American Popular Music: From Jazz to Rock (MUS 103)
Final Exam Review Sheet
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Chapter 10, Part II: Soul, Jimi Hendrix
I. Soul
a. Composers/Performers: James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding
b. Terms:
Soul music: A combination of the intensity of African American gospel with popular R&B styles, exemplified in the late 1960s recordings of Aretha Franklin and James Brown
c. Songs: “Say it Loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud” (James Brown), “Papa’s Got a
Brand New Bag” (James Brown), “Respect” (Aretha Franklin)
II. Jimi Hendrix
a. Songs: “Purple Haze”
b. Terms:
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Monterey Pop Festival (1967)
Feedback: Technically, an out-of-control sound oscillation that occurs when the output of a loudspeaker finds its way back into a microphone or electric instrument pickup and is reamplified, creating a sound loop that grows in intensity and continues until deliberately broken. Although feedback can be difficult to manage, it can become a powerful expressive device in the hands of skilled blues and rock musicians, most notably the guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Feedback can be recognized as a “screaming” or “crying” sound.
Funk/Bass
I. Composers/Musicians: James Jamerson, George Clinton, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins
II. Terms:
Funk music: A musical style derived from R&B and soul music characterized by repeated rhythmic figures and a strong bass line; these bass lines tend to be HIGHLY syncopated, use a great deal of 16th notes, are often quite melodic and virtuosic, and facilitate dance (usually at a relatively moderate tempo).
The Funk Brothers: Studio musicians working at Motown Records who typically received little recognition for their contributions on many records produced there (essentially, the “house band” at Motown)
Slap bass technique (or Slap-pop playing): Technique of bass playing pioneered by Larry Graham in which the slap of the thumb is used to emulate a bass drum and the pop of the index or middle finger as a snare drum. This type of playing couples a percussive thumb-slapping technique of the lower strings with an aggressive finger-snap of the higher strings, often in rhythmic alternation
III. Songs: “Darling Dear” (The Jackson 5, James Jamerson on bass), “POW” (Graham
Central Station, Larry Graham on bass), “Flash Light” (Parliament; lead singer George Clinton, Bootsy Collins on bass)
Chapter 11: Disco, 1970s R&B, Glam Rock
I. Disco and R&B
a. Featured artists: Barry White, Donna Summer
b. Songs: “Love’s Theme” (Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra), “Bad Girls” (Donna Summer)
c. Terms:
Overdubbing: A method used in sound recording that allows for several different parts to be recorded separately and then layered over one another in playback.
Synthesizer: An electronic instrument, usually incorporating a keyboard, capable of producing complex sounds through the manipulation of wave shapes.
Disco: Derived from the word “discotheque,” first used in Europe in the 1960s to refer to nightclubs devoted to the playing of recorded music for dancing. By the mid-1970s, clubs featuring an uninterrupted stream of dance music were common in the United States, particularly in urban black and Latino communities. The 1977 film Saturday Night Fever launched the music into the mainstream. Disco is characterized by the heavy use of synthesizers and a regular, heavily accented beat.
Soft rock: A term invented in the early 1970s to describe acoustic folk-rock as well as tuneful, soothing types of popular music that use electric instruments. The work of Carole King and Barry White is representative. The term is now applied broadly to quieter popular music of all sorts that uses mild rock rhythms and some electric instruments.
II. Glam rock
a. Featured artist: David Bowie
b. Songs: “Life on Mars”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”
c. Terms:
Glam rock: A musical subgenre originating in the 1970s in the UK—epitomized by the works of performers/groups such as David Bowie, Roxy Music, and T. Rex—that is characterized by theatrical musical performances, costumes, constructed personae, and portrayals of androgyny, homosexuality, or bisexuality.
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Chapter 12, Part I: Punk and New Wave
I. Precursors to Punk
a. Featured artists: The Velvet Underground
b. Songs: “Sunday Morning” (The Velvet Underground), “Heroin” (The Velvet Underground)
c. Terms: Andy Warhol/The Factory/Exploding Plastic Inevitable
Garage rock: A neighborhood group made up of young musicians who play mainly for themselves, their friends, and the occasional high school dance. Their music usually consisted of fairly simple melodies and lyrics accompanied by two or three chords and simple beat. The rough-and-ready, do-it-yourself attitude of the garage bands paved the way for punk rock.
CBGB-OMFUG
II. Punk
a. Featured artists: The Ramones, The Sex Pistols
b. Songs: “I Wanna be Sedated” (The Ramones), “God Save the Queen” (The Sex
Pistols)
c. Terms:
Punk rock: A mid- to late-1970s movement rebelling against disco ad the popular rock acts of the day. It was a stripped-down and often purposefully “nonmusical” version of rock music, with lyrics that stressed the ironic or dark dimensions of the human experience.
III. New Wave
a. Featured artist: The Talking Heads
b. Song: “Psycho Killer”
c. Terms:
New wave music: A more self-consciously artistic and experimental side of punk rock music, developed by groups like the Talking Heads during the mid-1970s.
