FANTASY BAND PROJECT

FANTASY BAND PROJECT

The rhythm section I chose for my fantasy band goes by the name Stuff. The main members of my band are Steve Gadd on drums and percussion, Gordon Edwards on bass, Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree on guitars, Richard Tee on keyboards and Jerry Harrison from The Talking Heads on keyboards, synthesizers and programing. The main performers will be Bjork and Thom Yorke. The style of music their unique combination of talents would create something revolutionary. I would like to call it euphoric fusion. The album they would create will consist of all original songs. The characteristics or style will be a blend of jazz, rock and electronica. It will also be a very theatrical and experimental opera that tells a story about a mermaid named Nautica that is evolving into a third gender human being due to the polluted ocean caused by humans. It is then faced with having to live in a whole new world with people that are contributing to destroy its original species. My contribution as a producer would be to incorporate the classic style of the rhythm section and get more experimental with the keyboards. Thom Yorke will be very instrumental when it comes to creating an obscure ambience to the music as well. I will also push the limits of Bjorks instrumentation with her ability to play the piano, flute and harp. The name of the band will be called Swimming With Butterflies. The title just came to me and I thought it was intriguing especially with the theme of the opera. When it comes to marketing I believe it would be better on a major label due to the success of all these musicians. Social media would definitely help market the band. I also believe that reaching out to fans of Radiohead and Bjork will also be beneficial.  

"Pareles, Jon. ''The New York Times'' January 24, 2004". New York Times. 2004-01-24. Retrieved 2011-11-04.

Björk – Biophilia". Australian Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 October 2011

PORNOGRAPHY ~ The Cure

PORNOGRAPHY ~ The Cure

The Cure has been one of the most influential bands of all time and is still recording and performing innovative music to this day. Along with bands such as Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Joy Division and Bauhaus, The Cure was no exception to help shape the dark 80’s music and influence the gothic music scene. The Cure created many genius and artistic monument albums that have gained critical success and some that have also been very underrated. The Head on the Door, Disintegration, Bloodflowers, Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me and The Top are just a few albums by the band that represent their many forms of art.

Pornography, released in 1982 was the conclusion to the trilogy of Seventeen Seconds and Faith. These three albums really set the stage for the dark side of the 80’s. The Tears for Fears album The Hurting, and Depeche Mode’s Black Celebration are prime examples of classic albums influenced by The Cure. Personally being a huge fan of The Cure for so many years and appreciating all their musical elements, Pornography really stands out for me in so many ways. Lyrically the album is very dark, some of my friends say they appreciate the work but look at it as a movie like Schindler’s List, a classic work of art but something you cant consume on a regular basis. Personally, this album to me speaks volumes and is very therapeutic.

Robert Smith stated regarding the album” I had two choices at the time, which were either completely giving in or making a record of it and getting it out of me”. It was an album so intimate and full of raw emotions, radio airplay or appreciation wasn’t even sought after. Needless to say the album is a “high-water mark for goth’s musical evolution” and “arguably the album that invented goth” according to Spin and NME.

In conclusion, I’m sure everyone has heard The Cure. I’m sure most people own at least one Cure album. If you haven’t heard Pornography in its entirety, please do. And don’t just hear it, really listen to it.

Apter, Jeff (2006). Never Enough: The Story of The Cure. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1844498271.

Beaujon, Andrew (April 2005). "66.6: Greatest Moments in Goth". Spin: 72. Retrieved 27 October 2012.

"Best Albums of the 1980s | Music | Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.

BLACK SABBATH~PARANOID

BLACK SABBATH ~ PARANOID

Black Sabbath was in the studio four months after they released the majorly successful debut album Black Sabbath. The outcome was the masterpiece album Paranoid. The album not only topped the UK album charts but also sold over four million copies in the United States with no radio airplay. There are many statements on how the album was titled or what it was originally going to be titled but regardless, Paranoid was a staple album at the time and has influenced many artists that have followed.

This album and Black Sabbath in general has made a huge impact on artists up and coming. Ozzy Osbourne, “The Prince of Darkness” has not only made a huge impact on the metal scene but the gothic scene as well. Bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Cradle of Filth etc., would not be what they are without Black Sabbath’s influence. The band has many characteristics that make them unique in their own way and in their own time. Some may consider their sound and image was the introduction to shock rock. Some may consider the lyrical content too controversial, especially in their time. With lyrical imagery labeled as evil by some people, others perceived it as a new rebellious style of rock and roll.

I personally love Black Sabbath, especially their first two albums. I honestly think if both albums were released as a double album, it would have been phenomenal. After all, the single to the song “Paranoid” was released with “The Wizard”. I own five Black Sabbath albums on vinyl but whenever I play their first album, Paranoid must follow. I have also seen Black Sabbath in concert one time and Ozzy in concert three times. I have seen the Ozzfest concerts with many bands performing stating what an influence Black Sabbath and Ozzy has been on them.

