Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
“I expect you all know the sound of trumpets. And I expect most of you know about a trumpet player’s personality as well…”
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, composed by Benjamin Britten, is an educational piece of music that combines the second movement of the Abdelazer suite, “Rondeau,” with commentary by Eric Crozier describing the instruments within an orchestra. Originally commissioned for a British educational documentary titled Instruments of the Orchestra, this piece is unique for its use of a common theme throughout each instrumental section and the conductor’s description of each section aloud before they play the theme.
Not only does each section in the orchestra perform its own perception of the theme, every individual instrument is highlighted in multiple variations throughout the 17-minute piece. Variation C is led by the clarinets when the narrator states “clarinets are very agile. They make a beautifully smooth, mellow sound.” In accordance with the description, Variation C is played in a moderato tempo where the clarinets have many slurred sixteenth-note runs to emphasize their smooth sound. The piece continues to highlight each instrument individually and multiple sections in pairs until it culminates in a triumphant ending led by the piccolos and flutes. The brass begins to play in half time, 6/8, compared to the rest of the orchestra playing rapid eighth notes in a 3/4 pattern, creating a dynamic between fast and slow that ends the composition in a glorious fashion.
Portrait of British composer Benjamin Britten circa 1949
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student worker Susie (class of 2019) and features the cast recording of the Tony-nominated musical Come From Away. Thanks, Susie!
When I first heard that Broadway was making a musical about the tragic events of 9/11, I was quite confused. Sure, Broadway has capitalized on many historical wars and disasters such as Allegiance (Japanese American internment during World War 2), The Color Purple (the lives of African American women in the early 1900s), and Miss Saigon (Vietnam War). But most people do not know someone directly affected by these events anymore, especially since the most recent was almost 50 years ago. Come From Away started being workshopped only 10 years after 9/11. So naturally, many people questioned the appropriateness of this musical. Then people began to hear about it. The story. The music. A beautiful tribute to the people of Gander, Newfoundland who sheltered 7,000 displaced people during the closing of the American Airspace due to the terrorist attacks. And the talent that came together to put on the show in the Broadway debut in 2017 was incredible. Rightly so, the show received 7 Tony Nominations as well as a Grammy Nomination for this album.
The cast of Come from Away: Kendra Kassebaum, Jenn Colella, Sharon Wheatley, Lee MacDougall, Chad Kimball, Rodney Hicks, Joel Hatch, Petrina Bromley, Q. Smith, Astrid Van Wieren, Geno Carr, and Caesar Samayoa; photographed at the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal, in New York City. Photohgraph by Mark Seliger. (Vanity Fair, February 2017)
The music on this CD tells a story. You can imagine being there in the audience, and because the music is such a large part of the story, you don’t miss much of the story line without the lines between the musical numbers. It opens with “Welcome to the Rock,” a catchy, full company number introducing the people and the town of Gander. “38 Planes” and “Blankets and Bedding” tell the story of the town preparing to shelter 7,000 people. Then you hear from the distraught passengers and the turmoil of their lives in “Lead Us Out of the Night” and “I Am Here”. Jenn Colella sings as the first American Airlines female pilot and beautifully delivers the story of a woman’s life as a pilot then realizing her favorite thing in the world was used in such a destructive and horrible way. If you only listen to one song on this track, listed to “Me and the Sky“. The passengers bring you through the struggle of returning home and realizing all that has happened in “Something’s Missing”. And finally with “10 Years Later” and “Finale”, the story ends with so much hope and love thanks to the people of Gander who opened their doors, homes, and hearts to thousands of people.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Of particular interest is the last piece, String Quartet No. 12, “American” by Dvořák, which was written during his time in the United States. His works during this time were greatly influenced by both Native American folk music and contemporary works of African Americans and other immigrants. His most famous piece, Symphony No. 9, From the New World was written during this period. The musicians of this recording, the Hollywood String Quartet, are considered to be the first American based classical group to have an international reputation. They accompanied pop singers in the mid-1900s, most notablyFrank Sinatra. Fans of older movies may also recognize their work in cinema. Before HSQ was formed, many of the members provided the orchestral soundtrack for early 1900s Hollywood movies, hence the name of the group.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student worker Gabriela (class of 2020) and features the rock opera Tommy, originally released by the Who in 1969. Thanks, Gabi!
