Peer Comment

(Peer Comment - Week 4)


In response to "Electronic Music Innovations" which can be found at the following link...
http://brentlloydmh2.blogspot.com/2011/12/electronic-music-innovations.html?showComment=1324081703789#c2655875033253743593




Brent- 

I enjoyed reading your post very much. I found Kraftwerk to be a very interesting subject because of their influence on electronic music and how they used innovative techniques and new equipment to get unique sounds. They definitely had a huge impact on electronic music through those innovations and through their music. You captured their influence on Pop music very well and described it thoroughly. You obviously did your research and were able to convey your knowledge in this post. I like how you were able to relate to the topic and offer your personal views. Great job on this post! I liked it very much. Good Luck!

Synthesizer Podcast

http://youtu.be/lFG_dS4q3LE

The Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electric instrument that is capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies.  Synthesizers create electrical signals as opposed to acoustic sounds.  The sounds that they produce can either be imitations of other sounds or instruments or new and unique electronically created sounds.  Before the “synthesizer”, there was no such thing as digital or electronic instruments.  Music was made with only acoustic instruments, because that was all there was. 

A man named Elisha Gray invented the first electric musical instrument in 1874.  He called his invention the “Musical telegraph”.  This device had self-vibrating electromagnetic circuits that were single note oscillators operated by a two octave piano keyboard.  The electromagnets caused steel reeds to oscillate, creating a sound.  The sound was then transmitted over a telegraph wire that was connected to a loudspeaker device, which he also invented, making the oscillations audible.  Gray patented his work as an electric telegraph for transmitting musical tones. Elisha Gray is mostly known for his telephone prototypes but is also considered to be the father of the modern music synthesizer.  Since this device didn’t actually contain any sound synthesis functions, it can’t really be labeled as the first synthesizer.  However, this invention would go on to start a musical revolution that would give birth to what we know today as the Synthesizer.

There are two types of synthesizers, Analog and Digital.  Analog synthesizers use analog circuits and computer technologies to generate sound electronically.   Most of the early electronic synthesizers were very large, often taking up entire rooms, much like early computers did.  Early analog synthesizers looked nothing like the ones we see today.  In 1929, Friedrich Trautwein invented the Trautonium at a radio lab in Berlin.  Instead of using a keyboard, the Trautonium used a resistor wire over a metal plate that would be pressed to create a sound.  It allowed the user to mix different waves together to get a certain sound, sort of like switching through presets.  Because of this, it was known as the Mixtur-Trautonium.  This unique instrument was used to create bird sounds in the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Birds. 

Audio oscillators, filters, envelope controllers, and many other effects units became more accessible in the 1930s and allowed for analog synthesizers to become commercially available.  The Hammond Novachord was the first commercially available polyphonic synthesizer.  It contained 163 vacuum tubes, over 1000 custom capacitors and weighed over 500 pounds.  The Novachord was designed by Laurens Hammond and C.N. Williams and was manufactured by the Hammond Company.  Only 1069 were ever built between 1939 and 1942 due to the start of World War II.  Hammond had previously built instruments that emulated organs, but the Novachord was their first product that was not intended to do that.  Instead, the Novachord allowed for subtractive analog synthesis, making it the first real synthesizer to be commercially available. 

From 1937 to 1958, an engineer from the USSR, named Yevgeny Murzin, made one of the earliest real time additive synthesizers, called the ANS.  The invention of the ANS was a consequence of an experimental project in which Murzin attempted to obtain a visible image of a sound wave. Murzin was trying to create a method of graphical sound recording to be used in cinematography.  The ANS was a photo-electronic musical instrument that was able to synthesize a sound from an artificially drawn sound wave.  It was fully polyphonic, able to generate all 720 pitches simultaneously.  This invention was used by several Russian composers and used to create scores for a few films.  Only 200 were ever produced.  In 1957, RCA developed the Mark II Sound Synthesizer.  It was installed into Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center.  The Mark II was the first programmable synthesizer and several composers used it extensively. 