I see myself fitting into this this style of music with my own twist, now and five years down the road. I really appreciate the morbid twist to musical art and I naturally apply that to my own music. In my opinion it is freedom of expression. Some people still don’t get the concept of the song “War Pigs” that introduced Black Sabbath’s Paranoid album just as some people will not understand Marilyn Manson’s image or lyrical concepts. In my opinion, I believe it is genius and not necessarily shock rock. The people that are shocked in a negative way by these artists may need to take a look in the mirror and also look in the rearview as well.

"RIAA Gold & Platinum database-Paranoid". Retrieved 22 February 2009.

Black Sabbath Biography at Rolling Stone

Grammy Awards Prezi

http://prezi.com/s8cg0r0rrqr4/edit/#114_24309637

Peer Comments

http://christopherstolle1.wordpress.com/

Hello,

I really enjoyed your Kraftwerk post. You described the style of their music very well by stating that it is very precise, computer like and almost robotic. I appreciated how you analyzed their albums and discussed how the Man Machine album influenced Gary Numan in particular. I’m not sure how familiar you are with their work outside of what we studied for this class but it is insane how ahead of their time they were. I still have some vinyl’s of theirs that I had when I was a kid and it’s nostalgic to put on those records from time to time instead of playing the iPod. If you haven’t heard the Tour de France album yet, check it out. That was the album that introduced me to them.

KRAFTWERK

KRAFTWERK

The first time I was exposed to Kraftwerk was when I was about four years old. I don’t recall how I stumbled upon the record but I remember spinning the black circle of Tour de France Soundtracks on a regular basis. As a child, I was blown away by their sound as it stood out from the majority of the albums I owned. Intrigued to hear more of their work, I remember I had my mother take me to the Peaches record store and she bought the Trans-Europe Express album for me. This was the start of my addiction to electronic music and by the time I was about six or seven years old I was heavily into bands such as Ministry, Depeche Mode, New Order etc.

Kraftwerk, which means “Power Station” was formed by Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider and were pioneers in the field of electronic music. They didn’t just create music, they created art. With their electronic style they brought a whole new meaning to experimental music and paved the way for many artists.

The album Autobahn released in 1974 was way ahead of its time. Its an electronic album that includes violin and flute instrumentation and themed as a soundscape for traveling. Radio-Activity, their follow up album was a concept album dealing with nuclear activity as well as activity on the radio. Radio-Activity brought a whole new sound to the music scene and also bilingual, containing lyrics in English and German. Kraftwerk released Trans-Europe Express in 1977 and didn’t get the initial respect that it deserved but is now perceived as one of the best albums of all time. The main concept of the album was based on train travel across Europe. In 1978 the band released The Man-Machine and was the first album where they linked a sequencer to a drum machine and took on a more robotic feel to their style. Computer World was released in 1981 and the main theme of the album was technology and society.

Kraftwerk has definitely earned the position as one of the biggest influential bands of all time. The art they were creating in the early 70’s was just insane if you think about it. The obscure music and conceptual themes was just a staple in the electronic realm of music. The way they would utilize the vocoder and robotic instrumentation paved the way for many electronic and experimental artists to branch off and create more genres of music. Kraftwerk is simply inspiring. They inspire me as an artist to be creative and not succumb to the mediocrity that many bands fall into these days. Two of my favorite bands of all time are Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails and they wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for the genius of Kraftwerk.

Howard, D. N. (2004). Sonic alchemy: visionary music producers and their maverick recordings. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp.

TRENT REZNOR

TRENT REZNOR

Trent Reznor is an artist, songwriter, musician and producer and the mastermind behind Nine Inch Nails. Influenced by artists such as David Bowie, Peter Murphy, Robert Smith and many others, Trent put his talents and creativity to use and reached critical success in 1989 with the Nine Inch Nails album Pretty Hate Machine. Following the success of the debut album, Broken was released and won a Grammy in 1993 for the song “Wish”. Reznor set up a studio in the house that the Charles Manson Murders took place and recorded The Downward Spiral. The album remains the highest selling Nine Inch Nails album to date and is probably my favorite album of all time. In 1999 The Fragile was released. It was a double album that experimented deeper into theatrical industrial music. Six years passed before the next Nine Inch Nails album due to personal issues that Trent was facing. When With Teeth released, it was a new beginning for Nine Inch Nails and with the immediate follow up Year Zero, Trent took electronic industrial music to a whole new level. The main themes to the albums were dealing with government corruption, religion and the apocalypse. Trent then released The Slip and Ghosts I-IV independently on his own label. Reznor has not only gained much success with his creations of Nine Inch Nails but also with producing and scoring film. He teamed up with Atticus Ross and scored The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He has worked with and produced many bands such as Marilyn Manson, How to Destroy Angels, David Bowie, Saul Williams, etc. All of these artists have been influenced by Trents work as well. One great example is David Bowie, the albums Outside and Earthling are heavily influenced by Trent Reznor.