I grew up listening to classic rock. My father played anything from The Beatles, to Led Zeppelin, to The Eagles for me from the moment I was born, and this is something I cherish greatly. Not only did it bring us closer together, but it sparked my interest in music and shaped music taste from a young age. The Who was particularly special to my father and me, and nothing was more special than Tommy.
I remember listening to the Tommy CD in my dad’s old Saturn Vue on the way to school. It was magical, and the first time that the classic rock sound I knew so well sounded like something completely different. Tommy is a rock opera written by The Who’s guitar player, Pete Townshend, and performed by the entirety of the band. It tells the story of a deaf, mute and blind boy who relies on his imagination to get him through his difficult life, and even develops a sense of touch that is strong enough to make him a champion at pinball. Like a musical, Tommy’s fascinating odyssey is told through music, as each song describes a different episode in his life.
In some cases, the detailed nature of Townshend’s songwriting makes the narrative easy enough to follow along with no visual component necessary. For example, the lyrics in the songs “Cousin Kevin,” where the listener learns of Tommy’s abusive relative, and “Go to the Mirror!,” where Tommy’s doctor finally determines the source of his disabilities, are straightforward and descriptive. However, some of the most powerful moments on the album exist within the instrumentals, where the music creates such a strong sense of imagery and emotion that it puts the listener in Tommy’s shoes without even using a lyric. The instrumental “Sparks” represents the “Amazing Journey” described to the listener immediately before it, and takes us along for the ride that is Tommy’s fascinating mind.
The Who in July 1969: L-R: Guitarist Pete Townshend, singer Roger Daltrey, drummer Keith Moon (1947-1978), and bassist John Entwistle (1944 – 2002) pose around a table for a feature in Vogue magazine. (Photo by Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
I don’t know if I could pick a favorite song today, but I remember my first favorite was “Sally Simpson,” a moment in which the main plot of Tommy is interrupted to tell the story of a young girl. Even the upbeat musical tone of the song itself seems to deviate from what the listener has heard on the album thus far. Here, Townshend further demonstrates his genius through the use of metafiction, or a story within a story. Sally, a young girl, is one of Tommy’s superfans who sneaks out of the house to watch Tommy speak, and is ultimately injured badly when she tries to get on stage to touch him. Although Sally’s life directly connects with Tommy’s, through her separate story, the listener gets an outsider’s perspective on how Tommy’s fame is impacting everyday people.
Listening to Tommy is a musical experience unlike any other. Not only is the story itself unique and full of lessons, but Townshend’s brilliant songwriting pairs so perfectly with the storytelling and singing of Roger Daltrey. Listening to Tommy is reading a novel you just can’t seem to put down; it is watching a movie where you want to catch everything so you try not to blink. The album even inspired a movie of the same name featuring a star-studded cast, and a subsequent Broadway musical. How many albums do you know that fit this description?
Poster for the 1975 movie version of Tommy (l) and for the 1993 Broadway production (r)
Most kids probably can’t sing along to “The Acid Queen,” (maybe for a good reason) but I’m thankful that I knew the words, even if I didn’t understand what it meant. I didn’t have to understand it to know it was something special. Thanks dad, for putting Tommy on in the car and eventually taking me to watch Roger Daltrey himself perform the album live in its entirety.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
If you would care to, imagine a flustered 13 year old girl who cut her own ragged side bangs, refused to wear colors other than red and black, and printed out pages and pages of My Chemical Romance lyrics to memorize before bed each night.
This was my reality in middle school. My parents hated it. I loved it.
When I began listening to MCR, they had recently released their 2006 album, The Black Parade, a musical narrative telling the story of ‘The Patient’ who falls ill and dies, experiences the afterlife and reflects on the life he led. With the album came the platinum hair of Gerard Way (he had a different hair color for almost every album) and the peak popularity of the band’s career. The most popular song on the album, “Welcome to the Black Parade,” I played during my 7th grade piano recital, to my parents’ horror (ahh memories). The music video very accurately characterizes the theme, energy, and story continued throughout the album.
One of the things I love most about MCR is how they weave each album’s music into a crazy, creative and awe-inspiring narrative, and continue that narrative through music videos and live performances. It makes listening to their music an active experience. This was also demonstrated through their 2010 album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, which featured a corresponding comic book series published by Dark Horse as well as a full
character costume for each band member – and cherry red hair for Gerard Way.
MCR Danger Days promo photo
You know I have every issue of that comic series in my room at home, by the way.