Robert Moog developed one of the earliest modern synthesizers in 1964.  These synthesizers were Modular, meaning they consisted of separate specialized modules that were patched together using cables.  Each of the modules outputs generates a signal of electric voltage that varies in strength.  By combining signals from multiple modules, Modular Synthesis allows the user to choose from a vast amount of different sounds.  Moog released the first commercially available modern synthesizer in 1966.  These synthesizers contained oscillators, amplifiers, envelope generators, filters and mixers that were used with a keyboard.  The term “Synthesizer” was never actually used until Moog applied it to his instruments.

The development of miniaturized solid-state components allowed synthesizers to become self contained, portable instruments.  In 1970, Moog released the Minimoog in response to the use of synthesizers in Rock and Pop music.  The Minimoog was designed to be portable, so it could be used for live performances and on tours.  It contained the most important parts of one of the larger, more expensive, and delicate modular synthesizers.  It was simply smaller and less expensive, and didn’t require the use of patch cables.  This made it much more appealing to the public and became a very distinctive and popular instrument, remaining in demand even today.  The Minimoog revolutionized the synthesizer and music.  Wendy Carlos recorded her album Switched On Bach using Moog synthesizers.  Switched On Bach was the first album recorded entirely with electronic instruments.  It was also the first classical album to go platinum.  The Minimoog has been played by artists and bands such as; Björn, David Bowie, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Wendy Carlos, Deadmau5, Daft Punk, Brian Eno, Michael Jackson, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Yes, The Monkees, and Hans Zimmer.  It has been used on countless recordings and has influenced artists and bands all over the world to make music with it.  As a result, electronic music was revolutionized by the Minimoog and has had a huge impact other genres as well.  The Minimoogs’ impact on pop music is undeniable and unfathomable.  It has indefinitely changed the face of music.

The Synthesizers that we see today are Digital.  Digital Synthesizers use digital sound processing techniques to produce different sounds.  They were extensively developed in the 80s and 90s and made much more commercially available.  The Yamaha DX-7 and Roland D-50 are examples of digital synthesizers.  The technology that was developed for digital synthesizers can be credited to the development of other electronic music equipment such as drum machines and MIDI controlled software synths.  Without the Synthesizer, music would be much different than it is now.  All electronic music genres and the sub-genre of new wave can be largely credited to synthesizer technology.  The evolution of synthesizers is a great example of how music and culture adapts to technology.

As a listener and an industry professional, I can’t help but realize just how important a role the synthesizer plays in shaping modern music.  It has, without a doubt, changed how music is created, played, and listened to.  The synthesizer has inspired musicians all over the world to create electronic music and utilize the technology at their fingertips, revolutionizing nearly every aspect of music.  I couldn’t imagine what music would be like if the synthesizer never existed.  The synthesizer has had such a huge impact on the world and its music over the years and will continue to do so as technology progresses. 

Peer Comment

(on Kelly P. McConkey's entry on David Bowie - can be found at http://kellymcconkeymh2blog.blogspot.com/2011/12/electronic-music-innovations-david.html)

Kelly-

I didn’t know a whole lot about David Bowie before I read your entry. I thought this post

was very enlightening.  I found your post to be very interesting and I learned a lot.  It was very well written and obviously well researched.   You were very thorough in your

explanations and descriptions of David Bowies influence on electronic music.  I liked

how you were very detailed and captured his influence extremely well.  You also did a

great job describing how he incorporated electronic elements into acoustic

instrumentation.  I think you did an excellent job on this post.  I enjoyed reading this

entry and look forward to reading your future posts.  Keep up the good work!  

