Leonard Bernstein and Pop Music

Starting about 5:10 in this clip, Leonard Bernstein explains to a group of young people how jazz and pop music often incorporates the Mixolydian mode (which has a lowered seventh note in the scale). Some of his examples include The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" and the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood."

At the beginning of this documentary, Leonard Bernstein explains why he sees value in some of the rock music that is produced at the time. I really like his serious approach to rock music, and especially that he tries to help adults see the value and beauty in the music that teens were listening to during the 1960s. Leonard gives an introduction to pop music for the first twenty minutes of the film, and then the documentary follows the music of a few select singers and bands.

Bernstein starts his analysis of rock music at 4:00 in the clip, with the example of "Good Day Sunshine" by the Beatles. He explains how the music is unorthodox because one measure leaves out a beat (going from four beats to three beats). He continues to analyze the Beatles with "She Said She Said" and then moves on to discuss "Pretty Ballerina" (The Left Banke) and "I'm a Believer" (The Monkees). He analyzes 9:03 and says the Beatles "Got To Get You Into My Life" could have been something written by Shumann because it is so expansive (in range) and romantic (in interval). He then shows example of appealing "untrained voices" by Bob Dylan, the Association, and the Beatles. He also discusses how he likes the eclecticism of rock music, and how it can absorb styles from blues to a Bach trumpet (with the example of "Penny Lane") to a string quartet ("Eleanor Rigby") to Hindu music ("Love You To").

Celebrities Project: Buddy Holly

I'm wrapping up Buddy Holly Semi-Month. To be honest, doing this project for the last week or so was a little tedious for me. I think this was partly due to the fact that I read a ridiculously long and tangential biography on Holly by Ellis Amburn. The biography had some good and interesting information, but Amburn included so many extra details, tangents, and irrelevant musings that I kept getting drowsy while reading. And I also tired of listening to Holly's music, too, and I mentioned some of those reasons in a previous post.

That being said, I am glad to have a better perspective on why Holly was so influential. Here are some of the major things that Holly contributed to the world of rock 'n roll:

• Holly was novel because he was a musician who would write his own songs and perform them. This wasn't common at the time. Interestingly, Holly didn't know how to read music, however.
• Holly's method of playing the guitar was also different. He would play all of the six strings on his guitar at the same time, whereas other musicians would play just a one or two strings at a time. (See fellow band member Sonny Curtis demonstrate Buddy's strumming at 3:18 of this clip). Buddy's strumming also produced a unique sound because he would continually strum with downward strokes, instead of alternating with downward and upward strokes. Also, Buddy Holly's use of the capo seems to have been unusual: John Lennon said that Buddy was the first guitar player he'd ever seen use a capo (Amburn, e-book location 6215).
• The simple chords and simple, repetitive chord progressions in Buddy's music would have a major influence on later rock 'n roll bands, such as the Beatles.
• The Crickets also were the first to have the traditional setup for rock bands today: two guitars, a bass, and drums.
• Buddy Holly changed fashion because he was a rock musician who wore glasses. His glasses gave hope and courage to other musicians, such as John Lennon. John Lennon, who was legally blind, used to take off his glasses and stumble around onstage in order to better appear like a rocker. After Lennon saw Buddy Holly, he decided to wear glasses with confidence. Elton John also was influenced by Buddy's appearance, and decided as a young teenager to start wearing glasses, even though he didn't need them to see.
• The so-called "peacock look" rockers wore in the 1960s is attributed to the "Edwardian" clothes that Buddy was wearing in the 1958-59: on his last tour his performance attire included an ascot tie and he also wore a greatcoat with a fur collar (see another image here).

