Aaron Coplan Podcast - American Composer and Innovator

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20239027/Aaron%20Coplan%20Podcast_Rudolph_Rustin_MH2.m4a

This is for educational purposes only and is for an assignment for MH2 Full Sail University.

Simply copy and paste the address. I hope you enjoy it!

Rudolph

Peer Comment Entry Week 4 Stephany Dakota

David Bowie and Kraftwerk

             I must admit I have in the past tried to listen to David Bowie and appreciate something in his artistic intent. You did a great job explaining some of the influences of Kraftwerk on David Bowie after his crash and burn in the United States in the 60’s. He moved to Europe to enter a period of his life that would be soon consumed with drug addiction, sexual exploitation, alternative relationships and the creation of his Ziggy Stardust character. There has recently been a very introspective look at this period of Bowie’s life in Rolling Stone Magazine, titled “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust”, “How David Bowie Changed the World”. According to author Mikal Gilmore, “David Bowie made rock and roll safe for glitter gods and space oddities – but he was really trying to hold on to his sanity.” It particularly describes his family history of mental illness and his bizarre relationship with Lindsay Kemp, a male dancer and mime artist reportedly responsible for teaching him how to move on stage, how to utilize dark lighting and mime makeup to help reveal a song’s meaning.  “… Bowie became Kemp’s lover; Kemp took the affair seriously, Bowie did not. When Kemp discovered that Bowie was also sleeping with the woman who was also Kemp’s show designer, the teacher slashed his wrists before the next evening’s performance, then went onstage, bleeding through the bandages…. Bowie dance alongside him and cried”. His character radicalization reportedly came from his lover and eventual wife, Angela Barnett. Their relationship was tumultuous, with Angela attempting suicide on multiple occasions. She felt she changed Bowie sexually, and Bowie himself described being married to Angela “like living with a blowtorch”. The character Ziggy Stardust was originally intended to be a theatrical invention, but it became his identity. He pushed beyond the sexual envelope with on stage theatrics and appeasement of the disenfranchised and the gay community looking for some form of recognition. Bowie created his character through drug use, mental illness and bizarre personal relationships. Kraftwerk was a small blip in his life at best. So where is Bowie now? He hasn’t performed since a 1996 duet of “Change” with Alicia Keys. He had a massive heart attack in 2004 and currently he just responds, “I’m comfortable”. At least he is still alive.

Rudolph Rustin

References

 David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (From The Motion Picture)        - YouTube    . (n.d.).         YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.    . Retrieved January 27, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sdsW93ThQ&ob=av3n

Gilmore, M. (2012, February 2). The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust. Rollig Stone, 1149, 36-43.

APA formatting by BibMe.org.

Independent Research Entry - Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland

Think of a composer, a song, a musical piece of work, a technological innovation, an inventive musical style, and a trend setting accomplishment. How has it affected me as a composer, performer, or producer? What does it take to make an impact, a difference? This is a bigger question that it first appears, for initially I need to establish what determines innovation. Innovation means "new", regarding the creation of a better idea or product that becomes accepted by society. This requires forming an attitude about the product, accepting or rejecting it, then implementing it for use by others. Innovation is the catalyst to growth and creativity. So, immediately, I thought of the AM radio, transistors, Sony Walkman, the compact disc, the Fender Telecaster guitar, and rock and roll. Easy, right? Delving deeper, I wanted to think of what innovative person or technology makes me a better thinker, a better musician? What actually moves my spirit to be a better, more creative individual? Is it linked to a device, an idea, or a person? I think of the composer Aaron Copeland.

Aaron Copland was one of the world's greatest composers. He was and still is considered the "Great American composer". Surprisingly, he did not grow up in a musical family. His parents were Jewish Russian immigrants with little musical interests or experience. His mother played piano and his brother was a violinist. A teen he took music lessons in New York from Leopold Wolfsohn. He then traveled to Paris, France where he was under the tutelage of the famed Nadia Boulanger. Born in 1900, he was part of the creative atmosphere in Paris in the 1920's and he was in the company of such famous American expatriates as Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis and Gertrude Stein. Remaining enthusiastic about his musical education and creativity, he moved back to New York in 1925 to begin his work as a full time composer. Upon his return, he became aware of American artists Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keefe and his inspiration to composition shifted to the landscape of the American West. He also formed a group of young American composers with whom to collaborate, called " The Commando Unit", including Roger Sessions, Roy Harris, Virgil Thompson, and Walter Piston. Due to his generosity in sharing his vision and efforts with other young composers, he became known as the "Dean of American Music".

