First off, thanks very much for your super kind comment on my last blog post! I really appreciate it, and I’m sure you paid it much more dues than it was worth!
Your independent post on Dr. Dre was not something I would normally read, as Hip Hop has never been a great part of my music library. However, I really enjoyed reading your thorough background on him, as pretty much everything I read was new information. I especially liked your last two paragraphs. Dre’s innovations and ability to conduct himself effectively in the business industry is something that not many rappers can attest to. Dre was very successful at finding a particular niche in the headphone industry that had not yet been filled, and I commend him highly for that.
Overall, this is a really great post (on a very pretty blog by the way!) and I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
The ‘Happy Birthday’ song, named the most well known song in the English language by the 1998 Guinness Book of World Records, is perhaps also one of the most under-rated. The two American siblings behind such a hit were Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill. ‘Happy Birthday’ was actually derived from a song they wrote in 1893, entitled “Good Morning to All”. You can see the similarity below:
“Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
Good morning, dear children,
Good morning to all.”
Patty, the main songwriter listed, was in fact a kindergarten teacher, and created the song with such simple lyrics and melody solely for the children’s benefit. Many believe that similar songs released in the nineteenth century inspired her, including: “Happy Greetings to All” by Horace Walters, and “A Happy New Year to All” dating back to 1885. Never the less, her school children so enjoyed the song that they began singing it at birthday parties, just slightly changing the lyrics to the traditional version we now know. It wasn’t until half a century later, in 1935 that “Happy Birthday” was copyrighted, and these copyrights were then later sold to The Time-Warner Corporation in 1998. The company issued an order stating that anyone performing the song for profit must pay royalties, and thanks to the new implementation, they began making about $5000 a day from use in television, radio, film, etc. This is also the main reason that some restaurants will not perform the original version, but will in fact change it to become more unique. Many professionals have heavily researched the expiry date of the song, and some believe that it may actually already have expired. However, the company currently holding the rights states that they will not expire until 2016.
poetichome.com
The song itself is not as simple as you may think. The format ‘AABA’ made use of a call and response technique popular around that time. Many have argued that an ABA format is just as pleasing as an AABA, but AABA is certainly much more popular, at least in music. This ‘call and response’ chant is also advantageous for passing down the song orally. If the caller sings the first line, and the others repeat it, it is much easier to learn. If we look at blues and limericks, the AABA format is much more resonant with us than the ABA format. You can interpret Happy Birthdays format to be a tantalizing pattern that we as humans find enjoyable.
Celebrating birthdays did not become popular until the 12th century, and it was in Germany that the tradition of blowing out candles on a cake and making a wish first originated. Thanks to the ‘Happy Birthday’ song, we have a way to tie in our intrinsic connection to music at one of the most important days of a person’s life. Birthdays are the most celebrated anniversaries of all, so it would only make sense that the happy birthday song is the most sung song in western civilization. It is safe to say that this is the most influential song ever written, and it will continue to transcend into future history as an important part of an individuals life. As a listener you will be very happy, because it most likely means they are singing for you! As an industry professional . . . well, this is your chance to sit back and not take apart every note! Enjoy the moment, and I hope you have many more to come.
Your statement, “this band is credited with being the sole pioneer of electronic music” in the first paragraph is spot on. Kraftwerk was extremely influential in their genre, and would go on to influence hundreds of artists with their stylistic electronic albums. Their first international hit Autobahn was like you said, “a huge success both in European countries and the United States”. Autobahn is what created the image of Kraftwerk early on, with the central theme of road-travel, going on to influence the central themes of every other album they created. I also really liked reading your paragraph on what you personally thought of the album on a technical side. The last two paragraphs were especially insightful and fun to read. Overall, you wrote a great post!
Born in the distant land of Iceland, Björk began her musical career at the young age of eleven, when she started studying piano. Piano lessons soon spurred her onto creating her own punk band at fourteen, a genre that would be influential in her early musical career. Actually, it wasn’t until 1992 that Björk began pursuing a solo career in the dance genre. The change would spell success, with her first solo debut album reaching a double platinum status in America. The album featured several tracks with global instrumentation, and some of these tracks paid tribute to her love of jazz.