I was particularly intrigued to learn about how Holly had a key influence on the Beatles. Holly's music had a particular impact in Liverpool, since sailors (known as "Cunyard Yanks") worked on the shipping lines and often brought back to Liverpool souvenirs and records they had purchased while docked in New York (Amburn, e-book, location 2247). It seems like Paul McCartney and John Lennon were intrigued by a group of local musician friends who were able to join together and create a band. In fact, one of the reasons that the Beatles chose their name was in homage to Holly's band, the Crickets. Paul McCartney is a particular fan on Buddy Holly, and he mentioned once that "Listen to Me" is his favorite Buddy Holly song (Amburn, e-book, location 3095). McCartney's business company, MPL Communications, purchased the Buddy Holly Songbook n 1975 from nearly-bankrupt Norman Petty, who was Buddy Holly's one-time manager and producer.

Paul McCartney even helped to create a documentary about Buddy Holly in 1985. The documentary is titled The Real Buddy Holly Story, and Paul decided to create it in order to portray a more realistic image of the singer than what was portrayed in the film The Buddy Holly Story (1978). Here is a video of the beginning of the documentary (which is linked in YouTube to a playlist for the entire documentary):

The one thing that I didn't like about The Real Buddy Holly Story is that it didn't really explain the legal conflicts and financial difficulties that Buddy Holly underwent as a result of his conniving producer and manager, Norman Petty. It is pretty apparent that Petty took advantage of the inexperience and talent of Buddy Holly and the Crickets members, not only by taking their money (and limiting their access to money), but also by demanding that he receive co-songwriting credit on the songs that Buddy wrote himself. Buddy eventually broke away from Petty (which ultimately forced him to leave the Crickets) and decided to move to New York to pursue career opportunities there. The Real Buddy Holly Story didn't really touch on this subject, although they did interview Petty's wife for the documentary (Petty was already deceased). It seems like The Real Buddy Holly Story isn't completely "real." Paul and Norman Petty were apparently friends: Paul McCartney inaugurated Buddy Holly Week in Britain in 1976, on what would have been the week of Buddy's fortieth birthday, and McCartney invited Norman Petty to be the guest of honor at a luncheon for the special week.

Some interesting trivia:

• Ed Sullivan was upset with the Crickets deciding to perform "Oh Boy" in his stage; Sullivan felt that the song was too suggestive with its lyrics and rhythm. The Crickets refused to change their selected number, since it was their current song hit. As a result, Sullivan tried to sabotage the performance by ordering the lighting and sound technicians to mess with the lights and sound backstage. You can see on this clip how the lighting goes out right at the beginning of the performance (and look at Sullivan's face after he introduces the number!).
• It doesn't seem like Buddy Holly really publicized his marriage to his wife, Maria Elena Santiago, a Puerto Rican that he met in New York City. They were only married about six months before Holly died. Regardless, it seems like Buddy met less opposition from a cultural standpoint than Sammy Davis Jr. did in the following decade: Caucasian males were allowed to marry outside their race (including John Wayne and Marlon Brando), but men of other races could not (Amburn, e-book, location 3656).
• Buddy wore dark sunglasses at his wedding because he hadn't replaced the regular glasses he'd lost waterskiing in Buffalo Springs Lake that summer. Years after Holly's death, some workmen who were dredging the lake found Holly's eyeglasses and wallet, and returned them to his family.
• The Crickets tried to continue to make music after their split with Buddy Holly, using the singer Earl Sinks (who tries to mimic Buddy's sound on "Love's Made a Fool of You").
• James Dean and Anthony Perkins were Buddy's favorite actors.
• It seems like a lot of conditions could have prevented Buddy and two other musicians, Richie Valens and Big Bopper, to charter a plane to North Dakota during their tour. If Buddy's wife Maria had been on the tour, they wouldn't have flown because she was terrified of small planes. However, she was sick at the time, being in the early stages of pregnancy, and didn't go on the tour with Buddy. Additionally, if the tour group had given the men more time to take care of their laundry and personal errands, they wouldn't have felt compelled to fly ahead of the group and take care of the errands beforehand. Also, someone was aware of the approaching snowstorm and "telephoned the group's agency on Monday night [to try] and call off the next appearance.  Meanwhile, the plane carrying the singers took off." (Amburn, e-book, location 5415).

