MUSI 3200A Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Whole Lotta Love, Ostinato, Led Zeppelin Ii
The 1970s
• The end of the 60s was marred by a number of events that spelled an end to this most radical of decades
and towards the dawning of the “ME” decade
• Aug. 9/69 – CHARLES MANSON minions murder a number of people in California
• Dec. 4/69 – The death of BLACK PANTHER Fred Hampton while in custody of the NYPD
leads to racial unrest in the city
• Dec. 6/69 – THE ROLLING STONES hold their ill-fated concert at Altamount
• The deaths of Jimi Hendrix (Sept. 18/70), Janis Joplin (Oct. 4/70) and Jim Morrison (July 3/71)
place focus on the overwhelming ABUSE by this generation
• Early May 1970 – RIOTS break out at Kent State University in Ohio – the National Guard is
called in and, for unknown reasons, shoots into a crowd of protesters, killing four and wounding
nine.
• The seventies was called the “ME” Decade as there is a shift in the values of young adults
• The counterculture survived, but became part of the cultural mainstream in the 1970s – popular attention
focused on domestic and international problems:
• A growing CYNICISM in regards to politics fed a feeling of apathy and pessimism that was washing
over the nation’s young adult population
• PERSONAL rights became a strong focus as did cultural pride – this was reflected in television
programming and in movies
• A fascination with outer space leads to the blockbusting movie “STAR WARS” – this mixes in aspects
of counterculture with its message of righteous rebellion
• Youth of the 70s were less concerned with world peace and racial EQUALITY and more worried about
acquiring the skill needed to get a JOB and make MONEY
• The relative simplicity of old DEMOGRAPHICS fragment into a complex array of clusters – we move
from an EITHER/OR society to a multiple OPTION society.
• More and more, MEDIA would become increasingly important to rock ‘n’ roll
The Music
• End of the 60s/beginning of the 70s – music becomes much more COMPLEX
• The backlash against this complexity led to a return to more simple forms and styles – it also led to a
massive fragmentation of the genre
• One characteristic that cut across almost all these separate fragments was the explosion of
ELECTRONIC technology
• Role of rock ‘n’ roll changes – rather than being the stuff of the counterculture, in the 70s and onwards,
music WAS the culture
• In the early 70s, the music industry reached new heights in consolidation, not rivalled since the earlier
days of the MAJORS – however, now six huge corporations
• six huge corporations were responsible for over 80% of record sales in the States – they were:
• Columbia/CBS
• Warner Communications
• RCA-Victor
• Capitol-EMI
• MCA
• United Artists-MGM
• INDIE companies, who had been so instrumental in spreading early r’n’r, could only account for about
one out of every ten records sold in the early 70s – they make a comeback later in the decade
• Within the industry, music had a become “PRODUCT” to be packaged and sold, producing neat labels
and sub-genres of rock
• Rock-music television becomes much more predominant, changing to accommodate the growing
diversity within the genre
• Radio began to use FORMATTING more and more – programming a certain kind of music for a
certain segment of the audience to see a certain kind of product
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• AM RADIO – remained bound to Top 40 play, resulting in a diminished and repetitive range of choices
for AM listeners
• By the mid-70s, most AM stations relied on professional programming CONSULTANTS who
provided restricted lists of songs that had done well across the nation
• AM Radio remained driven by “hit singles” and increasingly became the home of pre-teen pop and
“oldies”
• FM RADIO – the number of FM stations in the U.S. increased exponentially and the popularity of FM
surpassed that of AM radio
• FM grew into big business and was dominated by the AOR format
• AOR – ALBUM ORIENTED ROCK – coined due to the fact that early FM stations would play
entire albums or songs off albums that weren’t necessarily the big hits – this is where much of
the psychedelic, art and jazz-rock found its forum in the late 60s. However, as this style of
formatting fragmented, the term “AOR” came to refer to a harder style of rock in the 70s, aimed
towards young white males
• In response to this, another AOR style arose: URBAN CONTEMPORARY – this was the home
for black artists, who were generally excluded from the “new” AOR format – this lead to a split
between black and white popular music formats, reflecting the general conservatism of the music
industry as a whole
• Even as this suggests a conservative turn in the history of rock, it mirrors the same turn in the world in
which the music existed
• The music, its audience and its industry would spend the seventies tussling with a sort of self-
consciousness that would emerge in the 80s
The Hippie Aesthetic
• Two dramatic and important changes to rock ‘n’ roll music as a result of late-60s experimentation:
• Focus moved from the single to the ALBUM
• Music was for LISTENING, not dancing
• Thus, the album, as a whole, provided a musical “TRIP”
• Rock ‘n’ roll’s stylistic range came to include elements of jazz, classical, and electronic music
