Rock as Art: -­‐By 1970, art rock and numerous other art-­‐oriented styles were part of a new sound world, all of which contributed to a new understanding of art in music, and in culture. -­‐Definition of art: A product of a skilled and creative activity whose main purpose is to stimulate the mind, touch the heart, and delight the senses. Classical Music: Music as Art -­‐The most established art music is what we now call classical music; that is the re-­‐creation of the best music of earlier generations; this idea took hold in the middle of the nineteenth century; after the death of Beethoven in 1827 and with the revival of the music of Bach around the same time. -­‐An elite music • In inherent quality and purpose; simply to be appreciated and enjoyed as an aesthetic experience. • Because of its support system (The Church, Esterhazy family, Andrew Carnegie…) -­‐The prestige of classical music began to grow in the first part of the twentieth century; conservatories were founded to train classical musicians; many important twentieth-­‐century composers held teaching positions at universities; all major universities w/ serious arts programs offered degrees in classical performance and composition. -­‐Classical music was legitimate and those who didn’t appreciate it were deemed unsophisticated. Aligning popular music with classical music (before rock): -­‐An early example of what would become a recurrent trend in popular music: an attempt to legitimize itself through an association w/ classical music. 2 ways: 1. Transforming classical works into popular music (Irving Berlin’s “That Mesmerizing Mendelssohn Tune” (1909) 2. Composing music using classical music (form, etc…) as a model –Treemonisha (Scott Joplin), Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin)… An association w/ classical music made musical social climbing possible. Rock as Art Music: This issue: Is non-­‐classical music inferior to classical? -­‐Rock co-­‐opted and challenged the prevailing view of musical art, often simultaneously. -­‐The Who’s, Tommy –identified as a rock opera -­‐Frank Zappa listing several important 20th century composers (early and mid-­‐century avant-­‐
garde) as well as familiar and obscure jazz, blues, pop, and rock musicians. Zappa blows away boundaries between musical traditions as well as the class boundaries that accompany them. One of Rock’s self-­‐imposed challenges was to create new ways to make a statement Newest trends in the late sixties and early seventies: -­‐The music of the Doors and the Velvet Underground -­‐Glam Rock (art rock as spectacle) –has roots in the lavish operas of the Baroque era -­‐Classical/rock fusions by progressive rock groups such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd, and Yes Rock’s Dark Side The Doors: Rock, Sex, and Death: The Doors visited (in their words) “the other side”: nightmarish conflations of sex and death. -­‐Morrison’s shock-­‐provoking/cryptic lyrics and his intense, often melodramatic vocal style convinced his audience that he spoke knowingly about the confluence of death, decadence, and sex. -­‐Morrison was also known for having an unpredictable stage persona. -­‐The band’s music was the perfect soundtrack for Morrison’s dark lyrics. A combination of acid rock, jazz, and blues, the music often created a hypnotic effect causing the listener to focus on Morrison’s lyrics. “The End”-­‐ the Doors (1967): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6vnoKxjNow (I have posted the lyrics to Blackboard, on a document in Module 4) The Velvet Underground: Rock and Drugs I’m Waiting for the Man” –the Velvet Underground (1967) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOmZimH00oo Or “Heroin” –the Velvet Underground (1967) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffr0opfm6I4 Rock as Serious (humor and writing and musicianship): Frank Zappa: (1940-­‐1993) –Rock’s great iconoclast and fiercest social critic; an equal opportunity satirist who took potshots at almost everyone in and out of rock, including himself; one of rock’s most imaginative musicians -­‐One of rock’s cleverest and most knowledgeable minds and one of its greatest innovators -­‐Influences by French/American avant-­‐garde composer Edgard Varese; in addition to many other classical, blues, jazz, rock… musicians -­‐Jarring musical contrasts were one of his innovations -­‐Very sophisticated compositions; progressive; they demand great technical proficiency and stylistic flexibility. -­‐First album, Freak Out –immediately established him as a unique voice; Third album, We’re Only in It for the Money (1967) –best represents his early work • Electronic noises • Conventional instruments or no instruments at all • Extended instrumental sections -­‐Zappa’s lyrics can be devastating as well as devastatingly funny; (“Who needs the Peace Corps”…) -­‐Zappa’s strategy: musical and verbal collage with jarring verbal and musical juxtapositions; abrupt shifts between segments; self-­‐deflating lyrics -­‐Zappa’s music demands a commitment from the listeners. “St. Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast” –Frank Zappa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzfzsKENCbU Zappa went on to influence musicians like John Zorn and the band Phish Rock Opera: The Who No 60s group merged rock’s essence w/ rock and art more effectively than the Who. Townsend, the most intellectually adventurous member of the band, had been interested in expanding the Who’s musical horizons. Starting w/: • The Who Sell Out (1967) –a concept album built around the idea of a radio broadcast, interspersed between a diverse group of songs are simulated commercials and public service announcements. The album cover features each band member grotesquely promoting a fake product. • Tommy (1969) – A “rock opera” about a deaf, mute, and blind child who becomes a messiah via pinball wizardry. Tommy isn’t really a rock opera at all; for lack of staging, scenery, acting, or recitative; it doesn’t have much of a plot either; what there is, is difficult to follow. -­‐Topics include: murder, trauma, bullying, child molestation, sex, drugs, illusion, -­‐Unique because: the Who didn’t abandon their rock roots, or at least overlay them w/ classical music trappings; no strings/synths or other classical music features are apparent (Beatles –Eleanor Rigby…). -­‐The pacing of the work also sets Tommy apart from standard rock fare; the tracks are only as long as they need to be (no allegiance to the 3-­‐minute song); “Underture”, the longest track is about 10 minutes -­‐They could perform Tommy live w/out having to hire an orchestra; basic rock instrumentation. “Pinball Wizard” –The Who (Tommy): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFrDpx7zLtA • Quadrophenia –a subsequent operatic effort, which did not enjoy similar success. Glam Rock: Rock as Spectacle Rock’s first spectacle –Elvis, and later, Hendrix and the Who smashing guitars… In the first part of the rock era, the most spectacular form of theatrical rock was glam (or glitter) rock. It emerged in the early seventies, mainly in the work of David Bowie and T Rex, a group fronted by Marc Bolan. Rock, as it took shape in the mid-­‐sixties, prided itself on being real. This realism provoked a reaction -­‐*If you don’t write about your feelings and being real –you make something up to write about Rock as artifice (trickery) –rock behind the mask-­‐ found its fullest expression in glam rock, and especially in the music of David Bowie. David Bowie: (David Jones, 1947) –began his career in the 60s as a British folksinger. -­‐Influenced by Iggy Pop, Marc Bolen, and the Velvet Underground -­‐He began to reinvent his public persona -­‐In 1972 he announced that he was gay -­‐Later that year he put together an album and stage show, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars; it featured Bowie, complete w/ orange hair, makeup, and futuristic costumes, as Ziggy, a rock star trying to save the world but doomed to fail.-­‐Ziggy was Bowie’s first and most outrageous persona. For the rest of his career he has continually reinvented himself in a variety of guises (“plastic soul” man, techno-­‐pop avant-­‐gardist) Ziggy Stardust-­‐ the first of several incarnations, Bowie stripped identity down to the most basic question of all: gender. Was Ziggy male of female, or somewhere in between? -­‐Bowie was the rock-­‐era counterpart to castrati, singers who were castrated as boys to keep their voices from changing; they sang male roles in female vocal range -­‐17th and early 18th cent. Opera -­‐Bowie creates a persona that demands attention but is shrouded in mystery. -­‐He raises role-­‐playing from simple novelty to art. “Ziggy Stardust”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sdsW93ThQ Bowie was also one of the most influential musicians of the decade. The “lean, clean” sound of “Hang on to Yourself” was a model for punk and new wave musicians. Rock, Art, and Technology: The Tools of Electronic Music: -­‐With magnetic tape, it was possible to collect sounds on tape, and then splice them together -­‐Pierre Schaeffer –sound collages –musique concrete -­‐1948 -­‐Steve Riech –tape loops –phasing patterns –“Come Out” -­‐1966 -­‐The Beatles –Sgt. Pepper -­‐1967 –crowd noises, alarm clocks… Rock composers took advantage of multitrack recording to mix real world sounds with musical elements, rather than simply splice the sounds together in a predetermined sequence. -­‐The first fully electronic instruments appeared just after WW1. • Theremin –the performer controlled sound by moving his or her hands • Ondes Martenot –performers could control sound through a keyboard. • Electric Organ –Hammond B-­‐3 –most popular and enduring of the pre WW2 electronic instruments -­‐The first synthesizers appeared in the fifties. • RCA Electronic Music Synthesizer -­‐1955 –a huge, cumbersome machine, and time-­‐consuming to program • Robert Moog –Moog – 1964 (first commercial synthesizer) –much smaller and could be controlled by a keyboard • Mini-­‐moog -­‐1970 –portable w/ preset sounds –Rock musicians quickly embraced the mini-­‐
