Ohhhh Dream Theater, I believe we can make it through the night

So, yesterday in class we had one presentation on Dream Theater. Specifically their 24 minute long virtuostic eclectic rock masterpiece Octavarium. I myself have never been a big dream theater fan, I can respect their musical chops, but in the long run it isn’t the easy listening music I prefer on the car ride home. As the presentation went along I discovered the ridiculous amount of symbolism and intricacies that go into the song Octavarium. It is composed of 5 movements, with the 4th movement including sections from the other 8 songs on that album. Each of the movements have sections specifically written by different members of the band, then brought together. The over arching theme of “everything ends where it began” makes sense within the music and the album’s artwork of a Newton’s Cradle resonates that not just the music in this album is planned exactly from start to finish, but also lyrically and symbolically. This kind of style of having a song with several sections or movements is not an unfamiliar concept to music, but stepping into the realm of progressive rock/metal definitely kicks it up a notch. I can recall on Green Day’s American Idiot album, two of the songs, Jesus of Suburbia and Homecoming, have 5 movements within them that help tell the all encompassing story. Now, Obviously Dream Theater has a bit more substantial skill level than that of a Green Day song, but they have the similar theme of a story being told through the whole album, then having a sort of “wrap up” song to bring everything together. Overall, I thought the presentation did a good job of explaining how these styles worked together and brought back some thoughts of how we today think of classical music. Granted, Dream Theater may be a bit more exciting to listen to versus Tchaikovsky or Bach, but the symphonies those composers made had a similar structure. They have a song that was split into movements, those separate movements are used to tell a story. After several different movements, part of the story resurfaces in the forms of reprisals that are instinctive and indicative to a major theme. Not trying to say that Dream Theater and Green Day stole this idea from classical music, but these songs are from the 17th and 18th century, so maybe they just took some suggestions from the ideas of the past composers. With mainstream popular music having a more simplified aspect o appeal to a more general audience, it is good to know that bands, like Dream Theater, are still out there making a difference to bring together complex and virtuostic music.

Post about starting your blog research

For my final assignment in history of pop music I decided to tackle electronic dance music (EDM) and explore its start and the prominent artists featured today. I started by looking at were EDM music began and how it evolved into the dominating genre it is today. Ironically, as it turns out, we already technically talked about the start of EDM in class. EDM had its humble beginnings after disco died in the early 80s. the electronic sounds and fast paced beat of disco led to the main framework of EDM. Having remixes of popular and classical songs being the forefront in EDM today, the same can be said about early electronic and progressive dance music. Beethoven’s 5th symphony by Walter Murphy is a prime example of early EDM. It features no original words, I say original words meaning that none were recorded or added but rather taken  off of a sampling. This definitely reflects one of the main ideologies of EDM music. A modern day example being Skrillex’s song Scary Monsters and Nice Spirtes. The song itself has no words beside a voice clip taken from a youtube video of a girl cup stacking, in which she exclaims “YES OH MY GOD!”. Those lines are the only spoken word throughout the song. This song is usually considered to be in the genre of Dubstep by die-hard EDM fans, but I believe they fall under the same umbrella within EDM. The culture of EDM drastically changed in the late 90s and early 2000s when festivals, such as Bonaroo and Burning Man, gained popularity and began signing more electronic and techno artists to the roster of musicians. In a lot of ways EDM can relate to rap, hold on I’ll explain, in rap, as we have discussed in class, sampling is taken from other songs and the rappers talk over it with a certain “flow” to add their own musical input. EDM works in a similar way, taking samplings from older songs or, as mentioned above, random video clips in order to make a song out of it. Also with rap, there are remixes of other artists songs that include new words or input from other artists, EDM musicians do a similar practice when remix other artists songs and even their own. The criticisms I have run into with EDM music is that people, (usually those of an older generation) do not define it as music. The blast beat repetitiveness of the songs are so simplistic, they argue, that it doesn;t hold the same virtuosity that other genres like rock n’ roll hold. I can understand their frustration, spending your whole life perfecting an instrument, then seeing a kid with an iPod dock for a concert would make me a bit peeved off too. But these EDM artists are similar to MCs in a way, they make a concert or a festival seem nonstop by playing one track into the next, as long as it has a similar tempo, very close to how disco was done in the 70s. So, in my thinking, if you don’t like disco, you won’t like EDM, but I am going to try my best to make it fun for everyone,  even if it isn’t your cup of tea.

