My Music And Song's » Rock Song

The Songwriting Team of Holland

Music And Song — Sun, 09 May 2010 08:55:10 +0000

The singer songwriter boom of the 1970s owed a lot to James Taylor, an artist who has been recording and performing ever since and who has written songs that became classics. Most people can hum a James Taylor song and he has the respect of fellow musicians. His contribution was officially recognized when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Taylor made an impact at the prestigious Newport Folk Festival in 1969 but his first album had disappointing sales. The follow up however, Sweet Baby James, was a huge success and produced the hit single, Fire and Rain. The third album, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, was another best seller and produced another hit single. This time, it was not a James Taylor song but a cover of Carole King’s You’ve Got a Friend, a song that Taylor made his own. The single won a Grammy award and was number one on the Billboard chart.

Many albums have followed over the years and the highlights were collected on the 1976 Greatest Hits album, which achieved diamond sales and is still the best selling album for him. It featured a new version of another famous James Taylor song, Carolina on My Mind. Other tracks include Fire and Rain, You’ve Got a Friend and a cover of How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), penned by the songwriting team of Holland, Dozier and Holland). Fellow musicians can be heard on the album, on backing vocals, including David Crosby, Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon.

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MTV stood for music

Music And Song — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:37:06 +0000

When I was a teenager, it took a lot to peel me away from watching MTV music videos. I loved music, and I couldn’t get enough of the flashy videos and the larger than life musicians that populated them. As time went on though, it became more and more apparent that though the M in MTV stood for music, it wasn’t really their main focus. After a while, I saw less and less music, and more and more game shows. I can’t even watch the station today, though I am aware that I am now out of their target age group.

Today, MTV music isn’t want it used to be, if you can find it at all. Their schedule is full of reality shows and specials, and finding actually music videos is hard to do. Even worse, the MTV music of today seem to be nothing more than noise, though I guess that just makes me old right? Most of it I wouldn’t even label as music, but I am aware that this is just my opinion. I know that those who are younger than me enjoy it; it’s just not for me.

I haven’t thought a lot about MTV music videos in a long time, but I have started to think about it again. My daughter is getting older and even though I hate the thought of it, I know she will outgrow groups like the Wiggles soon enough, and she will be listening to music that is made for older kids. What scares me is that I can’t find any MTV music videos that I would really want her watching. I guess you could call me over protective, but I think kids are growing up way to fast, and I want her to enjoy the freedom of childhood for as long as she can before she is aware of things like sex and trying to act and look older.

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Good Deals on Studio Time

Music And Song — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 02:59:06 +0000

Band merchandise ideas do not have to stop at shirts and hats, however. You can get your band name or logo printed on just about anything you can imagine. You can get water bottles, buttons, posters, or even running sweats if you want. You will be surprised to see what people will buy with your name on it if they love your band. When they use or wear these items in public, everyone around them will see your band name. Chances are good that at least a few of these people will remember your name and may come to see you play the next time you have a show.

Don’t forget about the most important piece of band merchandise. If you have a CD, people will buy it. You can look around for good deals on studio time, and you may be surprised how cheaply you can record an album. Printing CDs is not as expensive as you may be thinking either; so don’t discount the idea before you look into it. Just remember to be prepared before you go into the studio so you don’t waste a lot of money getting it right. Have it ready to go before you go in and ask to record live pass to get it done quickly.

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Even in a Rock Song

Music And Song — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:00:36 +0000

The near-constant presence of a drum kit (real or electronic) in popular music can make us forget that a song could approach rhythm in a different manner. From time to time consider not having a continuous beat. In an orchestral setting tympani rolls, snare rolls and cymbal crashes occur only to mark special moments in the music, such as a crescendo or climax.

Marking the beat percussively all the time would be considered vulgar in classical music –that’s what the conductor is doing by waving his arms. If you compare the 1947 revision of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Petrouchka with the 1911 version, you will notice that he took out much of the percussion – presumably on the mature judgement that he had been over-emphatic in the original score. The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album offers a fine example of percussion used in a less obvious way.

Even in a rock song, dramatic effects can be generated by taking out the beat for a few bars. Good examples are ‘Summertime Blues’, ‘Something Else’, ‘Lucille’, ‘My Generation’, Ash’s ‘Goldfinger’, Dodgy’s ‘In A Room’, Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’, Led Zeppelin’s ‘What Is And What Should Never Be’ and The Bluetones’ ‘Slight Return’. There’s a wonderful pull-out and re-entry of the drums in ‘Tumbling Dice’. The obvious place to delay the entry of the drums is on the intro, as in ‘There She Goes’, ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’. ‘In The Air Tonight’ has a long-delayed entry which was the probable inspiration for Preston Hayman’s spectacular snare-drum entry on Kate Bush’s ‘Leave It Open’. You can even bring in the drums on what sounds like a ”wrong” beat, as on ‘Start Me Up’ and ‘Marquee Moon’.

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