Amy Winehouse was born 1983.  She started out her career in musical theater training.  She later realized that what she really wanted to do with was jazz.  Her music was especially heavy with a jazzy sound.  She signed with Island Records in 2002 and released her debut album by 2003.

During her later career, she had a completely different sound.  Especially with the song Back to Black which came out in 2007.  This song was based on her tumultuous relationship with her boyfriend.  It was written during the incline with dugs and alcohol and this drug use because very apparent in 2007.  By the age of 27, she dies of alcohol poisoning in 2011.  This is very ironic because the last album she made while alive was called Rehab and I feel like if she actually went to rehab she might still be alive today or at least have made it through life long enough to realize how wrong and harmful drug and alcohol abuse really is.

The song we talked about in class was a cover of a song that was originally performed by The Shirelles, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.   She definitely made the song way more sensual and not as doo-woopy was the Shirelles had.  It had a more intimate and exposed feeling to it.  The audience that this type of music was meant for was…

• Appeals to older and younger age groups
  • Older audiences: classic and new jazz sounds
  • Younger audiences: edgier topics

It basically had a little something for everyone.  She had the classic jazzy feel and sound for the older generation and then the edgier topics and the more intimate feel for the younger generation.

I have never particularly listened to this type of music.  Of course I know some of her like back to black etc.  I never really felt the desire to sit down and listen to an Amy Winehouse album.  He music definitely takes an acquired taste that I feel like not enough people have.

The genre that is party metal is rather interesting.  I feel like a group of people got together that enjoyed Punk music and Metal music equally and wanted to see if they could combine the two and see what they could make of it.  Some of the characteristics of this genre of music are…

• Exuberant style
• Fast paced
• High tempo
• Immense energy
• Party Music
• Lyrics
  • Party focused
  • Positive/uplifting

These songs can either be strictly for clubs or could be used for commercials like the Presenter was telling us about.

The audience that this was aimed for had these characteristics…

• Young adults
• Mostly white
• Male focused
• High energy events: sport games

A lot of these characteristics are very similar to the research I did about alternative rock.  This is because I feel that this is just a genre branch of alternative music

Keyboards was used throughout most of Andrew W.K.’s music along with usual instruments of guitar, bass, drums, and powerful vocals.  The musical elements of this kind of music really isn’t anything out of the ordinary and really rather similar again, to punk music.

The presenter lastly told us about Andrew W.K..  He began learning the piano at the age of four which is a very impressive feat.  He grew up to be a motivational speaker and had a few guest appearances of several TV shows.  He actually got to be the host of a very popular show on Cartoon Network called Destroy Build Destroy.  He is also a writer for Vice Media which is very interesting.  He did however have some legal issues that ivolved his real name, Steev Mike.  One of the most impressive things he did would have to be that in 2013 broke record for longest drum session in a retail store (drumming for 24 consecutive hours).

I could definitely see myself listening and enjoying this genre of music while at a party of some sort.

This post is going to be about 2000’s County.  I am not particularly a fan of country music at all.  I actually like using the description of “emo farm music.” I feel like this describes the genre at least to me in the best way possible.  Jay did the song Drive by Alan Jackson in reference to the topic of country.  This song can be categorized as the softer more emotion side of country.  Some of the other characteristics of this genre that he stated in his presentation were…

• ›Working Class Americans
• ›Young to Old (all ages)
• ›Suburban
• ›Southerners
• ›Male and Female]

He also said that this genre had the most “drive time” just meaning that when driving to work, country music was the most likely thing to be played in the car while waiting.

Some of the musical characteristics of this genre were…

• ›Twangy vocals
• Lots of instrumentation
  • Bass
  • Guitar
  • Harmonica
  • Drums
  • Steel Guitar

This type of music also had a very simply flow about it compared to some other songs.  The correct term for the flow would be the form.  This type of music normally has 2 full length verse, a chorus that is the same every single time, and a third shorter chorus that eventually loops back into the same old chorus.  Not very interesting to listen to in my opinion.

The last thing Jay talked about in his presentation was about Alan Jackson’s life. He was born in the small town of Newnan, Georgia on October 17, 1958.  He started preforming at a young age with Gospel at home and church.  He then performed locally as a teenager in a country duo of some sort.  In his adult years he moved to Nashville to write his own lyrics.  He was the signed to Arista Records by 1989.