1980s megastars

Looking at the list of megastars provided by Dr. Baumer I thought more of a band that revolutionized music versus a single person who did it. Looking at my own musical tastes as well as the time period of the 1980s I have decided to write about Metallica. Metallica helped to redefine the genre of thrash metal and throughout the years they have been able to make thrash metal into the mainstream pop music scene. In 1983 Metallica released Kill Em’ All, their first album and it was well received by critics for its interesting take on what they called “speed metal”.  When Metallica released the Black Album, they became a popular music commercial success. Before they released the Black Album, the band experienced some hardships. There was an accident on a tour bus and their bassist Cliff Burton was killed. At the time lead singer James Hetfield was drinking heavily while they were on tour and it was starting to affect their performance. James went into rehab and completed an alcoholic’s anonymous to quit his drinking, he has since been successful and continues to abstain from alcohol. During a concert in Montreal in 1992, pyrotechnic accident on stage caused Hetfield to be set on fire, resulting in the singer being hospitalized and delaying their tour. After Hetfield recovered from his injury he rejoined the band and continued to tour and release more albums.  One of the singles from that album, Enter Sandman, is one of the most widely known metal songs to date. Having 5 single tracks released made Metallica’s 7 minute songs a must to be played on the radio. They have even changed their own musical tastes with the times, having lighter songs featuring acoustic guitar and making music that is more methodical and virtuosic, such as the track One from their And Justice For All album. Michael Jackson became the king of pop and Metallica became the kings of metal, or the four horsemen of metal. Looking at major starts in the 80s we can see the beginnings of their musical development and how not only how their music has changed but how they evolved in an environment with metal music not being the most popular choice among listening audiences during the 1980s-1990. In addition, they have won 9 Grammy awards since 1990 and have since played concerts on all 7 continents in the world. They have had merchandising and commercial success with video games, actions figures, and documentary’s about the bands legacy and what they plan to do in the future. They have been steadily released albums every two years since 2008 and have just released their newest album, Hardwired to Self Destruct. As with a lot of metal music their is wither a cult following or a following of die-hard fans that have hundreds of dollars of Metallica merchandise, myself included. The current members of the band include lead singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield, lead guitarists Kirk Hammett, drummer Lars Ulrich, and Robert Trujillo and they are continuing to tour today.

Adding new sounds to Rock n’ Roll

This weeks topic is whether or not we think that new innovations to pop and rock n’ roll music are a good or bad thing in our opinions. I think predominately it depends on the musical group, the time they became popular and how they decide to change their music. For instance, when we spoke about the Beatles, they were able to start as a clean-cut, pop rock sound that evolved later into a highly influential and important mark on music. The idea that Sgt. Pepper’s is a sort of concept album (like I discussed in my last post) resonated with popular bands for years after. When I think of an example of a band that gets success after completely changing either their image or their musical style, the first band that comes to mind is Pantera. Pantera’s first album doesn’t sound anything like the Pantera you would probably be use to. the album Metal Magic sounds more like an 1980s hair metal band more than the thrash kind of metal we would expect from the guys whose first platinum album was called Cowboys From Hell. They completely changed their musical style, adding more gritty lyrics and heavier guitar emphasis on the shredding aspect that became popular in the 1980s. Had Pantera decided to stay with their original hair metal sound, then we would not know any of the heavy metal songs they made after changing.

A lot of the changes that occur in music are when someone steps up and changes the game. An example being Eddie Van Halen. When Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing came on the scene, it revolutionized guitar solos and broke ground on how you can play the guitar. Jimmy Hendrix may have played electric guitar with his teeth, but I would bet any person alive in the 1980s would remember when Eddie busted into Eruption.

Today, we don’t see as many predominate blues artists in the spotlight as was the case in America in the 1950-60s. Although we can still hear the influences through new music. On the White Stripes album Elephant, released in 2003, Jack White’s guitar playing on the track Ball and Biscuit clearly shows a heavy blues influence through the simple riff that he expands well beyond with his soloing capabilities. Having the 12 bar style set up with the blues pentatonic scale is at the core of the song. You can also see the Grateful Dead influence as well. The song itself is 7 minutes long and includes several solos that go on and on and on. Very similar Grateful Dead how they have a longer solos during their live performances and added new improvisation ideas, Jack White does the same thing with the White Stripes. In fact, I think that if Jack White was around during the 1960s and making music with the legendary musicians from that time, he would probably be considered a psychedelic artist. The White Stripes are defined as a blues-rock and punk-blues band. If anything screams revolution I think it’s the resonating sounds of the White Stripes.

