Joseph Perez Gorillaz Comment

Joe,

What a great post this is!  I very much enjoyed reading about the Gorillaz, and it seems to me that you know a lot about them.  I learned some things that I did not know, such as all of the band members are actually cartoons, and that the real musicians are always changing.  You showed all of the proper spelling and grammar techniques when writing this post.  It is interesting to me as well that a band can be formed around a set of cartoon characters.  I agree with your idea that being different and exploring new music can be a very good thing.  I can tell that you are a very intelligent person, and I hope to read more of your posts in the future!

Independent Research - The Microphone

Music, language, poetry, and human beings’ natural interest in sound has always existed.  The advent of the microphone gave us a way to capture these sounds and create tangible works of art.  It also makes it possible for aspiring audio professionals such as myself to find work!  Without the microphone and the ability to transform acoustical energy into electrical energy, the world would be a much different, and in my opinion, more dreary and boring place.

The impact that the microphone has had on the music industry is paramount.  The industry would not exist without this crucial invention.  There is a reason why every engineer or every producer has his or her favorite vocal microphone, or why you will find collections of various different kinds of microphones in top-dollar studios.  The whole recording process starts at the microphone, and capturing the right kind of recordings is the most important part.  The entire media world, not just the music industry, relies on microphones.  Can you imagine watching Monday Night Football without listening to the sports announcers?  Microphones are the reason why you can talk to your mother halfway across the country in Kansas when you are sitting on the beach in sunny Florida.  Since the birth of the microphone in 1876, when Emile Berliner invented the first one to be used to transmit the human voice, it has shaped much more than just the music industry, but modern society as a whole.

One type of microphone is the dynamic microphone.  Dynamic microphones work under the laws of electromagnetic induction.  There is a voice coil, which is a wire that is wrapped around, usually, a piece of plastic.  This is then suspended in a magnetic field and connected to a diaphragm.  When the diaphragm is moved by acoustical pressure, it will induce a current or voltage change.  The frequency at which the sound waves hit the diaphragm is translated into electrical impulses of varying amplitude, or the volume at which the sound waves are captured.  Dynamic microphones are fairly rugged in design, so this makes them perfect situations with high SPL’s. 

Another type of microphone is the condenser microphone.  In a condenser microphone there is also a diaphragm.  This diaphragm is very thin and coated with either gold or nickel, and is spaced a certain length apart from a fixed back plate.  Both the diaphragm and back plate are electrically charged, and when the diaphragm moves due to acoustical pressure, there is a change in electrical capacitance between the two surfaces.  The design and structure of condenser microphones is very precise, and very weak or small signals with low SPL’s can be captured.  This is great when you want to record every little nuance of a performance. 

The microphone has had a profound impact on me as both a casual listener and as a professional.  For all of my life I have always loved music and audio in general, and without the microphone I would have never been exposed to many of my life experiences.  The music I listen to, the experiences I have when watching television shows or playing video games, and my career path all have been heavily influenced by the ability to record sound.  I believe that it is not only one of the most important inventions for the music industry, but for society as a whole.

The Velvet Underground and Nico Podcast

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk is an electronic band formed in Germany in the 1970’s.  The image of the band is somewhat different than that of other bands of the time.  The members of Kraftwerk were never really individually known and they were one of the first groups to form their image solely around their music.  As far as their physical presentation, they wore formal suits and ties and cut their hair very short.  They also gave the camera stern and cold looks in all of their videos and photographs.  This formed a unique image for the band and helped them stand out and start a revolution.

In 1974, Kraftwerk released Autobahn.  The first side of this record was one song, Autobahn, which lasted over 20 minutes.  This is the side that the album is mostly known for and showed clear musical direction and intent.  The second side of the album was a compilation of shorter songs that were more experimental and did not catch the public’s attention as much as the first side.  The album’s theme was that of the road and driving.  It also hold meaning to the fact that even though Hitler had carried out horrific acts of hatred, he did in fact do some good, like build the Autobahn.

After Autobahn, Kraftwerk released Trans-Europe Express.  This is the album that made them much more mainstream and known to the public.  The concept of this album was traveling by train across Europe.  The whole album is a natural progression as the listener is taken from place to place and meets different people along the way.  The music on the album is actually made to sound like a train rolling down the tracks, and it has a sort of motoring quality to it.  This was a very groundbreaking album for Kraftwerk because they were able to mold a new type of music into a flawless concept album.

