1970’s
Rock ‘n’ roll had become
big business
• Recording sessions
more elaborate
• Performances become
more staged
• Thanks to the sheer
scale of the industry,
rock’s identity as an
outsider’s art form had
never been so
precarious
1980’s
• We will watch a
video, “Up from the
Underground”
• What are the major
musical styles and
who are the main
contributors?
1980’s
• What was the operating philosophy of MTV? What is its
significance?
• How did rock re-invent itself in the 1980s?
• In what ways were the videos of Devo and the Eurythmics a
breakthrough?
• What is the race barrier? How did “Billie Jean” cross it?
• How does Run DMC change rap music?
• To what degree does Madonna’s steamy video “Justify my Love”
show the limitations of music videos?
• Why is Lollapalooza important to the history of rock?
• How do “alternative” rock with its outspoken and unkept
musicians relate to music as a business, an industry?
The 1980’s
Rock Videos and MTV
• Radio vs. Cable
• MTV debut Aug. 1, 1981
• Vee-jays
• Friday Night Videos
The 1980’s
Technological Developments
• Cassette tapes vs Compact
Discs
• By 1983 ca. 50% of total
profits came from cassette
sales ($3.78 billion)
• Walkmans
Michael
Jackson
Michael Jackson
• Thriller biggest selling
album of all time
• Over 45 million sold
• Transitions from Jackson
Five to solo artist
Thriller
• Mini-film vs. promotional
video
• “White only” policy changes
• Elaborate staging
• Sophisticated special effects
• Plot
• Innovative choreography
Thriller
• Uniquely recognizable bass
riff
• Strong backbeat and vocals
• Slowly rising melody
climaxes on title creating
tension
• Superior production values
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
• Born to Run, 1975
• Lyrics are arguably poetic
• Frustrations, confusions, dreams
and disappointments of average
working-class person
• Themes of unemployment, social
issues, Vietnam vets, rage and
frustration against “the
establishment”
Born to Run
• Double-time drum flourish
• Transitions to saturated 8beat rhythm
– Would come to typify punk and
new wave
• Whole band lays down
driving rock beat
• Simple guitar riff
Born to Run
•
•
•
•
•
Thickens texture with sax
No subtlety
Little or no syncopation
Memorable riff
Basic I IV V harmonies
– Wanders into distant
harmonies as song progresses
Born in the USA
• Strong story line
• Simple riffs and rhythms
• Subtle details
– “Sent me off to a foreign
land/to go and kill the yellow
man”
• Heavy backbeat
– Electronic enhancement
– Resembles a rifle shot
Born in the USA
• Riff becomes title phrase but
organic unity throughout
– Doubles with high piano line
• Other instruments layer in
and out
• Riff and backbeat everpresent even thoughout drum
solo
Madonna
Madonna
Borderline
• Essentially un-original music
• Simple rhythms and
synthesized sounds grafted
to pop style
• Sounds up-to-date because
of layered texture
• 16 beat rhythm
Madonna
Borderline
• Melody and harmonies
traditional and simple
• Verse could be late 60’s or
early 80’s
• Chorus echoes 50’s teen pop
Like a Prayer
• Keeps same basic approach
• Very simplistic
• Begins with string of jarring
juxtapositions
• Guitar figures with quasi-hard
metal sound
• Religious accompaniment
– choir and organ
U2
U2
Gloria
• General characteristics true
for much of U2’s music in the
1980’s
• Four textures
– Low
– Middle
– High
– Vocal
Gloria
• Repeated notes at 8-beat
speed in bass
• Beat-keeping on bass drum
(low)
• Angular guitar line moving at
8-beat speed (high)
• Strong bass, wide range
• Insistent drum patterns
Gloria
• Little syncopation
– Mostly in irregular accents on
Edge’s guitar line
• Chorus
– Bass stops persistent beat
– Drums shift to disco beat
– Guitar less relentless
– More harmonic activity
– Higher register
Gloria
• Bono’s vocals meant to
evoke a choirboy
– Reverberation sounds like a
cathedral
• Extended instrumental
interlude (ca. 2:20)
• 8-beat bass added to 16-beat
drums and choked guitar
Gloria
• Trademark sounds
– “Open sound”
– Wide registral spacing
– Prominent timekeeping at 8and 16-beat levels
– Relentless guitar and bass
Gloria
• Trademark sounds
– “Open sound”
– Wide registral spacing
– Prominent timekeeping at 8and 16-beat levels
– Relentless guitar and bass
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m
Looking For
• What does the song mean?