Favourite Music

[Rich]

60's -(My golden period) Beatles without question, but also had Hendrix, Cream & the whole blues explosion, Aretha Franklin and the beginnings of 'Fusion'

And it could equally be argued that Chuck Berry etc influenced them to start with....................

 

[GaryPanic]

They still are mate, name another band that anywhere even approaches their creative collective genius

Queen
Bee Gees
Genisis

to name a few

 

[GaryPanic]

If you look at the Bee Gees

(I think) they have had more no 1 to their name than the beatles - remember they wrote for other artists

 

[GaryPanic]

However if we are looking at "modern bands" then you may have a point Oasis, the song writer is very good - where as his brother is a dick ..

 

[David Eagar]

To Gary - re Bee Gee's (having spent their childhoods in Australia I should support them & I do like their early works)

More hits does not mean more talent (although in this case at least they had some)

The Spice Girls had hits, Milli Vanilli had a hit!!!!

Hits can be got from the marketing department

re Oasis - Many music critics have already commented on how similiar many Oasis songs were to Beatles ones - other than doing some 20 years after the event, what did they do that was NEW????????

 

[David Eagar]

And it could equally be argued that Chuck Berry etc influenced them to start with....................

Goes without saying and will not get rebuttal from me - especially influence he had on The Beatles & Rolling Stones has largely inflenced me

 

[wazz]

bach is seen as an original. oddly, he was at the end of the baroque era and represents a culmination of everything that came before. his son c.p.e. bach could be considered a modernist of the day working with new forms and helped catapult the classical era. he was certainly more *famous* than his dad who fell into obscurity for almost 100 years until mendelssohn "revived" his music.

beethoven's third symphony was original. the very opening was a shocker. two chords in your face, then off to the races. most music before him moved harmonically from the 'one' chord (I) to the 'five' chord and back again. he invented the idea of music moving to the III chord and many other things, including one of the earliest 'programmatic' pieces - music that tells a story - his sixth symphony 'the pastoral', which someone mentioned earlier.

most music historians look at how a composer's music evolved harmonically to assess originality. what chords are used? what chord progressions are used? what chord extensions are used (the use of 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths).

wagner is often seen as the pinacle of harmonic development. then we start getting masters of orchestration (what instruments are used and how?). then the tone poems (similar to programmatic music) and influences from outside of europe: scales/modes from asia, for example, such as in the music of debussy (a master of harmony and orchestration).

in the modern era anything goes (or went), from repetitive phrases (adams/glass) to the very sounds around us (cage/varese), to ultra-modern "new complexity".

pop and rock did and does go through similar changes but with less variety of harmony and especially instrumentation - drums, bass and guitar are still the heart of most of it, and of course keyboards. like debussy, bands that are influenced by "other" styles of music and actually incorporate those styles into their own to create something new can be viewed as original - the police's use of ska and/or reggae grooves, peter gabriel's incorporation of "world musics" as examples.

what's amazing is the variety we can find within an essentially unchanging medium. it's remarkable what people can come up with. not only that, a super-group like the beatles or the police can have come out with only 5 albums (police) or 12 (beatles) while other super-groups have so many more (excluding live and compilations): rush (21); stones (over 20), etc....

 

[David Eagar]

Wazz - thanks for the informative post - rock category - what was most galling to me, especially a trend in the 80's was a bands debut album, heavily promoted - and their second would be their Greatest Hits!!!

 

[GaryPanic]

Neil Young
The Eagles

The Wombles
Mud
David Cassidy
Bay city rollers

Hold on I 've lost the plot ..
g

 

[David Eagar]

most music historians look at how a composer's music evolved harmonically to assess originality. what chords are used? what chord progressions are used? what chord extensions are used (the use of 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths).

Digesting your post even further, I now have even greater faith that my Jobim submission was the right choice - the chords used in bossa nova are still innovative - and better still played with that seductive rhythm

 

[BarryMK]

Neil Young
The Eagles

The Wombles
Mud
David Cassidy
Bay city rollers

Hold on I 've lost the plot ..
g

What! Just as you were getting onto the good stuff!

