Tag Archives: streaming audio

Arachnophonia: House Music

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Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) 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.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog records for the items in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Nikoloz (class of 2026) and features various electronic resources having to do with house music. Thanks, Nikoloz!

House Music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago’s underground club culture during the early to mid-1980s. Pioneered by DJs and producers like Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, and Marshall Jefferson, house evolved from disco by incorporating a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat, typically at 120–130 BPM, and mechanical rhythms created using drum machines like the Roland TR-808 and TR-909. The genre is characterized by deep basslines, synthesizer riffs, and off-beat hi-hats, claps, or snares, often layered with sampled vocals or instrumental loops from disco, soul, or funk. House music gained mainstream popularity by the late 1980s, influencing pop artists like Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Lady Gaga, and producing hits such as “Pump Up the Jam” and “Show Me Love.” Its production relied on affordable electronic equipment, making it accessible to independent creators, and its structure typically features repetitive eight-bar sections, slowly building layers of sound and texture.

House music encompasses a wide range of subgenres, including acid house, defined by the squelchy sounds of the Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer. Tracks often include minimal vocals, with repeated phrases or words, and are structured around intros, choruses, and outros, with longer 12-inch mixes for clubs and shorter radio edits. The genre emphasizes the lower-pitched bass register, creating a sparse yet rhythmic texture. House music’s global influence expanded from Chicago to New York, London, and beyond, becoming a staple in both mainstream and underground scenes. Its legacy continues through its impact on dance music, its presence in clubs and on radio, and its role in shaping modern pop and electronic music.

Some of the electronic resources featuring house music that the Music Library has access to include:

Streaming albums (like this one) via Alexander Street

Encyclopedia articles with bibliographies to help you start your research (like this one on house from Grove Music Online)

If you’d like to learn more about House music, the Music Library also boasts a wide variety of books, CDs, and more! You can use OneSearch to locate our holdings.

Arachnophonia: Spotify Teardown

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Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) 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.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Eliana (class of 2024) and features a book interrogating the inner workings of Spotify. Thanks, Eliana!

Spotify Teardown by Maria Eriksson, et al

Spotify Teardown

I stumbled upon Spotify Teardown while browsing the shelves at Parsons Music Library and was immediately intrigued; I knew Spotify had a rocky history with independent artists, but this book opened my eyes to the potentially harmful influence and power of the streaming giant. The authors have a generally negative view of Spotify as an entity. While their argument is convincing, it would take a lot for me to give up the ease and accessibility that comes with having a Spotify account. Still, their argument is worth engaging with.

The authors are Swedish social scientists who took a rather controversial approach in their research – they set up a fake record label company in an attempt to peek behind the curtain and see the inner workings of Spotify. Spotify discovered the researchers’ plan and threatened to pull their funding given to them by the Swedish research council, only further fueling the disdain the researchers had for the streaming service. They argue the only way to understand the algorithm is by being on the inside, while Spotify says doing so is in clear violation of their terms of service.

Much of the book discusses the pseudo-record label and subsequent action taken by Spotify, but to me the most interesting reporting was within the discussion of Spotify itself. The authors write about how Spotify is largely represented as the ‘solution’ to illegal streaming, while in actuality its lack of regulation presents more problems for artists and consumers alike than illegal downloads ever did. It also discusses the privacy concerns connected to algorithmic data, data sharing, and data tracking, all of which Spotify engages with and relies on. The authors argue that as AI becomes commonplace within more and more facets of our lives, it becomes increasingly important to regulate its usage. In all, I found Spotify Teardown engaging and certainly learned a lot.

Arachnophonia: Karelia Overture Op. 10 Jean Sibelius

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Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) 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.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Allison (class of 2022) and features a streaming audio version of the “Karelia Overture” by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Thanks, Allison!

Jean Sibelius – Karelia Overture Op. 10

Sibelius Tone Poems Songs

Karelia Overture Op. 10 was the first piece in the Karelia Suite written by Jean Sibelius in 1893. The suite was premiered by the Viipuri Students’ association at the Imperial Alexander University in Finland during the same year. The Karelia Suite is one of Sibelius’ most popular works.

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) was a very well-known Finnish composer and violinist. In fact, his music is often credited for helping develop Finland‘s national identity whilst the country struggled for independence from Russia. Sibelius began playing violin at age ten and soon became a very successful violinist. Despite his success in the instrumental realm, he decided he would rather become a composer. He studied music at the Helsinki Music Institute and then in various cities across Europe while launching his own career in composition. Fun fact: the Helsinki Music Institute is now known as the Sibelius Academy.

