Here is the Link to My Producer Podcast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iSx_pGGBLE
The producer I chose to study and talk about was Sam Phillips. He was known as the Father of Rock and Roll and found some of the greatest talent to partake in the music industry. He had an interesting way of getting the best out of artists and had a phenomenal ear for talent. The websites I used for information were
http://www.history-of-rock.com/sam_phillips_sun_records.htm
http://rockhall.com/inductees/sam-phillips/
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/SamPhillips1.html
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Pier Review
It's cool that you chose to do your project on this guitar. I'd never really appreciated each guitars unique sound until coming to Full Sail and meeting some guitar players or musicians that had an understanding for the difference in sound. Initially, to me, a guitar was a guitar and that was it. Your review on the amount of people that have used this guitar to get their signature sound, including Keith Richards was awesome. I really like the way you incorporated pictures into your blog as well. It really added some dimensions to the post that were refreshing and made for a much more visually interesting page. It would be interesting to have a lecture on the difference between the Gibson guitars and the Fender Guitars and hear some significant differences as I know those two are talked of a lot. Ultimately, good sound starts with a good player but it's really cool to see just how many of the bands we listen to have implemented the Fender Telecaster and how much we've become accustomed to that specific sound. Good job on the post.
JAY-Z
From his upbringing in the Marcy projects of Brooklyn to the cover of Forbes Magazine,
Jay-Z has achieved a level of financial and artistic success most people could only dream of.
His achievements in the music industry include four number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and he holds the record for the most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200 list. He has sold over 50 million albums world wide and has been awarded thirteen grammies. Not to bad for a kid out the Marcy projects of Brooklyn, New York. Billboard Magazine went on to rank him as the 10th most successful artist of this past decade. As the icing on the cake, Jay-Z married Beyonce Knowles in 2008 making him, in the eyes of many, the luckiest man in the world.
His early music career was interesting in the fact that along with Dame Dash and Kareem Biggs, the team of three started Roc-A-Fella Records and began distributing the first album "Reasonable Doubt" and the second album "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1" on their own. Following the success with the first two albums, the Roc-A-Fella label signed a publishing deal with Def Jam Records. On his next album he got production help from Sean Combs (P.Diddy) and as a result his album had upon it the biggest hit of his career up to that point "Hard Knock Life" which used a sample from the broadway play Annie. This really started the image of Jay-Z which was to become the representative for the underdog rising out of the depths of poverty. He found a story so many people could relate to and he keeps this central theme of rags to riches in on all his consecutive albums.
One of the coolest aspects of Jay-Z's artistic ability lies in the fact that he doesn't use a pen and paper for his lyrics. He writes the words in his head and then recites them into the microphone in the studio. He claims to have built up a phenomenal memory as a result of coming up with lyrics while dealing drugs on the corner. Initially he would run to the store and get a brown bag to write the lyrics on, but then realized it was interfering with his business so he learned to memorize the lyrics until he got home and could write them down on a piece of paper. This phenomenal memory and lack of paper and pen is a common thing among rappers and was something that became an coincidental bonding point between Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G.
Jay-Z's album "Collision Course" was a unique blend of the heavy rock music created by Linkin Park and the hip hop lyrics and delivery of Jay-Z's black album. It was both unique and special in creation and really revolutionized the blending of the two styles. Run DMC had done something similar many years before with their collaboration song with Aerosmith.
Jay-Z has inspired me to pursue my artistic abilities whole heartedly and to stay true to the music. He famously said "don't force the music" in his documentary "Fade to Black." Another inspirational aspect of Jay-Z's career is that he didn't release his first album until he was 26 years old. This, he says, is because it wasn't until that age that he had a story worth telling. I feel as though there's a misconception of how young you have to be to release your first album. It's better to wait and release something of quality than to start young and pump out a large quantity of crap. That's just my opinion. The way there is meaning in each sentence and the ease of comprehension that Jay-Z utilizes in his music is also a key element I have gravitated towards. So many times I have to go look up lyrics to find out what an artist was singing or saying, but with Jay-Z's lyrics I don't feel the necessity to do that. He keeps things clear and simple yet deep and meaningful at the same time. The final aspect of Jay-Z I find to be of inspiration is his ability to be artistic and business savvy at the same time. He understands that music is a business as much as it is an art form and as a result of this blended understanding, he has accumulated a wealth of over 500 million dollars. Again, not to shabby for a boy born to the projects of Brooklyn.