 

[Rich]

If you look at the Bee Gees

(I think) they have had more no 1 to their name than the beatles - remember they wrote for other artists

They were responsible for that crap called disco!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Having once played in a rock band, I am more than intimately familiar with the common progressions include the "I-IV-V" and "circle VI" sequences. I guess when I was still with my group, 95% + of the popular music was that way. If you don't play the blues in a I-IV-V or minor-chord variants thereof, it ain't the blues, baby!

Therefore, considering West Side Story, Elmer Bernstein's music was a true breath of innovation, with unusual and incredibly infusive progressions. Progressions that stayed with you because they were so unusual. Progressions that seeped into your brain as a stroke of newness, a flash of genius, a portent of a talent that would stand up to the test of time.

Then again, brilliance comes in many ways. Earlier I mentioned how Tchaikovsky was an innovator with sound. So was Leroy Anderson. But because his music was more set in a commercial vein, you might not know the name. On the other hand, if you ever were a fan of late-night movie shows on TV (particularly in local channels) in the 1950s and 1960s, you know his music. He had recordings that were used as "bumper" music between commercial breaks.

He used innovative sounds - for instance, a clock in "The Syncopated Clock" - or typewriters as a rhythm instrument. Toy trumpets in "Trumpeter's Lullaby."

Then, there are other types of innovators. Robert Moog - essentially the guy who made synthesizers famous. Ray Kurzweil - whose keyboards became famous because of their versatility - and because "Little Stevie Wonder" played one. Walter/Wendy Carlos - who had the idea of making a classical synthesizer album that almost single-handedly resurrected the Columbia Masterworks label. (Switched-On Bach, of course.) Lesser players in sea of great artists.

Last but not too far from least, that mis-begotten, long-forgotten, smelled-like-he-was-rotten unacknowledged son of J S Bach... P D Q Bach. He who created instruments such as the "Pandemonium" - 25 tuned sheets of glass. Each composition could only play each note once, but oh such glory. {smirk smirk}. Or the "Duet for Bagpipe and Triangle." Noted for his sequels to greater compositions - who can forget the stirring "Iphegenia in Brooklyn" or "My Bonnie Lass Smelleth So" ...? With all due thanks to Professor Peter Schickele, the Professor of Music History from the University of Southern North Dakota (or was it Northern South Dakota? I forget...) at Hoople, whose tireless endeavors revealed this long-ignored musical genius who stood in the shadow of his great father for so many years. Usually in the shadow and with the misfortune of being downwind every time dad had gas...

One of the compositions was found as the liner of an old bird cage in an attic. Prof. Schickele cleaned up the parchment pretty well, though some of the notes are hard to distinguish from bird droppings. On the other hand, they add a certain air to the music if you play them as though they were really part of the piece and not just an add-on left behind by a dyspeptic parrot.

Some of you might think I'm joking. Look up "Peter Schikele" (or Schickele) with Google and you'll see...

 

[wazz]

Earlier I mentioned how Tchaikovsky was an innovator with sound. So was Leroy Anderson. But because his music was more set in a commercial vein, you might not know the name. On the other hand, if you ever were a fan of late-night movie shows on TV (particularly in local channels) in the 1950s and 1960s, you know his music. He had recordings that were used as "bumper" music between commercial breaks.

He used innovative sounds - for instance, a clock in "The Syncopated Clock" - or typewriters as a rhythm instrument. Toy trumpets in "Trumpeter's Lullaby."

a few years ago we did a new year's concert with the first half devoted to johann strauss and the second to leroy anderson. we all finally had a chance to discover what was great - and clever - about him. great stuff. i didn't know about the TV connection. tnx for that.

Last but not too far from least, that mis-begotten, long-forgotten, smelled-like-he-was-rotten unacknowledged son of J S Bach... P D Q Bach. He who created instruments such as the "Pandemonium" - 25 tuned sheets of glass. Each composition could only play each note once, but oh such glory. {smirk smirk}. Or the "Duet for Bagpipe and Triangle." Noted for his sequels to greater compositions - who can forget the stirring "Iphegenia in Brooklyn" or "My Bonnie Lass Smelleth So" ...? With all due thanks to Professor Peter Schickele, the Professor of Music History from the University of Southern North Dakota (or was it Northern South Dakota? I forget...) at Hoople, whose tireless endeavors revealed this long-ignored musical genius who stood in the shadow of his great father for so many years. Usually in the shadow and with the misfortune of being downwind every time dad had gas...