Wendy (Walter) Carlos and the Moog Synthesizer entry

Wendy Carlos (formerly Walter Carlos) is known for her recordings made on the Moog synthesizer in the 1960s.  She is a composer and electronic musician who achieved great success and was the person who really began to introduce electronic music to the world.  Back when Wendy began composing on the Moog synthesizer, it was a new and mostly unknown instrument.  She released an album entitled Moog900Series – Electronic Music Systems, which was released by the Moog Company as an introduction to the technical aspects of the machine.  This album did not have much significance on her musical career though.  She is best known for her album Switched On Bach, which was released in 1968.  This album demonstrated the use of the synthesizer as a legitimate musical instrument.  She pioneered the new synthesizer technologies and helped to boost its popularity.  The album went gold in 1969 and platinum in 1986.  Switched On Bach also won three Grammy Awards in 1969.  It was one of the first classical LPs to go gold and was the first ever classical music recording to go platinum.  The album featured the use of the Moog Synthesizer and involved critical multi track recording techniques in its production.

Through the years, Wendy Carlos has had a significant impact on increasing the popularity of the electronic music scene and has inspired many to begin creating their own electronic music.  She truly played a significant role in the exploitation of the synthesizer and was a key player in the development of early electronic music.  Carlos has not only influenced the electronic music directly, but has expanded her influence to the film industry as well.  She composed and recorded music for A Clockwork Orange and worked on The Shining as well.   Wendy also scored the 1982 version of Tron and Beauty and the Beast in 1986. 

Carlos is truly a significant figure in the electronic music scene and has had an immense influence on electronic music throughout the world.  She established the synthesizer as a musical instrument and proved that it could make a successful album.  In a time where the electronic instrument technologies were just starting to develop around the world, she was there to give it a boost into pop culture and music culture by inspiring musicians everywhere to make music with a synthesizer.  Her influence on the development of the Moog synthesizer is indisputable too.   Moog was known for taking recommendations and suggestions from artists who used their instruments to improve upon them.  Wendy Carlos is known for giving them many important suggestions that helped to increase the functionality and expand the image and usage of the instrument.  As a listener and industry professional, I completely respect her and her efforts and know that if it wasn’t for her, electronic music would have never evolved like it has.   Wendy has said that she created the album Switched On Bach to “legitimize synthesizers in the mainstream”, and that is exactly what it did.  It’s no surprise that she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) in recognition of her contributions to the art and craft of electronic music. 

Kraftwerk entry

Kraftwerk was an experimental electronic music band from Germany.  They revolutionized electronic music by influencing and inspiring musicians all around the world and spreading their innovative technological techniques of electronic instruments. Their music was full of repetitive yet catchy rhythms and melodies, harmonies, and simple vocals and lyrics that are often sung through a vocoder or computer.  Kraftwerk was ahead of their time; initially not widely accepted in the international pop scene.  At first, their music was seen as weird and too far out for the average person to listen to and for it to gain substantial popularity.  They would eventually begin to gain wide acclaim with the release of their fourth album, Autobahn.

In 1974, the band began drifting away from the sound of their earlier albums and released Autobahn.  Conny Plank, a significant electronic music producer and engineer, worked on this album.  It would be the last album he would work with the group.  The new Minimoog was one of several new technologies that Kraftwerk utilized in order to achieve the sound they wanted for this album.  This album was the first album that would have any real international commercial success for them.   It peaked at #25 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #11 in the U.K.  Band members invested some money into updating their studio, which meant they would no longer have to rely on outside producers and engineers.  Since they invested in new equipment, their possibilities were nearly endless and gave them the ability to experiment even further. 

In 1975, Kraftwerk worked on their album Radio-Activity in their new, fully functioning Kling Klang studio.  For the first time ever, Ralf and Florian, the founders and songwriters of the band, self-produced this album in its entirety.  They released Radio-Activity towards the end of 1975.  The album was released with lyrics in English and German and had a theme: Radio Communication and nuclear war/energy.  Their new instruments and equipment created a very distinct sound.  This was the first album where they didn’t use flutes, violins, or guitars.  Kraftwerks sound had evolved even more.   The album saw moderate success internationally.  The album reached #59 in Canada in February 1976, but was not as well received in America or the U.K.  They released the title track, “Radioactivity”, as a single, and it became a hit in France where it earned them a gold record.  This album opened up the European market for Kraftwerk. 

