Independent Research Entry

For this blog entry, I want to talk about a man who has been very influential to the music industry and who has a had a very large impact on it. This mans name is Nigel Godrich. Nigel has worked on countless projects with over 52 albums under his belt acting as the engineer or producer. Nigel's production techniques have stood the test of time. He uses layers of dense sounds when engineering or producing. Godrich has worked with several different artists such as Paul McCartney, Beck, U2, and R.E.M. Probably the work Godrich is most famous for though, is that of Radiohead. He is sometimes informally credited as the "sixth member" of Radiohead due to his longtime collaboration with this band from Oxford, England. He has helped define Radiohead's distinct sound which has established them as one of the more celebrated bands of the 1990s and the 2000s. Godrich's first collaborations with Radiohead were on certain songs on the 1994 My Iron Lung EP, such as The Trickster and Permanent Daylight. He went on to engineer Radiohead's second record The Bends and co-produced Black Star from the same album. Later in 1995, after the band found they got along well with him, he produced Radiohead's single called Lucky, which later appeared on the album, OK computer. He also produced the tracks called Bishop's Robes and Talk Show Host which appeared in the 1996 film Romeo and Juliet starring Leonardo Dicaprio. Godrich has been co-credited with Radiohead as producer on every one of their albums since OK Computer, which helped him make his name. He also produced singer Thom Yorke's, lead singer of Radiohead, 2006 solo album, which was called The Eraser. Beginning new work in 2005, Radiohead initially tried collaborating with other producers for the first time in a decade, but they returned to the studio with Godrich late in 2006 to record their seventh album, In Rainbows that was released in 2007 and is personally my favorite album by Radiohead. There are many characteristics I could use to describe Nigel Godrich. One of them is that he is very diligent. He came into the music industry with nothing in hopes that he would make it somewhere. His first job in a studio was to bring people coffee and tea. Through diligence and perseverance he has made it to where he is today. Some of Nigel's influences include producers such as Linda Perry, will.i.am., and Rick Rubin. I have listened to Radiohead's work on numerous occasions and i think that without Nigel Godrich as their producer they wouldn't have the certain sound that I have enjoyed so much throughout my time listening to them. His influence on there music has had a lasting impact on me and I hope that he keeps producing their records. Before writing this blog, I had no idea who produced the wonderful work of Radiohead. Now, whenever i listen to them i will think of Neil Godrich and the impact he had on them.

Electronic Music Innovations

Nine Inch Nails is an electronic and industrial music project created by a man called Trent Reznor. All musical aspects of Nine Inch Nails including being its producer, singer, and songwriter are controlled by Trent Reznor. NIN is known for their electronic and creepy sound. Trent Reznor has had his music featured in many movies such as 300. Nine Inch Nails has released 8 studio albums from 1989 to 2008. Nine Inch Nails has had a very large impact on the electronic music industry. NIN is responsible for bringing the industrial music genre to the masses. Trent Reznor has made this genre popular and brought it to more peoples ears. There are many unique characteristics that make Nine Inch Nails what it is. The music itself features many different unique characteristics. These characteristics include things such as complex time signatures, terraced dynamics, noise, and distortion. Nine Inch Nails also uses unique techniques to get their music out there. For NIN's European tour in 2007, USB drives were left in concert venues for fans to find in order to promote the album Year Zero. Some of these USB drives included unheard songs from the upcoming album as well as websites and images that had to do with the album. Another unique characteristic of Nine Inch Nails is that they use different packaging techniques to add to the experience of their albums. For one of their albums the CD had a heat-sensitive cover which appeared to be black but when the CD was played, the black cover was wiped off and a binary code was revealed. That binary code then lead to a website that had to do with the story of the album. I enjoy Nine inch nails very much. I think that they are a very unique band that has played an important role in the electronic music industry. They use many different techniques which gives for an interesting listening experience.

