Nirvana was a band that inspired a generation. Few bands have single handily changed music and popular culture like Nirvana.
During the late eighties, hair and glam metal were peaking out and listeners were looking for something new to turn to. Nirvana struck at the perfect time with a new sound and new approach to recording. Nirvana set apart from bands of the time in so many different ways it would be difficult to cover them all. Most notably was the lack of musical skill which turned many listeners off as it did on. Most Nirvana songs consisted of a few simple chords, bast bass rhythms, and lack luster solos. This was so contrasting to the power metal and glam rock that was so popular only years before. The songs focused more on raw emotion to drive the sound as apposed to complex arrangements and flashy instrumentation. Another large distinction between the new emerging grunge bands and bands preceding was the concentration on sound and recording techniques. Often times a band had the best gear to get the best sound and exorbitant amounts of money were spent on gear. Lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain spent much of his time looking for odd gear to expand his sound, none of which were particularly lavish or expensive. Pawn shop pedals and guitars were his weapons of choice and he spent hours honing great sounds on bad equipment. Because of the lack of care for these cheap pieces of equipment, each show was usually followed by destruction of these instruments which added to presentation and "angst" that these bands were known for.
As a listener I love Nirvana. The simplicity combined with the raw feeling presented by their songs is appealing to me in all aspects. Many bands before and after have tried this method, but to me, none were ever as successful. There are few bands that can inspire moods so rapidly in me as a listener. as an industry professional, I am constantly impressed by their albums. The sounds and tones captured were unlike anything I had heard and have yet to hear done as well. Every guitar riff and it's coinciding tone match perfectly. All the feeling in Kurt's powerful, dirty voice is equally matched in power and grit by the sound of the band behind him. Nevermind is one of the greatest albums ever recorded in my opinion and Butch Vig remains one of my favorite producers to date. In my mind, a better record may never be released.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Daft Punk Entry
Out of all electronic music, the only band I can truly say that I enjoy is Daft Punk. They seem to have enough skill as musicians and put on a wonderful live show to keep me entertained. While it is still a bit mindless and repetitive, they are headed in the right direction with their music.
I think that Daft Punk has had an influence on electronic music by demanding more out of other artists. Their music proves that electronic music can appeal to smart musicians and not to just club goers. Also they are pushing the boundaries of just what an electronic artist can achieve. They recently scored the entire soundtrack for the newest Tron movie and this was a big thing for a band of that nature. As well they continually collaborate with other artists and bridge gaps in genres. I feel this influence is directly shaping pop music approach. Many pop artists are starting to have an electronic approach to their music seeing the success these crossovers are having.
One large thing that sets Daft Punk apart from other bands is a very visual approach to videos and to live performances. Electronic artists often are not as entertaining as traditional musicians because they must stay stationary and the nature of the instruments they play are difficult to play entertainingly. Daft Punk chose to visually make the show more interesting to battle this issue.
As a listener I enjoy Daft Punk and feel like this is the direction that music must head to stay relevant. It must incorporate other genres and stay catchy enough to appeal to more than just electronic lovers. As an industry professional I like the quality of the tracks I hear from them but find it hard to respect the process because I know how easy it is to use software and whatnot to make these sounds nowadays. The level of knowledge required to use them and do what they do is growing smaller and smaller by the day.
I think that Daft Punk has had an influence on electronic music by demanding more out of other artists. Their music proves that electronic music can appeal to smart musicians and not to just club goers. Also they are pushing the boundaries of just what an electronic artist can achieve. They recently scored the entire soundtrack for the newest Tron movie and this was a big thing for a band of that nature. As well they continually collaborate with other artists and bridge gaps in genres. I feel this influence is directly shaping pop music approach. Many pop artists are starting to have an electronic approach to their music seeing the success these crossovers are having.