Regarding his personal life, Aaron Copland was a gay man who tried to maintain guarded privacy, although he did frequently and openly travel with a stable of younger musically talented men as lovers. Such notables included photographer Victor Kraft, pianist Paul Moor and composer John Brodbin Kennedy. Politically, Copland was a progressive, supporting the Communist Party USA ticket in the 1936 presidential election. He was opposed to militarism, having been influenced negatively by Germany and World War I. As a result, Copland found himself blacklisted and investigated by the FBI, as well as bearing the frontal assault of Joseph McCarthy. Due to the immense support of the musical community, the McCarthy probes never affected his reputation or career. He later became a Democrat after openly decrying the loss of artistic freedom in Russia during the Cold War.

Compositionally, Copland was one of the first modern composers to incorporate jazz rhythms into symphonic music. He was also a student of the "Twelve Tone Technique", a technique of composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg where " ... All 12 notes of the chromatic scale are sounded as often as on another in a piece of music, while preventing the emphasis of any through the use of tone rows, an ordering of the twelve pitches". An excellent example of this is " the first 12-note work": Schoenberg's Op. 23, movement 5, measures 1-4. This was in juxtaposition to earlier classical music that treated notes in the tonic and dominant more importantly than others.

Aaron Copeland's most known works include Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Rodeo, and Fanfare for the Common Man. These were written in the 30's, after his jazz period. " The open, slowly changing harmonies of many of his works are archetypical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit." Fanfare is recognizable to today's youth as the theme of the Olympics, and Hoedown invokes the vision of the uplifting pioneer spirit he felt toward America upon his return from Paris.

Aaron Copland epitomizes the American spirit and acceptance of diversity, though trying at times. The son of oppressed immigrants; he was a true pioneer in music that has defined a nation of proud citizens. He lived during one of the most creative times in our history, the early 20th century, the modern renaissance. When I hear his work, I stop to listen, to hear the simple and the complex arrangements that take me to another place. They inspire me to be better. His music is our music, our nation. We need not take any drug or enter any alternative mental state to be able to be filled with the visual scenery his symphonies invoke. I encourage everyone to listen, to hear, to experience his work and use our imagination to create something new. We can only aspire to create even a fraction of his genius. He is an inspiration to all who aspire to be an innovator in the truest sense of the word.

Rudolph Rustin

References


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95nov/copland.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Copland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schoenberg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-tone_technique

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Boulanger

http://deliciousdeity.blogspot.com/2011/04/aaron-copland-and-victor-kraft.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tllOFCsamKw

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmccarthy.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEro8pG0hiE

http://vimeo.com/5020134

Peer Comment Entry - Frank Walton

Electronic Music and EDM

Frank,

I was interested in your take on how Kraftwerk has helped you as an artist. I, like you, am trying to find the positive aspects of a style of music and mode of creativity that is far beyond how we likely view the creative musical process. I have a hard time being so kind. It is entirely understandable how Kraftwerk decided upon its course as an alternative to the sounds of The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and Motown. Germany was also redefining itself as a nation, and Kraftwerk was successful at being an integral part of that process by linking individual isolationism with a national identity separate from the permanent mark of Adolf Hitler and fascism. Musical historians have been kind to the electronic age of music. Why it is easy to deservedly praise the pioneers of blues, rock and roll and the roots of Appalachian folk music descended from the immigration of Potato Famine Irish and African slaves. I have a harder time seeing similar comparisons to the authoritarian dressed Kraftwerk and their structured electronic beat as not being reminiscent of that darker time in German history. I was actually a student at The University of Paris in 1977 while a junior in college, learning about European history and politics according to the French. Believe me when I tell you the French initiated everything in history! I travelled in France and Germany and played bluegrass music throughout both countries. It was a very popular genre of music, for Europeans were infatuated with the music of the southern states of America. I frequented cafes, town halls and small clubs. I never heard Kraftwerk. I have no recollection of electronic music in Europe at that time. I totally missed electronic music in France and Germany, despite its enormous popularity! How could that be? Maybe I was that unaware of what was really happening then. Or maybe the critics, the “experts”, just remember it differently. I also didn’t need hashish, cocaine, LSD or ketamine to “appreciate” the electronic and trance music that has become a popular respite for disaffected western European youth trying to identify as a group, a culture, through today’s rave clubs. But then again, I wasn’t an educated critic, either!

