Weeks 10-14 Flashcards
What characterizes punk?
A genealogy of amateur aesthetic; DIY attitude
What is a timeline of punk bands?
1966: Velvet Underground
1969: Stooges/MC5
1973: Modern Lovers/New York Dolls
1975: Ramones/Patti Smith/Talking Heads
1976: Sex Pistols/Clash
What was a main contrast between punk in the UK and the US?
Punk in the UK was more socially and politically relevant.
What demographic was UK punk aimed at?
Subcultures and British working class youth
What did press cover concerning punk in the UK?
Subculture and style, symbolization, and moral panics
How is punk related to masculinity?
It can often be tied to aggressive masculinity but also an attack on the hyper-masculinity of rock
What did The Slits do for punk?
They took on a confrontational femininity
What was the significance of The Ramones?
Helped define the “punk sound”
“Wall of noise”
Debut single: “Blitzkrieg Bop”
What were The Sex Pistols a reaction to?
The complexities of rock music and the barriers between fans and stars
What characterizes ska?
A walking baseline, accented rhythm on the offbeat
What was ska influenced by?
Mento and Calypso music
What was rocksteady?
Ska slowed in tempo, increased in bass and more emphasis on the offbeat
What is reggae?
An even more dramatically slowed down version of ska and rocksteady
What did reggae lyrics focus on?
Africa as the homeland with attention to colonization, identity, race, and class
What did reggae music influence?
The Rastafarian Zion movement
What impact did Bob Marley have on reggae?
He translated it into popular music with his Catch a Fire album
What was disco originally for?
The dance floor
Where does disco find its origins?
African American, Latino, and gay dance cultures
What are elements of The Disco Sound?
4/4 time
Syncopated bass line with hi hat on offbeat
“Struggle but survival” lyrics
Artifice over authenticity
What were the 3 types of disco?
R&B Disco, Eurodisco, Pop Disco
What were 3 of disco’s innovations?
Sexual lyrics instead of romantic
Producers were stars instead of performers
The dancing remix was born
Who did Donna Summer work with?
Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte
What were the 1980s known as?
The decade of the music video
What did MTV create?
A new visual language for music
A way to connect music to advertising
Consumption as an identity
How does Madonna relate to visuality and identity?
Utilized the music video
Ever-changing image and style
Controlled expression of sexuality
How does Michael Jackson relate to visuality and identity?
Made a career as a performer in addition to just a singer
Music videos for Thriller were highly influential in the form
What were two frequent types of Bruce Springsteen songs?
Sensitive portraits of working class people stuck in dead-end lives Rousing, celebratory rockers
How is Springsteen related to MTV?
He found success with music videos
How did hardcore come about as a genre?
Punk gained popular appeal and moved to the underground
What were the centres of hardcore in America?
California and DC
What characterized hardcore music?
A focus on speed, anger, and aggression
When and where did hip hop originate?
South Bronx, 1970s
What is a break?
A section of music where vocals drop out and the beat dominates
How was the turntable and break technology significant in hip hop?
Hip hop involves circulating sounds of the past through recycling, repacking, and remixing. Break technology made this possible.
What are the four methods of mixing music on a turntable?
Beat matching, beat mixing, scratching, and beat juggling
How did gangsta rap begin its decline?
With the deaths of 2pac and Biggie
What did mass media focus on with regard to hip hop? What did this result in?
Its sensationalism resulted in moral outrage and panic.
Why was rap not thought of as music?
Because rap didn’t have the standard melody that was present in popular music at the time
What is blockism?
The idea that your neighbourhood block is the centre of the world
Where is blockism reflected?
In the East-West coast rivalry
What is conscious hip hop?
“hiphop praxis wherein lyric content and raising the art form to the next level outweighs the profit margin”
When did the sound of hip hop change? How?
The late 1990s as a result of genre-mixing (e.g., Award Tour is jazz rap)
When did the indie scene begin in Seattle?
The late 1980s
Who founded Sub Pop and when?
Bruce Pavitt in 1986
What effect did Sub Pop have on grunge?
It helped redefine the sound of Seattle Grunge
Where does Sub Pop have its roots?
In the Subterranean Pop fanzine
Why was Seattle so apt for an indie scene?
There was no major music market already there and the weather was bad
When did the term “alternative” begin to replace “indie?”
The late 80s and 90s
What did this shift from indie to alternative mean for the industry?
There was a turn towards populism and non-indie rock practices
What does early grunge describe?
An overdriven guitar sound and the dress and style of faded flannel and torn jeans
What happened when bohemianism became mainstream?
It threatened the indie-punk notion that certain kinds of consumerism might resist commodification
What happened to indie bands as time went on?
They signed to bigger labels, made music videos, and turned to “scrunge”
What is scrunge?
Music with elements of grunge but no indie values
What is Nirvana indicative of?
The transition between indie and alternative
When did Cobain die?
1994
What were Nirvana’s 3 albums, when were they released, and with what labels?
Bleach in 1989, Sub Pop Records
Nevermind in 1991, DGC
Unplugged in New York in 1994, Sony Music Studios
What is Riot Grrrl connected to?
DIY and third wave feminism
What was house music designed for?
The dance floor and DJs
What was house music related to?
Excess, drugs, and dancing
Where does house have its origins?
Chicago
What distinguishes house music?
Its repetitive and mechanical rhythm and relationship with disempowered communities
Who are two people connected to house music?
Jamie Principle and Frankie Knuckles
What is techno related to?
Detroit, European aesthetic, futuristic sound, different from house in BPM and venues
What does techno make use of?
The Roland TR-808, TR 909, and older Moog synths
What is an example of a techno album?
Strings of Life (1987)
What is jungle sound?
Stretched backbeat, full rhythmic pattern, “accelerated reggae,” hybrid of hip hop and house
What is jungle sound connected to?
Black British culture
What is an example of a jungle song?
Terminator (1992) by Metal Heads
What percentage of singles released in Britain in 1998 were in the dance category?
61%
What are the 3 stages of the music industry?
- Music publishing houses
- Record companies
- Transnational entertainment corporations
What did the Canadian Content Regulations mandate?
30% of radio music must be Canadian
What was Broken Social Scene?
A music collective including between 6 and 19 people
Who started Broken Social Scene?
Drew and Canning
What did the collective show?
That success is possible by self releasing
What was Arts and Crafts records created for?
To support Broken Social Scene and associated acts