After the releases of Autobahn and Radio-Activity, Kraftwerk began to pull away from their avant-garde experimentations and krautrock style and moved toward an electronic pop sound.   In 1977, the band started to record their next album, Trans-Europe Express.  The album was recorded in their Kling Klang Studio but was mixed at the Record Plant Studios in L.A.  The album was a celebration of European pride and contained several references and incorporations of trains.   There were several new pieces of equipment used on this album, including the Synthanorma sequencer that allowed them to make a fresh new sound like they wanted.  The album was released in March 1977 and was pretty well received internationally, reaching number 117 on the Billboard Top LP’s and Tapes chart.  “Trans-Europe Express” peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977 and began charting in the U.K. in the 1980s, staying in the charts for about seven weeks at number 49.  In 1982, the song “Showroom Dummies” reached number 25 and stayed there for five weeks in the U.K too.  The album contained songs recorded in French.  This album was quite successful and has made it to several “greatest albums of all time” lists. 

Kraftwerks next album, The Man Machine, was also recorded at their Kling Klang Studio but was worked on by a few outside engineers for the final mix.  Kraftwerk had it mixed at Studio Rudas where engineers Leanard Jackson and Joschko Rudas completed the final mix of the album.  This album also was bi-lingual. The Man-Machine was released in May of 1978 and was very well received internationally.  The song “The Model”, which was on the album, became a chart topping single in the U.K. in 1982.  It charted at number 12 in Germany, 9 in the U.K., 130 on the US Billboard 200, and, has made it to several “greatest albums of all time” lists. 

For 3 years, Kraftwerk did not release an album.  The band was recording their new album in their Kling Klang Studio during those 3 years, but it took so long because of ongoing modifications to the studio to make it more portable.  In 1981, they would finally release this new album titled Computer World.  After this albums release, Kraftwerk would go on tour again, this time taking their studio with them.  The album was multi-lingual, like their past few albums, but included even more languages.  The song “Pocket Calculator” had versions that were sung in German, French, Japanese, and of course, English.    The album was pretty well received but was not as successful as their “The Model” and their The Man Machine album.

Between 1974 and 1981, Kraftwerk was especially influential in the electronic music world.  David Bowie met with Kraftwerk because he was so drawn by their sound, along with Brian Eno.  Both Bowie and Eno were greatly influenced by the band, moving to Germany to create albums largely because of them.  Bowie’s music was very reflective of Kraftwerks experimentation, creating the album Low in response to the electronic music revolution they were leading.  Collaborations with Brian Eno, and further inspiration would culminate in the album Heroes.  Kraftwerk also influenced the Donna Summer song “Feel Love”.  This was one of the first introductions of electronic music to pop and it worked.  The song became a huge hit and was very popular in gay clubs, being adopted as the gay anthem.  Kraftwerks influence on other artists from around the world was and still is quite apparent. 

Kraftwerk used innovative technologies and instrumentation to get the sounds they wanted.  They were constantly upgrading their equipment and experimenting.  Without that, the world may have never found some of the electronic music sounds that they introduced.  Their music was different, but catchy and interactive.  Their live performances were visually entertaining and frequent.  Kraftwerk was able to spread the popularity of Electronic music all over the world and led a musical revolution that is still going today.  Their album concepts were able to connect the European people with the music and express their pride.  It was something that was unique and was seldom done, especially in the electronic music scene.  The group was able to succeed in what they did by being different and establishing new musical trends that would go on to impact the world in ways it never had been before. 