“Things go better with Coke” - electronic, trance, psychedelia, acid house, new rave. Our society has helped model this part of our culture. The answer is, “ Guns don’t kill people, people do”. Electronic dance music doesn’t kill people either. It just needs the assistance of illicit drugs in order to heighten its effect, its message on our youth. Enough harsh criticism. I guess I need to try to read more about why I need to appreciate this music more. Maybe I’ll just try some flunitrazepam and “feel the beat”.

Rudolph Rustin

Electronic Music Innovations

Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder

1975 was my senior year in high school. I was inundated with The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, Earth Wind and Fire, Grand Funk Railroad and Linda Ronstadt. Then along came Donna Summer. To me, she put a “face”, a visual, on electronic dance and club music. Prior to Donna Summer, electronic music was sex without an orgasm. It seemed senseless.

Donna Summer was destined to have a musical impact on the world. She had a love for music since childhood and the earliest toils of her career took her to Germany. It was there that she crossed paths with Italian producer Giorgio Moroder. Together they produced a demo of “Love to Love You Baby”. After hearing Summer’s version, he decided to release it and develop her sound. It became a hit in the United States due to its sensuality and strong dance beat. It was the beginning of a great career for Donna Summer, eventually tagging her with the label of “First Lady of Love”. The sensual nature of her simple lyrics told a story along with the driving disco beat. Her stories brought the finale, the orgasm, in your face, to electronic music. Donna Summer had a way of injecting her sensuality into a lackluster stream of electronic rhythms and tones. Her lyrics and frequent stories of “rags to riches” created a more “complete package” for the average listener. 

The 70’s and 80’s were a time of sexual revolution as well as the specter of AIDS. Because of her strict Christian upbringing, she made controversial comments regarding the lifestyle of those contracting the AIDS virus. She later recanted her statements, having experienced friends afflicted with the terrible illness. Electronic music needed strong accompaniment, a strong partner. Her stories were likeably linked to rags to riches, such as “Once Upon a Time”, a modern Cinderella story, and “Thank God It’s Friday”, a movie about an aspiring disco performer, with the hit song, “ Last Dance”. She was the recipient of numerous Grammy awards and remains the only artist to attain three consecutive platinum double albums. More recently, she performed at The Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway in 2009, honoring Barack Obama. Donna Summer represented a lasting trend in American music and even today her songs remind us how far we have come.

Rudolph Rustin

Electronic Music Entry

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk was the innovative creation of the electronic age of music by Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider in 1970. They were considered pioneers of electronic music and they influenced many artists to follow, such as David Bowie, The Cars and Devo. They initially played extended instrumental jams of an exploratory nature, principally utilizing instruments affected by post-production electronic sound modifications and processing. The musical duo then moved on to rely more heavily upon newly developed synthesizers and drum machines. The implementation of the vocodor and the Minimoog established a signature sound for Kraftwerk in their 1974 album “Autobahn”. Seemingly overwhelmed with the popularity of the Beatles, Motown and The Beach Boys and their influence upon newly energized modern rock sounds in America and England, these German composers felt as if they could not compete musically in the same genre. Kraftwerk was part of a post-war Germany, a depressed and divided country that needed a way to re-gain acceptance in the world. Despite the horrible atrocities of Adolf Hitler and his legacy on the post-war world, Kraftwerk introduced “Autobahn” as an avenue of regaining that credibility and acceptance. It focused on road travel and one of the world’s engineering feats ascribed by Germany, the autobahn. It looked at traveling at high rates of speed, taking in the surrounding landscape exemplifying the simultaneous thrill and monotony of road travel. Although popular, the album lacked commercial appeal due to the lengthy nature of the songs. Kraftwerk later developed shorter, more focused electronic pieces in their albums “Radio-Activity” (1976), “Trans Europe Express” (1977), and “The Man Machine” (1978). They also began to introduce more song-based material and vocals, thus gaining more popular entry into the music world of disco and the dance club scene.  Their music had a progressive message of a new Germany, a new Europe, with innovation other than rock and roll. They had a significant impact on other artists as well, such as David Bowie, Brian Eno and Ziggy Pop. One of the most famous influences was upon Giorgio Moroder, an Italian producer who helped create the sensuous worldwide disco electronic hit, “I Feel Love”, featuring the American singer Donna Summer.