Motown, Funk, and Rock n’ Roll

During class today we talked about the impact that Motown had due to the hard work from producers and organizers, such as Berry Gordy. We mentioned several bands but the one that stuck out to me was the Temptations. The Temptations were probably the first Motown Band I heard as a child with their song My Girl. After listening to the song in class today I noticed parts that I had never payed attention to before. For instance, the angelic sounds that lead to the build up of the first time Smokey Robinson says “My Girl”, then the ushering in of the string instruments as well as the horns, make an accompanying sound that I have never heard before. Although, Motown doesn’t exactly blow my mind, but I am a fan of the Funk. Hearing some Classic James Brown tunes like “say it loud” remind me of rhythmically sound bass lines and solo stealing vocal lines. Earlier in the semester, when we studied Chuck Berry and Little Richard we saw a dominating form of stage presence, we saw how these men were pioneers to the stage presence that a “frontman” is suppose to bring to the table in a band. Now, as we watch James Brown do splits and exaggerate the music by being donned with a cape, only to return to the mic to shout even louder than before, we can see how the stage and showmanship of the 1950s have carried over and even evolved with the introduction of new artists and styles. The second half of class today we talked about The Beatles, oh boy. The Beatles are in my opinion both the Cat’s pajamas and his meow. In the early years of the Beatles, they became a huge sensation all around the world. Later in their career, after all the fan girls calmed down a bit, they released one of my favorite albums as well as one of the most influential albums of all time, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. This electric concept album created a surge of artists recreating and making the ideas that John, Paul, George, and Ringo started. The sheer polar diversity of the Beatles discography from the beginning of their careers to the end, marks them as a band that was able to adapt with times as well as never fail to reach an audience of captive awaiting fans to hear fantastic music. Even though the Beatles are sometimes referred to as one of the biggest “sellout” bands, you have to admit that because they changed their style from a bar band with leather jackets playing in Germany, to the suit wearing mop tops that became commercial successes, it was totally worth it. If the Beatles had never changed their appearance or how they carried themselves, we may have never heard about them or the huge impact that they left on not only rock and roll but the music industry as a whole. I can’t wait to see what we talk about in class on Thursday.

Rock Revolution

I am having trouble finding where to start with this post. We have shuffled out of the early era of Rock n’ Roll with musicians like Elvis Presley and into the hey-day of Rock n’ Roll. Thinking to the time when all of this came about, the 1960’s, provides some serious background information for this musical revolution. The beginning of the Civil Rights movement and its’ coming to fruition in 1964. The vast amount of young Americans not in support of the Vietnam war, and the explosion of the hippie counter-culture movement. This time period was not going a great period of growth and diversity in American history, but also for music. One idea that I found interesting from this weeks reading was the thought of a band as being a collective. Some examples like the Who, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys show the changing of band names, instead of having one noted musician (i.e. Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five) they began having what was thought of as a group. The ironic part being the goal not to single out any one band member, but still having most of the focus on the lead singer and guitarist. In the reading they mention such albums as the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the Who’s Tommy as landmark albums creating a new sound for Rock n’ Roll. Having a concept album was definitely a new way to perform your music. Tommy, from the Who, featured that type of link between songs that helped audiences identify and remember those loud beats better. In an example from my youth, I can think of Green Day’s American Idiot album. It too was a concept album that told a story through every song, this album has been a favorite of mine for years, and seeing how green day took ques from earlier musicians is probably why it left such an impact on me as a kid. In the chapter detailing the exploits of Bob Dylan’s records, it mentions that one side of his LP is acoustic and one side is electric. This is an interesting idea that I have seen practiced in modern day rock. Jack White’s 2014 solo album, Lazaretto, has something similar to Dylan’s album. One of the songs on Lazaretto has either and acoustic or an electric introduction, depending on where the needle is placed when the record starts. Reading the section involving Bob Dylan is interesting, if you are interested in Bob Dylan. I know a lot of friends that worship his music, but in my own opinion, I don’t like the sound of his voice and I find all of his songs to be very boring. I am not the biggest fan of folk music in general, so perhaps that’s why I am not interested in Dylan’s work. The following chapter chronicling the Beatles rise to fame as well as the British invasion was much more interesting to me. The Beatles leaving such an impact even though the last show they played live was in 1966, due to the insanity that overcame fans when any of the Beatles got even close to them.

