MUS 1600 Final Exam Kimball LSU

What era is "The Message"?

1980s

Beginnings of Hip Hop/Rap

- 1970s- Hip Hop Culture (originated in the Bronx)

- Hip Hop- refers to the entire realm of Youth Culture, including Hip Hop music (DJs and MCs), Hip Hop visual art (graffiti), and Hip Hop dancing (breakdancing)

Rap Origins: DJs and MCs

- Hip Hop music began with DJs playing recorded music at dances, parties, etc. in the Bronx

- 1970s popular styles- esp. disco, soul funk

- MCs eventually were the main feature of hip hop music

- Sugar Hill Gang- "Rapper's Delight" (1979)

DJing: The Early Basics

- Hip Hop DJs- same record on both sides; mark where the break begins with crayon; backspin the record on one side to repeat the loop

- Other important technology- the drum machine (especially the Roland TR-808)

"The Message"

- drumbeat produced by Roland TR-808 and keyboard synthesizer

- Vocal style: MC Melle Mel

- Lyrics: honest depiction of hard life in NY urban ghettos

Who wrote "The Message"?

Sylvia Robinson, Ed Fletcher, and Melle Mel

Who performed "The Message"?

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (1982)

MTV

- launched in 1981

- extremely popular cable tv network featuring music videos

- record companies used MTV to promote their artists

- almost exclusively featured white rock and pop performers

Rise of the Superstar

- 1980s saw the rise of mega stars who controlled the industry

- most blended several popular genres to appeal to a wide range of fans

- some superstars: Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince

Michael Jackson: The King of Pop

- 1982- his album Thriller was the best selling album of all time

- collaboration with other huge stars- Eddie Van Halen

- "Beat It"- written and recorded by Michael Jackson

- features synthesizers, drum machines, and electric guitar

Prince

- extremely talented musician- multi-instrumentalist best known for guitar playing

- early 80s-90s- string of million selling albums

- cultivated a controversial and bizarre persona (very sexualized, very private, exerted complete control over his music, died of drug overdose in 2016)

What era was "Walk This Way"?

1980s (1970s)

Two Pivotal Groups in the Popularizing of Hip Hop

Beastie Boys and Run D.M.C.

Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys

- extremely successful albums in 1986

- Run-D.M.C.: Raising Hell (3 million records sold)

- Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill (7 million records sold)

- both albums on new label Def Jam records (founders: Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin); both produced by Rick Rubin

- both in style called rap rock

The Beastie Boys

- following success of Run DMC, signed to Def Jam Records; tour with Madonna gives exposure

- 1986- Licensed to Ill- sold very well

- "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)"- 1986

Who wrote "Walk This Way"?

Joe Perry and Steven Tyler

When was "Walk This Way" written?

1975

Who recorded "Walk This Way"?

Run DMC with Aerosmith

When was "Walk This Way" recorded?

1986

"Walk This Way"

- Originally written and recorded in 1975 by Aerosmith, a popular hard rock group of 1970s

What era was "Who Am I (What's My Name)"?

1990s

1990s Hip Hop Diversification

1) Some hip hop was aimed toward broad mainstream commercial success (ex: MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice)

- led to backlash (not "authentic" enough)

2) "Conscious hip hop": based on political or social issues, including race. Sometimes controversial. (ex: Public Enemy)

3) "Gangsta rap": lyrics tied to criminal lifestyle (ex: N.W.A.)

- initially on the fringe- not mainstream

Gangsta Rap

- from margin to center: becomes most profitable sub-genre of hip hop by mid-1990s

- led to public arguments at a time of rising racial tension in U.S.

- several sub-genres rap came to prominence in the mid 90s

- G-Funk (West Coast) and Bounce (New Orleans)

G-Funk

- based in Los Angeles

- style of gangsta rap developed by Dr. Dre (earlier in group NWA)

- slower speed, often laid-back feel

- often samples from 1970s funk musician George Clinton ("P-Funk")

- Dre's proteges include Snoop Doggy Dogg, Eminem

Who wrote "Who Am I (What's My Name)"?

George Clinton, Gary Shider, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and David Spradley

Who produced "Who Am I (What's My Name)"?

Dr. Dre

Who recorded "Who Am I (What's My Name)"?

Snoop Doggy Dogg, 1993*

Bounce

- sub-genre of rap developed in New Orleans in mid 90s

- based on distinct local style of dance-driven hip-hop music

- led by Cash Money Records

- prominent artists- Mannie Fresh, Juvenile, Lil' Wayne, Mystical

- Style- complex digital sampling with distinct drum sounds, sometimes "call and response" vocals

- "Back That Azz Up" (1998)

- produced by Mannie Fresh, performed by Juvenile (feat. Mannie Fresh and Lil' Wayne)

Musical Borrowing in Hip Hop

- started with manipulation of funk and disco recorded by DJs

- "Rapper's Delight" (1979): studio musicians play Chic's "Good Times" behind Sugarhill Gang

- mid-1980s: recorded audio goes digital with use of CDs, which leads to easier borrowing of prerecorded music through sampling

"Who Am I (What's My Name)"

- produced by Dr. Dre, Snoop's mentor

- based heavily in sampled music of George Clinton, who gets co-author credit (ex: Clinton's song "Atomic Dog")

- rhythmically creative rap delivery (syncopation); distinctive style

- heavy use of slang (understandable to some, not others)

- gangsta bragging: references to cop killing, drugs, sex, etc.