The extent to which I immersed myself in The Black Parade, (along with all of MCR’s albums) has made such a lasting impact on me. Twelve years later and I still consistently listen to my favorite band from middle school – those years are impactful and to this day I have not felt the same connection to any artist or group as I felt and still feel to My Chemical Romance.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
I have been listening to Sam Smith since my freshman year of high school, which was now five years ago! His talent is so pure and he can convey such strong emotion through his songs. I love how he has a blend of sad, raw songs and upbeat, happy ones. I guess it depends on your mood… Although, the songs are so good that I’ve found myself listening to his slower ballads even on cheery and sunny days!
I love to sing, so I appreciate any artist that goes above and beyond with their music. I like the type of songs you can sing along to and understand the words to. My favorite album of Smith’s is In The Lonely Hour. At times some of the lyrics seem a bit trite and overdone with repetitive melodies, but nonetheless it is still quit enjoyable even for Smith’s voice alone. He reminds me of Adele and Duffy, two other British singers whom I like.
“Stay With Me” became a radio hit, but one that didn’t get as popular (and should have) was the more lively tune “Money On My Mind” which I’ve definitely had stuck in my head on more than one occasion. I like that his music has a pop, yet soul, flare to it and does not need the kind of auto-tuning that many current pop stars use. His voice is so versatile that many other famous artists have featured him, including the electronic duo Disclosure. In addition, I was so happy to hear that he was singing the theme song for the recent James Bond movie Spectre.
Back cover of “In The Lonely Hour”
This album‘s focus was on a lost lover, something Smith seems to sing about a lot. I hope his next album will be about something different, but if not, I am content with the talent he exudes singing about past relationships.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
This special edition of Arachnophonia features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love‘s MUS 235 class: “I Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.”
The cover of The Low End Theory (1991), the second album from A Tribe Called Quest
In this post, I will be analyzing The Low End Theory (Album, CD) by A Tribe Called Quest as an academic source. The Low End Theory was the second album released by ATCQ, through Jive Records and Zomba Recording company on September 24th, 1991, and is frequently listed as one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time by critics. Considering that Hip Hop was still relatively young at the time, the album was fairly commercially successful. It peaked at number 45 on the U.S. Billboard charts and was certified gold within four months and platinum three years later. Much more important than its commercial success and its critical acclaim however, was its influence on the future direction of Hip Hop. Because of ATCQ’s heavy use of jazz sampling and their playful and funny yet socially conscious lyricism, The Low End Theory is an essential source for researchers examining the relationship between Jazz and Hip Hop and the rise of the popular subgenre of Conscious Rap today, including the music of Kendrick Lamar and J Cole.
An image from the inside of the booklet in The Low End Theory CD featuring the group members. Q-Tip is on the left, Ali Shaheed Muhammad is on the right, and Phife Dawg is front and center
The fourth member, Jarobi White, left the group after their first album, so he was not included on this album, but returned to contribute to the groups final album, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service, after Phife Dawg passed away in 2016. On The Low End Theory, Ali Shaheed Muhammad was a DJ/producer, Phife Dawg was an MC, and Q-Tip was both a producer and MC. Their sophomore album, which consists of 14 tracks and is 48 minutes in length, gets its name from both the bass, or low-end, focused instrumentals and is also a clever reference to their lowered status as black men in America. Alongside the album, ATCQ also released a music video for the track “Scenario” and another combined video, which I will be analyzing in my final research paper for this class, for “Jazz (We’ve Got)” and “Buggin’ Out.”
As the title of track 11, which is part 1 of the previous video, suggests, the music on The Low End Theory is heavily inspired by Jazz and wears that influence on its sleeve. In the first verse of “Excursions”, the opening song of the album, Q-Tip references this influence by comparing Hip Hop to Bebop Jazz in the lines, “You could find the Abstract listenin’ to hip-hop/My pops used to say, it reminded him of Bebop/I said, Well, Daddy, don’t you know that things go in cycles?/Way that Bobby Brown is just amping like Michael”. The most obvious musical influence is in the samples found within the instrumentals. Though not all of the samples on the album are credited, some of the more prominent ones were cleared and are listed at the end of the CD booklet and most originate from jazz or funk records. “Vibes and Stuff” uses a sample from jazz guitarist Grant Green and “Check the Rhime” uses a horn sample from Average White Band’s song “Love Your Life”. Though it isn’t credited on the album, a bit of digging on whosampled.com shows that the song “Jazz (We’ve Got)” uses a sample from the piece “Green Dolphin Street” by Jazz/Blues Pianist Jimmy McGriff. ATCQ even goes beyond sampling and recruits famous Jazz Double Bassist, Ron Carter, to play the bass line on the Q-Tip solo track, “Verses from the Abstract”.
