MUS109 MIDTERM

music criticism

the evaluation and judgement of music based on its meaning, structure, and impact. 

music journalism

writing and reporting on music in media.

music scholarship

academic analysis of music.

gonzo journalists

written without claims of objectivity, the journalist becomes an active participant in the story.

authenticity

being your true self, not trying to pretend. a reference point is needed.

appropriation

emulating. taking something for one’s own use. 

chacona figure (andalusian cadence)

four notes descending (hit the road jack, sixteen tons, blank generation, dazed and confused, lamenta della ninfa).

ike turner, rocket 88.

the first rock and roll song (1951). the song is about a car. utilizes 12 bar blues.

rock and roll, rock ‘n roll and rock

marketing terms for rock music.

chuck berry, roll over beethoven (1956)

rock and roll is more relevant than classical music. 

genre

rock is a genre of music

the 1950s

post WWII period, korean war, mass media (television), global violence, baby booms, jobs, suburbanization, early african-american civil rights movement, rock and roll.

factors that led to the beginning of rock and roll music

young people (especially white people with money), new technology (radio, TV, electric guitars), racial integration and cultural integration.

backbeat

accent on the 2s and 4s, coded as black. used a lot by little richard.

leer-ics

implied an uncomfortable sexual theme.

innuendo and euphemism

an indirect insinuation. 

rocking and rolling

rock and roll meaning sexual intercourse.

degrees of appropriation

covers, arrangements, and whitewashing. with appropriated versions often receiving more attention than the originals. more comfortable for people not ready for black music. 

race music/race records

black music only being advertised in black publications. strictly distributed to black audiences.

what’s wrong with elvis?

contagion, the crowd, repressed animal nature coming back to the surface, depersonalization of the individual, and mental decline. moral panic associated with a patriarchal society being uncomfortable with young women expressing their own sexuality. 

blues form

cycle of 12 bars (measures) repeating throughout the song. usually an alternation between the first and fourth chord for eight bars, followed by a descent from the fifth to the fourth for the remaining four bars (hound dog).

jerry leiber and mike stoller

songwriters and producers who originally wrote hound dog, jailhouse rock, stand by me, and kansas city. 

chicano rock

a subgenre of rock, east los angeles and largely spanish. died out in the 60s (tequila, pachuco boogie, la bamba, ). mexican-american singers.

the day the music died

february 3, 1959. buddy holly, ritchie valens, and J.P. richardson were all killed in a plane crash. american pie song referrred to the event as such. 

surf rock 

subgenre of rock music. quick back and forth picking on guitar, sort of sounding like middle eastern music. dick dale was the pioneer.

payola/plugola

a scandal in the 1950s centered around dick clark. record labels started giving him money to feature musicians, which is illegal. he got called in front of congress and got away with it. 

girl groups

groups made up of young women. the supremes are the most successful example.

boy bands

groups made up of young men (the beatles)

studio production

creating content within a dedicated environment. 

george martin

the producer for the beatles. he had a lot of musical training.

phil spector

the first greatest studio producer. created wall of sound. 

wall of sound

created by phil spector to sound good on bad speakers, with the same thing coming out of both speakers. layering of numerous instruments and voices playing in unison. catered towards kids with relationship songs (be my baby, wouldn’t it be nice, born to run). 

exoticism

a love or fascination for things that are exotic (white consumers found little richard to be exotic)

the beatles

the early 1960s. a form of exoticism.

british invasion 

phenomenon. musical wave in which british bands are coming to the united states (the who, the kinks, the hollies, the yardbirds, donovan, the zombies, and the beatles). 

the beatles on the ed sullivan show

launched the british invasion. 1964.

beatlemania

mass hypnosis, contagious hysteric, orgiastic experience, an orgy for teenagers.

will you love me tomorrow by the shirelles (1961)

suggests a sleepover, wordplay “magic of your sighs”

subgenres of the early 1960s

car songs, stax (southern soul), girl groups, motown (northern soul), surf music, and folk revival

why study rock music seriously?

