Simon
2005-03-01, 04:51 PM
Emile Berliner, Thomas Edison, and others marketed their invention of records in the 1880’s, no one knew how it would affect the music industry. Sheet music was the vehicle that the music industry thrived on, and records were seen as nothing more than a novelty at first. But then, when spoken records and the occasional field recording gave way to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:State><st1:place>Marches</st1:place></st1:State>, Cakewalks, Minstrels, and Ragtime, the record craze was on. What no one realized was that records allowed for more cross-pollination of styles, and by 1917, Jass music was the bi-product, which exploded onto the scene and reshaped how everyone approached popular music. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Jass, of course, became Jazz, and the Jazz era went through a number of stylistic exercises: Stride, Swing, Be-Bop, Post-Bop, mainstream crooners, Avant-Garde, Fusion, Funk Jazz, etc. But looking at the panorama of it, we see how the genre built upon itself, and pulled inspiration from outside sources to broaden its palette. Between 1958, and 1960, the genre seemed to have achieved maturity. Albums such as Mile Davis “Kind of Blue” or Charles Mingus’s “Mingus Ah Um” were fully realized pieces of music, successfully drawing from outside sources, and seeming almost automatic to the creators. But moreover, despite the seemingly complex nature of the music, it was instantly accessible to the listener. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
During the Jazz era, one of the niches growing in the late 40’s was what was then called “race records”; what was soon dubbed “R&B”. Most notably were the “Hoy Hoy” records, where eventually, call and response vocals that often proclaimed they were going to “Rock and Roll” fell over a 2-4 backbeat. Was this a revolution? It didn’t seem that way at all, but as Country artists kept drawing from race records, cross pollination was working on it. What actually ushered in the Rock & Roll revolution was the invention of the 45rpm, and the broadening of radio’s broadcasting power. As we see in the movie “American Grafitti”, Wolf Man Jack was the radio show teenagers listened to in <st1:State><st1:place>California</st1:place></st1:State>, but little do most know that he was broadcasting from <st1:country-region><st1:place>Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>! The new extensive power of radio created a mad rush among artists and record labels to get on these types of radio shows; the type that had wild personas, and an extreme amount of listeners. Whether it was Country, teen-idols, or R&B, they all wanted to be featured on the same show. What was once a minor cross-pollination had become a full-fledged movement dubbed Rock & Roll. Once Bill Haley’s Country-R&B hybrid “Rock Around the Clock” became a hit, the Jazz era was approaching its arc, and the Rock era was sharing the spotlight. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Just like the Jazz era, the Rock era underwent many exercises in style before maturing: Doo Wop, Rockabilly, Brill Building girl groups, British Invasion, Folk-Rock, Psyche, Power Pop, Punk, College Rock (which became Alternative), and so on. But as found in the Jazz era, maturation happened within the Rock era also, roughly between 1966 and 1968. Everyone from the Chiffons to <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Frankie</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName>Valley</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> had producers tweaking their production to no longer be simple chorus-verse-chorus affairs, but rather finding sweeping arrangements complete with string and horn sections. What triggered this? The Beatles relationship to producer George Martin certainly, and maybe that with drugs and the political climate. Regardless, the Beatles “Revolver”, Sgt. Pepper…”, and “Magical Mystery Tour” showed that anything could happen within the Rock field. From surrealism to quasi-classical arrangements, it was all there, and it was all instantly accessible to the listener. Once the Beatles traveled to <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1968 and returned jaded and fractured, the era had arced, and Rock music was now either adding things that didn’t work, or stripping it down to bare essentials. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Although the Jazz and Rock eras greatly overlap, the Rock era had the luxury of not having a new era usher them out as quickly as Rock ushered out Jazz; but eventually, it happened. Electronics had been a part of left-field music since the 30’s, it wasn’t until Kraut-Rock began incorporating them in the 70’s that they became a mainstay, and once Giorgio Moroder took Kraut’s cue and added it to his Disco productions, a cross pollination had begun to brew in the Rock era. Who would’ve guessed that this experimental German music and disrespected Dance music would make such an impact of the disenfranchised American Ghettos? Aside from the Ghetto’s deep love for James Brown type funk of the early 70’s, foreign experimental electronic music worked its way into the fold, and the elements were cross-pollinating again. But just as the Jazz and Rock era had a breeding ground, they didn’t become a revolution until the technology was in place to rocket them. Within the Electronic era, first came the mixer, allowing DJ’s to loop music endlessly, and then came sequencers, allowing producers to harness electronics for music creation. Once the drum machine caught on in the early 80’s, and major music producers such as Trevor Horn latched onto them, the Electronic era was official, and it shared room in the public consciousness with the declining Rock era. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Again, we see the new era go through its stylistic exercises. Hip-Hop sees the studio musician phase give way to the drum machines, which is replaced by the phase of building songs from samples, and recently, this has been replaced by keyboard manipulation. And in the dance music side of the electronic era, European electronic Disco shares time with the post-Disco field of Chicago House, and European Synth-Pop influences the creation of Detroit Techno. Once drugs influenced rock musicians in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>UK</st1:place></st1:country-region> to embrace electronic dance music, it became a European phenomenon, spawning more sub-genres in the 90’s than I care to list. But the question arises, has the electronic era matured at any point? Was there ever a “Mingus Ah Um” or “Sgt. Pepper” of the electronic era? I’m sure those reading this will either cite their favorite recordings or maybe just list some classics, but honestly, those often are either part of the style exercise, or incorporating elements that the artist wasn’t steeped in, such as 4 Hero’s ambitious “2 Pages”. The closest thing I can think of is 1987-1989 Hip-Hop, when Public Enemy or The Beastie Boys’ “Pauls Boutique” pulled form sources foreign to their genre, and made the total package instantly accessible and exciting. I’m not sure if that qualifies as the maturation of the Electronic Era. The electronic era may not have ever matured. Will this happen, or has the moment passed? Did it, and are we still too close to see it? <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
There has recently been another technological boom with computers. The internet, peer-to-peer file sharing, and computer software are all relatively new. Just like when records were first introduced in the 1880’s, no one knew what was going to come of the new technology. At first, those who thought they knew just tried to recreate the previous era, and they were delusional that what they were doing was revolutionary. Did you know that “Auld Lange Syne” (i.e. the New Years Eve song) was one of the biggest hits of the late 1880’s on record, just as it was previously in the sheet music era? And for the record, it didn’t become the New Years Eve song until decades later. The point being, Jazz music wasn’t on the radar, but it was brewing underground in brothels and at minstrel performances. Those making records early on were just translating sheet music to the new technology. So when people today make some new type of Techno music with software such as Reason or Fruity Loops, are they of this new era, or just transitional pawns? What about new electronic sub-genres such as Grime or Baltimore Breaks? Aren’t these just today’s “Auld Lange Syne”? What’s happening in the underground? <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
As terribly unfashionable as it is to cite this in 2005, the ElectroClash sub-genre did recalibrate us tremendously. During the 90’s, Techno sub-genres had become faceless, and beatmatched so much that it was one long song, but ElectroClash proved electronic music could have a face, a melody, a sense of style, and quite possibly could stand on its own. So what happened? Well, we could place the blame on the man that invented the term ElectroClash, as he heavy handedly marketed groups that lacked talent, or we can just say that for the most part, ElectroClash pulled too much from the well of New Wave. Either way, it wasn’t a substantial music genre; it was a sign of what was needed. Once ElectroClash went down in flames, people began to mine its influences to continue with the recalibration. The trend began with Electro and Synth Pop, but quickly moved into Post-Punk, Italo Disco, and Proto-House. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
So this is where we are today. Many old techno people just went back into their techno holes, and tweaked their Speed Garage or 2 Step or whatever into yet another subgenre that doesn’t differ much from the last Techno subgenre. Many Indie Rockers latched back onto the 90’s “I’m cooler than thou because I know about such-and-such underground band”. The rest of us found sort of a musical utopia, and we’re brewing the product for the next musical era that is being ushered in with this new technology. <o:p></o:p>
What are you doing?
