Peer Comment #3
Hello Todd,
I read your article regarding the Roland Jupiter 8. I didn’t know much about it before your article, but from what I’ve read it vastly helped influence not only pop music but music in general. It seems simple now, but remembering there was a time where chords and melodies couldn’t be played at the same time helps to put into perspective just how far music, and its technology, has come. Technology has often helped to create and innovate genres of music in the past, take for instance how the new wave band, The Cars, used technology to create song and sounds that had never been heard before and greatly innovated their genre and music, as a whole, for their time. Great and informative article, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
– Josh
Led Zeppelin II
Hey everyone!
Led Zeppelin II is a classic album in every sense of the word. Since its release it has become the blue print for every hard rock/heavy metal album that has followed. Its influence still continues to be felt to this very day. Upon its release in October 1969, it became the first Zeppelin album to go to #1 in the US charts and even knocked off The Beatles’ Abbey Road. It was also the first album where the band worked with engineer Eddie Kramer, who was famous for working with Jimi Hendrix. The album took around 8 months to record, in between their lengthy tours.
Critics, fans and musicians alike regularly cite the album as a heavy influence. It was ranked #75 on the Rolling Stones’ 2003 list of the greatest albums of all time. Songs like “Whole Lotta Love”, “Heartbreaker”, and “Moby Dick” influenced an array of heavy metal bands and guitarists afterwards. In particular, Jimmy Page’s guitar solo in “Heartbreaker” specifically inspired guitar shredders such as Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen. Jimmy’s technique of using his left hand to tap rapid notes greatly influenced their style and helped them develop a whole new style of playing of their own.
Led Zeppelin was unique in that they were extraordinary musicians that made every single song the best it could. It was a complete album full of killer songs, not just one or two great songs with filler thrown in. They also had a grand vision, and stuck to it. They did what they wanted and never compromised. The blues heavily influenced them and they were also very raw and loud. They were second to none in musicianship and live performance along with improvisation.
Led Zeppelin has long been one of my favorite rock bands and their music, along with Jimmy Page’s guitar playing, have GREATLY inspired my own playing and writing style. Their music is so majestic, epic, powerful and raw and gritty at the same time. Jimmy had a way of playing “sloppily” but still sounding technical and proficient, like a virtuoso, all at once. He made it look effortless and his ability to improvise guitar riffs and melodies on the spot is nothing short of amazing. During my playing sessions I incorporate little improvisations because Jimmy and Led Zeppelin’s influence and because of this I usually end up coming up with really great song ideas. Using what I already knew about them and what I learned through this assignment, I see myself becoming an even better musician as time goes on. In five years, I can see myself being devoted full time to playing and recording songs, either with a band or on my own.
– Josh
Peer Comment #2
Hello D’Angelo,
I read over your article for Kraftwerk. I thought it was very informative and really showed your excellent writing skills. I think that your descriptions of each album not too short and not too long. They are at just the right length to give the reader enough to say they know something about them without being too lengthy and boring. You mentioned something about them being an influence on Hip-Hop, which is interesting because I somehow missed that while I was studying them for these assignments. Great job on this blog post, especially because it taught me something I didn’t know before!
– Josh
Deadmau5
Hey all!
For this post I will discuss the impact electronic music artist, Deadmau5 has had on the ever-evolving genre. He has been active since 2002 and has since been gaining a steady following of fans as well as releasing a steady flow of music. He is best known for working with the progressive house side of electronic music but has branched out into other territories, occasionally, such as electro house and electronica. He was won many awards and was stated, by Beatport in 2010, to be “the most influential, relevant and forward-thinking person in electronic music over the past 12 months”. Deadmau5 has been nominated for 5 Grammy awards, and also nominated and won both Juno and International Dance Music awards. He describes his innovation and rise to success as accidental. He just wanted to make electronic music that he liked and have fun with it. It just so happens that what sounded good to him changed the face of electronic music and captured millions all over the world.
Along with his distinctly progressive form of house, Deadmau5 is known for the log that is seen on every release he puts out. It has come to symbolize a man, his music and the revolution in electronic music that he started back in 2002. He even wears a costume while he performs with the same giant mouse head that glows! It really is proof that one great idea can come to represent a much bigger picture, in the long run.
Deadmau5 has been a very recent, but huge, impact on myself as an artist. His music is great and is something along the lines of what I’d like to strive for when I try for an electronic song. More than, though, he has taught me the importance of having an image. A symbol to represent what you’re striving for and to showcase to the world that every time you see that symbol, they know it’s you. To have that kind of a positive impact on people is something that every artist would greatly appreciate.
– Josh
Kraftwerk and Their Revolution of the Electronic Music Genre
Hello!!!
Today I will be discussing the influence of the early electronic group, Kraftwerk. They are labeled as the first electronic group that really evolved the genre and brought it to widespread audience. They were from Germany, and they made that known in their music, but at the same time they gave their music a distinctive American flare to appeal to a more massive audience. This along with their synchronized, uniform image made them the electronic music group to look towards for the better part of a decade.
Kraftwerk’s first highly commercially successful album was Autobahn, which was released in 1974. It was concept a album which dealt with the feeling of driving down the German superhighway. The feeling of traveling through the landscape, connecting to the fast lane and also turning on the radio and capturing the feeling of a long, monotonous road trip. The album, Radio-Activity, was released in 1975 and its concept was double-sided. It dealt with nuclear activity and activity on the radio waves. Trans-Europe Express, Kraftwrk’s album released in 1977, focused on using the idea of a train to express their sound. It’s concept focused on the Trans-Europe Express and disparities between image and reality. The Man-Machine was a statement from Kraftwerk that their music was robotic, yet human at the same time. They were the kings of electronic music. Computer World focused on the ever-changing world and how it was leaning more towards computers than ever before.
