Introducing Hard Rock - Assessment

1. Read Charles Shaar Murray's extended essay 
2. Based on that, write a three-paragraph description of Hard Rock's main features.  In other words, what are the main components of hard rock music?  What are the "essential elements?"  

History of Rock and Roll Lesson 2/12/15 - "The Roots of Heavy Metal"

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What are the musical and cultural roots of Heavy Metal?

OVERVIEW

In the late 1960s, the British industrial city Birmingham was a blue-collar factory town with limited options for young people. In the early 1970s, the economic growth that Britain had seen after World War II began to slow, and unemployment started to rise. This period of economic decline continued into the late 70s and early 80s, marked by inflation, labor strikes, and general economic decline.

Black Sabbath, arguably the first Heavy Metal band, sprang from Birmingham and gave voice to this experience of desolation. As Andrew L. Cope writes in Black Sabbath and the Rise of Heavy Metal Music, "One cannot dismiss simply as coincidence that the dark, angry and serious forms of music evident in the early work of Black Sabbath seem to correlate to the . . . dead end, working-class factory life of the industrial Midlands." 

As have many other forms of Rock and Roll, Heavy Metal reflected the mood of disenfranchised youth on the margins of society. Metal in Britain grew out of the same conditions as Punk; speaking in a simlarly anti-establishment voice, both could be considered a form of protest music. But over time, Heavy Metal evolved into a musical movement that embraced escapism and fantasy in a way that Punk did not.

Musically, Heavy Metal has deep roots in the Hard Rock of the 1960s, and by extension in the Blues, as filtered through the work of such bands as Led Zeppelin and Cream. (It could be said that the factory life influenced the musical sound of Heavy Metal as well as its general tone: Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's thick, grungy sound was the result of a factory accident in which a machine sliced off the tips of two fingers on his right hand. To compensate for his injured fingers, Iommi loosened the strings, resulting in a darker sound.)

While taking cues from Hard Rock, Metal took its musical ideas into new territory, where an emphasis on volume and distortion came to represent a vision of power that resonated deeply with Metal's overwhelmingly male fan base. In this lesson, students will investigate the musical and social roots of Heavy Metal, using their findings to write reviews of early Metal performances.

You will take on the role of music journalists from the early 1970s. You will write a review of an early Heavy Metal performance. You will begin by working to gain a better understanding of early Heavy Metal by visiting a series of stations that offer information about different aspect of Metal’s social and musical roots.

1. Review Handout 1: Questions for Viewing Stations. 
2. At your own pace, proceed through the stations below.  Answer the questions on the worksheet for each station.
   
   
   • Station 1: Videos of Metal's Early Influences—Hard Rock
     • Handout for Station 1
     • The Kinks, “You Really Got Me”
     • Marshall Amplifiers
     • Led Zeppelin, "Communication Breakdown"
     • Jimi Hendrix, "Purple Haze"
   • Station 2: The Working-Class Roots of Heavy Metal
     • Handout for Station 2
   • Station 3: The Influence of the Blues on Early Heavy Metal
     • Handout for Station 3
   • Station 4: Images of Birmingham in the 1950s and 1960s
     • Handout for Station 4

History of Rock and Roll Lesson 2/11/15

Hard Rock didn't emerge as something cohesive, something planned, or something immediately obvious in its musical-historical importance. As the epigraph above suggests, it began with something as unlikely as a knitting needle in a speaker cone. Only in retrospect did it appear that significant events had taken place that together led to something deserving of a name. And the name it got was "Hard Rock." By that time, however, the Kinks, widely celebrated as having given the movement its birth moment with "You Really Got Me," were exploring other musical territories. They may have set things off, followed by the Who with "I Can't Explain," but another group represents Hard Rock's dramatic entrance better than either of those British acts: the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

This lesson presents Jimi Hendrix and his band as a Hard Rock case study. In contrast to British groups like Cream (which featured Eric Clapton, a former member of both John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and the Yardbirds, on guitar) and Led Zeppelin (featuring former Yardbird Jimmy Page), Hendrix came out of the American Rhythm and Blues scene. But as a member of that scene, he was not a solo artist or a celebrated member of a group (as were Clapton and Page) -- he was as true sideman, in the shadows. Hendrix, then Jimmy James, played guitar for the Isley Brothers, King Curtis, and Little Richard, among others.

Importantly, though Hendrix's later style would go well beyond what he did as an R&B sideman, he would always retain a little of his musical past in the rhythmic approach he took to "lead" guitar. In a song like "The Wind Cries Mary," one can hear a rhythm guitar player raised on Soul and R&B, no matter that the guitar is featured, front and center, in a way that would be unusual on a Soul or R&B recording.

