Lecture 11

Question 1

What has become the most common format for popular music in the 2000s?

Answer 1

digital singles and albums

Question 2

The role of what continues in making popular music stars?

Answer 2

TV

Question 3

What programs emerged on TV to make popular music stars?

Answer 3

American Idol

and others including America’s Got Talent, X-Factor, The Voice, etc.

Question 4

What file sharing platforms have made it easy and inexpensive for the dissemination of music?

Answer 4

Napster, Youtube, Spotfiy, TikTok

Question 5

What is the best-selling physical format in music today?

Why?

Answer 5

vinly records started outselling CDs and took over (again) as the best-selling physical format in music

because more technology is coming into light and vinyls have distinct timbre and quality sound experience

Question 6

1. Where is Radiohead from?
2. What genre?
3. How many?
4. Where are they originally from?
5. When did they form?
6. Where did they meet?

Answer 6

1. They are British
2. genre: alternative rock
3. quintet (5 members)
4. Oxford
5. In the 1980s
6. In school together

Question 7

What were Radiohead’s original name?

Answer 7

On a Friday

Question 8

What label was Radiohead with?

What genres did they explore with that label?

But what genre are they classified as even though they explored many genres?

What is Radiohead constantly trying to do?

Answer 8

EMI

hardcore punk rock; grunge; thick, guitar-dominated textures of rock and heavy metal (they use 3 instead of the usual 2 guitars); electronic dance music; jazz; orchestral music

alternative rock

constantly trying to reinvent the wheel, moving with the times trying to do new things

Question 9

Radiohead’s commercial success in America came first with the simple, grunge-styled single called what?

How are Radiohead’s lyrics usually described?

What is Radiohead trying to do with their lyrics?

Answer 9

‘Creep’

more philosophical

they are trying to question the meaning of life

Question 10

What do we hear a cycle of in Radiohead’s song ‘Creep’?

There is a lot of harmonic repitition in the song. What does this do?

This song deals with what?

Answer 10

cycles through the same 4 chords

it gives a queasy sort of feeling, it’s different, it’s not what we usually hear, its unsettling and disturbing and it could be a reflection of how the singer is feeling so thats why we hear the harmonic repetition

he has someone on his mind and they are cycling through his mind and its consuming his thoughts and he can’t break free of those wards therefore limiting us to a few chords that are repeated over and over again (one-sided love/unrequited love)

Question 11

‘Fitter Happier’ by Radiohead:
What type of song is this?

What is the song about?

What do the pigs, cage and antibiotics resemble in the song?

Answer 11

The song is a short piece of musique concrète with sampled musical and background sounds and spoken text recited by Fred, a synthesized voice from old Macintosh computers (like Siri, ca. 1990s)

This song is stating things that we are constantly told we should be or should want to be. Maybe we don’t want to be like everyone else; maybe it’s not meaningful to us and it doesn’t lead to happiness

that control could mean institutions, government, or pharmaceutical companies that are in this induced drug coma

Question 12

What is musique concrete?

How are the sounds modified?

Answer 12

Music (but it doesn’t have to be musical. it could be nature sounds) that uses recorded sound as raw material (Fred’s voice from the Mac computer is the musique concrete)

these sounds are often modified through the application of audio effects and tape manipulation techniques

Question 13

What album did Radiohead release independently on the internet (without their label EMI)?

What did they offer fans in terms of paying for this album online?

What website was this offered on?

Answer 13

‘In Rainbows’

to pay as you can

It was on a Radiohead, home-run website

Question 14

‘Bodysnatchers’ by Radiohead:
How does it start?

What do the lyrics describe?

How do the lyrics relate to musicians working in the music industry?

Answer 14

begins with a distorted, electric guitar riff that continues almost throughout

describe the alienation of a person incarcerated in their own body

the lyrics have to do with someone feeling like they’re trapped in their own body and we can think of it in terms of the industry sucking the life out of the existence of musicians

Question 15

How does Radiohead fit into the context of the musicians, genres, and experimental developmental sections that we’ve studied?

Answer 15

Musicians: Nirvana and Pink Floyd
genres: Psychedelic and grunge
experimental developmental sections: Beach Boys (Good Vibrations) and the Beatles (Day in the Life)

Question 16

Who is Taylor Swift?
From where?
Where did she move to and released her debut?

