I started this week with something familiar, "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. I think Stevie Wonder is a genius. He really explored using different instruments and playing them in a new way. It was interesting to read that Wonder played most of the instruments himself and just overdubbed himself in the studio. I love "Superstition" because of the up-beat tempo and funky sounds. Completely different was Elton John's "Crocodile Rock." When I think of Elton John, this isn't what I usually think of. The synthesizer and piano introduction was interesting. When the "la-la's" came in, I felt like I was taken back to early rock sounds. Even more different was "Love's Theme" by Barry White. Barry White has that iconic deep voice and I was just waiting to hear it. I was surprised that this song was almost all instrumental. It made me think of a cheesy love sequence in a movie (think of two people frolicking on the beach at sunset). Finally, I listened to John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." I'll be honest, the only John Denver that I'm familiar with is his Christmas album because my family used to play it on repeat every year. I like the acapella introduction. It was very country-folk sounding to me... perhaps the beginning of a new genre. I also listened to "Hotel California." To me, this is another example of music that starts blurring the lines between genres. Is it rock? Is it country?
Who doesn't know "Stairway to Heaven"? I feel like most people, even current high school aged students, have heard this song. It's a pretty iconic song and whether you love it or hate it, you know it. This was the first time I really listened to the song and payed attention. I noticed that slowly instruments were added in, growing in intensity and tempo. The melody is pretty simple and I don't think it really starts to sound like a rock song until the big electric guitar solo before "and as we wind on down the road." During that part, the singing becomes a little more yelly and less melodic.
Santana is one of the most iconic guitar players. Even now, he's still performing and producing the hits. I really like how he treats his guitar as his voice. In "Oye Como Va," Santana makes it seem like the guitar is singing the verses while the background singers are singing "Oye Como Va."
I'm not a fan of disco. Perhaps I'm too young to appreciate it, but I just don't understand the big hype. Usually when I think of disco, I get this image in my head:
I listened to "Love to Love you Baby" and it was awkward. I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing. How could the electronic/synthesized sounds combined with "moans" appeal to people? This definitely was not what I had anticipated to hear. So I switched over to "Good Times" by Chic and this was more along the idea of what I was thinking. I question whether Bruno Mars "borrowed" some of the instrumental riffs from this song and used it in "Uptown Funk." The lyrics were pretty simple with a constant bass/synthesizer keeping the beat.
As we start getting into music that is "different" I'm sad that there were no Bob Marley selections. While there was a large portion to read about his impact on music and how he really brought the reggae sound to America, there was no opportunity for listening to his style. The book mentioned his album Legend and how it continues to make money today, well after Marley's death. That album brings back a lot of good memories of summer-time as a kid. Although it wasn't an option, I went ahead and listened to some of those classics:
I then listened to something unfamiliar, "Poncho and Lefty" by Townes Van Zandt. This reminds me of "Ghostriders in the Sky." It tells a story, like the older country songs did. One thing I wasn't a fan of was the very twangy voice. Changing gears, I listened to "Psycho Killer" and was surprised by what I heard. You could tell that the band were minimalists. They used as little instruments as they needed to. There were some weird talk-singing going on throughout as well as random French thrown in. I'm not exactly sure I "got it." I wish there would have been more punk selections because it's a genre I'm really unfamiliar with. I read up on the Sex Pistols and would have loved an analysis of this song:
In conclusion, I listened to "The Message." Hip-Hop is another genre that I'm only starting to learn about and I find the history of hip-hop fascinating. So many people think that hip-hop and rap started with people talking about how women wronged them and that life is all about sex, drugs, and money, but it isn't. I like the funky beat and thought the song was really trying to make society aware of what life was like in the ghetto - every person had their own story of what was going on, in the end if you stay in the ghetto you'll go crazy.
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