Kraftwerk had a number of qualities and influences that distinguished them as innovators in development of music of the electronic era. Kraftwerk was a major influence on post-war urban Europe, trying to rebuild its war torn infrastructure, focusing on traveling by car in “Autobahn”’ and by train in “Trans Europe Express juxtaposed with the urban isolation of then Berlin, Eastern Europe and the individual isolation of those inhabitants of the then decimated areas in which they lived. Their songs also injected a rhythmic structure to music through the electronic manipulation of sounds, which at times could be extremely unstructured. Their simple vocal messages, most obvious in “ bahn, bahn, bahn of the autobahn” is homage to one of their American influences, The Beach Boys. And their use of the song, “Fun, Fun, Fun”. Kraftwerk was truly an innovator, having created a new sound, message and a new image for the musical world. They had successfully emerged from one of the darkest holes in the history of the world.

As a listener, I was entirely ignorant of the impact of the dawn of the electronic age of music in the 1970’s. I was a teenager of the 70’s and my entire musical focus was on southern rock, blues and bluegrass music. I held no interest in the dance club scene. Discotheques and the use of synthesizers out of rock were not of interest to me. I was a fan of Yes, Pink Floyd and The Who, who all employed electronica in their music and I ingested all this as part of my early listening experience. I was naïve to the early development of synthesizers and electronic sound generators. I could have cared less, for I had The Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker, The Stones, The Who, Molly Hatchett, The Seldom Scene and The Country Gentlemen. My musical palate was already filled.

Interestingly, I spent 1977-1978 in Paris, France, while in school as a college junior, learning about the art and politics of Europe from the perspective of the French. I travelled in France and Germany and played bluegrass music in a variety of venues. I never experienced any of the sounds of Kraftwerk. Again, I was not imbedded in the club scene. My interest was in the café and jazz experiences. I can say bluegrass music was very popular. Europeans were very captivated with the authentic sounds represented by the southeastern United States. As an artist of 2012, I have fortunately now come to realize some of the positive influence of Kraftwerk on the progress of modern electronic music. They were the original innovators of improvisation of electronic sound and structure, often just as juxtaposed. In order to shape our development as artists and producers, we now have the benefit of learning from history and musical pioneers such as Kraftwerk.

Rudolph Rustin

Podcast Pet Sounds and Influence of this Album on the Music Community

Please follow the link below to download my podcast from my DropBox. (YouTube would not let me upload due to copyright restrictions.) This Podcast is for educational purposes only.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20239027/Petsounds%20Podcast_Rudolph_Rustin_MH2.m4a


Thank you,

Rudolph

What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (1939-1984)

I have an insatiable desire to create and accomplish musical goals through writing, performing and producing music that others may enjoy. Is this terribly unusual? How do I determine success of this goal? How much success is “enough”. What does it take to gain the self-fulfillment necessary to be happy with my accomplishments? Money? Fame? Respect of my self and of others? What is the combination that allows me to move forward and make progress, to leave a mark in my world? Did Marvin Gaye ever feel this way or ask himself these questions? He lived this struggle.