As of late, Björk has effortlessly been joining music with technology. Perhaps the most recent example of this is her newest project, Biophilio. Her album is the “first to be released as a suite of iPad and iPhone apps, intended as a ‘semi-educational project for children’”. This album combines music with technological innovations, including an “app album”. Each song has a separate app, designed by some of the leading designers. This album also consists of several custom built instruments just built for this project. However, it’s not just in the technological community that Björk has had a strong influence; she is also involved with many younger up-and-coming bands. Besides using her website and numerous radio interviews through her successful career to promote new acts, she also created a record label, Ear Records, to support a friend. She has had a hand to play in the successful careers of more than five different artists.
Björk has been a favourite artist of mine for a long time. I truly believe that she is one of the best artists in the electronic genre; and learning that she is also heavily invested in furthering young artist’s careers and is involved with numerous charities just furthers my respect for her as a person. Björk’s new album is probably one of her best albums experienced as a whole. As a buyer, not only can you experience the album by listening, but you can also play apps that relate to each song. This album is so far ahead of its time, that there is no questioning its quality in this case. Everything from the lyrics, to the instrumentation, to the arrangement, is so beautiful. Björk, in my opinion as an industry professional, should be considered the highest technological innovator and musician that the electronic genre has seen in years.
Hailing from Dusseldorf, Germany, Kraftwerk ignored the poppy Beach Boys trend so popular at the time, and instead set their sights on creating an innovative new electronic genre. Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider met as two students at the Robert Schumann Academy in Dusseldorf, both interested in the art and experimental scene.1 Their band began relatively small, but over the years accumulated many other musicians that would be replaced quite frequently. In the end, the most memorable line-up would include Ralf Hutter, Karl Bartos, Wolfgang Flur, and Florian Schneider.
Their first albums were mostly experimental, and lacked the solidarity that they would go on to develop. They would begin by free-styling on traditional instruments like bass, drums, guitars and violins. Then these recordings would be distorted and manipulated with the help of electronic means. Their release would be purely instrumental. In 1973, the band released Ralf and Florian. This album would play a big role in their future, as it began focusing more on the drum machines, synths and vocoders that the group would become known for.
1974-1984 brought about some of their most appreciated and esteemed work yet. They met graphic artist, Emil Schult, around the time of their release Autobahn. He created much of the bands image and artwork. They also developed a relationship with the record label Phonogram in the US. With their support financially, they were able to tour internationally across Canada, the US, and the UK. Upon ending this tour, Kraftwerk invested in new equipment and really brought their studio, Kling Klang, up to date. This makeover would play a large part in their new album, Radio-Activity. Radio-Activity showed that the band was developing a more electro-pop style, and used a central theme focusing on the bands love of radio communication.
Three more albums were released in the space of four years. Trans-Europe Express was the first in 1977 and marked the first meeting between the group and David Bowie, although nothing would come of this. The Man-Machine was released in May, 1978, and although it was recorded in their own Kling Klang studio, would have to be sent to Dusseldorf to be mixed due to its intricacy. After that came Computer World in 1981, an album that would be taken on tour and also happened to contain their smash hit in the UK, “The Model”.2
My favourite work from them was in the album Techno Pop, released in 1982. Hutter used the theme of bicycles in the song “Tour de France”, and although he couldn’t persuade the band to use the theme throughout the album, this song was done very creatively with real bike sounds. I think it is this sort of ingenuity that earns them the title of one of the biggest influences on electronic music. Besides the fact that technologically, they created numerous devices like electronic drums kits and vocoders that would influence future designs; they also enlightened artists and musicians all over the world, such as Franz Ferdinand, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, and even Jay-Z. As a listener, their hooks and melodies are extremely likable, and you can’t help but appreciate each theme found on every album they have released. As an audio professional, you wish you could thank them for setting the standard so high when it comes to innovative and technological progress in electronic music.
