Pop Music in Practice Chris Shaw

2010-05-18T02:16:00.000-07:00

50’s Rock and Roll Factsheet

Important artists
Elvis Presley
Jerry Lee Lewis
Little Richard
Buddy Holly
Richie Valence
Eddie Cochran
Gene Vincent
Chuck Berry
The Everly Brothers
The Flamingos

Important Albums and Songs
Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley – Blue Suede Shoes
Chuck Berry – Chuck Berry Is On Top – Johnny B. Goode
Little Richard – Tutti Frutti
Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls of Fire
Buddy Holly – Buddy Holly – Peggy Sue
Gene Vincent – Be-Bop-A-Lula
Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley
Eddie Cochran – Twenty Flight Rock
Elvis Presley – Jailhouse Rock
Coasters – Searchin’

Useful Websites
http://www.last.fm/tag/rock%20and%20roll
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll
http://www.empire.k12.ca.us/capistrano/mike/capmusic/modern/rock%20'n%20roll/rock'n.htm
http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_songs50s.html
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll
http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_artists50s.html

2010-05-11T03:14:00.000-07:00

The 1960’s – Motown

Motown and its musical features

Motown is a Soul record label that originated in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The word comes from motor town which is a nickname for the city, as Detroit has a large auto industry. Berry Gordy Jr founded the label in 1959 and made Motowns first single ‘Bad Girls’ by The Miracles. However Berry already had his own record label before Motown called Tamla Records, which later had a number 1 hit with ‘Please Mr Postman’ by the Marvelettes. In 1960 Berry decided to join the two labels together to create Motown Record Corporation. As it became more popular, Motown became known as a genre, with people calling it the ‘Motown Sound’. Berry managed this by hiring the same session musicians for every song and live gig which gave the music its own unique sound, and these musicians were known as The Funk Brothers.

http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/%A5Artist%20GIF%20Images/Stevie-And-Funk-Brothers.jpg

The Funk Brothers were a group of guitarists, keyboard players, bass players, drummers and percussionists. They played a big part in giving Motown its unique sound and included musicians such as Earl Van Dyke and Robert White.

Significant artists

http://i43.tower.com/images/mm105800566/ultimate-collection-smokey-robinson-miracles-cd-cover-art.jpg

The Temptations
Marvin Gaye
The Supremes
Jackson 5
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Stevie Wonder
The Marvelettes
The Isley Brothers
The Contours
Commodores
The Four Tops
Diana Ross
Martha & The Vandellas
Kim Weston

Influences

Motown is heavily influenced by soul music, but also by rhythm & blues, gospel and even rock and roll from the 1950’s. Elvis, Ray Charles, James Brown and Little Richard are all artists that could have influenced the sound. However Motown used these elements with pop and created a unique sound.

http://tennesseeguy.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/james-brown.jpg

Artists Motown has influenced

Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, Paul Weller and Oasis are all known to have influences from Motown. More recent artists like Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Alicia Keys, Corinne Bailey Rae, Joss Stone, Paloma Faith, Macy Gray, Gabriella Cilme, James Morrison, Pixie Lott, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Florence & The Machine, Michael Buble and Paolo Nutini all have elements of Motown in their music.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000099T2L.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Important albums and singles

Artist – Ray Charles
Album – What’s Going On
Single – God Is Love

Artist – The Temptations
Album – Meet the Temptations
Single – Dream Come True

Artist – The Supremes
Album – Reflections
Single – Baby Don’t Go

http://kinosport.tv/notebook/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/supremes-1968-reflections-468x462.jpg

Artist – Stevie Wonder
Album – For Once in My Life
Single – You Met Your Match

Music and the society

Motown was dominated by black artists, but unlike earlier black music like blues, it became popular with white people also, and some say helped America be seen as a multi-cultural country. This may be because the lyrics in Motown music were not about slavery, discrimination etc. This and its unique sound of pop – soul made it acceptable for any audience.

2010-02-05T07:28:00.000-08:00

The 1980s – Pop in The 80s

Features of the music

By listening to 80s pop artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna, you can hear they have influences from funk, soul and 70s disco, but they have created their own sound with it adding synthesisers and new effects. When you hear it today it can sometimes sound cheesy mostly because of the sounds that were used from synthesisers. At the time though these sounds were cutting edge and were very popular with artists. Noticeable features heard in 80s pop music are funky guitar riffs and bass lines, lots of reverb in vocals and on the snare drum and synth pad and lead.(the synth pads often replaced the strings that would have been used in the 70’s)

http://quizilla.teennick.com/user_images /B/brion/1048221969_nthpicssk1.jpg

Lyrical content
Lyrical content in 80s music often had references to things that were happening in the world at the time, like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, or the war in Iran and Iraq which started in 1880. ‘Do They Know Its Christmas’ by Band Aid was a song about the famine in Ethiopia, most times 80s pop was just about love or their everyday lives.