Electronic Music Entry

Kraftwerk is a band that specialized in electronic music from Germany.  Kraftwerk are revered as the kings of electronic sound. They are one of the key bands that pioneered this electronic sound throughout the 70s and 80s. They have influenced bands such as Daft Punk, Aphex Twin, and Portis head. Kraftwerk has created 12 different albums over the years. A lot of their albums are concept albums which centralize  around a certain theme. Autobahn was the first of their concept albums. This album was about road travel and driving on the autobahn. After Autobahn was released, they recorded the album called Radio-Activity. This album was about radio activity and activity on the radio. The next album in their arsenal was called Trans-Europe Express. This album dealt with traveling and trains. The next concept album they wrote is called Computer World. This album deals with the themes of the rise of the use of computers in society. There are many different characteristics of Kraftwerk that I could use to describe them as a band. I would describe Kraftwerk as one of the leading pioneers in electronic and experimental music. This band basically laid out a sonic blueprint that many artists have followed up until today. Another characteristic i would describe Kraftwerk as is risk takers. They took many risks throughout their years in the music industry such as writing concept albums. It is hard to perceive how your audience will react to what material your writing about. I have not heard Kraftwerk before our listening assignment and they have left me with a lasting impression. I can understand why they are described as pioneers in the electronic music industry because i can hear the influence they had in electronic music that is released today. I really enjoyed listening to this band because i am a big fan of electronic music. I am glad that this band was part our class curriculum.

Podcast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdVBFrm0e3o

Peer Comment

Hey Greg, I just finished reading this entry and i really like what you said. I like your comparisons between the songs in stereo and in mono. You did a good job describing how each one sounded to you personally. I probably would've given at least a little bit of background on the band before going into detail about their songs though. Also, i would've followed the rubric a little more closely even though i do like your approach. Overall, I think you did a good job with this entry i would've just added more about the band as well as followed the rubric.

What’s Going On Entry

Marvin Gaye was an African-American soul singer who has had many hits and has been listed in Rolling Stone magazine as #6 on the list of greatest singers of all time. One of Marvin Gaye's most memorable albums is Whats Going On which was released in 1971. Prior to this album, Gaye had already had 10 studio albums under his belt as well as 13 top ten singles on the U.S. and U.K. charts. Marvin Gaye started out in a couple of different bands such as The Marquees and The New Moonglows. Berry Gordy played a big part in Gaye's career by signing to Motown records on which he released many albums. Marvin Gaye collaborated with many different artists but eventually became his own solo act. The primary focus of this post is Gaye's eleventh studio album called Whats Going On. There were social and national concerns that influenced the music and lyrical content on this album. These social and national concerns included drug abuse, political corruption, environmentalism and the Vietnam War. Marvin Gaye faced some obstacles when trying to get What's Going On released. Originally, Berry Gordy refused to let this album be released because he was baffled by the complexity and ambitions of the album. Marvin Gaye said that he would not record any more music for Motown Records unless What's Going On was released. Eventually Berry Gordy gave in and released the album even though he never fully understood the album's concept. A characteristic I would give to this album would be that its a socially-minded concept album fueled by Gaye's outlook on what was going on during that time. What were current events at that helped him write the lyrics and music for the album. Another characteristic i would give to this album would be that it was a successful album. The album was critically acclaimed and remained on several charts for many weeks. It also sold over two million copies within the first year. This album left me with a lasting impression.
I liked how soulful and politically conscious this album was. Before i heard the original song called Whats Going On, i heard a cover by A Perfect Circle. I really enjoyed this cover by them but now that I have heard the original, nothing compares to it.

Velvet Underground & Nico Entry

The Velvet Underground & Nico was the Velvet Undergrounds debut album which was released in 1967. This album was not very popular when it was released but since then has been critically acclaimed and has ended up at number thirteen on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Some of the songs on the album dealt with controversial subject matter. The lyrics contained references to drug abuse, sexual content, and even prostitution. Despite the crude content on some of the songs, other songs were about love and relationships. The music itself throughout the album was very diverse and could be described as experimental or art rock. Velvet Underground & Nico was basically a controversial album that explored different genres and had dark subject matter. John Cale and Lou Reed both played a big part in the making of this album. John Cale handled most of the musical arrangements on the album. He also played a big part in the experimental sound of the album. John Cale played piano, bass guitar, sung backing vocals, and also played the electric viola. Lou Reed was responsible for most of the lyrics written on the album. He also sang vocals and played lead guitar. Although Andy Warhol is listed as the producer for the album the truth is that he really didn't have much to do with the album. All he really did was pay for the studio time and create the albums artwork.  A characteristic I would give this album is originality. This album was very original for its time because of its experimental sound and its controversial subject matter. Another characteristic I would give this album is diversity. This album explored many different genres and many different sounds. My favorite song on this album was All Tomorrow's Parties because of how catchy it's pop sound. Although this is not the music i would normally listen to, I am glad that i did because i enjoyed listening to this album. I enjoyed the vivid imagery some of the tracks created as well as the different moods it makes you feel. This album was truly groundbreaking for its time.