›I can appreciate the emotion and thought that goes into this genre of music.  The message behind some of these lyrics are very powerful, but I can not relate this these songs.  I will never make fun of someone for having a love of country music, as long as they understand that it just isn’t my cup of tea.

žThe song I am doing for my presentation is  Loser by Beck.  This song would be labeled as 2000’s Alternative Rock. Alternative rock is a broad catchall term that consists of music that is greatly different in terms of its sound, social context, and regional roots. Some characteristics of Alternative Rock include…

• Nonconformist lyrics
• Anything that will make their music unique and different from everyone else’s
• The lyrics are really the most important part because they usually address some sort of social issues like drug use, depression, etc

žAlternative music is just music that hasn’t yet achieved a mainstream audiencež and really is any kind of music that has the potential to reach a wider audience, meaning the people that feel they don’t fit in in society.  Some characteristics of audiences that listen to Alternative Rock are…

• Ages 16-25
• Mainly white
• Mostly students
• Mostly males

The song I picked can be classified as žStoner Rap.  The lyrics are mostly just nonsensical with a žmixture of self mockery and sardonic defiance.  These types of groups all usually have a different sound than the social norms at the times.  Beck in this song has a type of žBob Dylan–esque talk singing.  These lyrics really fit with the not normal, rebelling from society idea

žžHe used the similarities between Delta blues and hip hop, which helped to inspire the song.  It is sort of žfolk music with a hip-hop beat.ž  And also the song’s drum track is sampled from a Johnny Jenkins cover of Dr. John’s “I Walk on Gilded Splinters.” Several recurring musical elements that happen in alternative rock…

• Slide guitar riff
• Sitar
• The Bassline
• Tremolo guitar part

Tremolo, in electronics, is the variation in amplitude of sound achieved through electronic means, sometimes mistakenly called vibrato, and producing a sound somewhat reminiscent of flanging, referred to as an “underwater effect”. A variety of means are available to achieve the effect.

Delta Blues: The defining characteristics of Delta blues are instrumentation and an emphasis on rhythm and “bottleneck” slide guitar; the basic harmonic structure is not substantially different from that of blues performed elsewhere.  The Delta blues style of blues is one of the earliest. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States stretching from Memphis, Tenneessee, in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi, in the south and from Helena, Arkansas, in the west to the Yazoo River in the east.

Madonna is definitely one of the more known megastars of the 1980s.  She achieved her popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV.  With many controversial videos, such as, “Like a Prayer,” she knew how to get people talking.  I feel like one of the major things that she did and tried to accomplish was to push the boundaries of where females were “supposed” to do.  She definitely was a feminist icon in the ’80s.

Madonna spoke about the struggles she faced early on in her career, even mentioning that in 1979, when she first moved to New York City, she was held at gunpoint, robbed, and raped with a knife to her throat.  She said this situation taught her to belief in herself because that was the only real safety in life.  Also, around this time her life, Madonna said that David Bowie became a major source of inspiration for her as he broke with gender norms as an artist.

She gave a speech in December of last year, where she talks about her stance of the issue of feminism.  She starts out by thanking the audience for acknowledging her ability to continue her music career for 34 years in the face of “blatant sexism and misogyny and constant bullying and relentless abuse.”  She then goes on to talk about her muse, David Bowie, who “embodied male and female spirit” and “made me think there were no rules.”  She later goes on to recant this statement by saying “But I was wrong. There are no rules – if you’re a boy. There are rules if you’re a girl.”

Those rules are as follows: “If you’re a girl, you have to play the game. You’re allowed to be pretty and cute and sexy. But don’t act too smart. Don’t have an opinion that’s out of line with the status quo. You are allowed to be objectified by men and dress like a slut, but don’t own your sluttiness. And do not, I repeat do not, share your own sexual fantasies with the world. Be what men want you to be, but more importantly, be what women feel comfortable with you being around other men. And finally, do not age. Because to age is a sin. You will be criticised and vilified and definitely not played on the radio.”