Trent Reznor has a huge impact on electronic music. Bands such as Linkin Park and Purity Ring really branched off of what Trent was doing in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Trent also continues to grow and get more experimental with his electronics. The album Hesitation Marks is a prime example. As a listener and industry professional, I am blown away by the works of Trent Reznor. He has influenced and inspired me in so many ways since I was a child and continues to impress me with his innovations to this day. I admire that he is pretty much a one-man band and creates and produces most of the music by himself on his albums and then hires a band to play live shows with him. I will conclude with stating, if you have not been to a live show of Nine Inch Nails, do so. I have seen them in concert eleven times and every tour gets better and better.

"Trent Reznor: Timeline". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2006-12-18.

Ali, Lorraine (1994-03-18). Making Records – Where Manson Murdered Helter Shelter. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-11-11.

Brian Eno Prezi

http://prezi.com/rqnqxacrqth-/edit/#114_24309637

WHAT'S GOING ON

WHATS GOING ON

Marvin Gaye, with irrepressible charm and astounding talent, was one of Motown’s most dynamic and popular performers. With his charm and a number of song hits in a style of what all R&B artists were currently doing, Gaye was a “sex symbol” for Motown. Things took a turn with the album What’s going on, which contained lyrical content of socially conscious themes of poverty and the Vietnam War just to name a few.

Marvin Gaye was struggling with various issues in 1970, one being his brother Frankie returning from Vietnam. Gaye wanted to start addressing more social and political issues with his music and when Obie Benson initially came up with the idea of writing about the corruption surrounding everyone, he positioned it to Marvin who loved it. The problem was that the record company wasn’t interested in protest music. For an R&B artist to start writing political music and addressing these issues in their lyrics would be completely breaking the rules. Many obstacles followed because of this. Berry Gordy was insisting that Marvin would be ruining his career if he released an album of protest songs but Marvin was so ecstatic about this concept album that he kept pushing forward. When the song “What’s going on” was finally recorded, Gordy stated, “It’s the worse thing I’ve ever heard in my life”. His attitude eventually changed after they sold 100,000 copies of the song the first day it was released.

The What’s going on album stood out from any other R&B album at that time in many ways. The album was saturated with innovative arrangements and included more studio musicians than your average Motown album. The lyrical content and concept of the album raised the bar, due to the fact that no other R&B artist had previously stepped outside the realm and wrote protest music. This album opened the door for many musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Bobby Womack. I personally love this album and admire revolutionary albums like this. This album not only opened the door for many other R&B artists but was very influential for many Hip Hop and Rap artists as well. The lyrical content of many Rap artists are clearly stating, “What’s going on” in their neighborhood and in society as well. You will often find many Hip Hop artists sampling from this album as well. One of my favorite examples would be the song “Six Feet Deep” by The Geto Boys. Needless to say, if you haven’t REALLY heard What’s Going On from beginning to end, take a good listen.

Howard, D. N. (2004). Sonic alchemy: visionary music producers and their maverick recordings. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp.

BRIAN ENO

BRIAN ENO

I will first start off by saying that previous to this post I was only familiar with about 50% of Eno’s work. Absorbing the genius of Another Green World as a child while the black circle spun on my record player was the start of it all. David Bowie’s Low album was another record that constantly played in my bedroom. I was introduced to Roxy Music in high school and thought to myself how incredible and artistic the music was. Myself, as a keyboardist and artistic individual will further explore the revolutionary mind of Brian Eno.

Brian is influenced by many forms of art as well as certain sounds that surround him. The ambient music that he creates blends natural noises with synthetically treated sounds. “Listening to the world in a musical way” made Eno a pioneer in the music industry and paved the way for artists such as Moby, Trent Reznor, Aphex Twin, etc.

Brian Eno’s work over the years was brilliant. Discreet Music and Remain in Light are just two examples of his diversity. Eno stated that Discreet Music was a new way of hearing music and an experiment in algorithmic, generative composition. “This presented what was for me a new way of hearing music”. This was a very experimental album that was intended as an ambience piece of work for Robert Fripp. Remain in Light, produced by Brian Eno, consisted of more sonic experimentation and was critically acclaimed as one of the best albums from the 80’s. “What we wanted was to create something more mysterious, and by taking voices out of context, but featuring them dominantly as the main vocal performance, you can go create meaning by surrounding the voice with a musical mood. In a way it was an experiment to see if you can create fairly sophisticated moods with voices outside their linguistic meaning,” Eno stated.   

