Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Here's the syllabus for the music class I'm taking this semester, "Popular Music in Society".

Introduction to Rock Music / Historical Overview / The Blues Roots of Rock Music / Country Roots / Rockabilly / Elvis / Gospel
Robert Johnson, The Complete Recordings (disc 1 only)
Muddy Waters, "Got My Mojo Working"
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, "Hound Dog"
B.B. King, "3 O'Clock Blues"
Elvis Presley, The Sun Sessions
Elvis Presley, "Hound Dog"
Chuck Berry, "School Day"
Chuck Berry, "Johnny B. Goode"
Fats Domino, "Ain't That A Shame"
Jerry Lee Lewis, "Great Balls of Fire"
Jerry Lee Lewis, "Whole Lotta Shakin'"
Little Richard, "Good Golly Miss Molly"
Little Richard, "Lucille"

The Day the Music Died: February 3, 1959 / What Took Rock's Place?
Buddy Holly and the Crickets, "Peggy Sue"
Bill Haley and His Comets, "Rock Around The Clock"
Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations"
Beach Boys, "Help Me Rhonda"
Beach Boys, "In My Room"
Beach Boys, "Fun, Fun, Fun"
Beach Boys, "Little Deuce Coupe"

Black Music of the early 1960's - Soul Music / Motown
Ray Charles, "What'd I Say (pts 1 & 2)"
Martha and the Vandellas, "Heat Wave"
The Supremes, "Stop! In The Name of Love"
The Supremes, "I Hear A Symphony"
The Temptations, "My Girl"
Aretha Franklin, "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You"
Aretha Franklin, "Drown In My Own Tears"
Aretha Franklin, "Respect"
The O'Jays, "Love Train"

Folk and Folk-Rock Music / Dylan
Bob Dylan, "She Belongs To Me"
Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
Bob Dylan, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"
Bob Dylan, "Like A Rolling Stone"
Bob Dylan, "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Bob Dylan, "Song To Woody"
Bob Dylan, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean"
Bob Dylan, "All Along the Watchtower"
The Byrds, "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Simon & Garfunkel, "America"

The British Invasion / Early Beatles / The British Blues Revival
Beatles, Meet the Beatles!
Rolling Stones, "Get Off Of My Cloud"
Rolling Stones, "Mother's Little Helper"
Rolling Stones, "Satisfaction"
Rolling Stones, "Ruby Tuesday"

America's Reaction / The Beach Boys Grow Up / The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper
Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Beach Boys, Pet Sounds

The British Keep Coming / Further Experiments With Albums
The Who, Tommy
The Who, Quadrophenia
Cream, "Four Until Late"
Cream, "Rollin' & Tumblin'"
Cream, "Crossroads"

America's Psychedelic Rock / Hendrix / Joplin / The Doors / The Grateful Dead
Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced?
Jimi Hendrix, "All Along The Watchtower"
The Doors, "Break On Through"
The Doors, "Light My Fire"
Janis Joplin, "Me and Bobby McGee"
Janis Joplin, "Mercedes Benz"
Grateful Dead, "Uncle John's Band"
VIDEO: Electric Ladyland

Woodstock / Death of an Era / Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison Dies
VIDEO: Woodstock
VIDEO: Gimme Shelter

Experimentation: Art Rock / Glitter and Glam
Genesis, And The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Yes, "And You And I"
Yes, "Roundabout"
Yes, "I've Seen All Good People"
Yes, "Close To The Edge"
Emerson, Lake and Palmer, "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression"
Emerson, Lake and Palmer, "Still...You Turn Me On"
Pink Floyd, The Wall
Pink Floyd, "Money"
Pink Floyd, "Breathe"
Pink Floyd, "Time"
Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsodie"
David Bowie, "Rebel, Rebel"
David Bowie, "Space Oddity"
David Bowie, "Suffragette City"
David Bowie, "Changes"
David Bowie, "Ziggy Stardust"
David Bowie, "Fame"
David Bowie, "Young Americans"

Black American Expression in the Early 70's: Funk / Jazz
James Brown, "Say It Loud: I'm Black and I'm Proud"
James Brown, "Make It Funky"
James Brown, "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"
James Brown, "I Got You (I Feel Good)"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Everyday People"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Hot Fun in the Summertime"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Dance to the Music"
Funkadelic, "One Nation Under a Groove"
Prince, "Pop Life"
Miles Davis, "Miles Run the Voodoo Down"
Steely Dan, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number"