Though The Low End Theory was far from the first Hip Hop album to make use of jazz sampling, ATCQ was able to fuse jazz and funk instrumentation with hard hitting but laid back drum loops in a unique way that resonated with their audience. ATCQ’s previous album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, also used many jazz samples but did not receive the same kind of acclaim. At that point, the group was still perfecting their sound. The lyricism was similar, but the instrumentals were not quite as sparse and focused on the low-end, an attribute of The Low End Theory and its successor, Midnight Marauders, that made them stand out.
The instrumental style of The Low End Theory was not just critically acclaimed, but turned out to be a major influence on the future of Hip Hop production. Even today, its influence can clearly be heard in the music of some of the most popular artists in modern Hip Hop. The closing songs on both J Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly employ soft jazz instrumentation over prominent bass lines and hard-hitting but laid-back drums and sound like they could have easily fit into A Tribe Called Quest album. The two artists even collaborated on an homage to ATCQ called “Forbidden Fruit” in 2013, in which the two used the same sample that ATCQ used for “Electric Relaxation”. The vocal style of ATCQ has also proven to be very influential. To use another J. Cole example, his song “Wet Dreamz” has many similarities to the Phife Dawg focused song, “Butter”, from The Low End Theory. Both songs deal with various girl problems the two have gone through. They are clearly fairly serious and relatable topics, however both rappers tell the stories using clever and sometimes funny rhymes. Instead of focusing on catchy lyrics like groups like Run D.M.C, or the more serious tones of contemporaries like N.W.A or Public Enemy, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg found a conscious yet light and palatable rap style that many later rappers wanted to emulate.
The Low End Theory is essential to my research for this course since I am using the video “Jazz (We’ve Got) Buggin’ Out” in order to examine the relationship between Jazz and Hip Hop. That video, and by extension The Low End Theory, is not the only place to start when searching for the critical point connecting the genres, but it is certainly one of the most significant. In the time since The Low End Theory was released, Jazz and Hip Hop have become increasingly intertwined, to the point that they have become indistinguishable from one another at times. Albums like Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly and Madlib’s Shades of Blue, as well as many of The Roots’ projects explore the explore the shared musical and cultural lineage of the genres and all of those artists would cite A Tribe Called Quest and The Low End Theory as one of their influences.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
This special edition of Arachnophonia features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love‘s MUS 235 class: “I Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.”
Although most of us students at the University of Richmond aren’t as familiar with music from the 80s as we are with modern top tracks, special collections of older hits allow us to become familiar with timeless tunes, cranking up our headphone volume to the sounds of guitar riffs and boisterous snare drums, just as our parents must have done with their cassette tapes.
Sounds of the Eighties: 1983 is a CD collection of just that: 18 different pop “hits” from the year 1983. It was manufactured for Time-Life Music by Warner Special Products, a Time Warner Company in 1994. It features hit songs from Quiet Riot, The Fixx, Stray Cats, Dexys Midnight Runners, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Thomas Dolby, David Bowie, Culture Club, Marvin Gaye, Michael Sembello, Naked Eyes, Madness, Toto, Stevie Nicks, Greg Kihn Band, The Kinks, Kajagoogoo, and Spandau Ballet. Billy Altman, a Pop music writer for People and The New York Times, former editor of Creem, and executive producer of the award-winning Heritage Series, detailed the inside cover with short, catchy blubs about each band and the music of 1983 in general. Although this blog post will not be focusing in detail on all of the songs, it is important to analyze how the songs work together as a collection, how Altman portrayed each band and the overall music culture of the 80s, and how this CD can help further future academic research.
The cover photo of “Sounds of the Eighties: 1983,” courtesy of Michael Ochs Archives, Venice, CA and London Features International, Ltd.