The next album they released was called Man Machine, and it was possibly the most poppy sounding album they came out with.  Much of their fan-base did not accept this album with open arms because they felt as though Kraftwerk was selling out.  By this time, their music had become completely de-humanized and the band seemed to take on the role of robots.  The music was very mechanical and even the singing did not sound like a human voice anymore.  The whole theme of the album was to make it seem as though robots were making the music. 

In 1981, Kraftwerk released Computer World.  The computerized theme of this album was spawned by the early advent of computers, and foresaw the digital age of the future.  By this time, there were many other bands and musicians that were making electronic music, so the concept of the album was the real ground breaking thing about it.  Kraftwerk was able to see that the digital age was going to envelope the world and the future of the world was in computers.  This inspired a new generation of electronic musicians.

I definitely enjoy listening to Kraftwerk.  Some of the songs are weird and quirky, but I appreciate how new and groundbreaking all of it was.  The fact that these electronic instruments were still being built and experimented with while making these albums is a testament to the creativity and hard work that Krafwerk put into their music.  I have always found electronic music interesting, and it is fun to study and listen to its origins.  

Peer Comment on Eric Fazzini's "What's Going On"

Eric,

I think that this is a very solid post on Marvin Gaye.  It seems as though you have hit on all of the necessary criteria for this assignment.  Your sentences are clear and concise and you have appropriate paragraph breaks for separate ideas.  Your grammar and punctuation is on point, and your ideas flow well from one to the other.  I really like how you use great adjectives when describing his music, which makes it fun and exciting to read.  Overall, I thought that you did great on this post.  Keep up the great work and I hope to be reading more great material from you in the future!

Marvin Gaye: What's Going On

Marvin Gaye was a Motown singer who in the 1970’s self produced his album What’s Going On, which came to be one of the most influential albums of its time.  Before he released this album, Marvin Gaye’s sound and image was much like that of other Motown artists at the time.  There was a certain formula that all of them had and many of the ideas for songs were bounced around from artist to artist.  This produced a certain tone and vibe to Motown music that made it very recognizable.

There were many social and political events that inspired Gaye to take a new direction when creating What’s Going On.  His brother, Frankie, was one of his biggest influences.  Frankie had survived three years in the Vietnam war, and Marvin felt like he should be able to do something, but he didn’t know what.  His brother told him to fight with his music and not guns.  The recent deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were also pushing matters during the time, and the fact that our government could put rockets into space but ignored the poverty stricken streets of Detroit infuriated him. 

There were some obstacles that Marvin Gaye faced when creating this album, and one of the biggest was the owner of the Motown record label, Berry Gordy.  When Gaye brought the album to Gordy, he said it was “one of the worst things he has ever heard in his entire life.”  It failed to pass quality control, and Gaye eventually had to wait it out, even trying to become a professional football player in his off time.  Finally, the album was released without Gordy knowing and became an instant success.

One characteristic that makes What’s Going On so unique is the fact that the subject matter is very meaningful and almost preaches the fact that change needed to take place in order for people to live in peace.  Another characteristic of this album is the accidental use of doubling the lead vocals.  After they heard the sound that was produced from doing this, it became a signature technique that was used to create the unique sound of Marvin Gaye’s vocals.

I thoroughly enjoy listening to What’s Going On, and you can really hear the strong message that this album carries with it.  The fact that new and inventive techniques were used while recording and mixing the album pays homage to the groundbreaking vision that Gaye was trying to achieve.  What’s Going On will remain in history as one of the most influential albums of the 1970’s.

The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground & Nico were one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960’s.  Not only did they provide new and experimental music, they blended both art and film into their performances.  The influential role that pop-artist Andy Warhol played as the band’s producer had much to do with their direction and success. Their image was not only of exuberant musicians, but was also linked to the art world.  The music was very different than anything that was being heard at the time, consisting of amateur sounding riffs, loud harsh feedback and overlying lyrics that weren’t always musical but very distinct. 