Hard Rock / Early Heavy Metal
Led Zeppelin, "Dazed and Confused"
Led Zeppelin, "Communication Breakdown"
Led Zeppelin, "Whole Lotta Love"
Led Zeppelin, "Black Dog"
Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven"
Led Zeppelin, "Going to California"
Led Zeppelin, "Kashmir"
Led Zeppelin, "Dancing Days"
Led Zeppelin, "The Song Remains The Same"
Aerosmith, "Dream On"
Aerosmith, "Make It"
Kiss, "Rock and Roll All Night"
Black Sabbath, "Paranoid"
Black Sabbath, "Electric Funeral"
Steppenwolf, "Born to be Wild"
Alice Cooper, "School's Out"

The New York Scene / CBGB
Velvet Underground, "Heroin"
Lou Reed, "Take a Walk on the Wild Side"
New York Dolls, "Babylon"
The Ramones, "I Wanna Be Sedated"
The Ramones, "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker"
The Ramones, "Teenage Lobotomy"
The Ramones, "Rock 'n' Roll High School"
Talking Heads, "Psychokiller"
Talking Heads, "Burnin' Down the House"

Punk
Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bollocks: Here's The Sex Pistols
The Clash, "London Calling"
The Clash, "I'm So Bored With The USA"
The Clash, "London's Burning"

Heavy Metal Grows Up / Metallica
Metallica, "And Justice For All"
Metallica, "Master of Puppets"

World Influences / New Wave
Elvis Costello, "Alison"
Elvis Costello, "Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes"
Elvis Costello, "Accidents Will Happen"
The Cars, "Good Times Roll"
The Cars, "You're All I've Got Tonight"
The Cars, "My Best Friend's Girl"
Bob Marley, "Buffalo Soldier"
Bob Marley, "Get Up Stand Up"
The Police, "Synchronicity"
The Police, "Every Breath You Take"
The Police, "Walking In Your Footsteps"
B-52's, "Rock Lobster"
B-52's, "Dance This Mess Around"
Blondie, "Rapture"
Blondie, "Hanging on the Telephone"
Blondie, "Call Me"
Peter Gabriel, "In Your Eyes"

Rap
Public Enemy, "911 Is A Joke"
Snoop Doggy Dogg, "Gin and Juice"
Snoop Doggy Dogg, "G Funk Intro"
Queen Latifah, "Ladies First"
Queen Latifah, "Latifah's Law"
Queen Latifah, "Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children"
Yo! MTV Raps
Spearhead, "Hole in the Bucket"
Spearhead, "Positive"

Beyond Punk / New and New / Old rock
Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Nirvana, "Lithium"
Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean"
Michael Jackson, "Thriller"
Michael Jackson, "Beat It"
Pearl Jam
Bruce Springsteen, "Born in the USA"
REM, "It's The End of the World As We Know It"
REM, "Radio Free Europe"
U2, "Where The Streets Have No Name"
U2, "With Or Without You"
U2, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
― Ian, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It's easy to make fun of lists like this -- the tokenism, the omissions, the poor selections, the overfocus on rock-critic plodders like Elvis Costello, the rockist assumptions ("heavy metal grows up"), but really there's a lot of good music on there so I have no right to complain about it.

Still I think it's interesting how syllabi like this create a history and a critical environment in which the rock myth becomes the dominant discourse. Most of the musics I care most deeply about -- post-punk, machine pop, nearly all kinds of dance music, hip-hop -- are either written out entirely or might as well be. And this is the version of pop history that dominates criticism in most of the United States.

This isn't a question but if anyone wants to comment? This thread will also be useful for me when I lose my syllabus.

― Ian, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Heh, I also like how the Pearl Jam selection isn't named, just hanging there ominously, waiting to strike.

― Ian, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Why the hell would you take a class like this?

― Kris, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Because I like arguing with rockists, why else?