While the CD features 18 different songs and bands from the year 1983, they are strikingly similar music-wise. The choice of tracks can be divided into two categories, with each song fitting into either category. The first category features upbeat tunes with a fast tempo, strong guitar or synth riff, loud straining vocals and thick musical texture, such as “Cum On Feel The Noise” or “Maniac.” Most of these songs are about a relationship with a woman, sung by a male singer. Upbeat, catchy, and dance-worthy, these hits all focus on a similar backing beat that remains constant. The other category contains slower, more soulful tunes, with a crooning singer, such as “Sexual Healing” and “Time (Clock of the Heart).” All of them focus on the object of a romantic desire, as the lyrics demonstrate a sense of longing and passion. Despite having the opportunity to portray a wide variety of music, the tracks are very homogeneous, as most feature a white male singer with similar styles of singing. Many follow the same form with an opening riff, short verses, catchy chorus repetition, and some sort of bridge or guitar solo. In essence, each song seems to be a slightly different version of the others, demonstrating a clear Pop sound of 1983’s music.
This homogeny directly contrasts what Altman writes about for his description of the 80s music scene. He highlights each band as distinctly unique, from Culture Club’s gender-bending persona, to the “nice guy’s band” of Greg Kihn, to Marvin Gaye’s “deep-cutting social commentary.” They joined the music industry in different ways and had diverse effects on the history of music in general. While Stevie Nicks had a long career with many top-chart hits, one hit wonders like Thomas Dolby are also featured. So why did artists from such diverse and different backgrounds end up creating hits so musically-similar, and what does this mean for academic study of 80s musical culture?
The answer is pretty simple: artists knew what the listeners wanted. The 80s ushered in an era of New Wave and synthetic instrumentation, forming a new Pop sound that teens could dance to. This homogeneity of sound and lyricism demonstrates that if one artist finds success with a musical concept, others will follow. Such is the case of the portrayal of a voyeuristic (or obsessive) gaze, for many hits over the decades feature an object of romantic obsession that the singer would like to “obtain.” This topic pertains to my specific research as a student studying the theme of voyeurism in popular music videos. I was drawn to Naked Eyes’ “Always Something There to Remind Me,” a track featured on this CD, as the epitome of a voyeuristic stalker: the main singer follows a famous woman, constantly vying for her attention and love, in a music video that was constantly featured on MTV.
Naked Eyes’ music video for “Always Something There to Remind Me,” released in 1982. Lead singer Pete Byrne is seen following a famous married woman to multiple public places and singing about her on the street.
However, through further research I found that the theme of voyeurism and unobtainable desire wasn’t unique to Naked Eyes but was prevalent in many songs from the 70s and 80s, from Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl” to Blondie’s “One Way or Another,” thus spanning genders and genres from Rock to New Wave Alternative. Obsessiveness as a lyrical and visual theme has continued to modern popular music, as artists such as Maroon 5 sing about “praying” on unsuspecting romantic interests.
Maroon 5’s music video for “Animals,” released in 2014. Lead singer Adam Levine is seen standing in the rain, gazing at a woman through her window. He continuously stalks her throughout the video.
At this point you’re probably asking, what does this have to do with Sounds of the Eighties: 1983? The key to understanding the connection is to look beyond the obvious. This collection of music from 1983 isn’t just the top tracks of that year but reveals how artists are compelled to use the successful ideas and themes of other artists, even if that idea does not necessarily represent their ideal musical sound. For instance, each artist on the CD ended up using the strong riff pattern and backbeat that arose in the 80s, despite coming from different musical backgrounds. Naked Eyes, a New Wave preppy British band is united with American Pop-Sugar sounding Maroon 5 with a voyeuristic male gaze, even though everything else about the bands is different. Thus, the takeaway from this CD isn’t the details of its musical soundtrack, but rather what is says about human nature’s drive to replicate what has come before. While ingenuity still remains idyllically, it is often much easier to copy what’s been deemed “successful” as opposed to risking it all on a novel idea. This insight therefore informs my research by demonstrating how the voyeuristic gaze spread throughout the decades of music, not because these singers were actually stalking unsuspecting romantic interests, but rather because it was a theme that proved interesting to listeners. Fascinated with the creepiness of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” or Coldplay’s “Shiver,” fans unknowingly told artists that this theme works, even though in real life, no one really likes a stalker.
An image from The Police’s creepy video for “Every Breath You Take,” featuring lead singer Sting in black and white, staring gloomily into the camera.