Your paragraph detailing the use and innovations the Beatles came up with in their recording process was very on point. Their use of compression and instrumentation was especially important and critical during this time, and their use of compression on the drum set became a standard sound on Revolver. One of the things I would like to point out is in your paragraph on their drug use. I believe that a little more detail on the effects that drugs had on their songwriting process would have furthered your theory that a lot of songs were written about the drugs they consumed. With that being said I thoroughly enjoyed your post, especially the last paragraph. I thought you did a really good job closing with your beliefs and respect for the band.
A lover of jazz and Nat King Cole, a rebel and a spirtualist, Marvin Gaye was a major recording talent in the early days of Motown. After bringing in both Bongo Brown and Jack Ashford, the band began working together to create some memorable hits in the ‘snake pit’ such as “What’s Going On”, “Grapevine” and “Baby I’m For Real", and finally began achieving some sort of recognition.
In 1969, lyricist Al Cleveland and Renaldo “Obie” Benson, sat down and penned “What’s Going On” as a way to address the issues of the Vietnam war and the race riots. After The Four Tops and Joan Benz declined to record it, Marvin Gay was the next lucky artist in line. Benson says of Gaye, “Marvin was the perfect artist for it . . . The first time he sang it, I was playing guitar and he was playing piano, and it was so beautiful.”1 With the support of Marvin’s wife, Anne, and the financial and artistic backing support of Motown, the song would soon come to fruition.
The studio at Hitsville was a bustling beehive of creative mechanisms and ongoing innovative recording techniques. However, it was Marvin’s own inner awareness that channeled much of the songs atmospheric vibes. The death of his old singing partner, his brother’s battle with PTSD, and “his own professional frustration into an artistic statement addressing the social and spiritual anguish he saw sweeping the real world...”2 were ways in which he channeled his empathy and sorrow for what was going on. Detroit’s violence, trips to the moon, and the death of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, were also motivations during the time of recording. He began changing himself both on the inside and out, when he began growing a beard and started wearing more ‘funk’ style clothes.
Marvin wanted to go for something completely against Motown’s old sound. So artists were brought in and VanDepitte himself played the piano and lead the rhythm section. However, some things did stray away from the plan. For example, the well-known alto sax in the beginning was in fact Fontaine’s warm up, and Marvin found it suitable enough for the record. The doubled lead vocal was also another accident that made it onto the track. Ken Sands, the engineer for the track, played Gaye’s two lead vocals at the same time and everyone liked it enough that it became a trademark of Marvin’s in the years to follow.
After recording, Marvin felt triumphant that he had created something entirely unique. However, all was not well. Berry Gordy had refused to release it and in doing so, prompted Marvin to issue a sort of ‘strike’. He would not record anything else until the song was released and instead took up professional football as a pastime until the label came to their senses. Luckily for Marvin he had a friend in the label by the name of Harry Balk. Harry managed to issue “What’s Going On” without the permission of Gordy. It was an immediate hit, and sold 100,000 copies in one day. That January day in 1971 had brought about one of Motown’s best-selling songs of all time.
As a listener, Marvin Gaye is a timeless classic. He was instrumental in the music world in the 60s and 70s, and his songs are still very much as popular today as they were fifty years ago. He was the voice of America, and his songs spoke to something that not many were willing to put out there. Their use of multi-track recording made him and his recording team geniuses in their own right. It would not be wrong to say that Gaye himself inspired the slow jams and contemporary music that we have to this day.
Consisting of Reed and Morrison on guitars, Maureen Tucker on drums, and Cale on viola, bass and occasional guitar, Velvet Underground was a group of talented musicians soon to be taken under the wing by Andy Warhol. Their sound was ‘an aggressive blend of studious minimalism off-kilter R&B, and primal rock ‘n’ roll.’1 Early on, they became known for puzzling and perplexing audiences whenever they played, and their gritty lyrics paid tribute to Cale’s younger days of fascination with rock ‘n’ roll.
Originally, John Cale was extensively trained on the piano and violin. However, after enrolling at London’s Goldsmith’s College, his traditional turning began taking a turn when he discovered modern avant-garde composers. After being introduced to Cage, he was inducted into the newly formed group, the Dream Syndicate, in which he played the electric viola. However, his appetite for rock & roll was beginning to rear its head, and it was through this craving that he met Lou Reed. Lou was a songwriter working for Pickwick Records, and he was trying to sell one of his songs by enlisting fellow musicians to perform it with him. It was during these rehearsals that Reed and Cale started to bond over similar music tastes.