― Ian, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Your teacher says the most historically important styles in rock are:

1. Art Rock/Glam
2. World/New Wave (two great tastes that taste great together!)
3. Hard Rock/Early Metal

― dleone, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Hehe -- out of all the Public Enemy songs... Radio Raheem (RIP) wouldn't stand for that one bit.

― Andy K, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No mention of disco! That's amazing.

― Mark, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Is Spector in there? Can't see him anywhere.

― helenfordsdale, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I mean, there were like a billion disco records sold in the late 70s, and it arguably had the greatest impact on American culture of any musical genre. It affected how people dressed, talked, danced, socialized, excercised, moved [roller rinks] -- it was big in movies & films, it cut accross all sorts of social boundries (white, black, latino, gay, rich, poor) it was big in the cities and the suburbs. Try saying that about punk, new wave, metal, grunge, even hip-hop. I just don't see how you can exclude it.

― Mark, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

OK, you can say all those things about hip-hop, pretty much, but there is still the sharp divide with age. Older people still don't like it. My parents were 35-year old squares in the late 70s and they dug disco big time. I don't think that's true w/ hip-hop today.

― Mark, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I guess "Love Train" could be considered disco. And "Call Me" and "Fame". But yes, what an oversight. Give 'em hell, Ian.

― Arthur, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think one reason hip-hop gets privileged over disco is that hip-hop has lots of lyrics to analyze. If you look at that whole list of songs what pulls them all together is that nearly all of them can be approached by a lyrics-first critical mode. Disco can't be, so the solution is to deny and erase it from our collective memories.

― Ian, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Because I like arguing with rockists, why else?

Fight the good fight. In fact, I say get the class over *here* to stir up some stuff. Get the professor to join in as well.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Re: disco/hip-hop critical focus divide -- spot on. Therefore, you must force the discussions being overlooked in their face. ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yeah, that lyrics thing, that makes sense. But what about all the Zep?

― Mark, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

There's this giant gap between the New York scene/Punk and New Wave, where Joy Division, New Order, the Cure and Depeche Mode should be, along with some other actual synthy bands and not rockist stuff like the Cars, Police, etc. Even if the four above reveal some of my personal, biased preferences, the latter two are still HUGE in the popular music arena of alot of foreign countries, especially Latin American and Europe.

I guess the whole new wave section just seems the most unrepresentative of the categories I'm seeing here.

Andy K: yeah, seems he's picking hip-hop with a 'message' ... i.e. the Spearhead song about poverty and homelessness, a song I like but one that was hardly that popular ..

― Dare, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

so who is teaching this class?

― , Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

what exactly is the difference between rap and hip-hop?

― g, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"society" = ya don't speak spanish, also

on the plus side, it give you a chance to be smarter than teachah all day everyday

― mark s, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think the new wave list is on-target if we are dealing with pop (?) in American (U.S.) society. (Don't know if it's meant to be that narrow, but obviously this isn't attempting to be global.) New Order, Joy Division, The Cure, Depeche Mode were not on the commercial radio map in the early 80's. The bands listed are precisely the ones I heard on commercial radio, and that other people would have known about. Joy Division, et. al. were something shadowy that existed only on college radio in the U.S. in the early 80's.

Teach your children well.

― DeRayMi, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

ALSO there is no heavy metal in the "heavy metal" section.

And of course the Clash aren't punk.

― mark s, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

aaah the first clash album is punk enough for this class i think, i guess "london calling" isn;t from the first record tho

― g, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Black American Expression in the Early 70's: Funk / Jazz
James Brown, "Say It Loud: I'm Black and I'm Proud"
James Brown, "Make It Funky"
James Brown, "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"
James Brown, "I Got You (I Feel Good)"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Everyday People"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Hot Fun in the Summertime"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Dance to the Music"
Funkadelic, "One Nation Under a Groove"
Prince, "Pop Life"
Miles Davis, "Miles Run the Voodoo Down"
Steely Dan, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number"

Not one of these songs is by a black artist in the early 70s!

― dleone, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

also no doowop, no spector girl groups (hence impossible to understand beatles), no "square" pop (perry como blah blah), no "novelty" records, no bubblegum, no country, not even no nurse wiv wound, erm k-blimey o'reillyXoR is all i can say

― mark s, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Andy K: yeah, seems he's picking hip-hop with a 'message' ... i.e. the Spearhead song about poverty and homelessness, a song I like but one that was hardly that popular ..

