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Class Notes – 10 (Mar 21) New Wave (cont.) The Police •

Released in 1980, the album Zenyatta Mondatta became the group’s North American breakthrough

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It is influenced by reggae and punk and featuring few musical elements on top of the core guitar, bass and drums

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Their hit single Don’t Stand So Close To Me deals subject matter that was (and is still) considered quite controversial

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The music remains relatively sparse, incorporating only guitar, bass and drums

Song: Don’t Stand So Close To Me (FORMAL ANALYSIS) • Begins with guitar in the background – sustained bass • Guitar plays a few licks over top of this • • •

Drums enter with a reggae-style beat – guitar backs this up with chordal shots on the backbeat Narrow lead vocals enter; guitar returns with an angular riff Harmonized vocals enter at the chorus

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The 1983 album Synchronicity became a blockbuster success

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This album showed a marked change as it was characterized by intricate musical arrangements and poetic and intellectual lyrics

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The single Every Breath You Take won song of the year and The Police won Best Pop Performance at the 1984 Grammy awards

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It’s love ballad sound belies it’s more menacing lyrics

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The song shows the use of synthesizer – a new addition to their usual sparse accompaniment

Song: Every Breath You Take* • Begins with drums – a solo guitar riff enters that permeates the tune •

Melodic vocals enter over the drums and the guitar riff

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Bass enters with the second statement of A

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Synthesized strings enter in the B section

During the Synchronicity tour, personal and creative tensions between the band members escalated and the members split to explore solo careers – Sting was by far the most successful

U2 •

U2’s sound is rooted in RnB, filled with memorable guitar riffs and pounding drums but updating the sound by adding synthesizers

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Their approach is similar to the Police in that they write simple songs with innovative arrangements, poetic lyrics, rich guitar textures

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By January of 1980, the band had built up a loyal following and had signed a contract with Island Records

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Boy was released in October and contained their first Top 10 U.K. single I Will Follow

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The song is riff-driven and features Bono’s distinct vocal style

Song: I Will Follow* • Starts with solo guitar riff that permeates the piece – vocals interject throughout the intro • Percussion (bells) and then drums enter—strong backbeat • •

Bass enters next – fairly repetitive and rhythmic Bono’s vocals enter – they begin fairly melodic but evolve into a shouting style

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In December of 1983, U2 undertook their first tour of Japan and visited the Unforgettable Fire – an exhibition of photographs of the bombing of Hiroshima

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Their 1984 album was named The Unforgettable Fire and U2 brought in producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois

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U2 deals with civil rights on this album – the lyrics to Pride (In the Name of Love) make reference to Martin Luther King

Song Pride (In the Name of Love)* • Starts with guitar riff (repeated notes soaked in echo) and drums •

Song incorporates a strong and insistent backbeat

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Bass and synthesizer enter, promoting a subdued but insistent rhythm

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Vocals enter – they are melodic during the first verse, but escalate to semi-shouting through the chorus

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Remarkably, more than two decades later, the band remains intact – no one has left, no new members have ever joined – this, undoubtedly, contributed to their amazing success and their polished sound

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U2 has remained an important band throughout the 90s and up to the present, with a string of sold-out tours and successful albums

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Bono has become an outspoken advocate for humanitarian issues

Split Enz •

Split Enz became the first New Zealand band to achieve worldwide success

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They were widely known for their unique visual presentation – wild, colourful and inventive costume and hair designs

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Tim’s younger brother Neil joined the band in 1977 – ironically, it was Neil’s inability to play the electric guitar that brought the group success – it effectively forced the group to simplify the music

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In 1980, the newly formed line-up released their first album True Colours, an album that showcased their new pure pop direction

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Their single I Got You is a good example of a more pop-laden sound

Song: I Got You* • Starts with a guitar riff

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Drums enter and fall into a basic r’n’r beat

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Synthesizer enters with vocals – short disconnected vocal phrases Drums become more active and organ enters at the chorus

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Second synthesizer riff is added in the second verse

They followed this with release of two more successful albums and became one of the most successful and popular New Zealand groups, a position they held until their final split in 1984

Men at Work •

Men at Work’s style is characterized by a heavy reliance on reggae, catchy guitar hooks, wailing saxophone and an off-kilter sense of humour

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By 1981, the band had landed a contract with Australian Columbia – they released their

debut album Business as Usual in Spring of 1982 •

Down Under has a reggae flavour, employing the characteristic reggae beat

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Though interpreted as a comic song, it is really about the overdevelopment and plundering of country – thus reggae is a fitting style

Song: Down Under*

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Begins with percussion

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Flute and drums enter – guitar provides the typical reggae chordal backbeat

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Melodic lead vocals enter – keyboards and guitar provide a counterpoint to the vocals Harmonized backup vocals enter at the chorus

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Flute riff returns between verses