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Chapter 12, Part II: The Birth of Hip-Hop
I. Featured artists: Kool Herc, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Sugarhill
Gang
II. Songs: “Rapper’s Delight” (Sugarhill Gang), “The Message” (Grandmaster Flash and t he Furious Five), “The Breaks” (Kurtis Blow)
III. Terms:
South Bronx
Hip-hop culture: Hip-hop culture—forged by African American, Puerto Rican, and Caribbean American youth in New York City in the late 1970s—includes distinctive styles of visual art (graffiti), dance, dress, and speech. Rap music grew out of the movement, at first spread by pioneering DJs like Afrika Bambaataa and Kool Herc, who spun and mixed different source recordings. DJs formed their own groups featuring dancers and MCs, who rapped or rhymed to the musical accompaniment
Rap: A musical style born out of hip-hop culture. Originally led by the DJ who mixed the records during live performances, rap has come to center on the MC, or rapper, who originally created spontaneous rhymes. Rap has developed various substyles, including gangsta rap (focusing on the ills of inner-city life). It remains one of the most dominant popular music styles well into the 21st century.
Hustler’s Convention
Breakbeat
Turntable techniques (e.g., scratching)
DJ (Disc Jockey) vs. MC (Master of Ceremonies)
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Chapter 13: The 1980s, MTV, Digital Technology, and the Superstar
I. Featured artists: Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Michael
Jackson, Prince
II. Songs: “Lady” (composed by Lionel Richie, performed by Kenny Rogers), “What’s Love
Got to Do with it” (composed by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, performed by Tina Turner), “The Girl is Mine” (Michael Jackson, performed with Paul McCartney), “Thriller” (Michael Jackson), “Born in the U.S.A.” (Bruce Springsteen), “Like A Virgin” (Madonna), “When Doves Cry” (Prince)
III. Terms:
MTV (Music Television): A cable television channel founded in 1981 that featured videos of popular musical performers. It became the major means of promoting new acts during the 1980s and 1990s.
Analog recording: A system of sound recording in which the energy of sound waves is transformed into physical imprints (as in pre-1925 acoustic recordings) or into electronic waveforms that closely follow (and can be used to reproduce) the shape of the sound waves themselves.
Digital recording: A system of sound recording that transforms sound waves into a stream of numbers (0s and 1s), which is converted back to an analog wave by a digital-to-analog converter in order to be heard
Recording Industry Association (RIAA) units sold certifications:
1. 500,000 = Gold
2. 1,000,000 = Platinum
3. 10,000,000 = Diamond
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Chapter 14, Part I: Hip-hop, Music, and Politics
I. Featured artists: Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, Snoop Dogg, Tupac (2Pac) Shakur
II. Songs: “Walk This Way” (composed by Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Steven Tyler,
performed by Run-D.M.C., Perry, and Tyler), “Night of the Living Baseheads” (written by Hank Shocklee, Eric Sadler, and Chuck D, performed by Public Enemy), “What’s My Name?” (Snoop Doggy Dogg, produced by Dr. Dre), “Keep Ya Head Up” (2Pac)
III. Terms:
Def Jam Records
Death Row Records
The Source, Yo! MTV Raps
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Chapter 14, Part II: 1990s Alternative Rock
I. Featured artists: Patti Smith, R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Nirvana
II. Songs: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana), “Teen Age Riot” (Sonic Youth), “Radio
Free Europe” (R.E.M.)
III. Terms:
Alternative rock: An early 1980s genre that arose in the wake of punk rock’s decline and in opposition to mainstream rock music. Bands such as Sonic Youth and R.E.M. were associated with the movement, which emphasized local, anticommercial, guitar-based music blending the abrasive, DIY sensibility of punk with the thick, heavy sonic textures of heavy metal.
Grunge: An alternative rock movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s centering in Seattle, Washington, featuring a DIY, anti-mainstream rock attitude, intense vocals, and loud, unremitting accompaniments. The band Nirvana and particularly its leader singer/songwriter Kurt Cobain exemplified the movement.
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Chapter 15: Topics in 21st-Century Music: American Idol, Radiohead, and the Changing Landscape of the Industry in Light of the Internet
I. Featured artist: Radiohead
II. Songs: “Creep”, “Just”, “No Surprises”
III. Terms:
American Idol; Simon Fuller; narrative; talent show/reality show
In Rainbows (2007) (Radiohead album in which the “pay what you want” model is used)
MP3: A variant of the MPEG compression system that allows sound files to be
compressed to as little as one-twelfth of their original size
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Section 2: Short Essay I (choose 1 of 3)
* John Platoff’s “John Lennon, ‘Revolution,’ and the Politics of Musical Reception
* Licks’s Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson
* Simon Reynolds’s Retromania
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Section 3: Short Essay II (choose 1of 3):
1. Tracing technological developments (recording, distribution, medium, etc.) from the mid-20th to 21st centuries
2. Development of hip-hop from the 1970s to early 2000s
3. Artist/band that has changed stylistically throughout career