Both as a listener and an industry professional, I feel that Kraftwerks music was different but interesting.  I am not necessarily completely into all of their music, but when I listen to it, I can’t help but be intrigued.  The instrumental harmonies and general flow of many of their songs just seems to leave me with a sense of fascination.  Being a keyboard player myself, and having played the synthesizer for several years, I find their sounds and beats to be very unique and inventive.  Their incorporation of their album themes made for an even more interesting album overall.  Kraftwerk truly led the way for electronic music and their influence on the modern electronic scene can easily be seen. The band Kraftwerk is considered to be a significant pioneer of electronic music, having played a huge role in popularizing it and making it what it is today.  

Podcast Project 1

http://youtu.be/TC7NsKOE2sQ

Peer Comment

Lalith- 

I enjoyed reading your post and think it was well researched and written. The Velvet Underground was ahead of their time and it wasn’t realized just how influential they would be on music, specifically experimental and punk music, until the 80s. While their music wasn’t widely accepted during their time as a group, it would certainly live on in groups such as the Misfits, Brian Eno, REM, etc. as you mentioned in your post. You were able to explain the band’s history and influences well, and I think you were very thorough in those explanations. 

The only thing that I noticed was a bit vague was the explanation of the roles and backgrounds of John Cale and Lou Reed. Cale and Reed were the founders of the group, eventually dropping a couple people to replace them with drummer Maureen Tucker, and Reed’s college friend, Sterling Morrison on guitar. Cale was the primary composer and arranger for the group, while Reed wrote most of the lyrics. Cale was a prodigy on Piano and Violin and was classically trained. He came to the U.S. to pursue a Bernstein Scholarship and he worked with several legendary composers before meeting Reed and starting the Velvet Underground. Reed was a songwriter for Pickwick Records and a rock musician from Long Island. 

The group was definitely very unique and their image as an avant-garde “art band” was something that had never been seen before. Warhol’s production and management of the band was indeed crucial to developing that image. His addition of Nico to the band was something that really made a difference in the bands commercial and musical impact. You explained that with detail in your post. 

Overall, I feel that you have a very strong, well-written post and have done your research. You were detailed where it was necessary, but probably could have gone a little further in depth with a few things that may have benefited the reader. Good job! Keep up the good work! I am looking forward to reading future posts.




In response to:
http://lalithrao.blogspot.com/2011/12/velvet-underground-nico.html

Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On entry

Marvin Gaye, “The Prince of Soul”, is without a doubt, one of the most influential artists of our time.  He is truly an R&B and Soul legend, and his impact on music and on the world is very apparent.  Marvin married Anna Gordy, the sister of Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records.  Being the Brother-In-Law of the president of the record company, he was entitled a seat at the Motown family table.  Being a rebellious young musician, he strived to carve out his own musical identity.  He wanted to be a part of Motown, but not sing it.  He began at Motown singing Jazzy Frank Sinatra styled music; but unfortunately, it wasn’t what people were buying at that time.  At that point, he realized that all of the other artists at Motown were releasing hits.  Marvin was very competitive, and after realizing everyone else’s success, he decided that he needed a hit of his own.  His first hit was “Stubborn Kind of Fellow” which became a hallmark of his career.  Marvin quickly became a star and a sex symbol after releasing several huge hits.  Motown exploited his sex appeal by having him do several romantic duets with artists such as Mary Wells, Kim Weston, and Tammi Terrell.  Marvin and Tammi were a perfect duo, and would be considered one of the most popular duos of the time.  Sadly, Tammi died in 1970 at the age of 24 from a brain tumor.  Marvin fell into a deep depression largely due to the loss of Tammi, but also because of family troubles and drugs.  Although Marvin was depressed, his career still prospered.  His next hit was “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” which became the best selling single in Motown history.  His music was his outlet for his emotions, and it was certainly selling. 