Marvin Pentz Gaye was one of the most recognized singers in American Music history. He was an exceptional songwriter and singer, with over a three-octave range. His forty-year career was marked by triumph and tragedy, elation and depression. He was the victim of his own genius, however, ending in his tragic murder at the hands of his abusive father in 1984. Marvin Gaye’s early career was no easy path. He was born the son of a Seventh Day Adventist minister in a strict, abusive household. He worked hard and developed a passion for music as a child. His musical prowess was finally recognized serendipitously at a Motown Christmas party sponsored by Barry Gordy. Marvin also developed a relationship with his daughter and future wife, Anna Gordy. He was a janitor and back up drummer while continuing to develop as a solo artist. His religious upbringing and his experience as a back up musician for the likes of The Supremes, The Miracles, The Marvelletes and Little Stevie Wonder. His initial recordings with Motown were unsuccessful and he was afforded time to develop. Then in 1964, early in his career as a singer, he began to experience success with his collaborative works with greats such as Smokey Robinson (“I’ll Be Doggone”) and Holland-Dozier-Holland(“How Sweet it Is”). According to Smokey Robinson, “Because of his flexibility and inherent musicality, Marvin was a producer’s dream. “You give Marvin material,” said Smokey, “and he’d improve, sculpt it, turn it into something bigger and better.” His work was soulful and introspective. According to David Ritz, “ …I saw him as a man of quick wit, rare wit and light-hearted humor. His boyish charm and infectious smile were irresistible. His paradoxes were fascinating. In the middle of conversations, he’d stop to meditate or pray, his words turning into songs. As a collaborator, he was fabulous — right there, in the moment, an ingenious improviser and natural storyteller.”
Marvin Gaye developed into an anti-conformist and anti-authoritarian figure in his work, likely as a result of his strict upbringing. In Gaye’s career, questionably his best singing performances were with Tammi Terrell with hits such as “ I Heard it Through The Grapevine” ( Young readers likely relate this song to Kellogg Raisin Bran commercials!) and “Aint Nothing Like the Real Thing”. Tragedy struck on October 14, 1967 during a Homecoming performance at my Alma Mater, Hampden Sydney College in Farmville, Virginia, where Terrell collapsed on stage at the age of twenty-four from an undiagnosed malignant brain tumor. Her death would lead to times of severe depression for Marvin Gaye that would forever affect his career.

Motown in the sixties was a producer driven industry, and the strong-willed Marvin Gay was a non-conformist and determined to change that. According to Gaye, “I didn’t make it playing by the rules,” he sings. “Only three things that’s for sure — taxes, death, and trouble.” He became troubled after hearing his brother’s accounts of his Vietnam experience – violence, poverty, authoritarianism and loneliness. After seeing police brutality inflicted on San Francisco protestors, he and co-writer Renaldo Benson of The Four Tops wrote “What’s Going On” to the dismay of Barry Gordy and all other industry critics. An interesting musical fact is that session saxophonist and Funk Brother Eli Fontaine was not to play the intro to the song; however, upon hearing him practice and have it recorded in a hallway, Gaye realized he had the legendary “hook” and used it in the song. Also, funk Brother bassist, the legendary James Jamerson (from my hometown of Charleston!) was recruited from a bar where he was too drunk to sit, so he played the bass during the session while laying on the floor! Gaye also had recruited some of his Detroit Lion football teammates to participate in the song. You can hear their talk in the background. A Detroit gem that seemed to be another musical “goat rodeo”. The industry didn’t want a protest song intended for Joan Baez to perform to tarnish the sex symbol image of Gaye. Reportedly the only support he received for “What’s Going On” was from the Young Stevie Wonder – what an endorsement! The single was released (actually leaked to a radio station in Los Angeles) with little fanfare and the staunch objection of Gordy, despite the single selling over 100,000 copies on its first day of release. The song was a classic, for it was part of the eleventh studio album for Gaye, despite the rancorous arguments with Gordy due to the nature of the album’s topics of inner city poverty (“Inner City Blues”), war, pollution (“Mercy Mercy Me”) and drug abuse. Gaye had found himself at last, writing from his soul. Against all odds, he bucked the system, the establishment, and persisted following his heart. This was reflected in his songs. He also changed how other artists were approaching Motown, by rebelling and producing their own concepts, such as Stevie Wonder and “ Where I’m Coming From”.

So, when is enough enough? What makes an artist have the drive and self-determination against all odds to fight for what moves his or her soul? That is what it took for Marvin Gaye. So much love and pleasure mingled with depression and drug abuse, a life finally ending so violently by the hand of an enraged father’s gun in 1984.

