So I know a lot of you were probably wondering where this week’s Musical Lexicon was hiding. Well, guess what? I’m doing a Visual Music instead! I CUT THE BRAKES! WILDCARD, BABY! Matt thinks he can throw my category into the archive? Think again, Matt. Just because I just started a full time job and have a ID badge that says “corporate” on it doesn’t mean I’m gonna let THE MAN get me down! Let’s do this thing!
Category: Song Title
Hint: ( F*CK YOU, I WONT DO WHAT YOU TELL ME! )
Answer ( “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine )
“Norwegian Wood” was released in the nascent years of psychedelic music, and, if not for a fortuitous sitar, this hit from Rubber Soul would not be psychedelic at all. It’s creation would still be interesting, but it wouldn’t be psychedelic. John Lennon was the primary writer for this piece despite the co-writing Lennon/McCartney label. He sites Bob Dylan as a big influence on the song. The verses are Dylan-esque, concentrating on an acoustic guitar driven melody and vocals that follow the rhythm. “Norwegian Wood” is about extramarital flings, and Lennon actually wrote it while on vacation with his wife. “Honey can you play me the new song.” Pretty dumb move on the part of Lennon, though he attempted to be subtle. The song’s creation is all well and good, but for the purpose of this post we must talk about the impact by George Harrison, who is the reason this song has a sitar and is psychedelic.
According to Harrison, he was inspired by Indian musicians on the scene of The Beatles‘ movie Help to start messing around with a sitar. This turned into a more substantial interest when he bought a Ravi Shankar record and purchased a cheap sitar in London. He had it with him during the recording of “Norwegian Wood,” and, you know what they say, the rest is history.
” It was lying around. I hadn’t really figured out what to do with it,” says Harrison in the Beatles Anthology. “When we were working on Norwegian Wood it just needed something, and it was quite spontaneous, from what I remember. I just picked up my sitar, found the notes and just played it. We miked it up and put it on and it just seemed to hit the spot.”
The sitar is very coordinated, and Harrison did not have the mastery to freestyle with the sitar, which would have made the song more experimental and psychedelic. But, it still maintains a hint of that psychedelic quality and that makes the song certainly worth the mention.
Psychedelic music inspired many talented performers to explore rock n’ roll’s endless possibilities. At its root, psychedelic music is experimental, and like any pioneering scientific discoveries, it engenders more research and, well, experimenting. While psychedelic music has numerous sub-genres, even more striking is the amount of genre manipulation that happened after the wave of psychedelia came to a near-end in the late 1960′s. I say near-end because psychedelic music never truly ended. But since it experienced a wave of popularity in the mid-late 60′s, it naturally became less popular. I know that I called this section the 60′s psychedelic experiment, but it is equally important to describe music that was created directly after the initial boom. I’m talking about the early 1970′s, which saw the rise of progressive rock and art rock, two genres that owe their creation to the success of psychedelic music. In a sense, art and progressive rock are both the complex expansion of psychedelic experimentation featuring music that concentrates on intricate and lengthy melodies combined with either a classical musical approach or more modern representation.
How did that paragraph go down? Smoothly, I hope. Seriously, the progression of Rock music is sometimes bulky, and this time period saw several changes to how rock would evolve. Art and progressive rock evolved from psychedelic music. Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) was composed for Keith Emerson, from the psychedelic rock band The Nice, Greg Lake, from the late 60′s prog-rock band King Crimson, and drummer Carl Palmer who played in the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster. These three musicians composed one of the first Art Rock supergroups and their music reached for the classical portion of Art rock.
In my opinion, art and progressive rock are practically the same term. But, one of the key differences is progressive rock tends to focus more on guitars. As evidenced by the piece I am including, ELP swayed more towards piano and keyboards.