After the release of their second album Cargo, the band experienced a number of personnel changes and took an extended break in 1984

Early Alternative/College Rock The College Rock Scene (SHORT ANSWER) •

Nurtured an independent attitude • • • •

Celebrated its lack of affiliation with major labels College rock radio played recording released by small independent labels College rock radio played recording released by the bands themselves Noncommercial so no corporate influence on the station or their choice of format

R.E.M. •

R.E.M. were strongly influenced by new wave’s sense of irony and alienation

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They served as the progenitor of a scene that would develop on U.S. college campuses in the second half of the 80s

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The band was formed in Athens, Georgia – home to the burgeoning college music scene

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R.E.M.’s politics, and the aesthetic and their slow steady rise to stardom was largely inspired by punk and art rock of the 70s

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Their first single sparked a return-to-simplicity movement in the American underground

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In early 1982, they signed with I.R.S. Records – they would proceed to release an album every year for the next 7 years

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By 1986, R.E.M. had emerged as the quintessential college rock band, mixing their

return-to-simplicity style with the irony and sense of alienation characteristic of the early 80s New Wave style •

In 1987, they released the album Document – this contained their first top 10 hit The One I Love

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This song exemplified their characteristic simple riff-driven style and lyrics that convinced many this was a love song – it wasn’t

Song: The One I Love •

Begins with drums

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Guitar and bass join in with riff that will permeate the song

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Melodic lead vocals enter with simple melody

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The lyrics are cynical, talking about using people over and over

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Shortly after, they signed with Warner Brothers - many criticized the band for moving to a major label but the move afforded the group international attention

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They have been acknowledged by critics and musicians as one of the forefathers of the thriving alternative rock movement

Women Rockers (SHORT ANSWER) •

The 80s saw more women in mainstream rock than in any previous decade

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The 50s saw women relegated to singing in groups or fronting bands – they sang soft ballad-style songs of the pop or country variety

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Little changed until the late 60s with the emergence of Grace Slick and Janis Joplin – Slick was considered the first female mainstream rock star while Joplin was crowned the 60s “Blues Diva” for her raspy, soulful voice

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The 70s saw more women in the mainstream arena, but by and large, women made their biggest impact and saw their greatest success in the singer/songwriter genre

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The 80s saw the hard rock world open up to women, due largely in part to 70s female punk stars who had started a determined fight against the male domination of heavier rock styles

The Go-Gos – Female New Wave Band •

The Go-Gos were an integral part of the California punk scene, even though their hit singles were bright, energetic new wave pop

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They started out playing at seminal punk rock venues such as The Masque and Whisky-

A-Go-Go •

They signed with I.R.S. Records and released their debut album Beauty and the Beat in the summer of 1981

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The band worked pre-hippie ‘60s images to the hilt – their name is derived from the dancing “Go-Go Girls” that were so prevalent in the 60s and the album features them dressed only in mini skirts, as if at a slumber party

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The album contained the song We Got the Beat which is indicative of their upbeat, straight-ahead style, topped off by Carlisle’s distinctive vocals

Song: We Got the Beat • • •

Layered texture – begins with a straight-ahead rock beat – strong emphasis on the downbeat Guitar comes in with a riff This is followed by the bass entering with its own riff

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Carlisle’s vocals enter – distinct, “girly” sound Quite simple music – lyrics aren’t profound – music is geared towards dancing

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Soon after playing the 1985 Rock in Rio festival, both Carlisle and Caffey decided they didn’t want to be in the band anymore – the Go-Go’s disbanded soon after

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Belinda Carlisle enjoyed a successful solo career throughout the late 80s

Cyndi Lauper – Female Mainstream Pop/Rock Star •

Cyndi Lauper’s thin, girlish voice and ragtag appearance became one of the most distinctive images of the early 80s

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At first, her music was a bright, colorful new wave fusion of a number of styles

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Later she chose to turn towards more middle-of-the-road balladry and pop/rock

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In 1983, she released She’s So Unusual, an upbeat selections of songs that capitalized on Lauper’s distinctive vocal style and buoyant personality

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The song Girls Just Want to Have Fun is synth-based with an insistent drum track to back up Lauper’s vocals

Song: Girls Just Want to Have Fun •

Begins with synthesizers, bass and drum track

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Lauper’s girlish voice enters over strong bass, drum track Synthesizer drops to the background through the verses

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Synthesizer provides fills between verses

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Harmonized vocals enter during the “chorus” and then provide a lead-in to an instrumental bridge featuring synthesizer

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However, the album also succeeded in showing off the magnificent breadth of Lauper’s talent

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The tune Time After Time shows a totally different side of Lauper – one that is more in line with the singer-songwriters of the early 70s but heavily synthesized

Song: Time After Time •

Begins with synthesizer, light drums and guitar

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Melodic vocals enter – lyrics are clear and easy to understand