One of the biggest features of Kraftwerk was their ability to blend their own cultural aspects with that of America. For example, on Autobahn, they used a clearly German concept but blended it with an American sound that was inspired by The Beach Boys. Another was their image; they dressed up in “uniforms”. It would usually be dress pants with dress shirts and ties. They kept themselves up in this fashion possibly as a way to represent their music. Their music was monotonous, at times, but also very detailed and made in a way to clearly represent the concepts behind them.
Being a huge fan of electronic music, learning about Kraftwerk has been a eye-opening experience. My first experience with electronic music was through Daft Punk. After learning about Kraftwerk, it is clear to see that Daft Punk was greatly inspired by them. Kraftwerk started an electronic music revolution that has inspired generations of electronic music groups and is likely to continue for years to come. This is inspiring to know that my music could potentially have the same outcome, if I truly pursue it and never settle.
– Josh
Multimedia Presentation Brian Eno
Peer Comment
Hello again!
I decided to read over Mr. Plumb’s blog regarding The Beatles’ Revolver. His account of being 12 when it was released and experiencing how The Beatles were growing and experimenting first hand is really interesting because it’s something I was not able to do. I agree with his assessment that the Beatles were to the point where they could do whatever they wanted to creatively in the studio. Having a lot money also helps. It seems like immense creativity and money are the keys to even more success. I would have liked to have heard about his life growing up and experiencing the change of The Beatles sound in more detail but overall very good job on documenting a time in his life while discussing The Beatles as an influence on the history of music.
– Josh
Marvin Gaye
Hey there!
When you mention influential soul artists, no one can leave out Marvin Gaye. He’s one of the most popular artists of the 60s, and especially his What’s Going On album. Gaye was perceived as a carbon copy Motown artist before the release of his landmark album. He was successful and had a few hits but with this album he really became an artist of his own image, and all the while pushing the envelope.
During the recording of What’s Going On, Gaye was concerned with the Vietnam War and also the Civil Rights movement. His brother, Frankie, was involved in a three-year stint in the war and came back with war stories that helped inspire the writing process. He was worried about the race riots that were occurring in his hometown of Detroit, along with the issue on a more national scale. Al Cleveland and Benson were the ones who wrote What’s Going On and presented it to Marvin Gaye. They felt that he would be the perfect guy for the song since he was sort of a rebellious guy. Previously The Four Tops had turned it down for the same reason that Marvin loved it.
Getting the song released proved to be a huge challenge for Marvin. Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, described it as the worst thing he had ever heard upon hearing it for the first time. Refusing to back down, Marvin immediately stated that until they realized what a great piece of music it was, he would no longer record any music for them. He waited it out, and in his spare time decided to try out for the Detroit Lions football team. Eventually the song was released without Berry Gordy’s knowledge with the help of Harry Balk and it sold over 100,000 copies in one day.
Part of what set What’s Going On apart from other Motown records of the day is that it wasn’t about love and sex. This was a raw record about the social events of the time. It was a rebellious statement that spoke to everyone who was going through those tough times because the lyrics were truthful. Another feature that it different is the fact that Marvin didn’t want it to sound anything like the usual Motown record so he brought in different session musicians to make sure that this happened. He also changed his appearance to reflect the musical changes that were going on.
This album moves me because of its raw truthfulness. It’s a statement from a bold artist who didn’t care what anyone thought of him or his music. He did it his way and in the process created something that is authentic and timeless. This album is what every artist wants and that is something that is so different and powerful; that it is felt for decades after it was originally released.
– Josh
Brian Eno
Hey everyone!
My first blog entry this week will focus on Brian Eno, an influential music producer who helped create the ambient genre. From the beginning, he was inspired by many different artists and styles of music. He was fascinated with the early rock n’ roll artists like Bo Diddly, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. He cited the echo on Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel” as “…better than the song itself”. He mentioned that it made the studio sound like a “cave”. It was an observation that undoubtedly led to his groundbreaking work in ambient music later in his career. Some of his later influences were that of the Ray Conniff Singers and John Cage, more specifically. He mentions John Cage as being “the most influential theorist” he had at a certain point in his life, early in his career.
Brian has worked on a vastly different material in his career. One of his first experiments in ambient music was his collaborative album with Robert Fripp called, No Pussyfooting. It featured Eno’s two tape system using two tape recorders which allowed the same sounds to be heard a few seconds later at a lower volume than the original, and later even lower. Fripp would play guitar over this with Eno choosing when to enable and disable recording. The end result was a highly detailed and layered ambient recording. Another of his albums, Before And After Science, show cased him using the art rock genre to express himself. Eno himself described it as “ocean music” as opposed to his ambient or “sky music”. For this sound, he enlisted the help of multiple rock guitarists, including Robert Wyatt, Robert Fripp and Andy Fraser of the band Free.
Brian Eno’s work is definitely different from any other musical artist that has or ever will be. What sets him apart is his profound “weirdness”. He finds the most unconventional ways of making conventional music. When I say this I mean he uses methods that are not often thought of, such as his use of the two tape recorder system on the No Pussyfooting album. Another trait is his ability to visualize his music. For example, he describes his ambient work as “sky music”. This is interesting because ambient music does have that wide-open, airy feel to it. Calling his art rock music “ocean music” is interesting in itself. It’s very clear that he has always been an individual with his own unique way and style in everything he does.
Brian Eno’s work is very odd, but interesting to me. His music is not the type of music I would listen to regularly, but it still has an impact on me. If nothing else, it makes me realize the absolute importance of finding yourself as a musician and developing your own personality and sound in every piece of art you develop. For this, I owe him a great deal of gratitude.
– Josh
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