As a person, I don't know if I can really identify with Buddy Holly in too many ways. He just seems like a young kid who was immature in a lot of ways, although he did seem to be a very generous person. He gave gifts freely and willingly, and also worked hard to help other musicians build their careers. He also was very dedicated to his friends, which is I think one reason why his band was successful. 

It would have been interesting to see what role he would have played in the world of music, if he had lived longer. Regardless, the impact he held on future musical groups (especially those in Britain, like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones) changed the course of history.

Buddy Holly Songs

I anticipated just dedicating two weeks to covering Buddy Holly, but I can tell that it is going to take me longer to work through his biography and music. I wanted to jot down, though, that I already knew several Buddy Holly songs before I started this project -- I just didn't know that he wrote them or popularized them. Really, before this project, my main musical associations with Buddy Holly were Don McLean's "The Day the Music Died (American Pie)" and Weezer's "Buddy Holly." These are the Buddy Holly songs that I realized that already knew:

• "It's So Easy"
• "Maybe Baby"
• "Peggy Sue"
• "That'll Be the Day" (which I knew through the Beatles' version)
• "True Love Ways"
• "Everyday"

This month I have been listening to The Buddy Holly Memorial Collection. As I've worked through the songs, I have been struck by a few things: Buddy Holly's voice is compelling and also irritating to me. He has some interesting things that he does with the timbre of his voice, but the repeated vowels in words (like "gur-ur-ur-ur-lll") starts to get annoying after a while. Sometimes he sounds very juvenile and whiny to me, like a lovesick puppy. But other times, his voice is really interesting to me and I'm impressed with the little hiccupy sounds and inflections that he makes.

Overall, though, I wouldn't say that his music is stuff that I would listen to on a regular basis. I tend to like his songs that are really danceable or remind me of early Beatles music. Here are a few Buddy Holly songs that I have discovered and enjoy:

• "Down the Line (Undubbed)" - The opening riffs for this song remind me of early Beatles music (perhaps a similar chord progression to the opening of "Anna"?).
• "Midnight Shift"
• "Blue Days, Black Nights"
• "Love Me"

It's been interesting to listen to Holly's music and read about his life, knowing that he died when he was just about the age of most of the college students that are in my classes. I've thought a few times about the music majors who sing in choir with me, and wondering what it would be like if they were superstar recording artists at their age.

England Trip: Garstang and Liverpool

We have just returned from a very fun trip to England. We spent about a week with my family (the S family) in Northern England, and then just our little family spent a few days in London before flying home home. We took lots and lots of pictures, but I will share only some of my favorites here. Sam was a fantastic little traveler and really loved playing with my littlest sister L. I feel really lucky that we were able to go on this trip, and I imagine that we won't go on another fancy trip overseas for several years.

We rented a car! I took this picture before J even started to drive it. He was a bit nervous to drive on the other side of the road (and on the other side of the vehicle), but he did a great job. The narrow country roads (with all of their hedges and fences which limited visibility) were a little nerve-wracking, but we were just fine.

My dad found a very charming cottage in Barnacre (near Garstang) for all of us.

Our bedroom

The sun room (called the "solarium" by the English). V is pointing to the chickens which often congregated by the back door (in hopes for handouts?).

Look at the ivy creeping up the side of the cottage! It was such a charming building.

Although we were all tired from jet lag, we forced ourselves to stay awake by visiting a local fair in Garstang. Sam liked the curlycue horns on these rams.

 After going on this spinning ride, J decided that it wasn't a good idea to spin so much when he already felt wonky due to jet lag. Sam and L loved the ride, though.

That evening we went to support V's good friend, Alex, who wrote and directed the British Pageant. We were all still tired, but we managed to stay awake for the show. Alex put a lot of work into this show, and I'm glad that we were able to support her.

On Sunday we visited the River Ribble, among some other sites in the area that relate to LDS history in England. These were some trees that were along the bank of the river.