Rudolph



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Gaye

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/marvin-gaye/introduction/73/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz-UvQYAmbg&feature=related

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What's_Going_On

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What's_Going_On_(song)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Jamerson

Peer Comment

Cory,

I was also impressed by the innovation of use of the Leslie speaker cabinet on John Lennon's vocals on the track "Tomorrow Never Knows". More interestingly, John wanted to create the sound of multiple "Buddhists" by being suspended by his ankles in a large studio and then tossed into a circle whilst recording his voice from many different directions. I could imagine John, in a post hallucinatory phase, dreaming this as a tracking concept. John Martin, in his wisdom, decided to quell this idea and instead utilize the Leslie cabinet. It worked. This speaks to the importance of having a grounded, yet innovative producer that is in sync with a band such as The Beatles. This becomes even more of a debatable topic when we consider, for example, Andy Warhol's "production" effect on The Velvet Underground. He was at a constant clashing point with Lou Reed, the rebellious lyricist. Despite Warhol's lack of "musical" understanding, he did understand the link of music, art and film. This link to a diverse subset of an underrepresented portion of 1960's America paid off for this band, for they would have not had the same impact upon the music world without him.

Rudolph Rustin

http://rudolphrustin.blogspot.com/2012/01/welcome-entry-rudolph-rustin.html

The Velvet Underground Blog

It was the early 60’s. It was the time of Elvis, The Beach Boys, The Stones, The Beatles, Motown and who else? Who cared? Who in the world won’t want to just listen to the great music by those wonderful artists above? The answer is The Velvet Underground. They were the focal beginning point of alternative rock, punk rock and according to Joe Harvard, the “music of the low life”. The music labels and the media outlets and “critics” – the industry – snubbed them for almost their entire career. Time eventually told the story, and rather than conforming to the industry, The Velvet Underground defined what was to follow in rock musical development.

I’ll have to agree that I was amongst the “doubters” after hearing The Velvet Underground and Nico. It was counter to anything I was used to hearing. It took an effort to make it through the album experience.  Songwriter Lou Reed’s lyrics, presented in his deadpan monotone, were hard to hear clearly and the instrumental directions were a 1960’s goat rodeo. My first impression was that I needed vodka, weed, Valium, or some other pharmaceutical in order to “appreciate” what the critics were raving about and that I was missing entirely. I felt as if I was in a re-make of The Emperor Without Clothes”. Am I that shallow? Why, I must learn how to be a more sophisticated listener. Then add Andy Warhol, the eclectic pop art icon of the times and Nico the sultry blonde German vocalist, and underground sexuality, and the band was “born”. The Velvet Underground was the artists’ artist, going on to influence a generation of rockers to follow. Everyone would find a small snippet of his or her sound and style to emulate.

Lou Reed and John Cale were the strongest foundational pillars of the Velvets. He wrote about sexual deviance, low life, and violence – things no one spoke or sang of in the 60’s. It was 60’s voyeurism. His lyrics were telling and captivating even though on the surface, their presentation was without embellished emotion. The 1972 “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” is classic Lou Reed. It is a good “entry level song to the Velvets for the amateur listener, prior to graduating with the “Heroin” experience. John Cale was a classical composer and guitarist, hardly an obvious choice as a musical partner for Reed. Cale was an avid enthusiast for “drone” tones; he became enamored with Lou Reed’s “The Ostrich”, where every string of Reed’s guitar was tuned to A flat. Cale developed an affinity for a drone tone viola to accompany the deadpan Reed, and the duo was born. After Sterling Morrison, a guitarist with a penchant for oversaturated, raw distorted Vox amplification, amateur percussionist and self taught drummer. “Mo” Tucker and Warhol’s vocalist, Niko were added, The Velvet Underground was formed. Their early work continued to be disastrous, with continuous rejection by critics due to their disorganized sound describing marginally speak able topics. The only saving grace for the Velvets was Andy Warhol, who kept the critic vultures at bay due solely to the strength of his notoriety and respect by the art world of the 60’s - more voyeurism for the disaffected, the “nonconformists”. The location for this culture was Warhol’s “The Factory”.

The Velvet Underground had a relentless pursuit of non-conformism because they knew they were unable to yield to the industry requirements of the songwriting arrangements, lyrics, and even dress of the band. John Cale: “The only reason we wore sunglasses on stage was because we couldn’t stand the sight of the audience.” The new they had to create a totally new sound - and they did. Their album The Velvet Underground and Niko, was raw and saturated with crude distortion, whilst accompanying the droning viola of Cale and the lyrical storytelling of Lou Reed. Venus in Furs creates a dichotomy of uneasiness and calm at the same time.

