Listening Journal Week 7

Technology has been a strong influencer in all of the musical twists and turns in American vernacular music up to the 1980s, however, technology is a definite game changer in the late 80s. The launch of MTV, a 24 hour a day network channel dedicated to music videos and music news, allowed fans into nearly every aspect of the artists’ lives. This meant that the artists now needed to become actors as well as musicians, which led to some artists creating multiple personalities. We see this in several genres including pop artists like Madonna who recreated their personalities as their careers developed and also in hip hop when rap artists changed their names. Below I will touch on several of the top songs and artists from the 1980’s and 1990’s and will describe how technology played a role in their success. It should be noted that I forwent the downloaded tracks and iTunes tracks this week and took advantage of watching the music videos for most of the listening examples this week.


Two of the biggest hits of 1984 were “Like a Virgin” by Madonna and “When Doves Cry” by Prince. Madonna and Prince were both very well rounded in terms of creating chart topping music along with elaborate music videos, however there are several differences between these two songs. Prince not only wrote, produced, and performed his song, he also recorded all of the instrumental tracks and the 12 different voice tracks. This was largely possible due to increased recording studio technology. Madonna’s song on the other hand, was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and Madonna sung the only vocal track. This very well may be an example of video successfully killing the radio star, and for that reason we will feature Prince’s live performance of “Purple Rain” here.

As mentioned earlier, the mixture of hungry fans and new technology meant that successful musicians could lose any privacy they once had. This transition happened incredibly fast for Nirvana once their album Nevermind was released. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” propelled them to constant circulation on MTV and that high level of stardom was too much for front man Kurt Cobain to handle. The songs use of heavy metal instrumentals gives it the signature grunge sound. It could be that the style was changed to fit the “unplugged” model, but if you compare these two recordings of “Come as You Are” you can see some changes in Kurt Cobain. The first is a live recording from 1991, the year Nevermind was released, and the second is a sound check for MTV’s Unplugged, taped in late 1993, just 5 months before his death.

The advances in technology during this time period also added to the increasingly blurred lines between genres of music at the end of the twentieth century (2014, page 491). You can see the “rules” being bent as Michael Jackson uses Paul McCarthy and Eddie Van Halen on his Thriller album. Also, hip hop artists Run DMC teamed up with rock stars Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith to create a very entertaining version of “Walk This Way.” In searching I found an even more entertaining version that includes Kid Rock.



Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Listening Journal Week 6

The first five listening examples for the week six readings were grouped together in a category called “A 1970s Jukebox.” I found it interesting that these very different songs all had simple forms and where written or co-written by their performer and yet all claimed a number one position during the decade. The Tin Pan Alley model makes it seem unlikely that so many singer-songwriters would achieve this claim. Another similarity they hold is their nostalgic components. Starr and Waterman (2014, page 374 – 377) mention the throwback lyric efforts of Elton John and The Eagles, and John Denver also uses the technique in “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” Interestingly enough, while I was reading about the origination of the nostalgic “revival shows” or the 1970’s I saw an advertisement on my email for Selena Gomez’s upcoming revival tour. I suppose it’s never too early to market to the nostalgic listeners. The most recent concert I attended was REO Speedwagon and I’m not really sure why they would solicit me with a Selena Gomez advertisement, but it was very topical.

Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” is described as the time periods “anthem for heavy metal.” When compared to the music of the other rock bands of that time, I think it is vocals of lead singer Robert Plant that indicates the title of “heavy metal.” The development of “Stairway to Heaven”, particularly the vocals, shows just how versatile and talented Led Zeppelin was musically. For comparison here are songs from The Stones and The Who from the same year of 1971.

 The song by Townes Van Zandt titled “Pancho and Lefty” is rather intriguing. The story has several different perceived meanings including a correlation between Pancho to Jesus and Lefty to Judas. In a live recording, Van Zandt claims to have written the song about “two bandits that he saw on television two weeks after he wrote it.” I suppose musicians of “outsider” music might feel the need to fit the role, authentically or not, as “outsider” themselves.