I feel like her albums, more recently to be exact, reflect the message that she’s trying to spread through her music. With songs like Unapologetic Bitch, Bitch, I’m Madonna, Iconic, Joan of Arc, etc she seems to be describing herself.  She has nothing to apologize for, she is being herself and has earned the right to say “Bitch, I’m Madonna.”

I really appreciate the fact that she is using her influence over the public to talk about and support such a hot button issue.  Of course every star has their flaws, but overall I feel Madonna is a great example of a 1980’s megastar that is still very relevant.  She definitely uses her powers fro good instead of evil.

There is definitely an argument against musical groups developing more sophisticated musical structures, more complex and poetic lyrics, and a much greater engagement with social and lifestyle issues.  This is because people hate change.  No matter if it is the greatest thing in the whole world, someone will have something negative to say about it.  I mean also the lyrics and the social engagement is a lot more risque (sc?).  They don’t really care about having the perfect image anymore and could care less what teens parents think.  Groups like the Beatles went from clean cut British boys and developed into people who experimented with drugs like LSD and even wrote songs about it.  Also there is the example of Jimmie Hendrix playing the National Anthem at Woodstock in the controversially way at Woodstock.  People definitely had bad things to say about that rendition of the National Anthem, but that was just how he interpreted it as a musician and a Vietnam Veteran.

I feel like development is a good thing in popular music because if music didn’t change and grow then everything would sound the same and everyone would get tired of it.  I really enjoyed listening to the different types of music that were popular throughout the years.  Each generation has a different genre that they go absolutely crazy about.  And eventually, the popular music from a different era usually comes back around but slightly amped up.  An example of this would be the Beatles and One Direction.  Girls went absolutely wild over over the Beatles that you could not even hear the music over the screaming fans.  I feel like that is how it would be for One direction if we didn’t have the modern amplifying technology.  I know that if everything on the radio sounded the same I would not want to listen to it at all.  I feel that pop music sounding similar is why so many people are starting to listen to more “alternative” music because each song has such a different sound.  I know I listen to a lot of older music, ACDC, and alternative just because I am not really a fan of today’s “Top 40.”

For this weeks blog post let’s talk a little bit about the exam first off.  I had no trouble listening to the song and being able to identify it that way, but I did have some trouble memorizing the years.  That is probably because my brain doesn’t like to think in numbers, which must be why I hate math so much.  I feel that putting them up into separate play lists on Spotify was very smart rather than just putting them all into one big playlist.  The way they were really helped me remember the genre and the general time period each was from.  I also really liked the set up of the exam.  The format was really easy to follow and reflected the study material well.  I’m hoping that studying for these types of exams will come easier with the next one, just because I’ll have a feel on what to expect.

On another note I’ve started rehearsing all of my pieces for my jury this semester.  My adviser, Dr. Lo, is one of the professors going on the trip to China in May so I have to have my jury a week early.  I’m working on one French piece, one Italian piece, and one English musical theater piece. The French piece I’m working on is called “Clair de Lune.”  It’s composed by Debussy and means “light of the moon” or “moonlight.”  My Italian piece is “Vergin, tutto amor.”  By Francesco Durante, it is a prayer to the virgin Mary.  My last piece is “Diamond’s are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the musical Gentlemen prefer Blondes.  It’s a really fun piece to preform and sing.  All of these pieces explore a different part of my vocal range.  The English piece is meant to help me bring out my “belting” range, the French piece is to help my with more of my middle range, and the Italian is to work my middle-high range.  My vocal ranges is quiet strange actually.  I can comfortable sing anywhere from Alto one to a high Soprano two.  In my Vocal Rep class I am singing Soprano one for a piece called, Suscepit Israel (Magnificat by J.S.Bach).  That part is more of a higher Soprano two, than a Soprano one so  it isn’t too harsh on my voice.  Also the performance I am in this weekend “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” I sing a mixture of Sop two and Alto one.  “The Armed Man” is a Mass by a Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armories Museum for the Millennium celebrations, to mark the museum’s move from London to Leeds, and it was dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis.  It was written for SATB chorus with soloists and a symphonic orchestra. Guy Wilson, then master of the museum, selected the texts for the mass.  All of IUP’s choirs will be performing in this mass along with most of the music professors either on their instruments or singing solos within the piece.  The performance is on Sunday the 26th from 3-5 at Fisher Auditorium.  It should be a great performance. 