Brian had multiple characteristics that set his projects apart from other recordings throughout his whole career.  He not only layered sounds and music but also layered many artistic ideas and then combined various forms of art to make a project a whole or a concept. Eno simply just has a way of bringing music to life whether he is using tape recordings, synthesizers or ambience that surrounds him. As a listener, I find his work phenomenal. I can really appreciate the way his mind works when it comes to music. When I used to work in steel factories, sometimes the only thing that got me through the day was listening to all the machines and creating an industrial sounding song in my mind. I would keep a pen and paper in my pocket and write down ideas and patterns that stood out to me at work and then go home and make a song out of it. I can definitely hear how artists like Trent Reznor were influenced by his work, especially with the Ghosts album that Reznor recorded. For anyone that isn’t familiar with Brian Eno’s masterpieces, I would start listening. I, personally am now working on purchasing his whole discography.

Howard, D. N. (2004). Sonic alchemy: visionary music producers and their maverick recordings. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp.

REVOLVER

REVOLVER

The Beatles are one of my favorite bands of all time. As a child I didn’t really appreciate much of the early recordings but once I heard Revolver on vinyl when I was about seven years old it definitely left a thumbprint on my heart. As time moved forward, I began to appreciate the earlier albums such as Please, Please Me. However, the Beatles from 1965-1970 hold some of my favorite albums of all time. It was within this time frame that the band shied away from the teen sensation, pop music and became artistic. With that being said, Revolver is no exception. Prior to this album, The Beatles were very pop oriented. In my opinion, the group started experimenting a bit on the Help! and Rubber Soul albums and once Revolver dropped, they were a whole new band. Some of the non-musical influences that helped make Revolver such a staple in the music industry were books such as Psychedelic Experience by Timothy Leary and experimenting with LSD. The Beatles also used their studio as an instrument. An example of this would be how the vocals were put through a Leslie speaker cabinet to give Lennon that amazing effect on “Tomorrow Never Knows”. The Leslie Speaker routing as well as artificial double tracking were two innovations found on the album. Revolver in its entirety is such a solid album, one of my favorite albums by The Beatles. Aside from my personal opinion, the album is simply revolutionary. Music would not have evolved the way it did if this album didn’t exist. We wouldn’t have many artists that we have today without The Beatles. The creativity and experimentation of this album is phenomenal and will remain one of the best albums of all time until the end of time.  

 

Howard, D. (2004) . The California Sunshine Sound. Sonic Alchemy. Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings.

PET SOUNDS

The Beach Boys album, Pet Sounds is a masterpiece on so many levels. This has always been my favorite Beach Boys album but after really analyzing the album this month, I listen to it with new ears. Prior to Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys were very pop oriented with songs like “409” and “Surfin’ U.S.A”, their direction was more towards fun in the sun. When Brian Wilson started working on Pet Sounds, he visioned something different. He was heavily influenced by what The Beatles did with Rubber Soul and wanted to experiment a bit more and take it a step further when it came to incorporating obscure techniques of recording. Although Brian was pretty much the ringleader when it came to the ideas, lyrics and music while in the studio, Tony Asher co-wrote a majority of the songs. Brian realized this after having his mind blown by Rubber Soul and stated that he needed a new songwriting partner to help him achieve his mushrooming ambitions. The classic and one of my favorite songs, “God Only Knows” was composed and produced by Brian but the lyrics were written by Asher and the lead vocals were actually sung by Carl Wilson. The complex musical arrangements and instrumentation is what made this album revolutionary and set it apart from previous popular recordings. The impression I get while listening to this album is that these guys really knew their stuff and are musical geniuses. I admit, I have never really been a huge fan of early music from The Beach Boys but I can listen to this album on repeat. To be able to stimulate the listener with songs like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” which Wilson states is the happiest song he ever wrote, to the melancholy “Caroline, no” It is definitely a worthwhile listen.

  Howard, D. (2004) . The California Sunshine Sound. Sonic Alchemy. Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings.

Welcome

My name is Mike Opalka and I am currently enrolled at Full Sail University studying Music Production and Studio Engineering. My love and passion for music has stemmed since I was a child constantly playing records on my parent’s turntable. I have grown up listening to artists such as The Cure, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Depeche Mode, The Doors and Neil Young, just to name a few. I started playing piano at an early age and eventually started a band and record music under the name An Intimate Curse. I currently write lyrics, sing and play keyboards as well as program percussions. I am heavily influenced and admire Trent Reznor and would love to eventually score film and commercials. Please feel free to check out some of my work https://soundcloud.com/an-intimate-curse