 On Monday it was my brother A's birthday, and we decided to spend the day in Liverpool. Since we drove in two separate cars, we ended up having trouble meeting up at the Beatles Museum (which resulted in my family waiting outside the museum for an hour to meet up with us, since we unknowingly went inside the building). Other than that, the day went fairly smoothly.

 Me with Sir Paul. I accidentally dropped my favorite black cardigan in the permanent museum exhibit, and I never was able to get it back. I decided that the cardigan became my offering to Sir Paul, since I had made this pilgrimage to Liverpool so I could pay homage to the Beatles.

Sam with Ringo, his favorite Beatle. Sam is wearing his new Yellow Submarine t-shirt that we bought in the gift shop.

 We barely had enough time to quickly, quickly hike up to the Liverpool Cathedral before we went on a tour of the city. We didn't have much time to look at the building at all, since we had to rush back down to meet the tour bus.

 

The birthday brother, A, with our not-so-little brother, C.

Aside from Penny Lane, on the tour we also got to see some places in the city that relate to different Beatles songs or actual Beatles members themselves. We saw where George Harrison was born, Paul McCartney's childhood home, where John Lennon grew up, Strawberry Fields, and different structures (like a bank and barber shop) that form part of the Penny Lane lyrics.

After the tour, we went to some type of Indian fusion restaurant for A's birthday dinner. It was fancy! We drove home after this point, and Sam was so tired that he fell asleep in the car (which rarely happens). In fact, Sam usually fell asleep at least once a day on our vacation, which is unusual for him. He almost always woke up cheerful and ready to move onto the next adventure.

half-baked thoughts mostly about the beatles

J and I are settling into a new busy routine, although things are going to change next week. J is quitting his job - his last day is tomorrow. We're excited at the new prospects ahead. He has an interview for a new position this Tuesday. This job prospect was completely unexpected, so we're still wrapping our minds around this potential change in plans. But if that opportunity doesn't pan out, then J has other plans for his career. And I have full confidence that he'll be great at whatever path he chooses.

Anyhow, with my new busy schedule, I haven't been able to sit and think as much as I would like to do. I have had a couple of thoughts that keep passing through my head lately, but I haven't been able to flesh them out. I thought I'd jot down a couple of ideas here, perhaps so I can make better sense of things. Prepare yourselves for another bullet-point post, my friends:

• Despite my best efforts, I can not get out of bed early in the morning. Every single night, I ask J what time he is waking up (as if intending to wake up early with him). He thinks that it's hilarious, because I never get up with him. Okay, well, I rarely get up early. I have to have some extreme motivation to get up before Sam (like someone will miss their flight if I don't drive them to the airport). Other than that, I can't seem to get out of bed. I'd like to get up early, because I know I could accomplish more things in the day. But I guess when it comes down to it, I love sleep more than accomplishment. (Gasp! What a pathetic realization!)
  
• I've thought about the Beatles a lot lately, partially because John Lennon would have turned 70 last Saturday. (Some of you may have noticed my Beatles tribute on my art history blog.) Over the past few days, just for fun, I've been trying to ascribe certain percentages to how much Paul and John individually contributed to the Lennon/McCartney compositions. The other night, I kept J awake, trying to make him come up with percentages with me. For example, we determined that "A Day in the Life" seems to be about 50% Paul and 50% John. We think "Two of Us" is 90% Paul. And "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is 90% John. (This is a pretty fun game. If you have percentages to suggest, let me know!)
• This is another John Lennon thought. This may sound strange, but sometimes I acutely miss the presence of John Lennon in the world. Which on one hand is silly: I shouldn't miss John Lennon - he died before I was even born. I guess I miss the potential things that he could have done and the potential music that could have been written. It's strange to listen to Beatles music and feel as if John is still around in one sense (his voice is played all over the world, and it has been playing for decades). Sometimes I feel a musical connection with this person that has long been gone, and I miss the potential connections that I could have had with the music he was unable to write. Does that make sense? Perhaps I'm just sensitive to the issue to loss and unfulfilled potential, because of my mom's death, and that gets translated into my thoughts about music. I don't know.
• I like that Sam scribbled on my lecture notes with yellow crayon. I would never admit this to him (or encourage him to do so again), but it's cute to look at little swirly scribbles while I'm lecturing. It's like a little love note from my buddy.
  

paul mccartney concerts

Last weekend we traveled to Salt Lake for Grandpa's funeral. It was a really nice service, and I think Grandpa would have liked it.