1. production and entertainment are art forms 2. experience can be more important than content. 

against interpretation by susan sontag (1964)

song that argues against interpreting an artwork that reduces it to an exploration of its content. 

bob dylan

models his appearance after woody guthrie. young, white and jewish. he is identified with folk revival. started performing folk music with electric instruments, which was controversial.

folk revival

movement starting in the 50s where young, white musicians got very interested in marginal music. an attempt to revive folk music.

newport folk festival 

american folk-oriented music festival. 

motown 

characteristics can be tamberines, backbeat, no melisma, the words are very easy to hear, back up singers, baseline, overall very polished (smokey robinson, the supremes, marvin gaye, the temptation, the jackson 5, stevie wonder).

mid-60s rock

african-american record labels, music industry as hit factory, rise of the album, pop, psych, and folk as subgenres of rock. 

stax

less enunciated lyrics, more complicated syncopation.

chess records

american record company in 1950 chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm.

african-american religious music singer

rev c.l. franklin, aretha franklin.

call and response (antiphony)

black music, a dialogue between the singers and back up singers.

berry gordy

the founder of motown, wanted money. deemed as “less black,” goal was to comfort white consumers.

melisma

vocal practice of singing extra notes. “decorating” the notes. popular in black vocality. 

holland-dozier-holland

motown production team.

the funk brothers

motown group, very successful.

how did motown make the supremes seem genteel?

imagery, behavior, feminine vocal arrangements, clear vocal delivery.

i hear a symphony (1966)

album by the supremes. successful.

a lovers concerto 

copycat attempt of i hear a symphony. blended the sound of motown with a bach concerto.

james brown

nickname was “the hardest working man in show business." development of funk music.

syncopation

rhythmic disruption.

funk rhythm

syncopated (still with backbeats), played with a sixteenth note feel, gets its energy from the rests (what isn’t played), a lot more complex than 50s era rock. 

james brown (the JBs)

funk, shouting, horns, tightness, bandleader as corporate boss.

improvisation

created without preparation.

members of the JBs

fred wesley (trombone), maceo parker (saxophone), bernard purdie (drums), and clyde stubblefield (drums).

brian wilson of the beach boys

he was mentally ill, schizoaffective disorder.

late 1960s

vietnam war, feminism, environmentalism, woodstock and hippies, gay rights, civil rights.

music and substances 

drinking songs, electronic dance music, cocaine, mushrooms, marijuana, and cough syrup. 

timothy leary

Suggested that everyone should take acid and drop out of society.

psychedelia

general state that is strongly associated with the use of acid.

synaesthesia

crossed wires of different modes of sensory input. hear an “r'“ sound and see the color red. induced by acid.

the sitar

indian stringed instrument. used in paint it black for exoticism and religious meaning.

woodstock festival (august, 1969)

massive turnout. central symbol of the hippie movement.

jimi hendrix - the star spangled banner (at woodstock, 1969)

very controversial version of the star spangled banner.

merle haggard “okie from muskogee” (1969)

about not smoking marijuana and taking drugs. a part of the robust conservative movement taking place at the time.

counterculture

a group of people who are against the dominant culture. younger people didn’t like conformity.

chester anderson

author who asserted that rock music is the future, any other type of music is behind.

hippie folk, folk rock, and psychedelic folk

genres that blend traditional folk music with the experimental and mind-altering elements of psychedelic rock.

simon and garfunkel

unqiue vocal harmonies. used counterpoint. 

first psychedelic song

jimi hendrix’s “purple haze” (1967)

the beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s lonely hearts club band” june 1967

the beatles album that was considered to be psychedelic.

“lucy in the sky with diamonds”

title is perhaps suggestive of LSD, yet john lennon denies such accusations.

“gimme shelter” 1970, maysles brothers

documentary that shows the rolling stones 1969 tour at which a fan was killed.

velvet underground 

band that used themes such as prostitution and drug abuse. 

andy warhol

manager of velvet underground. designed the banana album cover. was killed by a fan in the 80s.

the early 1970s

kent state university protests/shootings, watergate scandal, roe v. wade decision.

“ohio” by crosby, stills, nash, and young (1970)

protest music.

creedence clearwater revival

commercially successful protest group. soldiers listened to their music in the vietnam war. 

popular feminism songs

“r.e.s.p.e.c.t.” aretha franklin 1967 and “i am woman” by helen reddy 1971.

working class white feminism song

“one’s on the way” loretta lynn 1971.

metal/heavy metal/hard rock artists

led zeppelin, black sabbath, and alice cooper.

“war pigs” - black sabbath (1970)

a protest song against the vietnam war.

rolling stones - “under my thumb” (1966)

a song likening a women to a dog.

the runaways

a group of talented women. made the song “cherry bomb.”

jackie fox

a musician in the runaways.

spinal tap “smell the glove”

an extremely sexist song. the album cover shows a woman chained up.

agency

the idea that women should have a say in the music industry, in the way that they are depicted. 

sexism/misogyny

prejudice against women.

cock music/masturabatory music

ways of criticizing or mocking music that is misogynist.

heteronormativity

heterosexuality is the norm.

gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, rock musicians

david bowie, mick jagger.

the breakup of the beatles (1970)

the death of their manager led to disagreements over new management.