Picking "911 Is a Joke" as the LONE Public Enemy song is like picking "Yellow Submarine" as the lone Beatles song. If these songs are intended to stimulate any back-and-forrth in the class, you'd get more out of just about any other PE song recorded. As a whole, the rap category seems to cover a five-year period.

The disco gap is p'bly worst of all in my mind, though. The multiple selections by certain bands -- especially Zeppelin -- seems like a waste. Surely there could be some more diversity within each section.

― Andy K, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm not quite sure which is more glaring: the inclusion of Spearhead, or the four-song overview arc devoted to YES.

No, not because I dislike Yes, but that's about fifty minutes worth of music, innit?

― Tim, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Also the Tampa death metal scene is woefully underrepresented, to state the case mildly.

― John Darnielle, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ian, before class starts, bone up on THE ACCIDENTAL EVOLUTION OF ROCK'N'ROLL by chuck eddy: A. it is full of fine records not on this list; B. it will surely give this list-maker the runaway conniptions; C. its categories are infinitely more philosophically — and historically — convincing.

pah our barrel seems to be full of shredded fish

― mark s, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

is anyone else as horrified as i am that the words of don mclean have now been LEGITIMIZED BY ACADEMIA? woof

― maura, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I can just see the schedule:

Mon: Led Zeppelin
Wed: Yes pt. I
Fri: (Yes break) Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Mon: Yes pt. II
Wed: Reggae and Rap

― Andy K, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

haha having four ramones songs is surely less defensible: tho admittedly it only takes up abt 1.15 mins in toto (speaking of whom...)

― mark s, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Toto might fit nicely in the 'new and new' chapter.

― Andy K, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

it's nice to see spearhead made the course despite never selling any records or influencing anyone at all or being bought by anyone but college kids (and professors apparently).

― ethan, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I like that "World" music is represented by two Bob Marley songs.

― nickn, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

bone up on THE ACCIDENTAL EVOLUTION OF ROCK'N'ROLL by chuck eddy

Oh *god* yes. And Stairway to Hell if you can, though the focus is more limited. But with Eddy on your side, the canon is a joy to demolish in your own way, shape and form.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You know why it's easy to make fun of/trash lists like this? Because they're utter shit. Ughhh, I feel gross after reading through all that stuff. You'd better be the biggest pain-in-the-professor's ass ever, Ian, or you haven't learned a damn THING from ILM! ;-)

― Clarke B., Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

songs on the list that i love, in varying degrees:

Elvis Presley, "Hound Dog"
Chuck Berry, "School Day"
Chuck Berry, "Johnny B. Goode"
Fats Domino, "Ain't That A Shame"
Jerry Lee Lewis, "Whole Lotta Shakin'"
Little Richard, "Good Golly Miss Molly"
Little Richard, "Lucille"
Buddy Holly and the Crickets, "Peggy Sue"
Bill Haley and His Comets, "Rock Around The Clock"
Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations"
Beach Boys, "Help Me Rhonda"
Beach Boys, "In My Room"
Beach Boys, "Fun, Fun, Fun"
Beach Boys, "Little Deuce Coupe"
Ray Charles, "What'd I Say (pts 1 & 2)"
Martha and the Vandellas, "Heat Wave"
The Supremes, "Stop! In The Name of Love"
The Supremes, "I Hear A Symphony"
The Temptations, "My Girl"
Aretha Franklin, "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You"
Aretha Franklin, "Drown In My Own Tears"
Aretha Franklin, "Respect"
Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are A- Changin'"
Bob Dylan, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean"
The Byrds, "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Rolling Stones, "Get Off Of My Cloud"
Rolling Stones, "Mother's Little Helper"
Rolling Stones, "Satisfaction"
Rolling Stones, "Ruby Tuesday"
Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
Jimi Hendrix, "All Along The Watchtower"
David Bowie, "Space Oddity"
James Brown, "Say It Loud: I'm Black and I'm Proud"
James Brown, "Make It Funky"
James Brown, "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"
James Brown, "I Got You (I Feel Good)"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Hot Fun in the Summertime"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"
Sly and the Family Stone, "Dance to the Music"
c Funkadelic, "One Nation Under a Groove"
Miles Davis, "Miles Run the Voodoo Down"
Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven"
Aerosmith, "Dream On"
Velvet Underground, "Heroin"
Lou Reed, "Take a Walk on the Wild Side"
Talking Heads, "Burnin' Down the House"
B-52's, "Rock Lobster"
Blondie, "Rapture"
Blondie, "Hanging on the Telephone"
Blondie, "Call Me"
Peter Gabriel, "In Your Eyes"
Public Enemy, "911 Is A Joke"
Snoop Doggy Dogg, "Gin and Juice"
Snoop Doggy Dogg, "G Funk Intro"
Queen Latifah, "Ladies First"
Queen Latifah, "Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children"
Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean"
Michael Jackson, "Thriller"
Michael Jackson, "Beat It"