Rhythm and Blues

This is the most exhilarating chapter we have covered in class yet. Not to talk down to the country music I addressed last week, but seeing the correlation between Rhythm and Blues with the combination of Gospel and Soul music created several genres that appealed to a wide audience, one of those audiences being my parents. When I was younger my father was a big fan of Ray Charles. I heard so much of his music that I assumed anytime I heard someone with that swing kind of Rhythm I though it was always Ray Charles. The most interesting part of last week class for me was that Ray Charles took a gospel tune, then rewrote the lyrics, keeping the melody, then BAM! a crazy hit that has stood the test of time. Later in the 1960s, Johnny Cash and June Carter did a cover of Ray Charles’ “I Got a Woman” live at Folsom Prison. I think it is amazing that this song started as a gospel tune, then went to a Rhythm and Blues/Soul song, then was covered into a pretty fantastic country sounding jam. The accessibility and changing of one song over and over allows for artists to make a great impact using a song that everyone is already familir with.Also within the reading the song “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner with Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats was used in a popular video game several years ago, Fallout 3, I heard the opening beginning and realized I have heard this song hundreds of times before without realizing it was from this time. Also, after hearing “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” By Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, I remembered a music class I took in middle school were we had to sing that song with our classmates. Granted, the version I heard in school was not the same one we listened to in class, but to say I like Louis Jordan’s version better. We also discussed Muddy Waters and his song “Hoochie Coochie Man”. Hearing this song shows the template for other Urban Blues artists to have a similar beat and style. George Thorogood and the Destroyer’s song “Bad to the Bone” has the same idea and beat that illustrates how far the blues has come since the days of Muddy Waters. Looking forward at the blues artists to come, for instance, one of my favorites, Stevie Ray Vaughn, it’s easy to see the influence of artists like Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, and T-Bone Walker. These artists set the stepping stones for modern blues artists to take the pentatonic blues scale and run wild with it. Watching early Chuck Berry play, then fast-forwarding 20 years to see how much guitar chops have increased makes me think that if someone like Stevie Ray Vaughn playing his style in the mid 1940s, the crowds minds would be blown. Kind of similar to in the movie “Back to the Future” when Marty plays Johnny B. Goode in front of the audience of 1950s teenagers.

Week 2 Post

Reading about how the emergence of new music during the early 1900s has opened my eyes to seeing early jazz and country music in a new light. Reading about all the changes that took place in country music, for example the differences of Hillbilly style country music of Leon McAuliffe and Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys “Steel Guitar Rag” versus the style of Guy Massey and Vernon Dalhart’s “The Prisoner’s song”, showed some great examples of the interesting ways musicians experimented with different genres before so many others arrived. Hearing the styles of a Hillbilly Country song , then listening to the looming opera vocals of Dalhart, make an interesting contrast that I didn’t know existed. Even more amazing is that the hub for country music around this time  (Nashville, Tennessee) was the central location for both these different kinds of country music. Before reading the text about country music I assumed most music at that time made in Nashville would sound like that Hillbilly style. I am more than excited to be wrong. After listening to these two examples in the book I thought I was listening to the wrong song! The drastic differences between these two songs exemplify how different sub-genres of music were created around the inception of Country music thrusting itself into the public light. I myself am not a fan of modern country music by any means, but I am a fan of the works of Johnny Cash and June Carter. I was surprised and elated to see “Wildwood Flower” by The Carter Family was one of the recommended songs to listen to in the book. This was not the version I was use to, but it gave me a glimpse in to the origins of how June Carter became a musicians and how her families reputation assisted her in finding her place in country music in the 1960s. Hearing the steel guitar during the song “Steel Guitar Rag” left me slightly confused. I did not think that at the time guitars had the ability to resonate the way it does on the song. Also, seeing some of the photography in the main textbook showed the “big band” style of music was all the rage back in the day. I knew that Jazz bands at the time had a “big band” style, requiring several different horns, piano player, and various substitutes for changing instruments. The photo of Bob Willis and His Texas Playboys on stage shows 13 musicians ranging from brass instruments to guitar and drums. Thinking of songs like “Home on the Range” and others mentioned in the chapters about country music would never make me think that any type of country music, let alone its’ humble beginnings, featuring any type of brass instruments like trumpet or trombone. In conclusion, this weeks reading about country music and the emergence of new technologies in music has left me with a different and more well informed impression of the beginnings of country and Jazz music in the early 20th century.

Pop Music in the early 20th Century

Reading about how white musicians held the power in the music community in the early 20th century was something that I expected due to race/class issues at the time. However, I did not expect the sudden shift of African American musicians becoming the dominant force in nightclubs. One of the most interesting parts of the reading I found was that when prohibition began the Mobs that ran Chicago hired Black musicians for the speakeasy secret bars. During prohibition these bars were hot-spots for anyone looking to drink alcohol. Having new and known jazz musicians perform at these clubs definitely contributed to the Jazz Age of the 1920s.

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