What era was "Smells Like Teen Spirit"?

1990s

Alternative Music and the 1990s

- "alternative" (and "Indie") became most common word to describe countermovements

- nearly every genre of popular music has had an "alt-" version since the 1990s

- sometimes linked to outsider status, claims to authenticity, anti-commercialism

Back in Time: Punk Rock in the 1970s

- punk rock- reaction against the commercialism and popularity of mainstream culture

- simple, upbeat music aimed at participation and a social message

- musical style- electric guitars and bass; drums; aggressive vocals; fast tempos; distortion effects; power chords

Grunge rock (1990s)

- a style of alternative rock from Pacific NW, especially Seattle

- continued some traditions of punk rock

- cynical, depressed lyrics combined with punk rock style guitar and vocals

Nirvana

- Grunge band from Washington state fronted by Kurt Cobain

- 2nd album, Nevermind (1991) broke into mainstream, drew national attention to grunge

Who wrote and recorded "Smells Like Teen Spirit"?

Nirvana, 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit"

- blends intensity and timbres of hardcore punk with elements of conventional pop songwriting:

- power chords; distortion

- clear melody (even if screamed); verse-chorus form

- music video: an "alternative" version of a high school pep rally

21st-c. Technological Change in Music

- technological change in popular music during our lifetime

- these changes fall into various categories:

- how recordings are made (personal DAWs; autotune)

- how recordings reach us and what form they take (MP3s; digital streaming platforms; radio)

- how we hear recordings (smartphone speakers; AirPods; etc.)

- how we pay for recordings (if we do)

To Pay or Not to Pay?

- piracy

- some effects:

- a world of music available at your fingertips for free

- the near-death of the record industry

- young musicians can't earn enough $$$ through records, making musical careers much more difficult

Prince, the Music Industry, and Piracy

- 1990s

- loudest critic of industry

- resented record company control, profits

- abandoned his name in protest

- 2000s

- when file sharing and piracy nearly killed the music industry

- Prince became the loudest critic of piracy and artists giving away music for free

Radiohead

- British alt-rock band; first gained popularity in early 90s (similar to Nirvana)

- After ending their contract, released 2007 album In Rainbows independently online

- users could pay however much or little they wanted

- results-- $2.7 million direct to band

"Conscious hip hop"

based on political or social issues, incl. race; sometimes controversial (ex: Public Enemy)

Kendrick Lamar (b. 1987)

- born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, raised in Compton, CA (epicenter of W. Coast rap of 1990s)

- overtly political ("conscious hip hop")

- albums: artistically explanatory, ambitious

To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)

- concept album about personal transformation and growth

- themes of self interrogation

- insecurity, depression: not usual hip-hop subjects

- themes of social criticism

- stylistically experimental: aspects of many African-American music styles (jazz, funk, soul, rap) and spoken word poetry

Country Music Today- Streams of Tradition

- progressive country

- Kacey Musgraves "High Horse" (2018)

- mainstream "Nashville" country

- Taylor Swift "Lover" (2019)

Kacey Musgraves

- early hit- "Merry Go Round" (2012)

- traditional pop-country sound

- instrumentation; vocal accent; verse-chorus form

- cynical lyrics- criticizes small-town life

- recent music- blends country elements with various styles (pop; indie rock; disco; etc.)

- lyrics- blends modern elements (drug use, loneliness, LGBTQ rights, cynicism, etc.) with country imagery

- "High Horse" (2018)

- lyrics- traditional country song music references

- ...but is it a country song?

- music- basically a modern disco song

Taylor Swift

- early hit- "Love Story" (2009)

- traditional pop-country sound

- instrumentation; vocal accent; verse-chorus form

- lyrics- naive first love; celebrates small town life; traditional values

- "Lover"

- lyrics- modern love song; references to everyday life

- music- references to older country music

- traditional honkytonk band

- 6/8 meter (common in country ballads)

- studio effects

- heavy hall reverb (simulates empty music hall)

- slap-back echo on bass guitar (reminiscent of Elvis's Sun Records Songs)

What genre is "The Message"?

rap/hip hop

What genre is "Walk This Way"?

rap rock

What genre is "Who Am I (What's My Name)"?

gangsta rap/G-funk

What genre is "Smells Like Teen Spirit"?

grunge (alternative rock)

autotune

a device or facility for tuning something automatically, especially a piece of computer software that enables the correction of an out-of-tune vocal performance