I really really enjoy this class so far.  I love learning about the roots of different styles and genres of music.  I also feel that this class, which is talking about popular music, is going to be very helpful to me in the long run.  All of this information from the notes and from the reader and textbook is something that I can take with me into the real world.  Wanting to be a music educator and have a knack for playing an instrument or having a decent enough voice isn’t enough to really land you the dream job that you are hoping for someday.  Most of the classes I am taking now are about exploring what you have to offer the world and really finding my voice so I am able to  use to help other students who enjoy music as much as I do.  I really appreciate that this class is giving me information that I can bring into the classroom and share with my students.  It will help me to explore different genres for my students to sing and actually have an understanding of where they came from and then pass that knowledge along to them.  I know not all students are going to care about the roots of R&B or how country music was build from the roots of jigs from the British Isles, but the few that are going to find this information interesting and amazing are going to want to share it with their future students some day.  The fact that I will be able to pass this information on to students who are going to appreciate and create an assembly line of information is an amazing thing.  Just being able to shape young lives with music is everything that I want to accomplish and more.

Speaking more about what I want to do as a music educator,  I would really like to be a Choral director in a high school or university.  I debated for a while back and forth between high school and elementary.  My high school had a preschool program in it and I was a teacher there for all four years of high school.  I love their enthusiasm about everything and how much they believe in the good in everything.  My senior year I was asked if I would be willing to come and incorporate more music into their school day and I was thrilled at the opportunity to do what I love while working with such a great group of kids.  I did everything from an instrument petting zoo to nursery rhymes to having the kids play various percussion instruments at volumes that were too loud for most normal people to deal with.  I really loved how much fun they had with everything I threw at them, but I feel that older kids appreciate it more and realize how different their lives would be if they weren’t involved in music.  That is why I feel I would want to work with older kids.  They know what they will be losing if there was no longer a music program, so I want to be there to ensure them that there are people out there willing to teach them anything and everything they want to know.  I really just want to be that person that will help make dreams happen and help them with anything they may need along the way.

I really enjoyed this week learning about how all the types of music that we had been discussing, The Blues, Country Music, etc, build upon each other and have their roots from certain parts of each other.   I also really enjoyed coming up with our own blues lyrics.  It definitely made me think about the pattern and how I could rhyme words together to fit that pattern.  My blues lyric that I came up with was,

“8am class on Monday, 9:30’s just as bad. No sleeping in in the morning, makes me very very sad.”

This fits the AAB form that Blues tends to follow.  It also fits with the rhyming requirement and it does talk about the “misfortunes” in my life.

I really do enjoy blues music and learning a little bit more background on it was very interesting to me.  The first bit of “blues” music that I remember listening to would be Soul Man by The Blues Brothers.  I just remember my day blasting this music and definitely jamming out a little bit too hard.  I feel the fact that him liking that song so much is what peaked my interest in the song and genre, because I obviously wanted to be exactly like him.  My favorite lyrics from that song would have to be,

Listen
I was brought up on a side street
I learned how to love before I could eat
I was educated from good stock
When I start lovin’ I just can’t stop

I really just like those lyrics and I always have.

Speaking of my dad, I tend to get most of my taste in music from him because he was also jamming out to something new while cooking dinner or working on his cars.  I really like anything from like Billy Joel to ACDC to more modern stuff like Panic! at the Disco and Fall out Boy.  Some of my favorite Billy Joel songs would have to be, New York State of Mind, The Longest Time, and the very cliche Piano Man.  I can rock out to any ACDC song that you could put on and as for Panic! at the Disco adn Fall out Boy I like a wide variety of there music.  It depends on my mood at the time really for which album I’ll put on.  I’ve been liking more of there recent stuff as of late.

Something that I really enjoy listening to on repeat is Musicals.  My two favorite would The Producers and Something Rotten.  I saw Something Rotten on Broadway last April and that experience completely changed the way I view musicals and my love for them grew even greater.  My dad was actually the one that introduced me to musical theater and that is one of the many things musically that we are able to bond over and share.

Well there is just a little background information on my music tastes and on me I guess.  I really do enjoy what we are learning about in class and find it quite interesting.