Monday 18 June 2007
music in context songs
1. Rock 'n' Roll Star - Oasis
Oasisare an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 1991. Led by lead guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallgher and his younger brother, lead vocalist and songwriter Liam Gallagher, they are one of the most successful groups to emerge during the Britpop movement of the mid-1990's . They have sold approximately 50 million albums worldwide and have had eight UK hit singles.
Definitely Maybe is the debut Album by English Band Oasis, released in 1994. It was an immediate commercial and critical success in the UK, having followed on the heels of singles Supersonic, Shakermaker and particularly the popular Live Forever.
Definitely Maybe went straight to number one and 7x platinum in the UK Album charts on initial release. It was the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK when released. Definitely Maybe marked the beginning of Oasis' success in America, selling over 1 million copies there, although only reaching #58 on the Billboard 200. The album went on to sell over 7 million copies worldwide.
In 1997 Definitely Maybe was named the 14th greatest album of all time in a 'Music of the Millennium' poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. In 2005 Channel 4's '100 Greatest Albums' countdown placed the album at number 6. In a recent British poll, run by NME and the book of British Hit Singles and Albums, Definitely Maybe was voted the best album of all time with The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band finishing second and Revolver third
"Rock 'N' Roll Star" is the opening track from their record breaking debut album Definitely Maybe and was written by lead Guitarist Noel Gallagher. The song is, as suggested by its title, a rock 'n' roll tune. It has become a fan favourite and is usually played at the band's concerts. It was released as a radio single in America and has a video.
The lyrics, as seen a number of Noel Gallagher's songs, refer to his dreams and aspirations to become a rock star, and his hopes to move away from Manchester, the place of his upbringing.
Noel said that "Rock 'N' Roll Star" was one of only three songs of which he wanted to say something. "I'm pretty much summed up everything I wanted to say in Rock 'n' Roll Star, Live Forever and Cigarettes And Alcohol, after that I'm repeating myself, but in a different way".
It Starts off with classic rock guitaring similar to guns and roses and also older performers like t-rex and starts off with the classic line 'i live my life in the city, there's no easy way out' which was Noel summing up how he was stuck in his boring life and constantly wanting to get out of manchester and see what else was out there for him. At that time it was hard for Britons to get anywhere other than a 9-5 job and the youths were dying for more than what they had and music waas quite dismal around 1993 and people didnt really go out anywhere and England was still revelling in Thatchers Britain and the youth just wanted something more than minimum wage or the dole. The only thing was rock 'n' roll. It is basically a daydreamers song which explains how Noel always wanted and dreamed about it and lived it but people kept telling him to get a reality check. but like the chorus says, tonight im a rock and roll star. he is. everynight.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tender - Blur
Blur are a band formed in Colchester in 1989. Originally named Seymour, Blur became one of the biggest bands in the UK during the britpop movement of the mid-1990s. The band are currently comprised of vocalist/keyboardist Damon Albarn, drummer Dave Rowntree and bassist Alex James.
Blur's original influences on their debut album, Leisure, included contemporary British alternative rock trends such as Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change in the mid-1990s, influenced by 1960s pop rock groups such as The Kinks and The Beatles, the band released Modern Life Is Rubbish, Parklife and The Great Escape. As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a famous chart battle with Britpop rivals Oasis.
By the late 1990s, with the release of their fifth album, Blur, the band underwent another reinvention, influenced by the indie rock and lo-fi style of American bands such as pavement and R.E.M, in the process gaining an elusive American success with the single "song 2". The final album featuring the band's original lineup, 13, found Blur experimenting with electronica and gospel music.
"Tender" is the first track on their sixth album 13 and was also released as a single. The single reached #2 in the UK singles chart - kept off #1 by Britney Spear's ". . .Baby One More Time".
The song was written by both Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon and the vocals are shared on the track.the song starts off with the main guitar riff in a distorted sound which gives it a 50's radio effect and then the band comes in and the whole thing picks up, i love the opening riff and the way it flows with the lyrics, i think the main selling part of the song is the chorus as its a sing-a-long stadium anthem chorus and then even after the chorus is the link which is even more catchy pop sing-a-longy than the chorus which is just pure pop genius. i like the way they've encorporated gospel singers into the song and it gives it that whole sing-a-long effect that the listener loves and the vocal harmonies are just brilliant. then comes the solo which is one of my favourite, i am a big fan of Graham Coxon's solo's i just love how they sound, they kind of remind me of clapton/hendrix style guitaring. overall its just a monumental piece of brit-pop history.
