Chapter 10 1980S Rock: New Alternatives, New Accents
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Chapter 10 1980s Rock: New Alternatives, New Accents 1. Heavy metal a. Combined demographic appeal of classic rock with flash and visual glamour b. Heavily promoted on MTV in the mid-’80s c. Throughout the late ’70s and early ’80s, metal received little radio airplay or critical acclaim 2. Black Sabbath a. First real metal group b. Formed in 1968 in Birmingham, U.K. c. Used metal to express social and economic powerlessness d. Featured escapist lyrics and not-so-serious occultism 3. Judas Priest a. Defined visual culture of heavy metal b. Victims of antimetal hysteria (part of a movement to paint metal as the cause of teen problems) c. In 1998 lead singer Rob Halford came out as a gay man; for most fans this was a nonissue 4. Van Halen a. Included David Lee Roth (vocals), Eddie Van Halen (guitar), Alex Van Halen (drums), and Michael Anthony (bass) b. Came from California and reflected a youthful appearance c. Lyrics were more about partying than angst d. Their album 1984 helped mainstream metal e. Pioneered a visual style emphasizing flashy physical appearance and teased hair known as “hair metal” or “glam metal” f. Built around the sound of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing 5. Van Halen’s “Jump” a. Chief significance lies in the musical textures b. Emphasizes the synthesizer, an unconventional sound for a metal band c. “Power chords” in the synthesizer evoke Eddie Van Halen’s guitar style d. Incorporates a flashy guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen 6. Metallica a. Responded to accessible heavy metal by emphasizing an uncompromising attitude, bass frequencies, and riffs b. Retained virtuosic guitar approach c. Achieved rhythmic precision, often changing meters in a song d. Used new approaches and instruments, including seven-string guitars and baritone guitars tuned down to a lower pitch e. Incorporated low sounds that took advantage of digital technology and the proliferation of subwoofers f. Mass appeal of Metallica led to debates about authenticity in underground metal 7. Hardcore punk a. Extreme variation of punk (both musically and ideologically) b. Pioneered in Washington. D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco Characterized by simple riff-based songs, fast tempo, and screaming, nihilistic lyrics c. Associated with slam dancing/mosh pits, local “scenes,” and a DIY attitude d. Attitude and commitment were more important than virtuosity 8. Minor Threat a. Pioneering Washington, D.C.-based hardcore band b. Emphasized short, fast songs with distorted guitars c. The band and fans were dedicated to a severe philosophy of personal responsibility called “Straight Edge” 9. Bad Brains a. Pioneering Washington, D.C.-based hardcore band b. African American Rastafarians c. Represented intersection between rock and African American culture 10. Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia” a. Sarcastic lyrics are directed at spoiled yuppies, who should be sent to forced labor camps in Cambodia b. Played at an extremely fast tempo c. Hendrix-like guitar pyrotechnics and feedback evoke a war zone d. Reflects the band’s politics, which opposed American imperialism overseas e. Addresses hypocrisies in soulless suburbia 11. West Coast hardcore a. Incorporated skateboarding, Los Angeles gang culture, and leftist radical politics b. Included bands like Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, and Dead Kennedys c. Embodied the DIY mentality 12. Sugarhill Gang a. Recorded the first national hip-hop hit “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979 b. Borrowed rhythm sections track from Chic’s disco hit “Good Times” c. Features rapid-fire, party-oriented lyrics d. Led to a series of successful twelve-inch singles by New York rappers including Kurtis Blow and Afrika Bambaataa 13. Hip-hop a. Like rock, hip-hop incorporates a breakbeat (section of a song where most instruments except drums drop out) b. Early MCs would rap over breakbeats (often coming from rock groups) c. As hip-hop became more suburban, hip-hop groups sampled more from rock and collaborated with rock musicians d. Mid-80s successes included hits by Herbie Hancock, Grandmixer DST, Chaka Khan, and Melle Mel e. Rap moved into the mainstream by 1986 with multiplatinum albums by Run-D.M.C. (Raising Hell) and the Beastie Boys (Licensed to Ill) f. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” i. Established the trend of social realism in rap ii. Features a grim, cinematic portrait of life in the south Bronx iii. Features the sound of the Roland TR-808 digital drum machine and a cold, stark, electronic groove iv. Melle Mel’s rap incorporates polyrhythms as he speeds up and slows down his flow v. Led to the tradition of political raps and the “gangsta” style of hip-hop 14. Run-D.M.C. a. Perhaps the most influential act in rap history b. Included D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels), MC Run (Joseph Simmons), and DJ Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) c. Established a hard-edged, rock-influenced style and literate, rhythmically skilled raps d. First rap group to headline a national tour and appear on MTV e. Popularized rap among young, white rock fans f. Introduced an influential fashion sensibility, including hats, gold chains, and untied Adidas shoes with fat laces 15. Beastie Boys a. The first commercially successful white act in hip-hop b. Fused rebelliousness of hardcore punk with hip-hop techniques c. Built their early career success by opening for other artists (Madonna and Run-D.M.C.) and making film appearances (Krush Groove) d. Hits included the rebellious, party-oriented song “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)” e. Achieved commercial and critical success in the 1990s with albums like Hello Nasty (1998) 16. Public Enemy a. Founded in 1982 by MCs Chuck D (a.k.a. Carlton Ridenhour), Flavor Flav (William Drayton), and Terminator X (Norman Lee Rogers) b. Continued in the tradition of socially engaged rap c. Often featured dense, multilayered sounds engineered by the group’s production team, called the “Bomb Squad” d. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) featured social and political analysis by Chuck D and streetwise interjections by Flavor Flav 17. Public Enemy’s “Night of the Living Baseheads” a. An example of the moral authority and musical complexity of Public Enemy’s recordings b. Combines imagery of zombie corpses and commentary about the crack epidemic c. Uses words with multiple meanings like dope and bass/base d. Includes dark images of shriveled crack users and thieving pariahs and thick sonic textures e. Samples from a wide range of sources and embodies the idea that music is “organized noise” 18. The rise of “world music” a. World music is a pseudo genre representing a diverse array of styles b. The 1980s obfuscated the boundaries between mainstream and marginal styles c. The term world music replaced terms like international music, traditional music, and ethnic music d. The band African Beats led by King Sunny Adé had success in the ’80s with albums Juju and Synchro System sung in Yorbu e. The music industry used the rhetoric of musical universalism as a marketing device 19. Paul Simon’s Graceland a. Revived Simon’s career, which had been in decline b. Part of Simon’s longstanding interest in music not indigenous to the United States c. Much of the album was recorded in South Africa with black South Africans despite a United Nations boycott on performing and recording because of apartheid d. Album explores the concept of collaboration among artists of different races, religions, nationalities, and ethnicities e. Won the Grammy award for best album in 1986 and sold over five million copies f. Reflects complicated cultural politics .