Jay-Z has achieved a level of financial and artistic success most people could only dream of.
His achievements in the music industry include four number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and he holds the record for the most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200 list. He has sold over 50 million albums world wide and has been awarded thirteen grammies. Not to bad for a kid out the Marcy projects of Brooklyn, New York. Billboard Magazine went on to rank him as the 10th most successful artist of this past decade. As the icing on the cake, Jay-Z married Beyonce Knowles in 2008 making him, in the eyes of many, the luckiest man in the world.
His early music career was interesting in the fact that along with Dame Dash and Kareem Biggs, the team of three started Roc-A-Fella Records and began distributing the first album "Reasonable Doubt" and the second album "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1" on their own. Following the success with the first two albums, the Roc-A-Fella label signed a publishing deal with Def Jam Records. On his next album he got production help from Sean Combs (P.Diddy) and as a result his album had upon it the biggest hit of his career up to that point "Hard Knock Life" which used a sample from the broadway play Annie. This really started the image of Jay-Z which was to become the representative for the underdog rising out of the depths of poverty. He found a story so many people could relate to and he keeps this central theme of rags to riches in on all his consecutive albums.
One of the coolest aspects of Jay-Z's artistic ability lies in the fact that he doesn't use a pen and paper for his lyrics. He writes the words in his head and then recites them into the microphone in the studio. He claims to have built up a phenomenal memory as a result of coming up with lyrics while dealing drugs on the corner. Initially he would run to the store and get a brown bag to write the lyrics on, but then realized it was interfering with his business so he learned to memorize the lyrics until he got home and could write them down on a piece of paper. This phenomenal memory and lack of paper and pen is a common thing among rappers and was something that became an coincidental bonding point between Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G.
Jay-Z's album "Collision Course" was a unique blend of the heavy rock music created by Linkin Park and the hip hop lyrics and delivery of Jay-Z's black album. It was both unique and special in creation and really revolutionized the blending of the two styles. Run DMC had done something similar many years before with their collaboration song with Aerosmith.
Jay-Z has inspired me to pursue my artistic abilities whole heartedly and to stay true to the music. He famously said "don't force the music" in his documentary "Fade to Black." Another inspirational aspect of Jay-Z's career is that he didn't release his first album until he was 26 years old. This, he says, is because it wasn't until that age that he had a story worth telling. I feel as though there's a misconception of how young you have to be to release your first album. It's better to wait and release something of quality than to start young and pump out a large quantity of crap. That's just my opinion. The way there is meaning in each sentence and the ease of comprehension that Jay-Z utilizes in his music is also a key element I have gravitated towards. So many times I have to go look up lyrics to find out what an artist was singing or saying, but with Jay-Z's lyrics I don't feel the necessity to do that. He keeps things clear and simple yet deep and meaningful at the same time. The final aspect of Jay-Z I find to be of inspiration is his ability to be artistic and business savvy at the same time. He understands that music is a business as much as it is an art form and as a result of this blended understanding, he has accumulated a wealth of over 500 million dollars. Again, not to shabby for a boy born to the projects of Brooklyn.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Pier Review Comment
Your explanation and in depth detail of Moog and his influence on music of the past and present was phenomenal. I can tell you have a passion for his work and contributions and have researched this topic in depth. His influence on albums such as the dark side of the moon lead to the most unique and influential albums of all time. The fact he was a scientist trying to cater to musicians and their creativity was a sure example of giving back to others at it's finest. There should be a national Moog day where people listen to and appreciate his contributions all over the world. Our ears have been blessed by this mans creation. I really like how you included the abilities of the Moog synthesizers and how diverse the sounds out of them can be.
INNOVATION
Daft Punk is a duo group. It's two French guys, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. Their success has been on the international level. They hit it big in France during the late 1990's and have been an influence to pop music ever since. Originally in the house scene, they branched out and started blending their house music with synthesized pop music. Their most noted tracks were tracks such as "One More Time" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" which Kanye went on to remake.
