Revolver Entry

Prior to the Beatles Revolver album, their mark on popular music and culture was already being established. The Beatles were a British rock and roll band who saw tremendous success in international and American markets. They had an original style of catchy synthesis and American rock and R&B. The band’s increasingly sophisticated experimentation propelled them across a variety of genres, including folk-rock, country, psychedelic, and pop without tarnishing their reputation. Some of the non-musical outside influences came from actor Peter Fonda where in a discussion with group members said that he knew what it was like to be dead because as a boy he almost died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His story was a direct influence for the song titled “She Said She Said.” “Got to Get You Into My Life” was a love song by McCartney dedicated to marijuana and the uses of it. For “Taxman”, the song was influenced and used as an act of protest against the high marginal rates of income tax paid by high earners like the Beatles, which was at times 95 percent of their income.

The Beatles were very known for using the studio as an extension to their music and has an instrument as well. They regularly demanded that something new be tried with the attitude in mind of how it might actually sound good. They constantly used accidents as used portions of their music such as guitar feedback, resonating glass bottle, a tape loaded the wrong way round so that it played backwards, all this mishaps lead to new ideas and recording strategies throughout their recordings.

I feel as though the Beatles may have been one of the most creative, revolutionary, and distinctive groups of their time. Their chart topping success propelled them to a status of musical legends that I feel they deserve to have.

Podcast Entry 1

Here is the link to my Podcast Entry 1- Marvin Gaye Whats Going On

http://soundcloud.com/anthony-wright-mh2/podcast-entry-1-whats-going-on

Podcast Project Two

Here's the link to my podcast on soundcloud

http://soundcloud.com/anthony-wright-mh2/quincy-jones-podcast

Independent Research entry(Quincy Jones)

For my final blog entry and independent research I will be touching on the influence of the producer and composer Quincy Jones. His career spans five decades with a record 27 Grammys and 79 Grammy award nominations, which also includes a Grammy Legend Award in 1991. He is most famously recognized as the producer of the album Thriller by pop icon Michael Jackson. This album went on to sell more than 110 million copies worldwide. Quincy Jones also went on to produce and conduct the charity song We Are The World. Quincy Jones and Bob Russell were the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song titled The Eyes of Love from Universal Pictures film Banning. He is tied with sound designer Willie D.Burton as the most Oscar-nominated African American, with each of them having seven nominations.

I feel as though Quincy Jones made a very significant impact on the career of popular music world icon Michael Jackson. While working on the film The Wiz, Michael Jackson and Quincy descused working a project together, in result they went on to make Off The Wall which sold approximately 20 million copies, making Quincy the most powerful record producer in the industry. Their next collaboration Thriller sold 110 million copies and has become the highest selling album of all time. From there they worked on the album Bad, which sold 32 million copies. After this Jackson went on to different producers to help update and reinvent his sound.

Quincy also played a major role in social activism which began in the 1960’s with his support of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Quincy is on the founders of the Institute for Black American Music (IBAM), whose events are aimed at raising funds for the creation of a national library of African American art and music. He is also a founder of the Black Arts Festival in Chicago, Illinois. Working with Bono of U2, for many years they teamed up on many philanthropic missions and operations. In 2004, Quincy launched the We Are The Future project, which gives children in poor and violence filled cities a chance to live out their child-hoods and create an atmosphere of hope and prosperity.

My impression of Quincy Jones is defiantly a great one. I admire him and am extremely impressed by is hard work, dedication, and legacy that he has left behind for himself alone. Being behind the scenes and also at times in the limelight of things he has made a huge mark and impact on society and the direction of where music has gone today. Quincy Jones single handily help to build the foundation for what popular music is today and everything that he has touched seems to spark and manifest into something worth being called greatness.

Electronic Music Innovations

The music producer/ artist that I will be discussing on the topic of Electronic Music Innovations is none other than the producer of Wu-Tang Clan, aka RZA. He is well known and respected as one of the greatest producers in the Hip- Hop genre for his unique style and creative innovations in that sound. Now Rza is originally known for his gritty sounds of production, from frenetic piano loops, heavy bass and drums, with the experimentation of more melodic sounds as well. RZA's style varies from chopping up and speeding or slowing down soul and electronic samples to fit his beats, which have left impacts on other notable producers styles such as Kanye West and Just Blaze. Towards the mid 2000’s, Rza became more experimental towards smoother and tightly assembled productions and elements that play off of each other than in his previous beats.

Far as his influence and innovation, with Reakwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx album and GZA’s Liquid Swords, RZA went on to immerse these sounds in dark, soul samples pioneering the technique of speeding up and slowing down samples to fit a beat. He realized the potential of the skit, using samples from John Woo films and stringing them together to form a loose story line within the albums he produced. This sound and style of production in later years would go on to be the backbone of the sound of Rocafella records with their heavy soul sampled hip-hop beats. With Kanye being the forefront producer for Rocafella he has stated that he pulled a lot of influence from Rza’s style, and in response RZA explains it as being more of a passing of the torch type of situation that Kayne must fulfill now on.

Rza was always one of my favorite producers, with me being a Wu-tang Clan fan growing up I always appreciated the uniqueness and individuality that this group has brought to the genre of hip-hop with Rza being the main player behind that direction.

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk is an electronic music band from Germany formed in the 1970’s. They were known for their classical style of harmony and heavy electronic instrumentation. They were one of the first groups to popularize electronic music and were recognized as pioneers in the field. In their early years throughout the time of their first three albums were free form experimental styles. During this time they played on an arrangement of traditional instruments such as guitar, bass, drums, electric organ, flute, violin, and also the vocoder, which would become one of Kraftwerks trademark instruments.

The Release of Autobahn in 1974 was the start of the band branching off from their previous sound. With this new album it opened up the door for them to be able to perform Internationally in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. They later followed up with their second album titled Radio-Activity. In return to this they were able to establish King Klang Studios as a staple in the industry. After this Kraftwerk went on to release a slew of albums. In 1977 Trans- Europe Express, 1978 The Man Machine and after this there was not another album released for 3 years. However in 1981 Kraftwerk released Computer World on EMI records, where they reached number one position with their track titled The Model, making it their most successful record in the UK.

A major part of Kraftwerk’s influence comes from their live show presentation and electronic creativity. They would actually pack up their whole studio, Kling Klang Studio, and take it on the road with them. Their visual elements were filled with projected slides and films all synchronized with their music as technology grew, even replica mannequins of themselves were used while performing their song called The Robots. Throughout their career, Kraftwerk pushed the limits of music technology with notable innovation, self-made instruments, and custom built devices. Kraftwerk would go on to influence such genres as hip hop, house, drum and bass, and many more, notably with Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, also with Jay-z and Foxy Brown on the track titled Sunshine. Kraftwerk leaves a strong impression with me being that I'm a very heavy synth producer myself, and the technological advancements that were made because of this group helps me to this day put together the exact sound that I choose to go for.