As a young producer, I have learned to be a better listener to what I initially do not appreciate, and above all, to never be labeled as a “dog baller”. I have become a better student of music as a result of learning about the depth of the history of The Velvet Underground. I also have learned that I must above all tolerate those “experts” or “critics” that pile on praise only after all the painful progress has been forged by those who won’t quit. Lastly, I gained more appreciation for Andy Warhol, who provided the translation of The Velvets to the world.

I guess maybe the emperor really is wearing clothes.

References

1986 The Southbank Show – The Velvet Underground by Alex Hudson – Jonas Mekas videographer directed by Kim Evans, Mary Harron

Joe Harvard The Velvet Underground's The Velvet Underground and Nico (33 1/3 Series) (Unabridged) 11/16/2008 Narrator Marc Vietor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Velvet_Underground

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cale

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Reed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_on_the_Wild_Side_(Lou_Reed_song

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Tucker

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol

References

The Bob Edward’s Interview with Peter Ames Carlin, Author of

Catch A Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, The Bob Edwards Show, Audible.com August 2009 The Beach Boys - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2012, January 7). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beach_Boys

Chuck Berry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Berry

Brian Wilson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2011, December 26). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Wilson

Pet Sounds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2011, January 5). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Sounds

The Four Freshmen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2011, November 7). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Freshmen

Everything Was Right: The Beatles' Revolver      . (n.d.).            Public Radio Exchange      . Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://www.prx.org/pieces/15368-everything-was-right-the-beatles-revolver

THE BEATLES BIOGRAPHY. (n.d.). Lyrics. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/the-beatles-biography/9b5665a6978fdf4b4825685d00067ce3

Skiffle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2011, December 25). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiffle

The FIRST record to feature The Beatles name. (n.d.). What's New at rarebeatles.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://www.rarebeatles.com/photospg/bon64.htm

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"Revolution, n. t. (2012, January 8). The Beatles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles

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The Beatle's Revolver entry

Without question, The Beatles - Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon are amongst the most important single influences in the development of popular and modern rock music of the 20^th century.  They were initially an English skiffle band. British skiffle developed in the post-war jazz scene.  A transformational skiffle version of Leadbelly’s “Rock Island Line” and “John Henry”, stimulated  British musicians to transform music into a more exciting form. John Lennon’s skiffle band, “the Quarrymen”, was the original band that eventually became The Beatles. In the early 60’s, playing and practicing as a rock band in Hamburg, Germany on long, non-stop shows in various clubs. It was during these long hours of practice that The Beatles developed their early musical and vocal style.  Beatles history is filled with stories of debauchery, crime and sensation during this period. One of their earliest recordings was “My Bonnie” ( My Bonnie lies over the ocean…), a traditional folk song transformed to their burgeoning rock style in January of 1962. It was a local hit but failed to ever gain widespread play.

After honing their skills as Liverpool’s leading band by 1963, The Beatles concentrated on the theme of “Love” in their songwriting. Their melodies were in singable keys and the chord progressions were generally simple derivations of folk-rock, such as their top twenty hit of 1962, “Love Me Do”. Their songs of finding and losing love gained great popularity with their first release of  “Please Please Me” in 1961. The catchy tunes, singable and upbeat, led to “Beatlemania”  and several years of non-stop touring around Europe and the United States. The Beatles became quickly disassociated with touring due to its exhausting schedule and the inability of them to hear themselves play and further develop their sound. The fans would scream in delight beyond the capability of the sound equipment, Vox amplifiers, used by the band to generate enough discernable sound. The pressures placed upon the band by the record label to produce more and more original music was only possible due to the exceptional capabilities of all four band members to write and compose simultaneously and due to the magic of the band’s producer, Mr. George Martin.

As a result of their dissatisfaction with touring despite unprecedented popularity and effect on the music industry as a whole, they were not satisfied with themselves. Enter drug experimentation.  They first were introduced to marijuana in 1964 and in 1965, their dentist, Dr. Albert Hall, introduced them to the hallucinogen, LSD. John Lennon was transformed by this experience. This led to the others “taking the trip”.   As a result of their new perception of life and the world as experienced by their drug experimentation, their seventh album, a studio project, Revolver, was released in 1966 and gained recognition as a radical departure from their “love” themes and folk-rock style.