The text was not exaggerating when it categorized the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” and punk rock in general as a “back to basic” approach (2014, page 423). “Psycho Killer” does not contain impressive musical abilities in any area of the group and I wonder if part of this song’s success is due to its relationship to the news media sensation Son of Sam killings. Another example of the importance of the lyrics can be found in “Pedro Navaja.” I began listening to the song and reading the description at the same time. The light hearted percussion instruments and ascending trombone harmonies made the song seem delightful. That is until I read that the Spanish lyrics were about a double murder that went unnoticed by other civilians expect for a drunk thief.  Relating to the lyrics of a pop song can be critical to the song’s success.

Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Listening Journal Week 5

The reading and listening examples from chapters nine and ten demonstrates American pop, country, soul, urban folk, and rock in the 1960’s. In previous chapters there had been far fewer categories. It could be speculated that the increase in genres (or sub genres) could have been possible due to increased technology. For example, new amplified instruments, or more sophisticated recording equipment (4 track), or the increase in available media to hear and see new music. During this time there was also an increase in topics that inspired new music (wars, civil rights). Regardless of the reason, the decade produced some powerful and influential music for the American popular music scrapbook.

Phil Spector is noted as an iconic songwriter and producer. There is no question that he succeeded in developing a characteristic sound, referred to as “the wall of sound”, that changed the music industry in the 1960’s. Starr and Waterman (2014, page 289) refer to “Spector’s level of involvement and obsession with detail” as “legendary.” In no way do I intend to take away from the products of musical genius that this man provided for American music, however, I think his “obsession” should be elaborated within the text. We most recently know Spector in the media for the trial and sentence of the death of a girlfriend in 2003. As noted by ex-wife Ronnie Spector, lead singer of The Ronettes, Phil had bipolar traits as far back as the late 1960’s as he kept a glass coffin in their home as a warning for her to stay with him or die (“Ronnie Spector Biography”).  This should not take away from his musical creativity, although I feel that it should be mentioned in the text like all other “negative” aspects of the music industry (“Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll”).

Bob Dylan’s influence during this time period seems to be unparalleled. His push to take urban folk music to rock folk music with the addition of amplified electric guitars was a bold and even (at the beginning) unwanted move. Breaking even more musical modes, his six minute long recording of “Like a Rolling Stone” paved the way for other groups (The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”) to make long musical masterpieces. The list of artist that claim to be influenced by Dylan throughout the chapter is lengthy: The Beatles, Credence Clearwater Revival, Eric Clapton. Just recently, Rolling Stone Magazine released an article announcing the discovery of unplugged, raw recordings of The Beach Boys doing covers of various artists, including Dylan.

The Beatles are also covered on these newly found Beach Boys’ recordings.

It is interesting to see how these different groups (of at least slightly different genres) learned from and appreciated each other’s’ music. I know this still happens to some degree in modern day music, but covers seem to happen more so to tribute past musical works rather than present day works.

Ronnie Spector Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/ronnie-spector-17172228#trouble-with-phil-spector

Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Listening Journal Week 4

The adult post WW II culture in America desired a comforting style of music that was fulfilled by crooners like Frank Sinatra, Nat “King” Cole, and Perry Como. These “big singers” gained great exposure during the musicians’ union strike from 1942 to 1944 and they stayed at the helm of pop music into the 1950s. After a variety of music jobs, including being a singing waiter, Frank Sinatra gained stardom with his ability to “play” his voice into long, uninterrupted phrases. Nat King Cole’s style had a more separated attack which mimicked his piano playing. Both singers achieved great success when their music was released and later on as their songs are often reworked by present day artists. For example, “Nature Boy” was featured in the 2001 movie “Moulin Rouge.”

The readings from this week detailed the fascinating early history of “covering” a song. The songs “Shake Rattle and Roll”, “Sh-Boom”, and “Mystery Train” were all covered within a year and a half of their original release. Even more interesting is how both the originals and the covers did well on the charts. The art of covering a song today seems to mostly be executed by young aspiring musicians or bands that play gigs using only cover songs. Although some artists do cover past pop songs either as tribute or for personal gain through fame or money. One example from the text this week is “Mambo No. 5.” Originally performed by Perez Prado in 1949 as a song about the mambo dance, the song was reworked by Lou Bega in 1999 and included much more derogatory lyrics.

