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.
She wrote the song “9 to 5” for that movie and it is also one of her most popular songs. “9 to 5” is not only a catchy tune, but the lyrics highlight workplace issues that are very relevant in both the 80’s and today. I would highly recommend giving the song a listen!
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.
With the 92nd Academy Awards freshly behind us, I’ve been thinking about my favorite film soundtracks. For me, a driving factor of what makes a movie memorable or great is its music –either score, soundtrack, or both. I love when I hear a song that I recognize during a scene, which I can dance or sing along to in my seat. On the other hand, I also love when movies introduce me to music. The only reason I loved the songs “Hungry Eyes” and “Be My Baby” so much as a kid was because of the movie Dirty Dancing.
My parents showed me Dirty Dancing at a young age, probably because I was a dancer whose first childhood dream was to be a Broadway star, and it instantly became one of my favorite movies. The soundtrack, which features songs spanning multiple decades, made an already wholesome and fun movie even more enjoyable. Even as a child, I could feel the nostalgia that it portrayed, as it features 50’s and 60’s pop hits like “Love is Strange” and “Stay” that instantly transport the viewer to a summer in 1963. Naturally, a distinctly 80s sound is also incorporated in songs like “She’s Like the Wind” sung by lead actor Patrick Swayze himself, a man of apparently many talents. And of course, many of these songs are used in dance scenes, following Baby and Johnny’s journey from frustrating rehearsals to final performance.
There are many iconic movie scenes that will be forever associated with their respective songs, or vice versa. Think: “(Don’t You) Forget About Me” with Judd Nelson’s fist in the air at the end of The Breakfast Club, or “Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon” in Uma Thurman’s apartment in Pulp Fiction. But undoubtedly one of the most commonly known and referenced music/movie scene pairings is “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” from the final dance scene in Dirty Dancing –with extra emphasis on the achievement of Baby’s lift that happens right as the song climaxes. This is the kind of flawless, emotional moment that makes the right fusion of a scene and a song selection one of my favorite aspects of film. It’s also one of the many moments that made the Dirty Dancing soundtrack go multi-platinum.
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.”
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.
One of The Smiths’ most well-known albums, The Queen is Dead, is the quintessential album for anyone looking to get into this quirky indie rock band. The album, released in 1986 and re-released as a collector’s edition in 2017, has been unanimously praised, and even considered the “greatest album of all time” by major British music publication NME. The lyrics, sung by the famous now-solo Morrissey, are filled with clever imagery and sharp social commentary. Track 9, “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,” was featured in the classic rom-com 500 Days of Summer and remains one of the most famous Smiths songs. This album is full of songs that take a few listens to really absorb all of the witty lyric details that often hint at social unrest, emotional struggles, and even anarchy. For someone looking to indulge in some of the best vintage fight-the-power music with hints of satire, this album is definitely worth the listen.
Anita Baker is a soulful jazz, gospel, and R&B songstress from Ohio. Growing up in a household with musically inclined individuals, there was always a song being played. The most frequent artist I heard on a daily basis was Ms. Anita Baker. Her smooth and rich contralto voice eluded love and romance. She has had many classic love songs, but one of my favorites is “Giving You the Best That I Got” from her 1988 album of the same name. The song is about two people who have unconditional love for one another. It is sung in a rhythmic way and as you listen closely you can find different contextual expressions she adds to this piece. She paints one vivid picture of what love should really be not only in this song, but in all of her albums. Anita Baker has inspired my own original music and the way I structure my songs. Listening to her music soothes my soul and makes me reminisce on childhood memories.