“The Three Fates” is the first song off of side two of their debut eponymous album. It is split up into three parts, each named for a mythical figure (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos). The piano playing is extraordinary. Keith Emerson is skillful beyond words. The ode to classical music is clear and this classifies the music as 1970 Art rock. So, you may be thinking, how does this apply to psychedelic music? Travel to around 5:30 in the song. Okay, this is Jazz-rock. But, wait, what are all of the background sounds and the musical layering and strange notation. Yes, this is psychedelic music of the 1960′s kicked up a notch to fit into the genres of Jazz and Classical. It is Art rock, and a perfect example of the evolution of psychedelic music.
The last time I did a SWOD was July, 2010. SWOD (song/word of the day) is a category that I started to profile vocabulary words and corresponding songs. On the way back to my house today, “Sleep” by The Dandy Warhols lulled me into a state of musical bliss, and somewhere in the repetitive riff I thought today would be a good day to bring back the SWOD. Thank the Dandy Warhols for their help!
Word: Somnolent (adj)- sleepy; drowsy
The Dandy Warhols formed in Portland, Oregon back in 1994 and they have released 10 albums to this date, spreading their alt/indie rock sound and apt pun band name. It is fitting that one of the band’s main inspirations is the Velvet Underground. In 2000 they released arguably their best album Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia, and today’s somnolent hit resides on track eight. Is “sleep” a drowsy song?
In one word, yes, “Sleep” fits neatly into the term somnolent. The song is carried by a repetitive guitar riff that mixes with Courtney Taylor-Taylor‘s whispered croon. The band also uses drawn-out studio effects that mesh with melodic chanting. The Dandy Warhols also use a neat song technique in “Sleep” that contributes to the soporific quality of the music. In a melodic move most similar to turning the volume knob on a stereo system down and up, the band slowly drops the studio-effects to highlight the chanting and then gradually works them back into the song. This “lulling” works to achieve a dreamy piece, and this works for the song because of the constant riff in the background.
Psychedelic soul is one of the most thought-provoking spawns of the psychedelic music movement. It initially seems like an impossible breed. Soul and Psychedelic are two different animals, right? Actually, no. Let’s break both genres down. Soul music is based in gospel and rhythm and blues. At the time of the psychedelic revolution, soul’s rhythms were morphing into the nascent phase of funk. Psychedelic music is characterized by eccentric instrumentation, keyboard and odd melody. These two genres can mesh. Rhythm and blues combined with psychedelic instrumentation form a brand of music that is fresh and different.
After Jimi Hendrix, who combined R&B and rock, added psychedelic to the mix, he proved that the two genres fit together like puzzle pieces. Other bands were inspired to take the leap into this style of music. The 5th Dimension, with strong foundations in melodic soul and pop, released “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” in 1969, recording a medley of the two songs that had appeared in the musical “Hair.” What came of this combination was tremendous success.
What makes this song psychedelic? The lyric fits the parameter. It is based in astrological belief and zany extraterrestrial writing is perfect for psychedelic music. Though, the lyric is not the tell-tale sign of psychedelic soul. The strong musical base beneath the heavenly harmonies fulfills the qualifications. The song is also two full parts (the first medley to ever hold the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart), and both parts are certifiable psychedelic soul (in their own ways). Let’s discuss part one first.
Listen up to 2:18. The whistle and percussion that comes before the opening lyric provides a mystical sound that gets listeners in the mood to hear something different. The first verse is psychedelic, no doubt. It has a keyboard backing and is airy. The chorus then comes and starts moving like a R&B/Soul/Pop song. The horns and harmonies keep us in the psychedelic realm. The second verse features even stronger keyboard and whispered backing vocals that demonstrate creative vocal interplay. The song is playing with both psychedelic and soul music in the first portion. The strong soul and R&B is not really there in the first part, despite the chorus which tinkers with these elements. Then, press play at 2:18, and woah!
The bass guitar and horns drive the song into soul music. Wow. Listen to that bass guitar. What is this? This is psychedelic soul. Hear the keyboard backing turn to more traditional piano? The transition into this soul exploration is awesome. The backing harmony and horns are still psychedelic, but that psychedelic feel has been replaced with R&B and Soul and this is genius. The songs feature different strengths. The first part is more psychedelic, while the second part is more based in soul.