<o:p> </o:p>
Jass, of course, became Jazz, and the Jazz era went through a number of stylistic exercises: Stride, Swing, Be-Bop, Post-Bop, mainstream crooners, Avant-Garde, Fusion, Funk Jazz, etc. But looking at the panorama of it, we see how the genre built upon itself, and pulled inspiration from outside sources to broaden its palette. Between 1958, and 1960, the genre seemed to have achieved maturity. Albums such as Mile Davis “Kind of Blue” or Charles Mingus’s “Mingus Ah Um” were fully realized pieces of music, successfully drawing from outside sources, and seeming almost automatic to the creators. But moreover, despite the seemingly complex nature of the music, it was instantly accessible to the listener. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
During the Jazz era, one of the niches growing in the late 40’s was what was then called “race records”; what was soon dubbed “R&B”. Most notably were the “Hoy Hoy” records, where eventually, call and response vocals that often proclaimed they were going to “Rock and Roll” fell over a 2-4 backbeat. Was this a revolution? It didn’t seem that way at all, but as Country artists kept drawing from race records, cross pollination was working on it. What actually ushered in the Rock & Roll revolution was the invention of the 45rpm, and the broadening of radio’s broadcasting power. As we see in the movie “American Grafitti”, Wolf Man Jack was the radio show teenagers listened to in <st1:State><st1:place>California</st1:place></st1:State>, but little do most know that he was broadcasting from <st1:country-region><st1:place>Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>! The new extensive power of radio created a mad rush among artists and record labels to get on these types of radio shows; the type that had wild personas, and an extreme amount of listeners. Whether it was Country, teen-idols, or R&B, they all wanted to be featured on the same show. What was once a minor cross-pollination had become a full-fledged movement dubbed Rock & Roll. Once Bill Haley’s Country-R&B hybrid “Rock Around the Clock” became a hit, the Jazz era was approaching its arc, and the Rock era was sharing the spotlight. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Just like the Jazz era, the Rock era underwent many exercises in style before maturing: Doo Wop, Rockabilly, Brill Building girl groups, British Invasion, Folk-Rock, Psyche, Power Pop, Punk, College Rock (which became Alternative), and so on. But as found in the Jazz era, maturation happened within the Rock era also, roughly between 1966 and 1968. Everyone from the Chiffons to <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Frankie</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName>Valley</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> had producers tweaking their production to no longer be simple chorus-verse-chorus affairs, but rather finding sweeping arrangements complete with string and horn sections. What triggered this? The Beatles relationship to producer George Martin certainly, and maybe that with drugs and the political climate. Regardless, the Beatles “Revolver”, Sgt. Pepper…”, and “Magical Mystery Tour” showed that anything could happen within the Rock field. From surrealism to quasi-classical arrangements, it was all there, and it was all instantly accessible to the listener. Once the Beatles traveled to <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1968 and returned jaded and fractured, the era had arced, and Rock music was now either adding things that didn’t work, or stripping it down to bare essentials. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Although the Jazz and Rock eras greatly overlap, the Rock era had the luxury of not having a new era usher them out as quickly as Rock ushered out Jazz; but eventually, it happened. Electronics had been a part of left-field music since the 30’s, it wasn’t until Kraut-Rock began incorporating them in the 70’s that they became a mainstay, and once Giorgio Moroder took Kraut’s cue and added it to his Disco productions, a cross pollination had begun to brew in the Rock era. Who would’ve guessed that this experimental German music and disrespected Dance music would make such an impact of the disenfranchised American Ghettos? Aside from the Ghetto’s deep love for James Brown type funk of the early 70’s, foreign experimental electronic music worked its way into the fold, and the elements were cross-pollinating again. But just as the Jazz and Rock era had a breeding ground, they didn’t become a revolution until the technology was in place to rocket them. Within the Electronic era, first came the mixer, allowing DJ’s to loop music endlessly, and then came sequencers, allowing producers to harness electronics for music creation. Once the drum machine caught on in the early 80’s, and major music producers such as Trevor Horn latched onto them, the Electronic era was official, and it shared room in the public consciousness with the declining Rock era. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Again, we see the new era go through its stylistic exercises. Hip-Hop sees the studio musician phase give way to the drum machines, which is replaced by the phase of building songs from samples, and recently, this has been replaced by keyboard manipulation. And in the dance music side of the electronic era, European electronic Disco shares time with the post-Disco field of Chicago House, and European Synth-Pop influences the creation of Detroit Techno. Once drugs influenced rock musicians in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>UK</st1:place></st1:country-region> to embrace electronic dance music, it became a European phenomenon, spawning more sub-genres in the 90’s than I care to list. But the question arises, has the electronic era matured at any point? Was there ever a “Mingus Ah Um” or “Sgt. Pepper” of the electronic era? I’m sure those reading this will either cite their favorite recordings or maybe just list some classics, but honestly, those often are either part of the style exercise, or incorporating elements that the artist wasn’t steeped in, such as 4 Hero’s ambitious “2 Pages”. The closest thing I can think of is 1987-1989 Hip-Hop, when Public Enemy or The Beastie Boys’ “Pauls Boutique” pulled form sources foreign to their genre, and made the total package instantly accessible and exciting. I’m not sure if that qualifies as the maturation of the Electronic Era. The electronic era may not have ever matured. Will this happen, or has the moment passed? Did it, and are we still too close to see it? <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
There has recently been another technological boom with computers. The internet, peer-to-peer file sharing, and computer software are all relatively new. Just like when records were first introduced in the 1880’s, no one knew what was going to come of the new technology. At first, those who thought they knew just tried to recreate the previous era, and they were delusional that what they were doing was revolutionary. Did you know that “Auld Lange Syne” (i.e. the New Years Eve song) was one of the biggest hits of the late 1880’s on record, just as it was previously in the sheet music era? And for the record, it didn’t become the New Years Eve song until decades later. The point being, Jazz music wasn’t on the radar, but it was brewing underground in brothels and at minstrel performances. Those making records early on were just translating sheet music to the new technology. So when people today make some new type of Techno music with software such as Reason or Fruity Loops, are they of this new era, or just transitional pawns? What about new electronic sub-genres such as Grime or Baltimore Breaks? Aren’t these just today’s “Auld Lange Syne”? What’s happening in the underground? <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
As terribly unfashionable as it is to cite this in 2005, the ElectroClash sub-genre did recalibrate us tremendously. During the 90’s, Techno sub-genres had become faceless, and beatmatched so much that it was one long song, but ElectroClash proved electronic music could have a face, a melody, a sense of style, and quite possibly could stand on its own. So what happened? Well, we could place the blame on the man that invented the term ElectroClash, as he heavy handedly marketed groups that lacked talent, or we can just say that for the most part, ElectroClash pulled too much from the well of New Wave. Either way, it wasn’t a substantial music genre; it was a sign of what was needed. Once ElectroClash went down in flames, people began to mine its influences to continue with the recalibration. The trend began with Electro and Synth Pop, but quickly moved into Post-Punk, Italo Disco, and Proto-House. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
So this is where we are today. Many old techno people just went back into their techno holes, and tweaked their Speed Garage or 2 Step or whatever into yet another subgenre that doesn’t differ much from the last Techno subgenre. Many Indie Rockers latched back onto the 90’s “I’m cooler than thou because I know about such-and-such underground band”. The rest of us found sort of a musical utopia, and we’re brewing the product for the next musical era that is being ushered in with this new technology. <o:p></o:p>
What are you doing?