Music and the Society
Music became a big and profitable business in the 80’s, and part of it was because of music videos. MTV launched in 1981 and played music videos for pop artists such as Duran Duran, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince, Spandau Ballet and Queen. People watching these artists on television were influenced by their image and sound.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/sceptred_isle/images/thatcher_and_reagan.jpg

Significant artists
The following are some popular 80’s pop artists:
Human League
Michael Jackson
Tears for Fears
Madonna
A – ha
Spandau Ballet
Bananarama
Depeche Mode
Pet Shop Boys
Wet Wet Wet
New Order
Kylie Minogue
New Kids on the Block
Neenah Cherry
The Cure
Richard Marx
Wham!
Billy Ocean
Paula Abdul

http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp2/features/wallpaper/images/800/spandau_ballet.jpg

Influences
80s pop is influenced a lot by disco music which was popular in the 70s, disco music was a reaction against all the rock bands there were at the time, Instead of having their guitars distorted they had them clean and played funk riffs – which you hear a lot in 80s pop.

Other similarities are the electric bass lines (sometimes played on a keyboard or synthesiser), the disco drum sounds and saxophones which you hear a lot in 80s music.

Artists they have influenced

http://blog.melaniecrete.com/public/la-roux-bulletproof1.jpg

The sound and image of 80s pop music can be heard and seen in a lot of bands today like La Roux and Hot Chip who use a lot of 80’s style synthesisers and 80s fashion.
Bands include:

MGMT
Calvin Harris
Ladytron
Owl City
Marina and the Diamonds
Goldfrapp
White Lies
Robyn
Hot Chip
Editors
La Roux
Alphabeat
Dead Disco
Little Boots
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
Ladyhawk
The Whip
Mini Viva

Important albums and singles

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thriller-Michael-Jackson/dp/B00002663R/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1265285895&sr=8-1

Artist Album Single

Michael Jackson Thriller Thriller
Madonna Like a Virgin Like a Virgin
Depeche Mode Music For the Masses Never Let Me Down
New Order Substance True Faith
A – ha Running High and Low Take On Me
Kylie Minogue Kylie I Should Be So Lucky
Pet Shop Boys Introspective Always On My Mind

The image
The kinds of clothes that were worn in the 80s were oversized shirts, acid washed jeans, leg warmers, ankle socks, hi tops, rolled up shirts, jeans and blazers, sunglasses and paint splattered patterns.

Hair styles like in the picture below are high and stuck up and popular with male and female.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uB-0D-gV8mY/SdvJVeCIVFI/AAAAAAAAUpU/KbaJPnFMgNM/s400/bananarama.jpg

2009-11-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

The 90’s - Britpop

Britpop is a genre of music that started in the late 80’s - early 90’s. It comes from the United Kingdom and has its influence from 60s and 70s bands such as The Who, The Beatles and The Smiths, and punk bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash. British punk bands like these also influenced an attitude for Britpop. Britpop uses these influences but mixes it with other styles that were popular at the time such as electronic music. The Stone Roses used this influence to create electronic style beats and percussion in a song called Fools Gold. Other bands like Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets also used this sound. Other features of Britpop are the lazy vocals which were mainly used in Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Pulp etc. Britpop was seen as a British Invasion for music as before that American bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were most popular, This was like an anti-influence for British bands.

The type of lyrics used in Britpop are important to this type of genre because they were about everyday life in Britain, Lyrics from Common People by Pulp - “Rent a flat above a shop, cut your hair and get a job.
Smoke some fags and play some pool, pretend you never went to school.” Bands also used to sing in local accents which was used a lot in the “Madchester” movement in the late 80’s. Madchester was what people used to describe Britpop that came specifically from Manchester. Stone Roses and Happy Mondays were from Manchester but there were lots of other bands like The Charlatans, The Smiths, Joy Division, Oasis and James. Singing in local accent have influenced bands and artists today like The Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen. Football had a big influence on Britpop and the England team made people proud to be British. Lyrics with football references were used a lot and in 1996 The Lightning Seeds (Frank Skinner and David Baddiel who were British comedians) released a song called Three Lions which was used in the European Championships in that year for England. The video for the song is a good example of what everyday Britishness was like, and the England shirt and Union Jack became a fashion. Lyrics - “Three lions on the shirt
Jules Rimet still gleaming
30 Years of hurt
Never stopped me dreaming”
Pictures of bands in magazines would often be wearing England shirts like Liam and Noel Gallagher in Rock and Folk magazine. Image from - http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f62/brit-pop-51639.html

The Union Jack was always used on magazine covers when there was a Britpop band and they could always be seen at festivals. Noel Gallagher had a Union Jack guitar and Gerry Halliwell from The Spice Girls famously wore a Union Jack dress on stage.