One large thing that sets Daft Punk apart from other bands is a very visual approach to videos and to live performances. Electronic artists often are not as entertaining as traditional musicians because they must stay stationary and the nature of the instruments they play are difficult to play entertainingly. Daft Punk chose to visually make the show more interesting to battle this issue.
As a listener I enjoy Daft Punk and feel like this is the direction that music must head to stay relevant. It must incorporate other genres and stay catchy enough to appeal to more than just electronic lovers. As an industry professional I like the quality of the tracks I hear from them but find it hard to respect the process because I know how easy it is to use software and whatnot to make these sounds nowadays. The level of knowledge required to use them and do what they do is growing smaller and smaller by the day.
Kraftwerk Entry
Kraftwerk is a german electronic band who are apparently quite popular and influential. The music is ambience tones with simple beats and incredibly repetitive melodies and vocals.
Kraftwerk released quite a few albums from 74 to 81 with the most notable probably being Autobahn. The two albums in between, Trans-Europe Express and Radio-Activity, were not met with the success of the fourth The Man-Machine. During the release of these albums some large music acts were beginning to take notice in the growing style of music this started to reflect in the later albums. As all of these were being made, the technology grew and the sound grew with it.
What really set Kraftwerk apart from bands of the time was use of technology. They decided to really use no traditional instrumentation and went strictly with all electronic types of sound. This was new simply because the technology was new. Many artists hadn't had the ability to try and use this new equipment because it wasn't available and those who knew how to use were even less available. To me this seems to be why Kraftwerk has little to no musical sound. The whole band feels like a bunch of engineers who enjoy music got together and built computers. As the albums went on this was less of the case because electronic musical instruments became easier to use.
Another piece that set Kraftwerk apart from the time was the use of a vocoder along with the vocals. Vocoders had only begun to be used as a serious instrument and hadn't been heard being used in this way. The vocoder would later become something of a trademark for the band and would inspire many following artists to use it much more interesting ways.
It's hard to know where to begin when describing how I feel about this band. I would like to start by saying that I already do not enjoy electronic music and Kraftwerk may be everything I dislike about electronic music rolled into one. The documentary required for media resource project was difficult to watch in the sense that I feel like the speakers were looking much to far into the band. They credit them as pioneers in music for doing the basic amount of work required to make music. Saying that making a drum beat that sounds like a train is innovative is like saying a child is the next Michelangelo for using multiple colors in a finger painting. Regardless of how I feel about the music, the technological advances they inspired are noteworthy. There are bands and songs that followed that may not have been made had they not pushed some of the technology they were using. Sequencers and other MIDI type software may not be where they are today without them, though I find it hard to believe no one else was playing with these things and probably making better music with it.
Kraftwerk released quite a few albums from 74 to 81 with the most notable probably being Autobahn. The two albums in between, Trans-Europe Express and Radio-Activity, were not met with the success of the fourth The Man-Machine. During the release of these albums some large music acts were beginning to take notice in the growing style of music this started to reflect in the later albums. As all of these were being made, the technology grew and the sound grew with it.
What really set Kraftwerk apart from bands of the time was use of technology. They decided to really use no traditional instrumentation and went strictly with all electronic types of sound. This was new simply because the technology was new. Many artists hadn't had the ability to try and use this new equipment because it wasn't available and those who knew how to use were even less available. To me this seems to be why Kraftwerk has little to no musical sound. The whole band feels like a bunch of engineers who enjoy music got together and built computers. As the albums went on this was less of the case because electronic musical instruments became easier to use.
Another piece that set Kraftwerk apart from the time was the use of a vocoder along with the vocals. Vocoders had only begun to be used as a serious instrument and hadn't been heard being used in this way. The vocoder would later become something of a trademark for the band and would inspire many following artists to use it much more interesting ways.
