What was significant about this concert?
Listen to what Nathan Rubin describes as “a racially and sexually-integrated band (in which a white played drums and a girl played trumpet) commingled James Brown’s funk and gospel exhilaration with Haight-Ashbury counterculture to produce a music which might as well be called acid soul” – Sly and the Family Stone. List any of the following characteristics (and others you may discover) as you listen to the two selections by Sly and the Family Stone. Characteristics Call and response patterns?Wah-wah pedal guitar? Blues harmonica? Soul inspired trumpet playing? Funky rhythmic feel?Driving, declamatory vocal style.
a) Dance To The Music
b) I Want To Take You Higher
11. Jim Morrison’s artistry includes a strong talent for writing poetry. He even signed his name occasionally as Arthur Rimbaud, a 19th century French symbolist poet who wrote A Season in Hell, and was known for his belief that the poet needs to poison every sense (through excess, drugs, and alcohol) in order to see what lies hidden beyond the boundaries posed by them. According to Nathan Rubin, “to accomplish the same end without drugs, avant-garde composer John Cage simply eliminated the normal focuses of perception. By sitting in front of a piano, he allowed his audience to hear the sounds normally obscured by music”-his composition is called 4’33?. In contrast to other bands, the music of The Doors provided listeners with a darker view of the 1960?s. What do you hear (lyric content and delivery style, use/application of specific instruments, specific genres of music recognized or influencing their music etc.) in each of these songs by The Doors?
a) Alabama Song
b) Hello, I Love You
c) Light My Fire
12. Name the members of The Who and the instruments that the three instrumentalists played. What did The Who contribute to the development of rock and roll?
13. Is the following statement True or False? “The Who early on were recipients of critical acclaim and commercial success.”
14. As you listen to the following selections by The Who, list the characteristics you hear in the music (especially any that are discussed in Friedlander). What relationship is there between In C by Terry Riley, and their own Baba O’Riley ?:
a) I Can’t Explain
b) My Generation
c) In C by Terry Riley
d) Baba O’Riley
e) Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
15. Name the famous rock periodical magazine that was founded in San Francisco by Ralph J. Gleason and JannWenner in November 1967.
16. Click on the link below, borrow from a library, rent from a video store, or purchase a copy for your own collection of: The Monterey Pop Festival (1967). This was an amazing concert featuring a diverse lineup of talent.
Monterey Pop
Musically describe and respond to three of the following performances from the Monterey Pop film released in 1968:
Songs featured in the film, in order of appearance:
1.Scott McKenzie—”San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)”*
2.The Mamas & The Papas—”Creeque Alley”* and “California Dreamin’”
3.Canned Heat—”Rollin’ and Tumblin’”
4.Simon& Garfunkel—”The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)”
5.HughMasekela—”BajabulaBonke (The Healing Song)”
6.Jefferson Airplane—”High Flyin’ Bird” and “Today”
7.Big Brother & The Holding Company—”Ball ‘n’ Chain”
8.Eric Burdon & The Animals—”Paint It, Black”
9.The Who—”My Generation”
10.Country Joe & The Fish—”Section 43?
11.Otis Redding—”Shake” and “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”
12.The Jimi Hendrix Experience—”Wild Thing”
13.The Mamas & The Papas—”Got a Feelin’”
14.Ravi Shankar—”Raga Bhimpalasi” (actually “Dhun (Dadra and Fast Teental”)
17. At times Jimi Hendrix just toys with blues riffs and pentatonic scales, which by themselves are not earth-shattering. This is countered with sounds that are both diverse and unusual-like the opening of one of his compositions with speech distorted by tape speed, which he called “a sounding painting of heaven”. However, there is something about Jimi’s approach to those blues riffs and pentatonic scales (the secret is in his varied timbre) which elevates his music to another realm of expression. There are many recorded examples of Jimi’s music displaying his ingenuity and extraordinary talent. The following three will give you a taste of his gift. As you listen, list any characteristics or unique aspects present in these recordings. Please include information from Friedlander’s extensive entry on Hendrix. The various timbres (colors of sound) Jimi produces from his guitar transform the instrument, allowing it to become just about anything from wails and groans to machinery and industrial noise.
Listen, describe, and respond to the following recordings/videos of Jimi Hendrix:
Still Raining, Still Dreaming – from Electric Ladyland
All Along The Watchtower – from Electric Ladyland
The Star-Spangled Banner – from Woodstock
Purple Haze – from Woodstock
18. Borrow from a library, rent from a video store, or purchase a copy for your own collection of Woodstock (the film documentary of the 1969 concert/event). Take notes during the viewing of the film so you can better respond to the following: What was significant about this concert? (consider the music, the diversity of the participating artists and the styles of music they represented, and the social/political aspects embodying the event, etc.)
If you are unable to locate a copy of the documentary film, then browse YouTube for selections to view, listen, describe and respond to. Below are a few that I have provided for you to start with. Select and profile three different performances or song selections from three different performers/groups to respond to here.
Richie Havens singing “Freedom” at Woodstock
The Who performing “We’re Not Going To Take It”; “See Me, Feel Me”; and “Listening To You”
from the rock opera “Tommy” –performed at Woodstock