The late 60’s and early 70’s were full of unrest in the U.S.  From Martin Luther King and the Vietnam War to campus rioting and police brutality, the country’s unrest was apparent to everyone.  Marvin’s own brother had come back from Vietnam and told him several horrifying stories of his experiences there.  Marvin clearly saw what was happening around him and felt that he should write music and lyrics that would “touch the souls of men.”  His next album would be a protest album that would face many obstacles before being recorded and released.  Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Al Cleveland had presented Marvin with a song, “What’s Going On”, a few years prior to the recording and release of the album.  In that time, Marvin had developed a vision for what this protest album would be.  With the influence of politics, war, national unrest, and his own personal losses, Marvin created the masterpiece of What’s Going On.  After struggling with personal and drug problems, Gaye finally got around to recording the album.   For the album, Marvin brought in a variety of several veteran Jazz studio musicians, many whom he had worked with in his early years as a recording artist.  Several of these studio musicians had worked with Jazz greats like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt and Yusef Lateef.  Normally these musicians didn’t like what Motown hired them to play, but for this album, they couldn’t help but like it.  Marvin played piano and led the rhythm section himself, something he was never able to do before.  This was his first self-produced album and, what he felt to be, his best work yet.  Unfortunately, Berry Gordy and the quality control people at Motown didn’t see it fit for release.  Berry even went as far as to call it “The worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”  He refused to release it, fearing it would ruin Gaye’s image as a sex symbol and possibly his career.  Marvin told Berry Gordy that he wouldn’t record anything more for the company until they came to their senses and released the album.   Marvin stuck to his word, even when he became completely broke, and fell into a major depression.  Eventually, the album was released, immediately becoming a huge it.  It sold 100,000 copies in just the first day and shot up to number 2 on the pop charts and number 3 on the R&B charts. Contrary to Motown’s initial judgment, What’s Going On was probably the greatest piece of work Motown has ever put out.

This album was much different than other albums released around the same time, especially from Motown.  What’s Going On was the first Motown protest album and was the first protest album of its kind, with powerful jazz like melodies and beautiful harmonies.  This album revolutionized Soul music by proving that you can have a poignant album with sweet yet expressive lyrics and in that jazzy style.  Many recordings that were being released from Motown at the time had lyrics that were happy, and songs that were upbeat.   The lyrics in Marvin’s album, however, were more about reality, and emphasized serious global issues.  To say the least, the lyrics in this album were unconventional for a contemporary soul album. In addition, What’s Going On was one of the first albums to be themed, employing an album arrangement style known as a song-cycle, where each song leads into one another.

Marvin Gaye has inspired the world with his music, especially with this album. What’s Going On is one of the greatest, most inspiring and touching albums I have listened to.  It has impacted me in many ways, both as a listener and an industry professional.  The music is soothing and sweet while the lyrics are powerful and full of emotion.  Marvin was able to convey his emotions through this album extremely well, giving it a certain feel of reality and truth, something most artists can never accomplish in even a single song.  In times where he was struggling with love, drug addictions, depression, and financial turmoil, I must recognize and respect his incredible ability to persevere and share his musical brilliance with the world during those rough times.  Marvin may be gone, but his legacy will live on through this album forever.

The Velvet Underground & Nico entry

The Velvet Underground was an avant-garde music group that was together for only four years in the 1960’s.  Between 1966 and 1970, the group released four albums: The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), White Light/White Heat (1968), The Velvet Underground (1969), and Loaded (1970).  The original four band members were Lou Reed, John Cale, Maureen Tucker, and Sterling Morrison.  John Cale was a prodigy in piano and violin.  He performed on BBC when he was only eleven years old.  He had a classical background and earned a degree in classical music from Goldsmith’s College in London, England.  While he was at Goldsmith’s College, he became interested in modern avant-garde composers.  He took their philosophies and incorporated them into his own developing theories.  By the early 1960’s, Cale was completely dedicated to avant-garde.  He came to the U.S to pursue a Leonard Bernstein Scholarship and began working with Aaron Copland.  His professional relationship with Copland would soon end and he found himself in New York where he worked with composers John Cage and La Monte Young.  At this point, Cale began to develop an interest for rock and roll music.  He met Lou Reed and soon formed the Velvet Underground.  Reed was a rock musician from Long Island, working for Pickwick Records as a songwriter.  Cale and Reed were the two primary songwriters for the group.  Reed did much of the lyric writing, while Cale did a lot of the musical composition and arranging. 