It's hard to know where to begin when describing how I feel about this band. I would like to start by saying that I already do not enjoy electronic music and Kraftwerk may be everything I dislike about electronic music rolled into one. The documentary required for media resource project was difficult to watch in the sense that I feel like the speakers were looking much to far into the band. They credit them as pioneers in music for doing the basic amount of work required to make music. Saying that making a drum beat that sounds like a train is innovative is like saying a child is the next Michelangelo for using multiple colors in a finger painting. Regardless of how I feel about the music, the technological advances they inspired are noteworthy. There are bands and songs that followed that may not have been made had they not pushed some of the technology they were using. Sequencers and other MIDI type software may not be where they are today without them, though I find it hard to believe no one else was playing with these things and probably making better music with it.
Monday, June 13, 2011
What's Going On Entry
What's Going On is fantastic album and one of the first of it's kind. Rn'B music before this album had never been thought out or so politically conscious. Marvin Gaye's prior albums had never been so well put together and mostly consisted of radio friendly unit shifters common to Motown music of the time. Before this album Gaye tried to whatever he could to get himself out a funk caused by the death of a close friend and peer, Tammi Terrel. Collaboration with Al Celveland and Obie Bensen re-sparked the drive necessary to start and complete What's Going On.
The album is a political album based on soldiers returning from Vietnam and finding what they returned to was not as they remembered. Much of what inspired this record was Gaye's friends sending him letters from Vietnam. Drug abuse was another common theme among the album as well as poverty and issues of the time making this the first truly social concept album of the time. Other songs had been released in this style but not full albums such as this.
With the death of his friend and a refusal to record or perform Gaye had a difficult time with the process of this whole album. He also ran into issues releasing it when Ben Gordy, the CEO of Motown, thought it the album would fail. Gordy disagreed that people would like such a political heavy sound and ultimately green lighted the album in hopes it would fail. When it was finally released, Gordy saw the error in his judgement when What's Going On became Motown's fastest selling single.
This album stands apart from together albums in many ways. Musically it was once of the first soul records where the songs connected though out the album. Large amounts of multiple instrumentation was used to make the large sound for the record and is noted for including a blend of genres in the arrangement.
So far this album has been the only album we've listened to in either music history class that has been enjoyable. As an album the piece works wonderfully together. All the songs feel as one larger piece that gives the whole album a sense of brevity that can't be accomplished in just one song. As an industry listener I like seeing where the concept album ideas started. The sound of this record is also impressive and the clean mixes are wonderfully different than other Motown songs of the time.
The album is a political album based on soldiers returning from Vietnam and finding what they returned to was not as they remembered. Much of what inspired this record was Gaye's friends sending him letters from Vietnam. Drug abuse was another common theme among the album as well as poverty and issues of the time making this the first truly social concept album of the time. Other songs had been released in this style but not full albums such as this.
With the death of his friend and a refusal to record or perform Gaye had a difficult time with the process of this whole album. He also ran into issues releasing it when Ben Gordy, the CEO of Motown, thought it the album would fail. Gordy disagreed that people would like such a political heavy sound and ultimately green lighted the album in hopes it would fail. When it was finally released, Gordy saw the error in his judgement when What's Going On became Motown's fastest selling single.
This album stands apart from together albums in many ways. Musically it was once of the first soul records where the songs connected though out the album. Large amounts of multiple instrumentation was used to make the large sound for the record and is noted for including a blend of genres in the arrangement.
So far this album has been the only album we've listened to in either music history class that has been enjoyable. As an album the piece works wonderfully together. All the songs feel as one larger piece that gives the whole album a sense of brevity that can't be accomplished in just one song. As an industry listener I like seeing where the concept album ideas started. The sound of this record is also impressive and the clean mixes are wonderfully different than other Motown songs of the time.
Velvet Underground and Nico Entry
The music of the Velvet Underground has been described as the first truly alternative rock. Influences and genres are all over the place and drawn from many different bands and time periods. Lou Reed, who did much of the writing, had a major influence on the sound of the tracks with his schooling and brought an art to the rock music which hadn't been seen before. The vulgar nature of some of the tracks also led hatred against the band and a new perspective on what could be done in music.