Jean Sibelius

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

I was first introduced to Sibelius my junior year of high school when I played Karelia Overture Op. 10 with my youth orchestra. I was very drawn to the piece because of its grandiosity and utilization of brass instruments. While I have since played other Sibelius pieces in youth orchestra and here at Richmond, Karelia Overture Op. 10 is my all-time favorite.

Digital Resources: Music Online – Popular Music Library

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The Music Library has more resources available than physical items. We’re highlighting some of our digital resources, and including information about them as told by our student employees.

Today’s digital resource is:

Music Online: Popular Music Library

Music Online Popular Music Library

Music Online – Popular Music Library features audio recordings of popular music from around the world.

Here is what student manager Cole (class of 2021) had to say about this resource:

“Music Online’s Popular Music Library is exactly what it sounds like: an online repository of popular music from around the world, all tagged with the appropriate metadata to make the site an effective research tool. Something I appreciate about Music Online’s collection is the emphasis placed on international works. The site is filled with recordings of songs I have never been exposed to, across all genres and in various languages. Many of the works archived are not available for sale online, so the site can be a valuable resource if one is looking for an obscure, elusive track.

When I first opened Popular Music Library, I was immediately greeted by the album Babies Go Pink Floyd, one of the works featured on the rotating carousel of new arrivals.

Babies Go Pink Floyd

I immediately clicked on it to find out what exactly I was seeing. Each album is displayed as a waveform, with vertical lines separating individual tracks. The music player is accompanied by a sidebar of details and the track listing, with each track accompanied by the appropriate metadata. After some listening and further digging on the site, I learned that Babies Go … is a series of albums, originally sold in the UK, that rework popular music acts into soothing lullabies. Some of my favorite editions include: Babies Go The Cure, Babies Go Led Zeppelin, Babies Go Shakira, and, of course, Babies Go Radiohead, the music player for which, in an apparent (and humorous) technical oversight, presents a flat line and reads, “Waveform temporarily unavailable.”

Though Babies Go … probably won’t be often used as research material, I like to imagine it as a testament to the diversity of material collected for your listening in the Popular Music Library.”

Spider Sounds: Moses Hogan

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Editor’s Note: Spider Sounds invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection. The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item (or items) in question, or to additional relevant information.
Today’s installment of “Spider Sounds” comes courtesy of Music Library Student worker Zach (class of 2017) and features African American pianist, conductor, and arranger of international renown, Moses Hogan. Thanks for contributing to Spider Sounds, Zach!

Moses Hogan

Choral and Vocal Arrangements of Moses Hogan: Volume One

and

Negro Spirituals

Moses Hogan - Choral and Vocal Arrangements Vol. 1

Moses Hogan is renowned for his captivating arrangements of spirituals and hymns. Capturing the essence of African American spirit that has endured adversity throughout United States history, Hogan appeals to the Christian tales that are so ingrained within Black American culture. Parsons Music Library has two albums featuring Hogan’s work: Choral and Vocal Arrangements of Moses Hogan: Volume One (CD) and Negro Spirituals (online resource).

Moses Hogan - Negro Spirituals

While the style of spirituals are fairly monorhythmic and repetitive, the harmonic layering and upbeat nature within each piece is unique and vibrant. Spirituals also have a tendency to use similar tunes throughout their history while allowing a personal spin on how they should be sung.

“Walk Together, Children”, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, and “Wade in the Water” are all fairly well-known spirituals that Hogan uses to put his own musical interpretation as to how to capture the sentiment and history behind it. Many well known scriptures are also revisited through these two albums that help to encapsulate the ethereal nature behind spirituals.

Moses Hogan

Moses George Hogan, born in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 13, 1957, was a pianist, conductor and arranger of international renown.

Even if a person does not have involvement within the Christian community, the artistic merit and joyful feeling behind these works is infectious and notable. Music is a universal language understood by all, regardless of background, interest, or creed. Moses Hogan’s work is simply another voice in the infinite meanings behind the untranslatable essence of music.

Spider Sounds

Editor’s note: you can also find performances of Hogan’s works as performed by various UR Music ensembles like Schola Cantorum and the Women’s Chorale in the Music Library’s collection — just ask at our front desk!