also i have not heard about half of it so, for example, THE YES SECTION i very well might love too.

― ethan, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What is a "rockist"? Are there other -ist's (jazzist, polkaist, klezmerist)?

― Oliver, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Uh-oh.

― Tom, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Because I like arguing with rockists, why else?

You can do that here without having to sit quietly listening to U2 and Pearl Jam.

― Kris, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm going to ramble a bit here: It's funny that some actually good songs are on that list, but I don't like it one bit. I wish i could teach a class like that, I'll show people what music is!!! I've said this many times, but music education is bad! It teaches the "rules" of classical (and jazz: on a side note, isn't it interesting that jazz which used to be the getto music is now high art?) anyway, I've talked to some "unenlightened" music majors here at my college, and I would say as a whole they know less about "popular" music than the average electrical engineer. I asked this one music major girl if she knew who David Bowie or Peter Frampton were, and she had never head of them. I also talked a bit to my colleges "rock" expert professor, and he said he's heard of the Velvet Underground, but they are too strange, for him to teach about, and someone I knew taking his class said he spent a week on the beatles, and had one line about David Bowie saying just "he's a glam rocker from england." grrrrr

― A Nairn, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I nearly said this list DEFINES ROCKISM (he who thinks this is an unexceptionable guide to rock — let alone POPULAR MUSIC 1950- 2000); but then I realised it was a ROCKIST def of ROCKISM heh.

I like nearly all the songs on it, even the clash songs (obv not u2 i am not a clown). But Aqua's "Candyman" is bettah than 93% of them. There are no othah "ist" words, Oliver. Nobody knows why.

― mark s, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ambushed by unexpected emotion part 34: Sometimes I'm surprised at how much I heart Mark S's posts.

― Tim, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The textbook in use in a similar class at my old school covers almost the same ground, although slightly more exhaustively and inclusively (e.g. there is stuff on disco and "electronica"). But the extreme similarity between the musical selections makes me wonder where exactly all the fucking History of Rock people get their information.

― Josh, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

A lot of that list looks like it could have been compiled in sections at the end of each era: the Introduction compiled in 1958, the British Invasion list in '67, the CBGB's one in '78, and so on. What's missing is mostly artists (or whole genres) who have gained stature in later years (Spector, Kraftwerk, Joy Division), and what's over-represented is vice versa (Cream, Yes). So, my boy,this class could be like a groovy time warp sans revisionist-colored glasses! *thud*

Qustion: Would you rather fight an unreconstructed rockist or an aware, sensitized rockist?

― Curt, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'd rather BE an unreconstructed rockist fighting the sensitized one, but Jiu Jitsu vs. Tai Chi isn't exactly a fair fight, is it?

― Kris, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Part 35 -- I'm no longer surprised at how much I love Kris' posts...but sometimes I forget until I read them. ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Taking Sides: Carleton vs Brown --

Tapes for Popular Music After 1945:

Tape 1

Blind Alfred Reed - The Wreck of the Virginian
Robert Johnson - Me and the Devil Blues
Bing Crosby - Where the Blue Of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day
The Carter Family - Anchored In Love
Jimmie Rodgers - Blue Yodel
Hank Williams - Lovesick Blues
Louis Jordan - Choo Choo Ch'boogie
Wynonie Harris - Shake That Thing
Bill Monroe - Blue Moon of Kentucky
Elvis Presley - Blue Moon of Kentucky
Arthur Crudup - That's All Right
Elvis Presley - That's All Right; Blue Moon; I Want You, I Need You, I Love You