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A Thousand Tress - Stereophonics
Stereophonics are a rock band from Wales, UK with original members Kelly Jones, Richard Jones (no relation to Kelly) and Stuart Cable, who grew up together in Cwmaman in the South Wales valleys. The trio began writing and performing in working men’s clubs together in 1992 as a teenage cover band known as 'Tragic Love Company', a name inspired by their favourite bands Tragically Hip, Mother Love Bone and Bad Company. They later changed their name to "Stereophonics", named after the maker of Cable's grandmother's gramophone.
They finally made a big splash in 1996 as the first band to be signed to Richard Branson's new label V2 after the sale of Branson's successful Virgin Records to EMI. Their distinctive sound offered a blend of Oasis-inspired Britpop and '70s-influenced rock & roll earning them a series of big UK hits.
Word Gets Around is Stereophonics first album.The album had a phenomenal success considering it was their debut and made it into the top ten in the British album charts.
The song is a classic 4 chord rock song and is basically a story written about the downfall of a local football coach, Kelly's lyrics are some of my favourite as i love the way he tells a story and the way he'll hear something from a friend of a friend or down the pub in his little village and write a hit song about it, i sometimes take inspiration from this when trying to write my own songs, i love the line "it only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, only takes one match to burn a thousand trees" the way he puts little things in the story that make you think about what he's saying. Kelly's vocals are really powerful throughout the song and really help to boom it out toward the listener.
I think stereophonics have a really distinct sound that was just made for stadium rock and there hasn't been many bands that can match what they do and how they write songs.
music business
Job role – sound engineer
Various activities related to this job – recording and mixing audio, using equipment and instruments to create the right sound.
What skills and qualifications are needed – good hearing , musical knowledge, good use of electronics, good communication skills, you can also take a variety of courses gaining qualifications such as including NVQs/SVQs, National Certificates and Diplomas, HNCs/HNDs, Foundation degrees and degrees.
Where does the work come from – it is hard to get jobs in sound engineering as they are rarely advertised so try visiting studios and places like that and get talking to sound engineers and make yourself known.
Where does the money come from - A new engineer may earn around £12,000 a year.
Experienced sound engineers may earn about £20,000.
Senior and freelance sound engineers may earn £40,000 or more
How is it possible to sustain work in this area – once you get into the field , if you are good enough , people who work with you will spread the word to others, or you could just visit many different studios over the country to look for work.
useful sites online - http://www.soundengineer.co.uk
many links to equipment and businesses involved in sound engineering
http://www.studiorecordingengineer.com/forum-99.html&sid=3fc4b2956fdb6e8e4c193d32c98cef17
this is a forum with many different topics covered from beginner to professional
in the music and entertainment business , sound engineering is very important especially in music as you will be mixing albums and creating the final sounds to put on cd, and in the entertainment business as you will be editing music for tv film and radio
Questionairre
how did you get into your field of work?
just doing it for friends
can you it full time or is it not your primary job?
you can do it full time for venues, promoters or touring bands, but part time and freelance works aswell. also full time work in studios pays very well and envolves pretty much the same skills
how do you protect your hearing?
how do you keep up with technoligical developments?
music mags often specialise on the latest technology, subscriptions to engeneering magazines & unions etc keeps you up to date on new kit, but the old stuffs better anyway
how would you do somethin that is outside your comfort zone?
think of the money!? dont concern yourself with enjoying the show just make the music sound like it should. its good to listen to a variety of styles so you know what kind of sound you should be reproducing
do you aspire to become a producer?
what qualifications do you have and how important are they?
none.. they cant be that important
what are the other fields of work you can get into from being a sound engineer?
studio recording, prodiction, mixing etc. also if you are a musician you're constantly in contact with bands to network with
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Job role – session musician
Various activities related to this job – being drafted in to play an instrument on a piece of music.
What skills and qualifications are needed – there are no qualifications needed but it would help if you had the ability to do what the producer needs you to quickly, also sight reading and reading music is very helpful.
Where does the work come from – sometimes it would be a producer who decides who they want and alsoa session fixer would arrange it, this is basically a person who acts as an agent for session musicians, also a musical director may hire if they need someone for live performance.
Where does the money come from - if you are only just starting out you can earn about £750 a week. but if you get good at it you can earn upto £2000 a week.