Answer 16

A singer-songwriter and guitarist

Pennsylvania

Nashville

Question 17

What has Taylor Swift become known for?

What 3 genres?

What is she a crossover of?

Answer 17

She has become known for her strong vocals and infectious melodic hooks

Singer-songwriter, country and pop

Crossover artist from country to mainstream pop

Question 18

‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift:
What kind of song in what tradition?
What form?
What genres does it bridge?
What happens with the texture?
As the story develops, what happens to the lyrics in the choruses?

Answer 18

narrative song (ballad tradition)

Compound AABA with verses, choruses and pre-choruses

country and pop

the song builds to a fuller texture and then builds back up again which gives the song repetitive structure variety

there are changes to the lyrics

Question 19

What instruments are in ‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift?

Answer 19

• banjo
• fiddle
• acoustic guitar

Question 20

What forms does the A section follow in ‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift?

What is there a short piece of at the end of the first A section?

Answer 20

verse-chorus form

reprise of the introduction

Question 21

There is an upwards modulation in ‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift. What is this modulation called in country music specifically?

What does modulation invite?

What happens at the end of the song?

Answer 21

Trucker’s Key Change

repetition of material

there is vocal improvisation

Question 22

What is the album ‘Midnights’ by Taylor Swift about (released in 2022)?

What is the leading single on this album called that is currently the number 1 track on the Billboard Hot 100?

Answer 22

about self-reflection

‘Anti-Hero’

Question 23

‘Anti Hero’ by Taylor Swift:
What does the introduction establish and with what?
What is the form?
What is happening beneath the surface of the song?
What is happening in the very short sections parts of the song?

Answer 23

Simple introduction, establishes the beat with a very short 5-second, drum loop

simple verse-chorus form

musical repetitions happening beneath the surface, not just the melody but also the instruments

internal repitition

Question 24

Why is it called simple verse-chorus form in ‘Anti-Hero’ by Taylor Swift?

Answer 24

Since the verse, pre-chorus, and chorus in “Anti-Hero” all share the same underlying musical pattern of chords, this form is called simple verse-chorus form

Question 25

What is contrasting verse-chorus form?

Answer 25

When the verse and chorus do not share the same music (more common)

Question 26

What is Lady Gag’s actual name?
Who is she?
Where is she from?
Why did she leave university?
What genre is Lady Gaga firmly planted in?

Answer 26

Stefani Germanotta

singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer

New York City

to pursue a performance career

planted firmly in the 80s mainstream pop, the realm of madonna, Michael Jackson, and Prince

Question 27

Who did Lady Gaga grow up listening to?

Answer 27

divas like Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Christina Aguilera and pop, rock, and glam artists like Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Freddy Mercury (Queen), the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John

Question 28

How can Lady Gaga’s voice be described as?

Answer 28

Lady Gaga herself has a much lower voice and her vocals can be extremely powerful and sometimes rough and raw

Question 29

What is Lady Gaga known for?

Answer 29

Known for danceable hits, memorable choruses, theatrics and spectacle, powerful and sometimes rough vocals, provocative music videos, disrupting mainstream conceptions of female beauty

Question 30

‘Bad Romance’ by Lady Gaga:
What does it look back to?
What does it start with?
What instrument encourages dance and movement?
What is the song about?
What is the vocal versatility in the song?
How are the lyrics described?

Answer 30

looks back to 1980s and 90s pop, Madonna, and electropop

Starts with chorus and then transitions to the hook: “Rah-rah—ah-ah-ah, Roma, roma-ma…”

Strong drums encourage listeners to dance and move

story of infatuation and toxic relationships

Vocal versatility: low, powerful vocals alternate between singing (choruses) and speech (verses)

lyrics are very percussive and almost violent

Question 31

Who is BTS?
What genre did they start in and what did they branch out to?
What language are their songs sung in?
What did they do a lot of songs about?
What album made them become a global pehnomenon?
What is their fan base called?
How are they a versatile group?

Answer 31

South Korean all-male vocal septet

started in hip hop and have branched out to pop and other genres (often called K-pop)

Korean and English

address mental health, coming-of-age stories, loss, self-acceptance but also have some fun songs like “Butter”

2 Cool 4 Skool

ARMY

because they’ll sing in different languages (Korean or English) depending on the audience

Question 32

How is BTS a descendant of the boy band tradition?