Even though our primary reason for traveling was the funeral, we did end up getting to see some friends for a few brief moments. And the most unexpected part of the trip? My family had two extra tickets to the Paul McCartney concert, so J and I got to go! (Thanks, dad!) It was really nice that we got to do something really fun while we were in town. And plus, I was ecstatic at the chance to see Paul perform again. I am a huge Beatles fan, and Paul has always been one of my favorite musicians.

I've seen Paul McCartney perform once before, in 2003 when I was on a study abroad in Rome. Paul gave a free concert in the Via Fori Imperiali, the street which leads up to the Colosseum. The concert stage was right in front of the Colosseum, actually. I remember how fun it was to see the ancient building "rocking out" in pink and green lights while the music played. I was really far away from the stage during that performance (you can see in my scrapbook picture (shown below) how multiple screens lined the street in front of me). Even though I couldn't really see Paul at all, it was so fun to hear him play in Rome.


When we went to the Paul McCartney concert this past week, I warned J that I might scream like schoolgirl when Paul got on stage. J thanked me for warning him in advance - but I actually ended up having more comportment for this show. (Although I think that I danced more than J has ever seen in the whole time that we have been married.) We had fantastic tickets, right on the floor. There were a lot of great Beatles songs that were played, and also a lot of Paul's later hits. Some of the songs that he played were "Band on the Run," "Live and Let Die" (which was accompanied with fireworks and flames going off across the stage - so awesome!), "A Day in the Life," "Eleanor Rigby," and "Helter Skelter." I secretly hoped that Paul would have sung "Beautiful Night," but perhaps that isn't a popular enough song to be played in his tour set.

Here are some pictures:

Before the show

My dad with V, A, and little brother C (my sister C was also at the show, but not pictured here)

My absolute favorite part of the show was when Paul broke out and played part of "Foxy Lady" as a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. I didn't expect to hear anything other than a McCartney song at the concert, and hearing "Foxy Lady" was so unexpected that I loved the performance all the more. If Zillah had been there to deutsch with me, I think my ecstasy would have been complete.



My sister E was the sacrificial lamb. She stayed at home and watched Sam and L, while everyone else went and had fun. Luckily for E, Sam and L wanted to hold their own concert.

Sam on ukulele, while L marches to the beat

revolver

I have loved the Beatles since I was in sixth grade. My early favorites were all of the early Beatles hits, and as I got older my tastes increasingly favored Beatles songs produced later and later in the band's career. Perhaps my musical tastes evolved at the same rate as the Fab Four's tastes? Hmm.

For years, however, my favorite Beatles album has been Revolver (1966). J bought me a vinyl album record a few years ago, and it is often the record that's located on the turntable, waiting to be played. Not only are all of the songs great on this album, but I think there is a distinct cohesion and unity on this album that makes it unique. The songs go well together, and use of sitar on Love You To adds such a cool flair to the album's feel.

The songs included in Revolver are:

Side One
Taxman
Eleanor Rigby
I'm Only Sleeping
Love You To
Here, There and Everywhere
Yellow Submarine
She Said She Said

Side Two
Good Day Sunshine
And Your Bird Can Sing
For No One
Doctor Robert
I Want to Tell You
Got to Get You Into My Life
Tomorrow Never Knows

If I had to pick favorite songs, I would choose I'm Only Sleeping and For No One. What are your favorite songs from Revolver?

Here's a video clip that has the music of the first recorded take of I'm Only Sleeping. Although I like the final version, I really like the raw sound of this take.