“Revolver, Pet Sounds and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, relics of the first era of psychedelic rock and shining testaments to what can be accomplished in the recording studio when folks are fuelled on the potent drug of rampant imagination.”

—J. DeRogatis, Milk it!: collected musings on the alternative music explosion of the 90s[19]

Every song on the Revolver album is innovative in its own way, and the style is ranging from the orchestral song of the plight of the elderly in England after the war, Eleanor Rigby, to John Lennon’s psychedelic  “Tomorrow Never Knows”. Their innovations were endless.  In Eleanor Rigby, the only musical accompaniment to the insightful lyrics penned by all four Beatles was a string octet. Through the use of strings as percussion and melody, a bass and drum are not even missed. It has yet to be classified as a recognizable style of music. In “Taxman”, lyrically the Beatles were one of the first bands to openly defy British authority, even by name and present an anti-authority and anti-establishment position due to the taxation imposed upon the band subsequent to their success. As the Revolver album progresses, it reaches a pinnacle with the last psychedelic track, “Tomorrow Never Knows”.  Two fantastic innovative recording techniques on this track were the use of various pre-recorded guitar tape loops placed within the song, playing some of those loops backwards, and the use of vocal doubling on John Lennon’s vocals and then routing it through a Leslie speaker, thus creating one of the earliest filtered “chorus” effects.  At times it seemed these techniques were “stumbled” upon; however, it was the creative nature of their intentions and work that produced this landmark sound.

This album made a profound impact upon the music industry and even today, it is considered innovative. The Beatles produced a sound so different and new , without the use of digital media and the endless processing capabilities of today’s tracking gear. Their collective talents in songwriting, composing and production merged to produce a musical project that changed history. They challenged other artists to be better and as well the still encourage musicians and producers of today to strive for better than expected.

I would like to address the issue of drug experimentation. Their desire to change for the better along with instances of fate, such as their encounter with Bob Dylan and experimentation with marijuana (Dylan misinterpreted some of the lyrics of one of their songs) led to “illuminating” their perception of life and the world. This led to demonization by religious groups as well as other hate groups such as the Ku Klux Clan, who espoused their work was the work of the Devil. If we look at many of the great innovators in songwriting and musical innovation, this seems to be a commonality. The Beatles, Hendrix, Dylan, The Stones, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys – all used the drug experience to enhance their creativity. It has been demonstrated scientifically that the hippocampus and amygdala, anatomical portions of the human mid-brain, are responsible for spontaneous and inventive behavior as well as pleasure, rage and sexuality. Newer medical imaging techniques, such as PET scanning have demonstrated more development of these areas of the brain in persons with higher than average auditory and visual artistic aptitudes.  Possibly a common thread that explains but does not excuse the florid use of drugs, alcohol, and hallucinogens amongst musical geniuses is the need to stimulate these areas of the brain more effectively, thus fueling the creative process, at least from the perspective of the artist. Are there other “fuels” to satisfy the needs of the limbic system of artists and musicians? How can we get more satisfaction without the inherent risk to life?

References

Everything Was Right: The Beatles' Revolver      . (n.d.).            Public Radio Exchange      . Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://www.prx.org/pieces/15368-everything-was-right-the-beatles-revolver

THE BEATLES BIOGRAPHY. (n.d.). Lyrics. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/the-beatles-biography/9b5665a6978fdf4b4825685d00067ce3

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The FIRST record to feature The Beatles name. (n.d.). What's New at rarebeatles.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://www.rarebeatles.com/photospg/bon64.htm

Revolver (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2012, January 7). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolver_(album)

"Revolution, n. t. (2012, January 8). The Beatles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles

The Beatles and drugs | The Beatles Bible. The Beatles Bible: songs, albums, history, profiles, places, photos and more.. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://www.beatlesbible.com/features/drugs/

Ph.D., R. J. (n.d.). Hallucinations. http://brainmind.com/Hallucinations88.html. Retrieved January 6, 2012, from brainmind.com/Hallucinations88.html

Black, H. (2001). Amygdala's Inner Workings. The Scientist, 15(19), 20.

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