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Lyrics are more story-telling, rather than portraying any emotion or focusing on love or sex

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Synthesizers and drums become more active as the song progresses – texture becomes more dense

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Her success guaranteed, Lauper strayed from the pop/rock mix to explore a more intimate route on her next album True Colors

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The album was a success, reaching #4 on the charts and producing a #1 hit single with the title track

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The softer sound of this album was geared towards an older audience, and while it sold well, Lauper lost a significant portion of the teenage female demographic

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She continues to record and is seen as one of the big female icons of the 80s

The Bangles – Female Power Pop Band •

The Bangles were one of the new generation of independent all women bands that followed The Go-Go’s in the early 80s

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The released a four-song pop EP on I.R.S. before signing with Columbia

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In 1983, their debut album All Over the Place (1984) captured their power-pop roots

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Their second Columbia album Different Light was released in 1986 and showed a much more polished sound than its predecessor

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Walk Like An Egyptian shows their affinity for infectious hooks and lots of percussion

Song: Walk Like An Egyptian

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Begins with percussion instruments (shakers and guiro) and drums

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Gong shots enter with bass guitar, lead guitar Drums have a very distinctive riff in the opening

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The shaker and guiro provide a steady background to everything else

Melodic vocals enter – harmonized backup vocals enter sporadically

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This single placed the band firmly into the mainstream as both radio and MTV picked up on both the song and the video

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The group disbanded in 1989 due to artistic differences – they officially reformed in the summer of 2000, announcing tour dates and plans for a new studio album

The New Traditionalists •

Although Punk and New Wave artists often returned to earlier styles of r’n’r, their approach was often heavily imbued with irony and sarcasm

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This was done not so much to endorse earlier rock, but more to reject the corporate rock of the 70s – Devo is a good example of this

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A second approach was to employ these styles in earnest – these groups sincerely felt that the early styles sounded better

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Unlike punk or new wave groups, this collection of bands and artists were not exploiting early rock forms to create any kind of art-punk pastiche

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Rather, these new traditionalists were concerned with bringing rock back to its core aesthetic values

New Traditionalists and Mainstream Rock Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers) •

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers celebrated older styles of r’n’r, taking the best from the British Invasion, American garage rock and Dylan-style singer/songwriters to create a distinctive American hybrid

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Style and sound was built around nostalgic 60s folk-rock– electric 12-string guitar; thoughtful lyrics; catchy melodies

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Petty’s songs catalogued a series of middle-class losers and dreamers

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His second album Hard Promises saw Petty having issues with the record company over the list price of the album –Petty won, and the album was sold at a lower sticker price

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In 1989, Petty released the album Full Moon Fever, an homage to a simpler, more homegrown style of r’n’r

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Free Fallin’ uses a simple acoustic riff coupled with offbeat lyrics

Song: Free Fallin’* •

Begins with a distinct guitar riff that will define the song

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Petty’s distinctive vocals enter over this – melodic, but nasal style Drums and bass enter after the first verse – very typical r’n’r beat

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The opening guitar riff returns during the chorus – strong backbeat is emphasized and bass becomes more active

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He has continued to be very successful, both with the Heartbreakers and as a solo act

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He and the Heartbreakers were one of the few tradionalist rock ‘n’ rollers who embraced music videos, filming some of the most inventive and popular videos in MTV history

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His willingness to experiment with the boundaries of classic r’n’r has helped Petty sustain his popularity

Bruce Springsteen •

Bruce Springsteen’s songs projected the image of an average working-class guy; lyrics show a reflection on common emotional and social problems

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His image relied on the idea that he embodied what we sung about

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1984’s Born in the U.S.A. made Springsteen a megastar

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The title track is often construed as a patriotic song, but it is anything but – the song describes the decay of American values in the industrial heartland from the perspective of someone who is powerless to bring on change

Song: Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. •

Starts with synthesizer, piano and drums on the backbeat – this riff will return throughout the song

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Synthesizer plays a riff that is repeated throughout the first verse and chorus Semi-shouting vocals enter over this riff and drums

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Second verse, full drums set, guitar and bass enter Lyrics center on the disillusionment and disappointment felt by those who felt abandoned by their own country

His last album of the 80s was Tunnel of Love, released in 1987

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This contains some of his most personal songs as it came at the end of his marriage to Julianne Phillips

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One of the songs is Brilliant Disguise in which a man questions his relationships and the fidelity of both members

Song: Bruce Springsteen Brilliant Disguise •

Starts with drums and claves

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Guitars, bass and synthesizer enter

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Vocals enter – very melodic and clear – telling a story Harmonized vocals enter at the chorus

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Springsteen must be commended for bringing back a more mainstream rock-based sound to rock ‘n’ roll

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He also must be noted for his very blunt and in-your-face lyrics that recall the earlier brusqueness of Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp •

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