Rock Resources Chapter 10 The 1980s: New Alternatives, New Accents

Heavy Metal Combined demographic appeal of classic rock with flash and visual glamour Heavily promoted on MTV in the mid-’80s Influenced by Led Zeppelin Throughout the late ’70s and early ’80s, metal received little radio airplay or critical acclaim Metal was often associated with working-class life and limited musical skills

Black Sabbath First real metal group Formed in 1968 in Birmingham, U.K. Consisted of Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Terry “Geezer” Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums) Used metal to express social and economic powerlessness Featured escapist lyrics and not-so-serious occultism

Judas Priest Built upon gothic imagery of Black Sabbath Visual style combined blue-collar industrial experience with gothic imagery (black leather, chains, spikes, and motorcycles) Victims of antimetal hysteria (part of a movement to paint metal as the cause of teen problems) In 1998 lead singer Rob Halford came out as a gay man; for most fans this was a nonissue

Van Halen Included David Lee Roth (vocals), Eddie Van Halen (guitar), Alex Van Halen (drums), and Michael Anthony (bass) Came from California and reflected a youthful appearance Preferred spandex to leather Lyrics were more about partying than angst

Van Halen Their album 1984 helped mainstream metal Opened the door for guitarcentric instrumental metal (Joe Satriani and Steve Vai) as well as California metal bands (Ratt, Poison, and Mötley Crüe) Pioneered a visual style emphasizing flashy physical appearance and teased hair known as “hair metal” or “glam metal”

Eddie Van Halen’s Guitar Sound Emphasized technical virtuosity One of the fastest guitarists of his era Known for melodic and harmonic sophistication Incorporated “tapping” technique to play faster notes and wider intervals

Van Halen’s “Jump” Chief significance lies in the musical textures Emphasizes the synthesizer, an unconventional sound for a metal band “Power chords” in the synthesizer evoke Eddie Van Halen’s guitar style Thick textures and a strong pulse dominate the recording Incorporates a flashy guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen

Metallica Responded to accessible heavy metal by emphasizing an uncompromising attitude, bass frequencies, and riffs Undisputed leaders of speed metal Retained virtuosic guitar approach Achieved rhythmic precision, often changing meters in a song

Metallica Used new approaches and instruments, including seven-string guitars and baritone guitars tuned down to a lower pitch Incorporated low sounds that took advantage of digital technology and the proliferation of subwoofers Mass appeal of Metallica led to debates about authenticity in underground metal

Hardcore Punk Extreme variation of punk (both musically and ideologically) Pioneered in Washington, D.C. (Bad Brains and Minor Threat), Los Angeles (the Germs, Black Flag, X, and Circle Jerks), and San Francisco (the Dead Kennedys) Characterized by simple riff-based songs, fast tempo, and screaming, nihilistic lyrics Associated with slam dancing/mosh pits, local “scenes,” and a DIY attitude Attitude and commitment were more important than virtuosity

Minor Threat Pioneering Washington, D.C.-based hardcore band Singer Ian McKaye co-founded one of punk’s important indie record companies (Dischord) Short, fast songs with distorted guitars The band and fans were dedicated to a severe philosophy of personal responsibility called “Straight Edge” Rejected drinking, drugs, smoking, meat-eating, and casual sex

Bad Brains Pioneering Washington, D.C.-based hardcore band African American Rastafarians Represented intersection between rock and African American culture

Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia” Sarcastic lyrics are directed at spoiled yuppies, who should be sent to forced labor camps in Cambodia Played at an extremely fast tempo Hendrix-like guitar pyrotechnics and feedback evoke a war zone

Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia” Reflects the band’s politics, which opposed American imperialism overseas Addresses hypocrisies in soulless suburbia Jello Biafra (lead singer) rejected a growing white supremacist element in the hardcore movement and recorded a song entitled “Nazi Punks F___ Off”

West Coast Hardcore Incorporated skateboarding, Los Angeles gang culture, and leftist radical politics Included bands like Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, and Dead Kennedys Embodied the DIY mentality