How is BTS a descendant of stars who challenge traditional gender divisions?

Answer 32

Boy Band:
- Creating texture and opportunities for each of those members to step up from the rest of the group
- synchronized choreography
- matching outfits

Challenging traditional gender divisions:
- androgynous appearances with the makeup and clothing (like Little Richard and Price)

Question 33

‘Butter’ by BTS:
What genre?

Answer 33

mainstream pop kind of song but segments of rap are included

Question 34

‘Boy with Luv’ by BTS:
What genre?
What is it about?

Answer 34

Bubblegum K-pop hit

finding joy in little things as a way to achieve inner happiness and peace

Question 35

Who also have a long history of supplying American popular music with hit songs?

Answer 35

Broadway and Hollywood

Question 36

What are recent popular songs from Broadway?

Answer 36

“My Shot”

“Waving Through a Window”

“We Don’t Talk About Bruno”

Question 37

What composer-lyricist is Encanto by?

Answer 37

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Question 38

What is ‘We Don’t Talk about Bruno’?

Answer 38

An ensemble number that mixes Latin styles with hip hop

Question 39

Why is this movie popular?

Why is the movie relatable?

Answer 39

The movie has this universal, multi-generational appeal

The song’s theme is relatable, as it pertains to family secrets and how years of gossip and repression can obscure truth

Question 40

‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ by Miranda:
What form?
What style?
How does Miranda show her appeal for hip hop?
What happens with the texture?
What kind of song is this?
What happens at the beginning of verse 4?
What builds to the last section?

Answer 40

Verse-chorus form

Latin musical style

because she incorporates verses both melodically sung and rapping

gradual thickening of the texture in the verses by adding more and more singers

a counterpoint song

Almost all of the instrumental accompaniment drops

a bridge (this is where the counterpoint is shown)

Question 41

What is a counterpoint song?

Answer 41

different melodies happening at the same time (those multiple lines happening overtop of one another; people singing all at the same time but different words on top of one another)

Question 42

What are jukebox musicals?

What do jukebox musicals owe their success to?

Answer 42

A jukebox musical uses previously released popular songs as its musical score (so we are building a musical out of pre-existing songs)

Jukebox musicals owe their success in part to their ability to trigger nostalgia

Question 43

What are jukebox scores?

What is Broadway’s market?

How do these songs reflect Broadway’s market?

What are the styles of the songs?

What is an example?

Answer 43

A cross-section of hit tunes usually selected from a significantly limited timespan: from the late 1950s to the early 1980s

the mainly white, middle-class, and aging baby-boom generation

because these songs reflect the musical tastes of Broadway’s market

rock ’n’ roll, country, mainstream pop, etc.

Mamma Mia

Question 44

What is a Bio-musical?

What do bio-musicals follow?

What are bio-musicals referred to as by critics?

Answer 44

A subgenre of the jukebox musical which usually uses singers’ chart-toppers to trace the arcs of their careers like Bob Dylan

follow this outline and its clichés: adversity, success, more adversity, triumph (or collapse) before the final curtain

the cockroach of Broadway because producers keep returning to these shows because they know their fan base already and can count on these shows lasting and shows need to last in order to recoup the fees and costs (musicals are very expensive)

Question 45

Who is ABBA?

What propelled them to stardom?

Who said they were his favourite group?

Answer 45

A Swedish pop quartet (2 guys 2 girls)

ABBA’s win in the Eurovision Song Contest

Nelson Mandela

Question 46

What do ABBA’s music feature?

Answer 46

simple, repetitive melodies, rhythms, harmonies, and song forms as well as carefully designed, eclectic syntheses of 1970s pop and dance music with European and Latin American popular styles

Question 47

Who wrote the Mamma Mia musical?

Why was Mamma Mia a hit?

Answer 47

The 2 people from ABBA after the group disbanded in the 80s

Their songs are accessible and appeal to multiple generations of audiences around the world and The well-crafted and convincing book by Catherine Johnson does not simply retell the story of the band’s successes but creates a new story with compelling characters and universal themes of love, coming-of-age, self-discovery, and adventure