My favorite listening track from this week was “Choo Choo Boogie” by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. This track is integral to showing the influence of “Jump bands” after the war, but Jordan’s influence extends much further. Although he was not as finically successful as others like Nat “King” Cole, Jordan’s work would influence the likes of Chuck Berry and James Brown. Learning of his widespread influence, and of his origin as a saxophone player from the Midwest (like me), I used his “Best of” youtube video as my grad school work playlist this week and was not disappointed.

While doing my reading and listening this week my husband was in the same room doing computer work. It was very interesting to watch and hear his reaction to the listening tracks. He commented on both “Choo Choo Boogie” and “Mambo Italiano” how “they were going to be stuck in his head”, but did not comment on “Black Night.” I believe this suggests the power of a good hook. It could be argued that “Black Night” does possess a hook, but overall the song is emotional, slow, and not catchy; the complete opposite of “Choo Choo Boogie” and “Mambo Italiano.” “Long Tail Sally” and “Don’t Be Cruel” provoked a “you’re getting to listen to really good music this week” comment and “La Bamba” encouraged him to say “that’s sad.” Over the summer we had the opportunity to see “The Buddy Holly Story” at our local outdoor theater and were given a good look at just how much of an impact February 3^rd, 1959 had on American music.

Listening journal week 3

Starr and Waterman (2014, page 133) describe W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues”, as performed by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong, with words like “direct”, “sincere”, and “emotionally devastating.” While the song is written about love lost, I do not agree with the feeling of emotional devastation from Armstrong’s use of deep vibrato and Smith’s addition of blue notes. If anything, I think the song serves as emotional closure and the pain from the St. Louis break up should be felt less after this musical experience. Even further removed from a sad feeling, the instrumental arrangement is played often where I reside as an anthem for our local hockey team.

 The previous readings and listening examples have made note of influential songs that have been recorded by more modern performers, however it wasn’t until this week that I discovered some “covers” that I have long known. Two in particular, “Crossroad Blues” by Eric Clapton and “Wreck of Old ‘97” by Johnny Cash, are tracks I have been familiar with for quite some time but did not realize they have a vernacular history long before Clapton and Cash. Vernon Dalhart’s “Wreck of the Old ‘97” is credited as the first big country music hit. While quite different from Cash’s rendition, with a long instrumental introduction and a whistling break, the basic form is held true in both. It is neat to see the correlation between the artists over so many decades.

Chapter six also brought familiarity through the introduction of swing music. Fletcher Henderson’s composition of “Wrappin’ it Up” and arrangement of “Taking a Chance on Love” are no doubt similar to what you would here a present day “jazz band” include in their repertoire. The use of woodwinds, brass, and the rhythm section along with large, structured solo sections for improvisation separated these swing bands from the older and smaller jazz bands. This may pose the question why do we refer to public school ensembles who play this style as “jazz bands” and not “swing bands”? As can be heard in “Wrappin it Up”, Henderson had quite the ability to make music pleasing for these ensembles. Benny Goodman took notice of his skills and hired him. With the Goodman band playing Henderson arrangements, while Henderson was also in the band, I wonder how much musical direction was provided by Goodman.

Two of the other very well-known recordings from chapter six have some interesting contributors to their success. “In the Mood” as performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which held the number one spot on the charts for twelve weeks (2014, page 173), coincidentally has an easy to follow structure. “Paper Doll”, as recorded by the vocal harmony group the Mills Brothers, happened to fall during the American Federation of Musician’s recording strike, which encouraged record companies to focus on vocal artists.

The Latin music in the Swing era had to ease its way into America. Musicians like Xavier Cugat, Chano Pozo, and Machito (Frank Grillo) came to New York to spread Latin music, but did so diligently. As Cugat noted about Americans’ acceptance of Latin music “they have to be given music more for the eyes than the ears” (page 185). This is evident in Machito and his Afro-Cubans’ performance of “Nague” complete with palm trees around the stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICDkF_uHBHM

Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.