Midterm 2 (Part 2) Flashcards
Political & Economic Context of Late 60s
Mistrust in government continues with ongoing Vietnam war + Civil Rights movement = counterculture
Central Themes/Influences of Late 60s
- Disillusionment (honest themes)
- Free Love (explicit lyrics)
- Drugs (hallucinogenins and Eastern culture)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Album emblematic of counterculture; first album to be presented completely whole (no singles)
- Cover: many counterculture figures
- Unique instrumentation on every song
- Drug influences (A Day in the Life)
- “Be In” Audience (symbolic of communal living)
Psychedelic Rock
Emerged out of San Francisco, confluence of folk rock, hard rock, blues, Latin and Indian music
Jefferson Airplane
First band out of psychedelic scene to achieve national success (ACID ROCK)
White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane)
Quintessential psychedelic rock; latin and bolero influence (one big crescendo)
- Theme: irony of parents condoning drug use, despite all the drug references in Alice in Wonderland
- 16:00!!!
Janis Joplin + Big Brother and the Holding Company
Psychedelic band which hopped on Jefferson Airplane bandwagon
- Album ‘Cheap Thrills’
Summertime (Big Brother and the Holding Company)
Cover of G.Gershwin TPA standard
- Distinct vocals by Joplin; raspy, multiphonics (2 notes produced at same time)
The Grateful Dead
Psychedelic band infamous for life performance
- ‘Live/Dead’ album recorded over many shows (songs like jam sessions)
- Counterculture community = Dead Heads
Jim Morrison
Lead singer of The Doors, famous for:
- Stage presence
- Outrageous lyrics
The Doors
Band name originates from “The Doors of Perception”, reference to a hallucinogenic trip
- Difference from other bands: no bass player!
Light My Fire (The Doors)
Quintessential psychedelic rock
- Theme: thinly veiled reference to all nighter of sex and drugs
- Changed radio consumption of rock (short version charted → long version played → increased record sales)
Jimi Hendrix
Most inventive guitar virtuoso of the guitar era
- Feedback, distortion, volume!
Jimi Hendrix and the Experience
Band formed in London, debuted in America and Monterey Pop Festival (Cali)
- Hendrix guitar tricks on display (with teeth, behind back, set on fire, made love to it!)
Star-Spangled Banner (Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock)
Unprecedented guitar playing (orchestra worth of timbre)
- Can hear the rockets and bombs
***Fine line between music and noise!
Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix)
Quintessential Hendrix guitar
- Experimentation galore!
- Established the Hendrix chord (tritone)
The End of Counterculture
- 60s counterculture goes mainstream (centralized producers profiting)
- Deaths of Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison
- Dissolution of Beatles
Conservative Approach (of 70s)
New approach of the 70s involved:
- Mature themes (no more disillusionment, free love, drugs)
- Nostalgia for earlier age
- Reintroduction of the division between black and white music
Emerging Technology of the 70s
Magnetic tape → 8-track + cassettes
The Illusion of Choice
Pop music splinted into MANY genres with goal of increasing marketability
Radio’s Album Oriented Rock (AOR)
Effort to increase record sales by playing songs that could only acquired by buying full album
- Airtime given mostly to white artists (rock becoming more ‘white’)
Carole King
First a songwriter working in the Brill Building, then became singer
Its Too Late (Carole King)
Soft rock which emulated the 70s conservative approach
- Mature theme: end of relationship, acceptance of change and growing apart
- Instrumental variety
Joni Mitchell
Confessional singer-songwriter
All I Want (Joni Mitchell)
First track off album ‘Blue’, a highly confessional album
- Sparse instrumentation = focus on lyric
- Dulcimer = adds exotic flavor
- Form = unpredictable!
Elton John
Master of pop rock who capitalized on the nostalgia craze of the 70s conservative approach
Crocodile Rock
Song which capitalized on the nostalgia craze, based on a fictitious dance (recall dance craze of 60s!)
- Lyric: “I remember when rock was young”
- Music: Rock N Roll
- Arrangement: piano as percussion, whiny vocals in Beach Boys style
Stevie Wonder
Strived to connect African American traditions to rock (despite division in early 70s)
- Like Spector: multi-faceted producer
- Like Gordy: maintained full artistic control
Superstition (Stevie Wonder)
Highlight of many African American traditions
- Intensely syncopated riff
- Chord changes in verse reminiscent of blues
- Unchanging chord in hook (James Brown)
- Instrumental layering (James Brown)
Introduction of Arena Rock (70s)
Transition made from the festivals of the 60s (‘be in’ tradition) → marketability!