This takeaway of homogeny of sound and meaning in popular music can extend to many other scholarly inquiries. For instance, one can look at not only the homogeny of Pop music, but other genres as well, such as Classical, Rock, Rap, or Country. Why do artists from each genre try to replicate what has already been done, building off of one another to create something “new”? This inquiry can also extend to the fields of Anthropology and Sociology, as both fields engage in studying what people do creatively as related to one another. Therefore, if you are curious about some aspect of musical homogeny, the continuation of certain musical themes over time, or human nature’s desire to replicate, listen to and read the inside cover of Sounds of the Eighties:1983. Disguised by catchy Pop tunes and upbeat backing tracks, this CD actually highlights a group of diverse artists who came together to form the synthetic Pop sound of the 80s. This sound reveals an innate desire to recreate what has been deemed successful, whether it be musical style or lyrical themes such as a creepy voyeuristic gaze. For some reason, music fans across the decades have loved the idea of romantic stalking. Personally, I find it a bit unsettling.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
This special edition of Arachnophonia features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love‘s MUS 235 class: “I Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.”
“Nothing Compares 2 U” was intended for The Family, a band formed by Prince in 1984, and was released on their self-titled 1985 album. The song was not released as a single, and the album bobbed around on the Billboard R&B Chart. While The Family was a favorite of Prince fans, “Nothing Compares 2 U” received little recognition. The song was offered to a young Irish singer, Sinéad O’Connor, fresh off releasing her first album. O’Connor embraced “Nothing Compares 2 U” in her own style, and it would end up introducing the artist to a massive global audience.
The Parsons Music Library contains two parts of this story in its collection. In 1993, Prince released his own version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” on Hits/the B-Sides. While this album is easily accessible on Spotify, it’s worth a trip to the Library’s CD collection to take a glimpse at the album itself. Flip open the first few pages of the liner notes, and the throwing-fists-in-the-driveway story gains credulity.
Excerpt from liner notes to Prince’s Hits/the B Sides
“When Sinead O’Connor took Nothing Compares 2 U to the top of the charts in 1988, Prince was damn near obliged to perform it himself… leaving no doubt whose song it was.” Fair enough. On Hits/The B-Sides, the song feels completely Prince. The song is performed live, it’s sensuous, and it has gentle echoes of Purple Rain. There’s a trumpet solo. Rosie Gaines contributes her vocals, telling a story in a way that one person just can’t do alone.
Prince’s take on “Nothing Compares 2 U” speaks to a level of artistry that only Prince could embody. Everything about the song is lush and performative. While the vocals yearn for the personal, there is a feeling that the song is still far beyond its listener. The song belongs near the center of a concert, capturing a feeling both grand and ethereal. It’s hard for me to imagine this version being excerpted on the radio or in coaxed into a short music video.
The song belonged to Prince, but it was a song that Sinéad O’Connor would succeed at first. There’s one more part of this story, one which Marcy Rose Chvasta finds related to Sinéad O’Connor’s body. Political Rock, available in the Parsons Music Library, offers a collection of critical essays on politically linked recording artists from Peter Gabriel to Pearl Jam. While O’Connor has been rooted in the political since the beginning of her artistry, Chvasta’s chapter looks to probe a little deeper. For a singer so deeply connected to the authenticity of Bel Canto, how should we handle an O’Connor who no longer feels authentic to the work and person she began with?
As O’Connor has moved on from “seven hours and fifteen days,” Chvasta notes that O’Connor has sometimes defined her popularity in relative proximity to the song. It was “Nothing Compares 2 U” that was popular, not necessarily O’Connor. The song becomes a story of O’Connor’s body, in a certain place and time, a forcible societal imagination of O’Connor as a permanently androgynous 20-something wandering around Parc de Saint-Cloud. As O’Connor has aged, she has aged out of this song, “her” song, due to an unstable and unreliably political body.
The O’Connor of today can’t quite be pinned down, and that’s a good thing — it is not the place of a 1990 hit song to define a career. Chvasta notes that O’Connor’s body and artistry are dangerous because of what they are not: lacking in eroticism, narcissism, and self-indulgence, this duality could not be popularly sustained. As an unwieldy body, O’Connor moved in directions far from her youth, and far from a place “Nothing Compares 2 U” could ever relate to.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
This special edition of Arachnophonia features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love‘s MUS 235 class: “I Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.”
It’s 1984. Prince has just dominated the music industry with his iconic album, and equally iconic film of the same name Purple Rain. With a top-selling album and film under his belt, Prince has officially solidified himself within the music industry as a creative genius. After the immense success of the album, fans and critics anticipated and longed for his next album to match up sonically. However, Prince’s next album, Around the World in a Day, flopped in every regard – sales, expectations of fans, and ratings of critics. With the release of his next album, Parade, fans and critics still hoped for an album with the same sound as the iconic Purple Rain. Similarly to Around the World in a Day, the album did not have the same sound. While Parade, the source of my current analysis, did not flop in the same way that Around the World in a Day did, it was released to very mixed reviews.
Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1958, made his initial rise to fame primarily as a rock, pop, and disco artist. Though Prince was always an unpredictable, wild artist, it came as a complete surprise to fans and critics when he practically changed his whole sound to a much more psychedelic sound on Around the World in a Day. Similarly to the previous album, Parade maintained facets of the 1960s British boy rock-band inspired neo-psychedelia genre with distorted vocals, instruments and synthesizer sounds on songs such as “I Wonder U.” However, this album was also very much Prince’s introduction of the exploration of a genre known as “Baroque pop.” An infusion of rock and classical music, Baroque pop is a form of rock with a much more orchestral sound, as opposed to heavy guitar riffs. With this genre, the focus is on layered harmonies, as well as dramatic, intense strings and horns. There are also, for the most part, subtle elements of funk on the entire album. With prominent bass guitar, and noticeable drums and synthesizers, Prince and his backing band The Revolution certainly incorporate funk along with the experimentation of Baroque pop. Written as the soundtrack for a black and white romantic drama film, and Prince’s directorial debut, Under the Cherry Moon, Parade has a quite equal mix of slow tempo, somber songs (i.e. “Under the Cherry Moon” and “Do U Lie?”), as well as more upbeat, heavily-textured songs (i.e. “New Position” and “Girls & Boys”). To this day, fans and critics discuss the album Parade with mixed reviews. However, what practically everyone agrees on is that the standout song, and one of the biggest songs of Prince’s nearly four-decade long career, was the iconic “Kiss.”
Arguably the most “funky”song on Parade, Prince’s “Kiss.”
Originating as a short, acoustic demo given to funk band Mazarati, “Kiss” almost did not make the cut for this Prince album. However, after the band reworked the song into a much funkier tune, Prince decided to take the song back for himself and include it on the album at the last minute. Because of this, it makes sense that, while listening to the album in its entirety, it may seem to the listener that this eventual lead single off of the album does not quite have the same sound as the rest of the songs that make up Parade. Though the rest of the album did have characteristics of funk, the seemingly “plucked” and distorted bassline and the prominent steady synthesizer-created percussion, along with Prince’s quite soulful and sensual vocals, give this song has a much more funk-inspired vibe. Known for being unconventional, Prince, throughout this song, shatters expectations of women to constantly be beautiful or “cool” to be attractive and appealing to him. Donned in slicked back hair, makeup, and heels, Prince shatters stereotypes and norms even more in the video as he sings the lyrics in a falsetto. Though the rest of the album did not receive Purple Rain-level critical acclaim, the single “Kiss” topped charts across the globe, holding the Number 1 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart for two weeks. The song won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and has sold over 1,000,000 copies since its release in 1986.
When thinking about this album Parade, and its iconic single “Kiss,” it is interesting to think about the tensions that arose between the two main reactions to the album. While some think of it as a minimalist masterpiece and an interesting follow up to Purple Rain and Around the World in a Day, others view it as a disappointment and throwaway album in Prince’s lengthy discography. One question that one may consider is, what do the overwhelming number of negative reactions to this album say about artists, specifically Black artists, and changing their sound? Why is the music industry so restrictive to artists and so reluctant to accept changes in their music? For scholars who may be studying and analyzing questions like these, comparing this album and its reactions to the music and reactions of Purple Rain could lead to very interesting analysis. Also, with the extremely prominent facets of Baroque pop present on this album, those interested in studying the genre and its then, new, success in Europe could also use this album as a site of analysis. More related to my research of the shattering of gender and sexuality norms and stereotypes for Black artists in music, one could compare the lyrics of the song “Kiss” to its representations in the music video. Analyzing Parade and “Kiss” will certainly help me in my research, as they both give me insight into Prince’s views on gender and sexuality at the time, with the aural representations of his high-pitched voice, etc. in the music, as well as visual representations in music videos such as “Kiss.”
Though Prince and The Revolution’s album Parade still receives mixed reviews, it certainly provides multiple sites for analysis. I’m sure it will assist me in my research of gender and sexuality norms for Black artists in music, as well as numerous other topics of research for other scholars.