Side B

Little Richard - Tutti Frutti
Pat Boone - Tutti Frutti
Frankie Avalon - Venus
The Shirelles - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
The Shangri-Las - Leader Of the Pack
The Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Loving Feeling
The Chords - Sh-Boom
Booker T and the MGs - Green Onions
Dick Dale - Miserlou
The Beach Boys - Surfin' Safari
Woody Guthrie - Do Re Mi
Bob Dylan - The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carol; Subterranean Homesick Blues; Like a Rolling Stone

Tape 2

Side A

Lonnie Donegan - Rock Island Line
The Beatles - Please Please me
Muddy Waters - Hoochie Coochie Man
The Bluesbreakers - All Your Love
The Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
The Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit
The Grateful Dead - Dark Star (excerpt); New Speedway Boogie
Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze
The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows; Eleanor Rigby; A Day In the Life

Side B

Ray Charles - I Got a Woman
Otis Redding - Pain In My Heart
Rufus Thomas - Can Your Monkey Do the Dog?
Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness
Aretha Franklin - Respect
Marvin Gaye - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
Martha and the Vandellas - Dancing In the Streets
The Supremes - Baby Love
Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through the Grapevine
James Brown - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag; Cold Sweat; Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)

Tape 3

Side A

The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
The Eagles - Take It Easy
Joni Mitchell - The Last Time I Saw Richard
Simon and Garfunkel - I Am a Rock
Robert Johnson - Crossroad Blues
Cream - Crossroads
Black Sabbath - Iron Man
Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Karn Evil No 9
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Alice Cooper - The Black Widow

Side B

The Velvet Underground - I'm Waiting For the Man
Iggy Pop - Search and Destroy
The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
Patti Smith - Gloria
The Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen
Joy Division - Digital
The Specials - Do the Dog
Black Flag - Six Pack
The Minutemen - The Punch Line; Song for El Salvador; History Lesson
Husker Du - Punch Drunk; I Apologize
Mudhoney - If I Think

Tape 4

Side A

Tower of Power - Knock Yourself Out
The Ohio Players - Funky Worm
Parliament - Dr Funkenstein
The Trammps - Disco Inferno
The Bee Gees - Staying Alive
Talking Heads - Once In a Lifetime
Gary Numan - Cars
Depeche Mode - Master and Servant
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Cure - Killing An Arab
Metallica - Battery
Van Halen - Running With the Devil; Eruption

Side B

U-Roy - Version Galore
Sugarhill Gang- Rapper's Delight
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message
Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock
Public Enemy - Black Steel In the Hour of Chaos; 911 Is a Joke; Bring the Noise (with Anthrax)
NWA - Gangsta Gangsta; Fuck the Police
Rage Against the Machine - Take the Power Back
Queen Latifah - Latifah's Law
A Tribe Called Quest - Excursions
Massive Attack - Safe From Harm
Missy Elliot - Hit 'Em Wit Da Hee

― sundar subramanian, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No surprise that Carleton has a better pop-music class. Brown has lots of nice kids but they sure don't know much about music.

Walking out of class today:

Ian: (disbelief with the slightest tinge of disappointment) "Man, I can't believe how rockist this syllabus is!"
Someone else: (excitedly) "Yeah, I know! It really does look rockin'!"

― Ian, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

See, Ian -- *proof* you need to get everyone over here. ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ethan and mark s are OTM in this thread.

Key point that nobody's mentioned I think is that, with one or two exceptions mebbe, the list could have been compiled 10 years ago. Music academics always ignore recent pop - "oh we can't judge how significant it is until at least 10 years have elapsed".

Looks like the impact of the sampler on modern pop and rock will be completely ignored. I could have forgiven that if the synthesizer had been covered, but there's no Kraftwerk, no Bowie post-Young Americans, no Eno (save as U2 producer!)? (NB - Emerson and Wakeman were not synth fans or much cop with 'em).

No Enoch Light?????

― Jeff W, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Jeff, that is because this course is clearly about capturing the spirit of rock.

And then holding it down with pincers and jabbing it until it dies.