• The recording studio becomes much more important in realizing a band or artist’s “CONCEPT” – this
precludes some of this music being played live
• The Hippie Aesthetic can then be described as:
• A focus on musical and technological craft, combined with a distinctly ARTISTIC approach to
music-making
• The rock artist has a responsibility to produce SOPHISTICATED music using whatever means
are at his disposal
• Music could stand up to repeated LISTENINGS and lyrics should deal with important ISSUES
or themes
• Musical prowess is important – musical virtuosity and improvisatory skills were highly
VALUED – the rock artist as a serious musician
• This aesthetic approach is shared by a wide range of artists in diverse genres
Blues-Based British Rock
• Roots are found in The Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and Cream who returned rock ‘n’ roll to its blues-
based roots
• Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix had set the standard for guitar PLAYING and SHOWMANSHIP – both
employed a mixture of blues, psychedelia and high decibels
• Jimmy Page would continue this trend with a group that would come to define a new, more mystical and
heavier style of rock ‘n’ roll
Led Zeppelin
• Referred to as the definitive early heavy metal band, but their style incorporated blues, mysticism,
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mythology, British folk and world music
• They relied on extensive TOURING and albums to reach their audience
• They were devoted to the idea of the album as a whole and rarely released their popular songs as singles
• Band was formed in 1968 to fulfill touring obligations left behind by the defunct Yardbirds – started as
the New Yardbirds – changed their name to Led Zeppelin
• 1968 – they received a contract from Atlantic – their self-titled debut album was released to coincide
with their first US tour and showcased the band’s raw, blues-based music, relying on riffs to produce a
heavy, loud, insistent style
• They simultaneously continued to tour while putting together their second album
• Due to lack of studio time Led Zeppelin II consisted of REWORKED blues and r’n’r standards
• It contained the one song they did release as a single – Whole Lotta Love – this is a classic blues, but
with simpler, louder riffs and extended instrumental sections
Song: Whole Lotta Love - discussed on pp. 298 of the text
• Begins with a distinct guitar riff
• Bass joins guitar on the riff, giving it a heavier sound
• Semi-shouting/shouting vocals enter
• Heavy drums enter after the first verse
• Guitar features massive pitch bending
• Their fourth album arrived in 1971 – the unnamed album was referred to as: Led Zeppelin IV, Zoso;
Four Symbols or The Runes Album
• Musically diverse album – combined mythology and folk music with a hard-rocking, riff-driven,
SCREAMING vocal style
• Stairway to Heaven – good mixture of their softer and harder styles – features a slow but steady
LAYERS up in texture, dynamics and vocal style
Song: Stairway to Heaven
• Begins with a classically-styled acoustic guitar solo
• Recorders and flutes add in a counter melody above the guitar
• Melodic vocals enter over guitar; they are accompanied by a descending bass line and the
flutes/recorders
• In 1974, the band formed their own label – from this point forward, Swan Song would PRODUCE and
RECORD all of the remaining Led Zeppelin albums
• Released in 1975, PHYSICAL GRAFFITI was a mammoth double album that reflected the many
different influences that had shaped the band as they matured as musicians
• For the song Kashmir, Page recruited the Marrakech Symphony Orchestra to add a deeper, throatier
sound to the music.
• Even with the added orchestral color, this remains heavy, riff-driven music – the opening riff pervades
the entire work.
Song: Kashmir
• Strong defined drum beat accompanies the opening riff in the bass and guitar
• Drums appear to be in 4/4, but the piece is actually in 3/4
• Semi-shouting vocals enter over this riff
• Brass, strings and synthesizer enter at the bridge – when this section returns, the strings will briefly
join the riff
• September 25, 1980 – while preparing for an American tour, John Bonham was found dead – he choked
on his own vomit after an all-day drinking binge
• The band chose not to continue and broke up at the end of the year
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Document Summary
Electronic technology: role of rock n" roll changes rather than being the stuff of the counterculture, in the 70s and onwards, music was the culture. Fm radio the number of fm stations in the u. s. increased exponentially and the popularity of fm surpassed that of am radio. However, as this style of formatting fragmented, the term aor came to refer to a harder style of rock in the 70s, aimed towards young white males. Even as this suggests a conservative turn in the history of rock, it mirrors the same turn in the world in which the music existed. The music, its audience and its industry would spend the seventies tussling with a sort of self- consciousness that would emerge in the 80s. Valued the rock artist as a serious musician: this aesthetic approach is shared by a wide range of artists in diverse genres.