moog, gaining a much-­‐expanded palette of sounds. Pink Floyd: Among the most familiar examples to mix real-­‐world and synthesized sounds with more conventional rock was Pink Floyd’s 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon. -­‐In 1973 Pink Floyd was David Gilmour (gtr, b. 1946), Nick Mason (perc. B. 1944), Richard Wright (keys, b. 1943), and Roger Waters (b. 1943) -­‐Roger Waters wrote all of the lyrics and co-­‐wrote most of the songs. -­‐Real world sounds and synthesizer sounds (electrical technology) were not only absolutely integral to the intent of the album but also essential to its impact and success. -­‐Water’s lyrics paint a bleak portrait of modern life; the tracks describe the stress of living in the modern world –stress that can be overwhelming that it drives people to insanity. -­‐Music is presented in an easily understood language (bluesy rock and sensitive rock ballads); w/ the exception of “Money” which is in 7/4. Sounds on the album: -­‐Concrete sounds -­‐cash register (“Money”), spoken asides -­‐Electronically generated musical ideas and effects –“running” pattern on track 2; the “heartbeat” that opens the album These sounds are one dimension of a coordinated plan to support Water’s lyrics w/ significant-­‐
sounding music. -­‐The band keeps the music interesting w/ rich reverb, saxophone and extended instrumental sections. -­‐Dark Side of the Moon remained on the U.S. Top 200 charts for 741 weeks –over 14 years. No album has ever charted for a longer period of time. -­‐Dark Side of the Moon was the first of Pink Floyd’s several top-­‐selling albums, almost all of which continued to explore difficult issues. The most acclaimed was the 1979 album The Wall. “On the Run” –Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VouHPeO4Gls Rock as Art and Art Rock: In the late 60s and early 70s, the most self-­‐consciously arty branch of rock was the style known alternatively as art rock and progressive rock. -­‐Progressive rock musicians sought to elevate the status of rock by embracing a classical music esthetic and adapting it to rock. Often, this meant applying concepts and features associated w/ classical music, and especially classical instrumental music, into their work. • Irregular meters and atonality (King Crimson, Yes…) • Occasionally classical composition ideas were directly borrowed as well (Keith Emerson’s remake of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition) • Often a long, unwinding development of musical ideas Art rock/progressive rock became the mainly instrumental analogue to concept albums and rock operas, which were typically more vocally oriented. -­‐It is to be noted that instrumental music was considered inferior to vocal music from the early 17th century through the end of the 18th century –opera was the most prestigious musical genre. That changed in the early 19th century, in response to the symphonies and sonatas of Beethoven –critics began to regard instrumental music as equal to or even superior to vocal music. -­‐Like classical instrumental music, rock began as music for social dancing. As rock matured, musicians like Zappa, Keith Emerson, Ritchie Blackmore, and Robert Fripp (King Crimson) sought to elevate the level of discourse in rock by emulating certain aspects of classical instrumental music (complexity, virtuosity, rhythmic freedom, and the grand gesture). This took rock out of the garage and into the concert hall…or arena. Noteworthy progressive rock groups of the early 70s: • Emerson, Lake, and Palmer • Jethro Tull • King Crimson • Yes “Roundabout” – Yes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-­‐Tdu4uKSZ3M What distinguishes art-­‐oriented rock? Most outstanding is a sense of importance: the music is supposed to be significant. How is this conveyed? • Tackling deep, difficult, or controversial subjects: The Doors, the Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd • Elaborate artifice: Bowie/Ziggy; the Who/Tommy -­‐Superb musicianship: Zappa and Yes above all, but also the Who, Bowie, and Pink Floyd -­‐Sophisticated satire: Zappa most obviously; the Who less directly •
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Emulating, seeking inspiration from, or co-­‐opting classical concepts, genres, and methods: the Who, Zappa, Yes, Pink Floyd Thinking big: concept albums by Zappa, the Who, Pink Floyd; long songs by the Doors, the Velvet Underground, and Yes Innovative sounds: Zappa, the Who, Pink Floyd