The three Beatles songs were very interesting. I'd consider myself a very "surface-level" Beatles fan - I listen to them and enjoy their music, but don't know much about their musical history and how their style evolved. Listening to "Please Please Me," I found the song to be very simple in regards to text and the instruments. It was also very short. The tempo and lyrics were clearly an indication of why the song was so popular. In "A Hard Day's Night," I found that the lyrics were a little more deeper. In the B section, there were higher vocals. The Beatles also really seemed to emphasize the words "home" and "right." It was also interesting to find out that this was the title song to a movie. I love the song "Yesterday." The slow ballad with heartbreaking lyrics really connect with anyone who has ever gone through a breakup. This was also the first time we hear the Beatles using a string ensemble as the song picks up. Finally, I listened to "Elenor Rigby.: This is one of those songs that I had heard before, but never really payed attention to the lyrics. The lyrics are actually quite depressing. It really makes you think about loneliness, especially when Elenor Rigby and the Father never interact before Elenor passes away. I love that the Beatles chose to use the string family in this song. I think it adds a bit of mystery and also sadness. After listening to all of these Beatles songs and then reading about their psychedelic album, I stumbled upon the Rolling Stones' response album Satanic Majesties Request and found this weird video for "2000 Light Years From Home." The introduction reminded me of something by Philip Glass, very interesting. I included the video below:
I found "Good Vibrations" very enjoyable. The Beach Boys definitely had a much different sound than the Beatles. I look at the Beach Boys and compare them to the Beatles' cool surfing cousins from California (perhaps it's because of "Surfin' USA). The verses were very different sounding than the chorus in this song. I found the verses to be very eerie. At one point, I thought I heard a theremin in the chorus.
Sam Cooke is not an artist that I'm very familiar with. The fact that he started "A Change is Gonna Come" with an orchestra made me assume that the song was going to be a love song. It definitely wasn't. The lyrics were actually very serious. I think that's what I enjoyed most about the song, he used the music to address something that everyone goes through; picking yourself back up even when you fall down.
James Brown is an interesting man. His music is very different than those of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. In "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" his lyrics seemed like nonsense to me. I wasn't sure if they were trying to tell a story and if they were I had no idea what that story was. He had a big instrument section - brass, guitar, drums, bass, etc. Brown's voice is very unique and after watching some youtube videos he is very energetic and engaging with the audience.
I love folk music and I wish we could spend more time on the folk music of the 60s. Bob Dylan is definitely the person you think of when you think about 60s folk music. His song, "Like a Rolling Stone" was interesting. I personally don't like the tone of Dylan's voice, but I think the message that he's singing about is important. Even now, in 2015, young adults struggle with that transition from childhood to being an adult - like Dylan discusses in "Like a Rolling Stone."
I concluded this week with Cream's cover of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads." I'm sorry I did. I tried to keep an open mind because I find Johnson's song to be such an influence on musicians, but I think Cream ruined it. They turned the iconic blues song to some up-beat, rocking, joke. "Crossroads" is a serious song and should be performed that way. Even the Rolling Stones' cover of the song was respectful! I guess I was just hoping for more.
Timeline
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