electric guitar represented the commerciality that the urban folk revival was against (accused him of “selling out”)
  • his new style represented a key development in the sound of mainstream rock in the 60s by combining folk earnestness with rock n roll musical aesthetics
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6
Q

what was the main change in the categorization of music in 1969?

A

R&B became soul

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7
Q

define and describe soul as a broad genre

A
  • vocal style: use of melisma, gospel and doo-wop influence
  • shift away from blues structure in favour of a more contemporary through-composed structure (verse-chorus-bridge parts)
  • the Black antithesis to white-coded folk revival; represented racial pride and authenticity
  • two regional centres: Motown (Detroit) and Stax (Nashville)/Muscle Shoals (Alabama)
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8
Q

what defined Motown/northern/uptown soul?

A
  • took inspo from Brill building model of production but emphasized the control of music by Black artists
  • HDH songwriting team and session musicians called the Funk Brothers helped to create the “motown sound”
  • stereo to an extreme
  • up-tempo, lively, catchy, feel-good, sweet pop sound but with a soul rawness
  • lots of layered instruments show influence of wall of sound
  • snare drum
  • virtuosic bass
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9
Q

what defined Stax/southern soul?

A
  • greater emphasis on gospel influence
  • more spontaneous riffing as well as, gritty, and gravelly vocals
  • less likely to have pop crossover than motown; marketed as “Blacker” and more authentic than Motown
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10
Q

what was the Harlem cultural festival?

A
  • music festival in the summer of 69
  • like Woodstock but less white, with entirely soul lineup
  • represented fight for a better future, signified social mobility and hope for African American communities
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11
Q

why did British music become so popular in the US in the mid 60s?

A
  • American R&B became increasingly popular in the UK during the 50s, and British artists picked up the style and gave it their own twist; perceived “novelty” to Americans
  • it could be listened to outside the increasingly weighty context of American politics
  • thanks to the Beatles, English rock was seen as more sophisticated than American rock as it integrated “high art” serious aesthetics into rock music
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12
Q

what were the key characteristics of British Invasion music?

A
  • distorted guitar-driven sounds
  • skiffly (jazzy, bluesy) drum grooves
  • ironic suggestive lyrics
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13
Q

why was Sgt. Pepper so influential as an album?

A
  • first concept album
  • first LP to have the lyrics printed on the sleeve
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14
Q

what was the role of British art schools in shaping popular music?

A
  • London’s art schools had a more blues-oriented scene than Liverpool, which provided a hotbed for aspiring rock n roll musicians
  • helped to develop the distinctive form of British rock
  • eg. Rolling Stones
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15
Q

why were the Who influential?

A
  • pioneered the act of smashing guitar on stage
  • emphasis on performance and enduring rock n roll blues values from the 50s
  • explored high art forms, such as their rock opera
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16
Q

describe surf rock

A
  • girl group formula but with male singers
  • portrayed California as an idealistic cultural theme
  • used jangly guitar song
  • youthful lyrics and themes
17
Q

describe 60s counterculture

A
  • a subculture defined in opposition to the mainstream, associated with young, white, middle class Americans who identified with the Civil Rights Movement and protested the Vietnam war
  • influenced music, fashion, philosophy
  • associated with music festivals and outdoor concerts
18
Q

why did psychedelic rock emerge?

A

since rock was seen as too mainstream, it was replaced by psychedelic rock to fit into the countercultural movement

19
Q

describe psychedelic rock

A
  • countercultural subgenre of mainstream rock
  • associated with psychedelic drugs and youth movement
  • intended to be listened to while under the influence
  • electric guitar-centric, new timbres and techniques, dissonance, atonality, improvisation
  • surrealist metaphorical lyrics
20
Q

what city was an especially famous countercultural hub in the late 60s?

A
  • San Francisco
  • big in psychedelic rock, mass dosing of LSD (acid tests)
  • guitar-heavy, bluesy sound
21
Q

what was Woodstock?

A
  • music festival in the summer of 69
  • culmination of the countercultural movement
  • mainly white psychedelic rock artists
22
Q

what happened at Altamont?

A
  • Rolling stones concert in late 1969
  • hired the hells angels as security which resulted in several deaths
  • represented the death of the spirit of music festivals