The groups line up was very different than any other group at the time, with Sterling Morrison and Lou Reed on guitar, Maureen Tucker on drums, and John Cale on viola/violin, bass, piano and occasionally guitar.  Having a female drummer and a viola was very unusual. In 1967, pop artist Andy Warhol began to promote the group and insisted they add a German model named Nico to the band.  Nico served as a singer, adding a doomy quality to the bands sound with her deadpan vocals. Warhol produced their first album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.  Norman Dolph also helped produce the album and tried to interest several record companies to distribute it. Verve Records finally accepted the offer with the help of a Verve Producer by the name of Tom Wilson. 

The group was very different than any other rock/pop group during the time and their first album made a huge statement to conventional rock and roll.  Because of their association with Warhol, the band was widely influenced by Art and Film; becoming more of an art band than just a simple rock & roll band.  The Velvet Underground was the first band to create an alliance between pop music and the avant-garde.  They had a commercial and avant-garde combination that revolutionized contemporary rock music at their time. 

Although their first album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, sold only 10,000 copies, it was still able to become known as one of the most influential albums of the 60’s and the 13^th greatest album of all time, according to Rolling Stone Magazine.  The band was not well received during the 60’s.  A large art of the bands limited commercial success was due to bad timing.  The beginning of the hippie movement and the summer of love overshadowed and drowned out any influence the band would have during their time.  Most other bands were singing about happy things, being optimistic in their lyrics, and having “groovy” melodies and beats that would become the popular music of that era.  Love songs were sweet and happy, full of affectionate emotions and would have a positive overall feel.  During this time, where most bands were still caught up in this west coast flower power, the Velvet Underground introduced a bit of “street realism and doubt” into pop music.  Songs that they wrote were quite different than the average rock and roll song.  Their songs were mostly dark and not all optimistic.  Their love songs were sad and depressing and their lyrics attempted to bring literary sensitivity to rock music.  Their songs were like short stories of different people in different situations and were about reality and things that actually happened, as opposed to making up a fictional story or situation and singing about it, pretending it happened.  These lyrical characteristics would prove to be a major attribute of the group that would portray them as very different than any other group at the time. 

The Velvet Underground & Nico album was different than anything else being played on the radio at the time.  Most radio stations didn’t even want to play them because of their unconventionality.  It wasn’t until the 80’s that the album would really become a significant influence. As a listener, I feel that the band was ahead of their time, and the Velvet Underground & Nico album displayed that exceedingly well.  It was a revolutionary album that was full of innovative musical experiments and lyrical poetry.  At the time, people didn’t know how to deal with something so radical as this album.  Once time caught up with it, the Velvet Underground’s influence on Punk music was more evident than ever.  “The times changed and the influence carried on.”  This album was indeed very influential, just not at the time it was released.  As an industry professional, I can understand how and why the album was not accepted when it was released.  It is difficult to start a revolution and inspire a movement.  The members of the band were brilliant musicians and their work eventually paid off.  Their inventive musical ideas and style left a mark on musical culture forever. 