Reed and John Cale did most of the writing for the band and they were very close. They lived together for sometime and were responsible for the band forming. Reed did most of the lyrical writing and in turn is responsible for some of the negative feedback given towards the album. Reed hadn't written the songs to be racy, but simply was connecting art and music in a very real sense that was un-comforting to the listeners of the time. Cale grew up heavy into instruments and was therefore responsible for more of the musical side of the velvet underground. Cale experimented with different ways to approach instruments while Reed experimented with vocals, together producing some of the strangest music to date.
In the beginning Andy Warhol produced and promoted the Velvet Underground and was directly responsible for their success. H is the only name listed on the first album as producer. There is controversy as to whether this is true. Some of the engineers are credited with producing while Cale himself is also credited as the producer. Cale himself says Tom Wilson is the producer.
Much of what made this album great wasn't just the lyrical content but the musical content as well. Cale and Reed used alternate tunings not normally found on records of that time. This was also one of the first times in a mainstream record that lower tunings were heard. Another piece that set this record apart was Cale use of the violin which was uncommon for a band such as the Velvet Underground.
With this record I find myself in the same boat as Pet Sounds an Revolver. I understand the pivotal point it represents in the industry and in music history but this album is awful. Lou Reed may be one of the worst singers I've ever heard. How they let this album release with so many flat notes is beyond me. Again, music now wouldn't be the same without this album, but unlistenable.
Reed and John Cale did most of the writing for the band and they were very close. They lived together for sometime and were responsible for the band forming. Reed did most of the lyrical writing and in turn is responsible for some of the negative feedback given towards the album. Reed hadn't written the songs to be racy, but simply was connecting art and music in a very real sense that was un-comforting to the listeners of the time. Cale grew up heavy into instruments and was therefore responsible for more of the musical side of the velvet underground. Cale experimented with different ways to approach instruments while Reed experimented with vocals, together producing some of the strangest music to date.
In the beginning Andy Warhol produced and promoted the Velvet Underground and was directly responsible for their success. H is the only name listed on the first album as producer. There is controversy as to whether this is true. Some of the engineers are credited with producing while Cale himself is also credited as the producer. Cale himself says Tom Wilson is the producer.
Much of what made this album great wasn't just the lyrical content but the musical content as well. Cale and Reed used alternate tunings not normally found on records of that time. This was also one of the first times in a mainstream record that lower tunings were heard. Another piece that set this record apart was Cale use of the violin which was uncommon for a band such as the Velvet Underground.
With this record I find myself in the same boat as Pet Sounds an Revolver. I understand the pivotal point it represents in the industry and in music history but this album is awful. Lou Reed may be one of the worst singers I've ever heard. How they let this album release with so many flat notes is beyond me. Again, music now wouldn't be the same without this album, but unlistenable.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Pet Sounds Entry
The Beach Boys went through a number of changes throughout their career, the most notable in 66' when Pet Sounds was released. Their sound started as premiere surf band and eventually grew to show much more than that. Most of the music was fairly simple and happy and reflected the overall tone of the group, which was at that time, fairly upbeat. As the band grew, the members grew up, and their top spot was challenged by The Beatles, this all changed.
Pre Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson was in charge of everything. He produced, wrote, sang, and had a large part in a lot of the recording process for the band. As he experimented more, the Beach Boys sound reflected that. After hearing Rubber Soul by the Beatles, Brian knew he had to up his game with the next Beach Boys record. He did exactly that with Pet Sounds.
Not only was the album different through writing style but conceptually and sonically it was different than all the others. The album felt like a whole piece instead of a slew of songs. This directly mirrored Rubber Soul. Sonically, Brian played with new recording techniques that he learned from Phil Spectre and then built on. Walls of traditional instrumentation supplemented with unconventional instruments. Brian recorded cans, dogs, and theremins in the search for new sound.