Britpop Artists

Blur (Damon Albarn, Graham Coxen, Alex James and Dave Rowntree)

The Charlatans (Tim Burgess, Mark Collins, Martin Blunt, Tony Rogers)

Elastica (Justine Frischmann, Annie Holland, Justin Welch)

Inspiral Carpets (Tom Hingley, Stephen Holt, David Swift, Tony Feeley)

James (Tim Booth, Adrian Oxaal, Paul Gilbertson, Gavin Whelan, Michael Kulas)

Cast (John Power, Liam Tyson, Peter Wilkinson, Keith O’Neil)

Oasis (Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer, Andy Bell, Alan White)

Dodgy (Richard Payne, David Bassey, Chris Hallam, Nick Abnett)

Black Grape (Shaun Ryder, Bez, Kermit, Jed Lynch, Psycho)

The Levellers (Mark Chadwick, Jeremy Cunningham, Charlie Heather, Simon Friend)

Suede (Brett Anderson, Mat Osman, Simon Gilbert, Alex Lee)

Pulp (Jarvis Cocker, Mark Webber, Steve Mackey, Nick Banks)

Ocean Colour Scene (Simon Fowler, Steve Craddock, Oscar Harrison, Andy Bennet)

Supergrass (Gaz Coombez, Danny Goffey, Mick Quinn, Rob Coombez)

The Stone Roses (Ian Brown, John Squire, Mani, Reni, Andy Couzens)

Happy Mondays (Shaun Ryder, Bez, Gary Whelan)

Important Albums

Pulp - Different Class
Oasis - Definitely Maybe
Supergrass - I Should Coco
The Stone Roses - Second Coming
Ocean Colour Scene - Mosely Shoals
Cast - All Change
Blur - Parklife
The Verve - Urban Hymns
Elastica - Elastica
Happy Mondays - Pills n Thrills and Bellyaches
Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go
Oasis - Morning Glory
The Charlatans - The Charlatans
The Verve - A Northern Soul
Suede - Dog Man Star
Black Grape - Its Great When You’re Straight
The Boo Radleys - Wake Up!

Bands Influenced by Britpop

The Arctic Monkeys
Kasabian
Franz Ferdinand
The Libertines
Coldplay
The View
Bloc Party
Pigeon Detectives
Jamie T
BabyShambles
Lilly Allen
Muse
Radiohead
Feeder
The Futureheads
The Hoosiers
Kaiser Chiefs
The Kooks
Klaxons
The Zutons

2009-09-21T01:30:00.000-07:00

Initial Pop Music Influences Assignment - The Prodigy

The Prodigy are an English band formed in 1990 by Liam Howlet who plays keyboard and composes, the other two main members are Keith Flint and Maxim Reality who both sing and dance/MC. Their genre is mainly electronic dance, but also has rock, breakbeat, punk and rave elements to it.
Currently they have five studio albums - Experience (1992), Music For The Jilted Generation (1994), The Fat of The Land (1997), Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned (2004) and their most recent album Invaders Must Die (2009) which features Dave Grohl on drums. They have sold over 17 million records which is more than any other dance artist. The Prodigy are also known to do good live performances as Keith Flint and Maxim Reality were originally dancers before they joined the band. From NME, Live Reviews http://www.nme.com/reviews/the-prodigy/10358 - “We’re under attack. An incredible onslaught of noise. The sound of missiles, choppers, shelling: boom boom boom. Strobe lights disorientate us, the smell of smoke and adrenaline thick in the nostrils, hellish screaming all around.

Early music from the Experience album is influenced by dance and rave music which was popular in the early nineties. They use a lot of old school keyboard sounds and synthesisers. The drums are break beat and are played very fast with extra percussion like bongos and shakers. The baseline is heavy and there is no guitar or lyrics, but rave style vocal samples are played throughout. Artists like this that could have influenced them are Acen, Future Sounds of London and Channel X.
Their second album Music For The Jilted Generation is very similar to Experience. It has the same kind of drum patterns, keyboard sequences and vocal samples that are still influenced from early 90’s rave artists like Acen. I think there are artists now that were influenced by these albums like Glowstiyx who released the album Class of 92 in 2007.

Their next two albums were The Fat of The Land and Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned, they had a punk guitarist called Gizz and the style had moved from rave to heavy punk and dub - step. The guitar riffs, vocal styles and their image were similar to punk artists like The Sex Pistols. The drums and bass had slowed down and got heavier and now they had punk - style singing.
Interview from Kerrang http://www.theprodigy.info/articles/kerrangnov96.shtml - "I guess you get influenced by what you see", says Howlett, "We just got bored with the typical sound of the dance scene and wanted to expand on that”.
Their latest album is Invaders Must Die, the style has mixed genres, rock, electronic, break beat and also has dance style keyboards again. QOTSA were an influence and songs by Pendulum sound similar to Invaders Must Die. The vocals still have a punk style to them - "I have to write angry music - not like Rage against the Machine, politically angry, but just a reaction to the energy of the music that comes from angry, hard sounds. ".