The members of Daft Punk have said they didn't sign with a lot of labels because they wanted to keep control of what they were making. Although this probably meant they turned down the more financially rewarding deals, it allowed them to stay true to the artists they were and were becoming. This lead to two back to back #1 hits and ultimately secured them a place in electronic music and pop music history. They speak of the influencing factors to their music and mentality. Their influences were Brian Wilson and Bob Marley in the sense that these guys made real music. They referred to it as "Spiritual."
The two songs that went on the be back to back #1 hits were Digital Love and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
Another innovative characteristic of the duo is their live presence on stage. They dress and modern robots while performing and use lighting and imagery to really put on a show. It's not just about the music, it's about a whole feeling and atmosphere around their music.
Although many other artists make a similar style of music such as Pretty lights, MGMT, and Girl Talk these artists wouldn't have had the foot holes to climb if the previous artists such as Daft Punk had set the bar.
I really enjoy the music of Daft Punk. It's energetic and filled with emotion. The electronic sounds of their music makes it modern and feel relevant to this generation. Growing up through the 90's, it's exactly what I heard on the radio so much of the time.
KRAFTWERK
Kraftwerk was one of the pioneering groups within the genre of electronic music. We can see area's of influence from them in modern day music. Their early sounds were mostly experimental. The sound of the song autobahn is bass heavy, with lots of modulation. The sounds are unrealistic sounds. Not expected from live instruments. It is apparent that they are electronically created. The use of sweeping pads and punchy melodies over the top are unique for their time. The drums are simple and punchy. More apparent is the simplicity of the lyrical content. It's very easy to see with the song Autobahn that Kraftwerk was inspired by The Beach Boys.
It's cool that the albums were concept albums all the way through the seventies. The first albums from Kraftwerk were more experimental rock albums. They were free-form and didn't have very rigid structures. I think it was during this time that the group was finding their own unique sound. Initially the band used regular instruments (guitar, flute, bass, etc..) and then would distort the sound post production. It was with the album Ralf and florian that the group started focusing more on synthesized sounds and drum machines. Computer world was a tour the group went on. They packed up the entire Kling Klang studios and took it on the road with them.
The album concepts were incredible. From the Fast car's and wild road travel of the Autobahn to the radio communications of Radio Activity. Their concepts were carried out flawlessly and with experimental sounds and catchy melodies. The innovation of instrumentation and effects has influenced such acts as David Bowie, Duran Duran, and Jay-z. Not to mention just about every single song on the radio today.
The albums from Kraftwerk are cool albums. In many instances they lack structure and therefor, although I feel a series of emotions, their to sprawling and unorganized. I have become quite accustomed to the roller coaster ride of emotions a standard song delivers. I am very appreciative of these guys for their contributions to modern music. I like the use of panning to create a sense of location and the effects they use on the sounds are so far from what is achievable with just an instrument that it makes it cool.
It's cool that the albums were concept albums all the way through the seventies. The first albums from Kraftwerk were more experimental rock albums. They were free-form and didn't have very rigid structures. I think it was during this time that the group was finding their own unique sound. Initially the band used regular instruments (guitar, flute, bass, etc..) and then would distort the sound post production. It was with the album Ralf and florian that the group started focusing more on synthesized sounds and drum machines. Computer world was a tour the group went on. They packed up the entire Kling Klang studios and took it on the road with them.
The album concepts were incredible. From the Fast car's and wild road travel of the Autobahn to the radio communications of Radio Activity. Their concepts were carried out flawlessly and with experimental sounds and catchy melodies. The innovation of instrumentation and effects has influenced such acts as David Bowie, Duran Duran, and Jay-z. Not to mention just about every single song on the radio today.
The albums from Kraftwerk are cool albums. In many instances they lack structure and therefor, although I feel a series of emotions, their to sprawling and unorganized. I have become quite accustomed to the roller coaster ride of emotions a standard song delivers. I am very appreciative of these guys for their contributions to modern music. I like the use of panning to create a sense of location and the effects they use on the sounds are so far from what is achievable with just an instrument that it makes it cool.
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