As an industry professional, it is interesting to see where all these ideas started. The idea that anything and everything can and should be used in a session to get the sound you need is one that was definitely needed at the time. It's also interesting to see that this happened at time when an abundance of records were being made and sounded the same. This same progression happened again during the 90's with the grunge movement. The 80's saw a lot of cookie cutter rock albums and lots of 90's bands did large amounts of experimenting with instruments to get new sounds as a retaliation.
As a listener I unfortunately absolutely hate this album. I understand that is a critical piece of music history and pivotal in the evolution of recording but I can't enjoy it. Personally all of there voices of unlistenable to me and the recording quality was not up to par to showcase all of the elements put into the album. The writing is far too simplistic for my taste. Simplicity is good sometimes, but in most of these songs cases, it leads to boredom.
Pre Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson was in charge of everything. He produced, wrote, sang, and had a large part in a lot of the recording process for the band. As he experimented more, the Beach Boys sound reflected that. After hearing Rubber Soul by the Beatles, Brian knew he had to up his game with the next Beach Boys record. He did exactly that with Pet Sounds.
Not only was the album different through writing style but conceptually and sonically it was different than all the others. The album felt like a whole piece instead of a slew of songs. This directly mirrored Rubber Soul. Sonically, Brian played with new recording techniques that he learned from Phil Spectre and then built on. Walls of traditional instrumentation supplemented with unconventional instruments. Brian recorded cans, dogs, and theremins in the search for new sound.
As an industry professional, it is interesting to see where all these ideas started. The idea that anything and everything can and should be used in a session to get the sound you need is one that was definitely needed at the time. It's also interesting to see that this happened at time when an abundance of records were being made and sounded the same. This same progression happened again during the 90's with the grunge movement. The 80's saw a lot of cookie cutter rock albums and lots of 90's bands did large amounts of experimenting with instruments to get new sounds as a retaliation.
As a listener I unfortunately absolutely hate this album. I understand that is a critical piece of music history and pivotal in the evolution of recording but I can't enjoy it. Personally all of there voices of unlistenable to me and the recording quality was not up to par to showcase all of the elements put into the album. The writing is far too simplistic for my taste. Simplicity is good sometimes, but in most of these songs cases, it leads to boredom.
References
References blog page
Wikipedia, . (2001, June 5). What's going on. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whats_Going_On
Wikipedia, . (2001, June 12). The Velvet Underground and Nico. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Velvet_Underground_%26_Nico
Wikipedia, . (2001, June 10). Pet sounds. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Sounds
Wikipedia. (2011, June 17). Kraftwerk. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraftwerk
Wikipedia, Initials. (2011, June 21). Daft punk. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk
Wikipedia, . (2001, June 5). What's going on. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whats_Going_On
Wikipedia, . (2001, June 12). The Velvet Underground and Nico. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Velvet_Underground_%26_Nico
Wikipedia, . (2001, June 10). Pet sounds. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Sounds
Wikipedia. (2011, June 17). Kraftwerk. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraftwerk
Wikipedia, Initials. (2011, June 21). Daft punk. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk
Welcome Entry
I'm Dave Nelson.
I am currently enrolled in the RA program at Full Sail University with plans to continue onto the masters in Entertainment Business. Musically my interests include a wide variety of things. For the most part rock, metal, and progressive music. Protest the Hero, 3, Metallica, and Alter Bridge are a few of my favorite bands. My main focus is studio work and engineering but my eventual goal will be to own a studio.
I am currently enrolled in the RA program at Full Sail University with plans to continue onto the masters in Entertainment Business. Musically my interests include a wide variety of things. For the most part rock, metal, and progressive music. Protest the Hero, 3, Metallica, and Alter Bridge are a few of my favorite bands. My main focus is studio work and engineering but my eventual goal will be to own a studio.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)