The Beatles' Revolver Entry

Prior to the release of Revolver, The Beatles were known as a 4-member pop/rock group from Britain that had recorded several catchy tunes.  The Revolver album changed how the group was viewed by the world.  The album was inspired by a combination of drugs, politics, and foreign cultural music styles and instruments. This album was truly an album of experimentation.  The Beatles incorporated several unusual instruments, including the Indian Sitar, into their music.  They also experimented with many technical aspects of the production.  They used tape loops, ADT (Automatic Double Tracking), compressors, and guitar effects in unique or new ways.  These experiments were mostly very successful and led to advancements in recording technology and revolutionized the recording industry for good.  Double tracking was a complicated and laborious task prior to Abbey Roads’ invention of ADT.  It was that way because it would quickly result in a limited number of tracks, which was not good.  This new ADT was a newly developed method of doing it, making it easier, without limiting tracks.  ADT is just one example of an innovative technology on Revolver.  On the song “Tomorrow Never Knows”, the vocals are being put through a rotating Leslie Cabinet reinforced by a creative use of tape loops.  The loops came from various clips of experiments that were edited together by the band mates themselves.  The way the loops were used in this album are unique and original too.

The Revolver album is definitely full of experimentation and innovative uses of technology.  The album revolutionized music and influenced listeners and other artists.  The album is inspiring and meaningful, like the rest of the Beatles’ albums, but with a twist.  This album is different.  It uses unconventional instruments and technology to get a unique sound that works.  The album is so revered because of that.  I am a huge Beatles fan and love this album not only as a fan, but also as an industry professional, as I look at it from a technical angle.

The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds Entry

Prior to the recording of Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys were known mainly for their surfing and car songs.  The Beach Boys were able to relate very well to teens at the time because of the subject matter of their music.  They were viewed as a very unique sounding pop/rock group with tight harmonies and catchy melodies.  Their music grew very popular, and the Beach Boys became the most popular band in America.  Once the Beatles came along, the game had changed.  When Brian Wilsons’ mind was blown by the Beatles’ album Rubber Soul, he took on the challenge of topping it with his own album.  He collaborated with Tony Asher to create the album we now know as Pet Sounds.

Brian Wilson was the founder, producer, arranger, writer and leader of the Beach Boys.  His role within the Beach Boys was extremely significant, as he was a major factor in the band’s success. 

Pet Sounds was the first pop album where all of the songs were conceptually linked to a certain theme.  The journey from adolescence to adulthood was the theme of the album.  Brian Wilson used several different instruments that were very rarely, if ever, used in pop music at the time.  He used instruments such as accordions, a theremin, bicycle bells, and makeshift percussion. Wilson used 23 session musicians in one studio to record parts of the album.  The arrangements were extremely well done, and the blend of the different instruments worked very well, creating a unique sound that people wanted to hear.  Wilson took many things he learned from watching Phil Spector in the studio and applied them to this album.  The song “God Only Knows” was the first pop single to have “God” in its title.  This album would prove to be inspiring and influential to his peers and listeners, much like the Beatles’ Rubber Soul album was. 

The album Pet Sounds is very influential and inspiring to me, as it is with other musicians and music industry professionals.  I grew up listening to the Beach Boys among several other artists from that time.  The first time I listened to this album, I remember how I couldn’t help but just listen to the magnificent harmonies and the unique sounds that came from the speakers.  Their sound was so unique, and this album in particular, was even more unique than any of their other work.  The Beach Boys finally began experimenting with other sounds and building on their talent in this album.  I feel as though Pet Sounds was a huge success and revolutionized how people produced and listened to music.  I love how everything is blended together and how different it sounds than anything else on the radio.  The Beach Boys had a huge impact on pop/rock music throughout the world, and Pet Sounds was a large factor in their inspirational success, and it’s all thanks to Brian Wilson.

Welcome Entry

Welcome to my blog!  My name is Isaac Lynn and I am 19 years old, from Livingston, NJ.  I am currently attending Full Sail University, earning a Bachelors degree in Recording Arts.  I have listened to music my entire life and have developed a passion for it.  I grew up listening to mostly Classic Rock and “Oldies” but was exposed to several different genres and grew to love all kinds of music.  My favorite genres are Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues, and Classical.  I do not have a primary focus in the music industry, but I would like to work with audio post-production, sound design, music editing/recording or game audio.  I hope you enjoy my blog!