Sugarhill Gang Recorded the first national hip-hop hit, “Rapper’s Delight,” in 1979 Released as a twelve-inch single Borrowed rhythm section track from Chic’s disco hit “Good Times” Featured three rappers: Michael “Wonder Mike” Wright Guy “Master Gee” O’Brien Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson Featured rapid-fire, party-oriented lyrics Led to a series of successful twelve-inch singles by New York rappers, including Kurtis Blow and Afrika Bambaataa

Hip-Hop Like rock, hip-hop incorporates a breakbeat (section of a song where most instruments except drums drop out) Early MCs would rap over breakbeats (often coming from rock groups) As hip-hop became more suburban, hip-hop groups sampled more from rock and collaborated with rock musicians

Hip-Hop Mid-’80s successes included hits by Herbie Hancock, Grandmixer DST, Chaka Khan, and Melle Mel Rap moved into the mainstream by 1986 with multiplatinum albums by Run-D.M.C. (Raising Hell) and the Beastie Boys (Licensed to Ill)

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” Established the trend of social realism in rap Grim, cinematic portrait of the south Bronx Features the Roland TR-808 digital drum machine and a cold, stark, electronic groove Melle Mel’s rap incorporates polyrhythms as he speeds up and slows down his flow Led to the tradition of political raps and the “gangsta” style of hip-hop

Run-D.M.C. Perhaps the most influential act in rap history Included D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels), MC Run (Joseph Simmons), and DJ Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) Established a hard-edged, rock-influenced style and literate, rhythmically skilled raps

Run-D.M.C. First rap group to headline a national tour and appear on MTV Popularized rap among young, white rock fans Introduced an influential fashion sensibility, including hats, gold chains, and untied Adidas shoes with fat laces

Beastie Boys First commercially successful white act in hip-hop Fused rebelliousness of hardcore punk with hip-hop techniques Built their early career success by opening for other artists (Madonna and Run-D.M.C.) and film appearances (Krush Groove) Hits included the rebellious, party-oriented song “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)” Achieved commercial and critical success in the 1990s with albums like Hello Nasty (1998)

Public Enemy Founded in 1982 by MCs Chuck D (a.k.a. Carlton Ridenhour), Flavor Flav (William Drayton), and Terminator X (Norman Lee Rogers) Continued in the tradition of socially engaged rap Often featured dense, multilayered sounds engineered by the group’s production team, called the “Bomb Squad” It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) featured social/political analysis by Chuck D and streetwise interjections by Flavor Flav

Public Enemy’s “Night of the Living Baseheads” An example of the moral authority and musical complexity of Public Enemy’s recordings Combines imagery of zombie corpses and commentary about the crack epidemic Opens with the voice of black nationalist leader Kalid Abdul Muhammad

Public Enemy’s “Night of the Living Baseheads” Uses words with multiple meanings like dope and bass/base Includes dark images of shriveled crack users and thieving pariahs and thick, sonic textures Samples from a wide range of sources and embodies the idea that music is “organized noise”

The Rise of “World Beat” Music Worldbeat artists of the ’80s included rock musicians Peter Gabriel, David Byrne, Ry Cooder, Mickey Hart, and Paul Simon World music is a pseudo genre representing a diverse array of styles The 1980s obfuscated the boundaries between mainstream and marginal styles The term world music replaced terms like international music, traditional music, and ethnic music.

The Rise of “World Beat” Music Musicians from Africa, south Asia, the Near East, eastern Europe, and Latin America toured the United States with increasing frequency in the ’80s The band African Beats led by King Sunny Adé had success in the ’80s with albums Juju and Synchro System sung in Yorbu The music industry used the rhetoric of musical universalism as a marketing device

Paul Simon’s Graceland Revived Simon’s declining career Part of Simon’s longstanding interest in music not indigenous to the United States Album partially recorded in South Africa with black South Africans despite a U.N. boycott on performing and recording because of apartheid Album explores the concept of collaboration among artists of different races, religions, nationalities, and ethnicities

Paul Simon’s Graceland Collaborators included Joseph Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Linda Ronstadt, General M. D. Shirinda, white South African pennywhistler Morris Goldberg, Los Lobos, and the zydeco band Good Rockin’ Dopsie and the Twosters Won the Grammy award for best album in 1986 and sold over five million copies Reflects complicated cultural politics