One of the compositions was found as the liner of an old bird cage in an attic. Prof. Schickele cleaned up the parchment pretty well, though some of the notes are hard to distinguish from bird droppings. On the other hand, they add a certain air to the music if you play them as though they were really part of the piece and not just an add-on left behind by a dyspeptic parrot.

my dad introduced me to the professor when i was a kid. it was a bit hard to understand as a kid but now...your description speaks for itself. ingenious.

and let's not forget spike jones!

and if you enjoy that kind of thing then you might check out Esquivel!! (start with Music from a Sparkling Planet). combine all of the above with latin rhythms and you've (more or less) got it. rock on brother.

 

[David Eagar]

and let's not forget spike jones!

SPIKE JONES!!! - My parents had one of his and I loved it as a kid. Had all but forgotten him till you just bought it up

Thanks

 

[David Eagar]

Mick had more hits than Hendrix and of course is still going

Mick being Mick Taylor:

I have thought a long time about this one and at the risk of opening old wounds will respond:

Hello Forum members, just joined and need some help. I have inherited a database from my predicessor (Rich) and while it works brilliantly, there a few queries that don't seem to function correctly

Database is a Music Preference and the problem areas seem to be

1 - From a series of dropdown boxes, can select Band = Fleetwood Mac (Blues period) and Favourite Guitarist - Options available are Eric Clapton, Peter Greene or Mick Taylor. No matter what option is selected, Mick Taylor is the value that gets stored in the table

2 - Number of Hits, again from selection box, select Rolling Stones but some data appears to be missing, for a number of years, when I know they had hits, the data is not showing up. On further investigation at table level, I have discovered that the missing hits have been attributed to Mick Taylor!

3 - Compare number of hits between artists - select 1 Jimi Hendrix, select 2 Mick Taylor and because of above anomalies, Mick Taylor wins!!!

Have checked everywhere I can think of as to how Rich pulled off this sleight hand, but can't figure out how he did it

Any assistance greatfully welcome

 

[GaryPanic]

They were responsible for that crap called disco!

Yeah..
but compared today's rap - I'll take the disco
upbeat, happy music, - (Yes there was a lot of "Cheesey music " in there - but if you want a party to get off to a swing - disco does it )
as to quality - yes disco was middle of the road .

However some of the Disco music was creative in its own right

but compared to the classics - I admit does not stand up - 95% of discos singles cannot stand up to say 1 Queen song or a Genesis(?) track

but we are comparing apples with pears here it is personal taste
which taste better apples or pears

there were song great lyrics and then there was song great music
but there are very few great lyric and music if I had to name a few (Personal view) then baker street stands up by jerry (someone)?

Kylie does disco - and yet she can do a modern song quite well

If you were lets say a rocker would you like the Jam or the style council probably not you would probably like sussie quatro, or thin lizzie , def leopard etc

 

[Rich]

Mick being Mick Taylor:

I have thought a long time about this one and at the risk of opening old wounds will respond:

Hello Forum members, just joined and need some help. I have inherited a database from my predicessor (Rich) and while it works brilliantly, there a few queries that don't seem to function correctly

Database is a Music Preference and the problem areas seem to be

1 - From a series of dropdown boxes, can select Band = Fleetwood Mac (Blues period) and Favourite Guitarist - Options available are Eric Clapton, Peter Greene or Mick Taylor. No matter what option is selected, Mick Taylor is the value that gets stored in the table

2 - Number of Hits, again from selection box, select Rolling Stones but some data appears to be missing, for a number of years, when I know they had hits, the data is not showing up. On further investigation at table level, I have discovered that the missing hits have been attributed to Mick Taylor!

3 - Compare number of hits between artists - select 1 Jimi Hendrix, select 2 Mick Taylor and because of above anomalies, Mick Taylor wins!!!

Have checked everywhere I can think of as to how Rich pulled off this sleight hand, but can't figure out how he did it

Any assistance greatfully welcome

Hendrix lost it when The Experience split, Mick Taylor's still going

 

[Rich]

Yeah..
but compared today's rap - I'll take the disco

One would rather resort to the Classics

 

[David Eagar]

D'oh!!!!! - the observent will have noted, where typed Fleetwood Mack, was thinking John Mayall & Bluesbreakers