How is it possible to sustain work in this area – session work is sometimes a struggle to get, obviously when you are experience enough, people will refer you to others, but when starting out you can try find companies who make music for tv and radio, check the credits of shows and check out music magazines.
useful sites online -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onemusic/management/sessionp01.shtml
gives guided steps on the roles of a session musician
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_musician
describes what a session musician does and the things involved.
http://www.session-musicians.com/
a site for session musicians to visit and discuss their trade and view other session musicians.
Questionairre
how did you get into your field of work?through being at college and helping out people who needed either guitar or bass on their tracks
can you it full time or is it not your primary job?
you can do it full time, however you need to be aware that work isn't constant. You'll be in work whilst working on a certain project and then once this is finished you may find yourself out of work for a while whilst your looking for something new to work on.
how do you protect your hearing?
Either by wearing a set of ear plugs or by not turning up too loud during rehearsals... this apparantly is the main cause of damaged hearing.
how do you keep up with technoligical developments?
Magazine's, but mainly watching what other people are using and how they are doing so.
how would you do somethin that is outside your comfort zone?
listen to things that are in a similar style, for a guitar for example learn a few licks or chord progressions etc so that you aren't going in blind. A session musician really shouldn't have a 'comfort' zone they should be able to apply themselves to any genre.
do you aspire to become a producer?
Only as far as producing my own material, i think in the long run this will be a much more efficient way of getting through the recording process.
what qualifications do you have and how important are they?
I don't have any right now... hopefully passing theory and rock school exams in the summer, which will be extremely important as they show employers what standard of musician I am and what i am capable of playing without them even having to hear me play.
what are the other fields of work you can get into from being a sound engineer?
i've no idea
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Job Role - Music Teacher
Various activities related to this job – teaching people to play an instrument.
What skills and qualifications are needed – The skill to be able to play many different types of music and you can get certified as a teacher of music but it is not neccesary
Where does the work come from – students paying you to teach them to play guitar. advertise yourself in local music shops and classifieds.
Where does the money come from - students paying you for your teaching, it usually ranges from £10-£20 for an hour's tuition
How is it possible to sustain work in this area – if you are a good teacher students will pass on your name to people they know, always keep advertising yourself by handing out business cards and placing ads.
useful sites online -
includes lesson ideas, links, reviews, and rounds.
http://www.learndirect-advice.co.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/profile911/
brilliant site with lots of information on getting started and many other links to other sites that involve music teaching.
Questionnaire - michael grubert
how do you advertise yourself?
make friends with the owner of a local music shop and give him business cards.
how do you encourage learning?
make compilation cd's for students. i.e if i am teaching strumming techniques i give them a cd with lots of strumming on.
what do you do if somebody isn't learning?
if they arent practicing i encourage them to practice more. if not, i explain what they are stuck with again in more detail and slow.
how much do you get paid?
£15 an hour
£8 half hour
around £500 a month
if you could go to someone who teaches what you teach, what would you want them to teach you?
not specific songs so music reading, improvisation, technique.
what qualifications do you have
none.
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What are the tasks and activities?
finding new artists to sign and being a link between the record label and the band and management.
What skills and qualifications are essential /desirable?
no qualifications are needed but a good business mind would help
How do you begin working in this area?
Send off your CV to record companies in your area and just try talking to people already in the business.
Report on the professional bodies and online communities related to this job.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A&R - there arent many online communities for A&R so wikipedia could be useful
www.kingsofar.com - The leading A&R publication in the US.
Report on the areas of the music/entertainment business that are directly related to this job role.
signing artists and being the communicator between record company and artist.
Report on the income streams for the job role.
If you get to work as an A&R for a major label you'll probably start at £15-20k.
Report on the working patterns
10 till 6 or 7pm in the office and then off to see artists in the evening. Also could be working until 2 or 3am and at weekends too.
Questionnaire
how do you handle the hours?
make sure its the main thing in your life, make sure its the one thing you revolve around , so you get into a routine of doing it.
who have you signed?
karma cops. inspiral carpets.
what do you look for in a band?
songs, commitment,be very hard working.
do you get to work with material you like?
yes, but i would also work with material i dont like.
how much do you get paid?
dont get very much, unless you get a big band.
how is free downloading effecting your employment?
i think its quite good, as things are changing and its a reality and you cant stand up against it you just have to accept it.
where can you go from a&r?
you can become a producer, managing producer of a record company, can go into radio.
is it easy dropping a band?
not really, quite uncomfortable, but its got to be done.