Lou Reed and John Cale were the founding members of The Velvet Underground.  Reed was the main songwriter of the group, played guitar and sung as well.  He talks about his songs being written about actual real life events that happened to him, and how he feels that was one of the things that made The Velvet Underground unique.  John Cale played the electric viola and also made contributions to writing some of the songs.  Although conflict in the band would eventually lead to Reed’s departure in 1970, the relationship and vibe between these two men was an integral piece to the puzzle that made up the sound of the band.  Andy Warhol was a very influential person in the creation of what The Velvet Underground came to be.  Being an already famous pop-artist, he made the band part of his artistic vision and created an image for them.  Nobody had ever taken this direction before, and it was a bold new path in the world of music.

There were many characteristics that made The Velvet Underground stand out from most bands.  The most obvious one that has already been talked about is the influence of Andy Warhol and the incorporation of art into music.  Another characteristic is the aggressive tone of the instruments and the artistic use of feedback and tones that would usually be considered undesirable. 

As a listener and a professional, I find it fascinating how different the music is from anything else of that time period.  Personally, I do not enjoy listening to it that much, but I can still appreciate what affect these recordings had on the culture and history of music.  It is very interesting to study the different ways that people try to break out of the norm, and The Velvet Underground definitely did this with their experimental sound and artistic implementation.    

Revolver

The Beatles are one of the most influential rock and roll bands of all time.  Originating in Britain, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr took the world by storm in the 60’s with their new, aggressive style.  Revolver is one of their most popular albums and was definitely a turning point in how The Beatles wrote and created their music. 

Up until this album, the band had been fairly streamlined on their approach to music with few outside influences.  As they matured and had more and more life experiences, their outlook on music in general started to change.  One of these life experiences was taking LSD, smoking pot and doing other mind-altering, creativity-inducing drugs.  These influences are apparent on tracks such as Yellow Submarine and She Said She Said.  During these times, The Beatles ventured into more experimental music and lyrics.  Sometimes, it is often hard to appreciate or comprehend what they were trying to accomplish in a song such as Yellow Submarine.

During the making of Revolver, The Beatles wanted to use the studio as a creative tool in their music rather than just a medium for their songs to be recorded.  This is evident especially when one of them is heard counting down numbers as soon as the album starts.  This offers a window for the listener to peer in and hear what happens when the album is actually being created.  Compression was used for the first time as a dynamic effect while recording the record, and George Harrison even played an Indian sitar on some songs, which had never been implemented into this type of music before.  These are just a couple of innovations that happened while recording Revolver.

This album definitely catches my ear as being a complete work of art.  The amount of detail and attention given coupled with the ground breaking innovations that sprouted from the making of the album put it at the top of the list in the company of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time.  One of the most interesting things to me is how everything is panned within the stereo image.  If someone tried to pan things like they did in Revolver today, they would be deemed crazy!  It just goes to show how experimental and novel this album really was.

Pet Sounds

Prior to the release of their iconic album Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys were known for their poppy sound and simple tunes.  A big part of The Beach Boys’ sound was always the thick harmonies that were sung with the lead vocals.  Brian Wilson was the backbone of the group, doing mostly all of the songwriting, producing and arranging.  He played a quintessential role in making The Beach Boys as successful as they were. 

When The Beatles came out with Rubber Soul, it inspired Brian Wilson to write cutting edge new music that could compete with the new wave of more complicated and deeper tunes.  One thing that Brian Wilson wanted to do on Pet Sounds was to experiment with all different types of instruments.  He wanted to increase his musical palette and mix together sounds and instruments that had never been tried before.  Another aspect of Pet Sounds that made it stand out from other music at the time was the fact that the whole album was meant to flow together as one.  When listened to from beginning to end, it was almost as if the album were telling a love story.  The arrangements of the songs were also much more experimental, with odd chords and funky tempo changes. 

When listening to Pet Sounds, I can really tell that a lot of experimentation was done.  Compared with earlier works done by The Beach Boys, much of the main-stream feel is gone, and you can tell that Brian Wilson had a good amount of time to sit down and arrange the songs with much more thought and creativity.  The recordings also seem to be of much better quality and the overall production of the album seems to have been carried out with the utmost care.  You can tell that Brian Wilson really wanted to step out of the box and create something new and groundbreaking.