This lesson will consider the manner in which Hard Rock pushed overdriven, distorted guitar to the front. It will contrast an R&B style, often driven by keyboards and horn sections, with Hendrix's "Purple Haze," where the guitar takes center stage, with only drums and bass as accompaniment. The lesson will also explore the way Hendrix was received -- not as a journeyman from the world of R&B, but as a phenomenon that seemed to arrive as if from nowhere.

1. Read Peter Jones' 1966 review of Jimi Hendrix and his band. Consider Jones describes what he hears and sees in the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
   • What adjectives does he use to convey a sense for what Hendrix's sound is like?
   • Is it loud? Is it dance music? Is it similar to that of any other performer?
   • If you don't know Jimi Hendrix's work, can you determine, based on the article, what it might sound and look like?
   • Do you get any sense for Hendrix's past as a sideman?
2. Watch a clip of the Jimi Hendrix Experience playing "Purple Haze."
3. Once the clip has played, answer  the following questions:
   • After seeing and hearing Jimi Hendrix play, would you suggest to Peter Jones anything he could do to make his review more accurate?
   • What are the featured elements in the music and in the performance?
   • How is Hendrix's approach with "Purple Haze" different from the approach of Steve Cropper, the guitar player with Sam and Dave?
   • If Jimi Hendrix had played and performed as he did here while backing Little Richard, what do you think Little Richard might have said?

History of Rock and Roll Lesson 2/9/15

Here is your assignment for today.  You will need your headphones to complete the first part. 

1. Listen to Chuck D’s group Public Enemy perform “Fight the Power.”  This song, released in 1989 by Motown Records, is an example of how “Social Soul” songs of the early 1970s had an impact on later Hip Hop tracks.  Similar to “Freddie’s Dead,” “Fight the Power” was composed as a soundtrack for a film.  In this case, it is Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing which explores racial tension and the inequity of urban life in Brooklyn, New York.  After listening, answer the following questions:

• Chuck D, the founder of Public Enemy, describes the influence of Curtis Mayfield during the interview you watched earlier.  How is “Fight the Power” similar to Mayfield’s “Freddie’s Dead”?
• Think about the three songs we've listened to; "Fight the Power," "Freddie's Dead," and "What's Goin' On?" Which of the three songs is most important to you?  Which one can you identify with the most?   What do you like about the song in terms of its music, tone, and emotion?  How does it convey its message? 

2. Read Handout 6: Kerner Report.   After reading the Kerner report, answer the following questions. 

• What does the Kerner Report identify as the cause of civil unrest in American cities? 
• The Kerner Report famously states “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.”  Think about your own community today.  Do any recommendations made in the report still apply today?  Why or why not?
• How does this report relate to what you have learned regarding African-American life in the ghetto during the late 1960s and early 1970s?

History of Rock n Roll Lesson 2/4/15

Part I: 

To gain a deeper understanding of how these themes reoccur in Soul music, you will play the full video of Marvin Gaye performing "What's Going On" for a benefit in 1972 (the song was released the previous year, in 1971)  When the President of Motown Berry Gordy first heard the track, he did not want to release the song. He generally wanted Motown artists to steer clear of making political statements. But Gaye insisted and prevailed. Gaye’s lyrics to this song were partly inspired by stories from his younger brother, Frankie Gaye. Frankie had returned from a three-year tour of duty in Vietnam and would often share with his older brother about the atrocities he had seen there. 

After watching the video, and listening to the song, answer the following. 

• What historical events do you think are addressed in “What’s Going On”? Do you see any links with the events described in the Gallery Walk? 
• Refer back to the Handout 2: Marvin Gaye Lyric Comparison  As Marvin Gaye stated, “With the world exploding around me, how am I supposed to keep singing love songs?” What did he mean by this?

Part II: 

You will be listening to the song, "Freddie's Dead," written, and performed by an artist named Curtis Mayfield. This song was originally released in 1972 for the soundtrack of the film Super Fly.  The song depicts a character in the movie that meets his untimely death after dealing drugs.

Carefully read  Handout 5: “Freddie’s Dead” Lyrics.  Play the video of Curtis Mayfield performing “Freddie's Dead” in 1973. Based on the song and the lyrics, answer the following:

• Where do you think Freddie lives?  From the text of this song, what do you think his life is like?
• Does this song make you think of a particular historical event from the Gallery Walk?
• Consider Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”  How are these songs similar?  How are these songs different?  Think about their musicality, along with their message and tone. 

Part III: Summary 

Chuck D was the founder and leader of the groundbreaking Hip-Hop group Public Enemy.  Listen to a  clip from 2008 of Chuck D discussing the influence of Curtis Mayfield and "Freddie's Dead".  After listening to Chuck D's interview...

• Describe the impact of “Freddie’s Dead” on African-American communities living in urban America, according to Chuck D.
• As Chuck D states, “It was almost like [Curtis Mayfield] was the soundtrack to our everyday lives.” What do you think he means by this?