― Tim, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

(the Enoch Light bit was a joke. Or, if you were referring to the previous bit, I would have thought any lecturer worth his salary ought to be able to demonstrate that "the essence/spirit of rock'n'roll" = two kids playing synths with one finger AND ≠ U2)

― Jeff W, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Taking Sides: Carleton vs Brown -- Tapes for Popular Music After 1945:

Sundar, To prove your thesis, you are going to have make a CD-R of this playlist of tracks, and send it out. Contact me at my email for a snail mail address to send it to. ;)

― Lord Custos, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Any lecturer worth his salary..."

You presume too much, my friend.

― Tim, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

But surely the point of a course like this is being able to sleep quietly in the back of the room while the music is being played?

― Nicole, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What I can't quite figure out is why "Karn Evil No. 9" made both lists. Theories, anyone?

― Jay, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No pain no gain Jay.

― Tom, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

also i have not heard about half of it so, for example, THE YES SECTION i very well might love too.

Maybe you should take the class, ethan. Otherwise, you might just have to settle for hearing the stuff on the radio everyday, or in supermarkets, television commericals, etc.

I guess the problem I have with the class (beyond organizational errors, like the one I posted about "Black American Expression in the early 70s" -- and BTW, if you're going to call it that, how did Stevie Wonder not make it -- he even seems to be part of this "rockist" tradition I've read so much about), the problem I have with just about all survey courses, is that it's hard to believe anyone could get anything really useful out of the stuff. Firstly, that's too much material to cover -- since the school will doubtlessly only shell out the bucks for one class on rock music, it's probably too much to hope that Chuck Berry (or any other artist) gets his own course. I mean, what if they had to put all of Computer Science into one class?

Secondly, I *hate* the idea of music appreciation classes, and that is what this appears to be. Other than an easy A, is there any reason why I (or my little sister who knows nothing of the ways of snooty music nerdery) needs to sit in a classroom to hear how Led Zeppelin sounds, or to see how Blondie sounds different than Aretha Franklin? As far as music appreciation, I think Napster was a better option. Or the radio, but maybe some people like it better if they hear it in a class, I don't know.

― dleone, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ian, I think it's your civil duty to document the daily goings-on of this class, for the benefit of curious & interested parties.

― David Raposa, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Close to the Edge by YES is GRATE!!!!!

― Sarah, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Still...You Turn Me On" sure isn't.

― Arthur, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Well its not like some zombie with a Trout Mask Replica CD glued to his forehead shambled up robotically muttering "Resistance is Futile, Acknowledge and Accept the primacy of the FAB FOUR. You will Assilimated."

― Lord Custos, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Where is COME SAIL AWAY?

― Sterling Clover, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Give it time.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Can we deduce from these courses that "Latifah's Law" is Most Important Rap Record ... EVAH?

― Jeff W, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Also, where is ska? Sublime is absent. Tragedy!

― Sterling Clover, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ugh, the entire "Lamb Lies Down" LP?? All of "The Wall"?? Those long Yes tracks? No, please no.

― Sean, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm not sure that I'm ever going to comprehend why ILM hates Beefheart so much.

― Jay, Friday, 25 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Don't these guys even like "Tropical Hotdog Night?" I didn't like what I heard from "Trout Mask Replica," but some of his other material is pretty enjoyable.

― DeRayMi, Monday, 28 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one month passes...

So have midterms come and gone yet or what?

― Stuart, Saturday, 16 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

To whoever asked the difference between rap and hip-hop up there.

(Condensing about three books worth of knowledge into one pithy sentence) Rap is a vocal delivery style. Hip-hop is a culture incorproating the four elements: DJing, breakdancing, MCing, and graffiti.

― Judd Nelson, Saturday, 16 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My god I'd love to take that class. I think that would be a lot of fun, to sit around and discuss pop music in a supposedly intellectual manner. That is my kind of class! Although, where is the electronic music? I don't even see synth-pop on that list. Do Blondie and the B- 52s really represent the synth-pop sound? Hell, where is Joy Division, New Order, or Depeche Mode?

― patrick, Saturday, 16 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ha! Read the thread.

― charlie va, Saturday, 16 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.

The Rockist Hordes That Surround Me Are Attempting To Indoctrinate Me

Close to the Edge by YES is GRATE!!!!!