In 1967, The Velvet Underground andNico was finally released to the public. After collaborating with pop-art genius Andy Warhol, the album sold next to nothing and let loose on conventional rock & roll. However, Warhol did have a large impact on the band. His presence was greatly felt in the recording studios, and it was his decision to feature the German-born singer, Nico, on the album. He also helped the band secure a recording contract with Nerve Records, and it was his work of art that graced the cover of the album. All in all, Warhol played a large role in the bands beginnings.
Nowadays, The Velvet Underground and Nico is hailed as one of the most important rock albums ever released. It proved as ‘one of the most forward-thinking records of its time’2 and expanded the possibilities of rock & roll. With everything from melodic chiming to simple steady beats, the album was extremely dynamic in range. This album was entirely new and unique among the Sixties rockers, with their sense of splendor in ugliness and dark lyrics prompting drug addiction and destructiveness. Their attitude has gone on to shape many bands of our generation, with many leading artists stating The Velvet Underground as major influences.
As an industry professional, I have always known of the importance of The Velvet Underground; however, I cannot honestly say that they were on the bands I grew up listening to. With that being said, having explored this bands sound and image, they certainly have found a new fan in me. Their sonic artistry is definitely something I look up to, and their portrayal of moods through the use of vocals and instrumentation is certainly noteworthy. Credited with one of the ‘very first alternative albums’,3 The Velvet Underground can undoubtedly be credited as one of the most important bands in rock history.
Before becoming known as one of the top recording bands ever, The Beatles struggled to get started. After being turned down time and time again, their luck finally caught up when they met with George Martin. George Martin was known for making unusual recording acts successful, and after hearing the Beatles first live set, he immediately got to work re-working their sound and image. Following Martin’s “eagerness to shun convention”1 , the Beatles re-arranged their songs to become more radio-friendly, and soon they had a couple of hits on their hands. The fame really started to hit home after their first American television appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Following that success, they had a string of number one albums, mostly recorded at Abbey Road, but it wasn’t until Rubber Soul that they “began to think of albums as art on their own, as complete entities,”2 says Martin.
April of 1966 brought about Revolvers very first day of recording. They didn’t know it yet, but Revolver was about to become of the most celebrated albums ever. With the new invention, ADT (automatic double tracking), the Beatles were practically free to do whatever they pleased and “Martin was now allowed to easily create two sound images instead of one.”3 This technique was applied to almost every track on Revolver. Another major influence on the band around this time was Lennon’s LSD use. Lyrically and texturally, many of Lennon’s ideas were credited to acid, and this in turn inspired the ‘sonically mysterious tone’ of “Tomorrow Never Knows”. The shape shifting was further added to by loops each band member would create at home, containing little bits and pieces of audio to enhance the song even further.
last.fm
It was during these sessions that engineer, Geoff Emerick, really created the sound of Revolver, by replacing standard drum mic placement with a series of compressors and valve-limiters, processing an extremely close mic signal of the bass drum. “Tomorrow Never Knows” itself contained groundbreaking techniques, with the use of reverse guitars, and looped tape effects. Lennon and McCartney’s fascination with tape loops that I mentioned earlier was prevalent in this songs backing track.
Not only have I always considered the Beatles to be one of my favourite bands growing up, but also one of the best. In terms of lyricism and melodies, they have always stood out to me as one of the catchiest and most genre-defining group in the rock world. Classics such as “Yellow Submarine”, “Eleanor Rigby” and “Tomorrow Never Knows” were defining moments for me when realizing that music is something I wanted to get into. As an industry professional, The Beatles revolutionary use of tape loops, instrumentation, compression and sound effects, are certainly fundamental to many techniques we use today. It’s not to say that without this album we wouldn’t have these techniques, I’m sure they would have come around sooner or later; what is really important to gather from this album is the way in which they utilized these techniques. It is through their avant-garde musical style, we have a work of art that many will be studying for years to come.
Please see the references page for all quotations used in the above post.