Issue Posed to LPs by Concept Albums
Artists need to fill 40 mins (20 mins each side) of meaningful, unified work!
Concept Album Example: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (David Bowie)
Glam rock album, designed with stage production in mind
- Theme: alien (Ziggy Stardust) visits Earth, becomes a rockstar and dies under the pressures of fame
Concept Album Example: Dark Side of the Moon
Psychedelic/experimental rock album
- Theme: things that drive us to madness (time, work, money)
- Also unified by: sounds (heart beat, ticking clock, cash register), musical style/mood
Led Zeppelin
British Heavy Metal band (blues rock + psychedelic rock)
What set them apart?
- Guitar virtuoso: Jimmy Page
- Folk influences
Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
Juxtaposition of heavy metal and folk
- Music escalates like a stairway = MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT (rural acoustic → electric → sudden stop)
- AOR, but worse! (album had no title, labels)
Cover Art of ‘Led Zeppelin 4’
Rustic wallpaper shreds away to reveal cityscape
Natural (folk) → artificial (electric)
Miles Davis
Pioneer of jazz rock (rock instruments + virtuosic jazz performance)
Bitches Brew
Jazz rock album by Miles Davis
- Ostinato (repeated bass pattern) = flexibility
- Not tonal (no place of rest, such as tonic chord)
***All over the place!
Reasons Why Disco Opposed Rock
- No time for the thematic statements of concept albums → need to dance!
- Shift focus from performer to producer
Creation of Disco
Singles expanded to fill one side of LP → multiple turntables allowed one record to play into the next without interruption
- Segue mixes (sequence of songs one after another)
Saturday Night Fever
First instance of disco in the mainstream
- Working class Italian kid rises through the ranks to become a dance champ
Love Unlimited Orchestra
40 piece backup band for the Love Unlimited Vocal Trio
Disco Pioneers
Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Bee Gees, Village People
Love’s Theme (Love Unlimited Orchestra)
Disco instrumental with full danceability
- Syncopated grove, guitar scratches
- String-dominant melody reminiscent of 60s soul
Good Times (CHIC)
Disco with full danceability (constant tempo and beat, repetitive song form)
- Light, easy singalong lyrics
- Limited harmony (oscillates between 2 chords)
Progressive Country (Genre)
Rebellion against the Nashville Sound (distinguished country from rock)
- Pushed boundary of country towards rock
Willie Nelson
Pioneer of Progressive Country
Outlaw
Country performer who appealed to audiences of country and rock
- Ex. Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson’s Style
Country with rock (R&B) timbre; conversational voice
Red Headed Stranger
Concept album by Willie Nelson
- Lady cheats on man, man hunts her down and kills her
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (Willie Nelson)
Progressive country song containing both acoustic and electric instruments
- Vocals: dynamic, emotive
Ska
Genre resulting from the combination of Jamaican Folk and American R&B
- Result: addition of brass and woodwind instruments to R&B ensembles
Thorough Fare (Don Drummand & The Skatalites)
Quintessential ska; fast, steady rhythm which places trombone front and center
Rastafarianism
Reinterpretation of the bible by which all African diaspora will return to Africa to reclaim the holy land
Rock Steady (Alton Ellis)
Represents Ska + Rastafarian + Burru
- More mellow than Ska (sounds Reggae)
Rude Boys
Social category of individuals in Jamaica who embodied counterculture
Reggae
Rastafarianism + Rude Boys
Characteristics of Reggae
- Slow tempo
- Polyrhythms
- Emphasis on back beat
- Themes of counterculture (social injustice, racism, etc)
The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff)
Quintessential reggae (embodies all characteristics except slow tempo)
- Soundtrack to film of same name → begins reggae craze
***Identify using lyrics!
Bob Marley
Reggae artist and Rastafarian ambassador
- Formed Wailers in early 60s; success in early 70s
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton)
Mainstream rock sound
- No polyrhythms, weak back beat
I Shot the Sheriff (Bob Marley)
More reggae influenced then Clapton version
- Polyrhythms prominent, strong back beat (heavy bass and percussion), high singing voice
