Introduction
Who were some of the most influential artists of the 1980's?
What were some of the biggest sub-genres of rock and roll?
Task
Using your 1980's Graphic Organizer and Song Chart, you will fill in the information on each sub genre, as well as artists, songs and song characteristics.
Click on the Process button to continue
Process
Read About each sub genre. Write down three facts and three key artists for each.
Adult-Oriented Rock
• AKA “Album-Oriented Rock”
• Not a genre - type of radio play (similar to Middle of the Road from the 70s)
• Rotations represent a wide variety of genres
• Effort by radio executives / record labels to standardize FM playlists. Songs on rotation through a playlist -many were never released as singles
• Bands / Artists - Aerosmith, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Boston, Journey, Meat Loaf, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Tom Petty, U2
• U2 is one of the biggest rock bands that comes out of the 80s
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6POmPgeLW2U]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCy7lLQwToI]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wzic15m7YQ]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_ISAntOom0]
New Wave
• More popular in the UK than the US
• “New Wave” designated bands that aren’t strictly punk, but are related to punk
• Punk music is pushed back underground
• In the US, the term “new wave” was applied to most new pop or pop rock artists that primarily used synthesizers
• Bands / Artists: Duran Duran, Culture Club, Soft Cell, Adam Ant, Men at Work, INXS, Flock of Seagulls
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxW0n5Fe5CY]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmcA9LIIXWw]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s]
Techno
• Electronic dance music
• Originated in Detroit, Michigan
• Direct relation to European “Synth Pop” and Electronic music made famous by Kraftwerk
• Use of repetitive electronic rhythms (drum machines), mechanical textures, and minor melodies
• Expanded into several different styles: Hardcore, Trance, Acid-House and Tech-House
• Artists: 808 State, Blake Baxter, Frankie Bones, Kraftwerk
• Develops a lot more in the 90s with the advancement of technology and computers
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A23xjWxJuWE]
“New” Blues
• Resurgence in popularity of blues music
• Robert Cray - Strong Persuader (‘86) - 5 Grammy Winner; inducted into Blues Hall of Fame (2011)
• Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood (‘83) - 6 Grammy Winner; inducted into Blues Hall of Fame (2000) – killed in a helicopter crash
• Eric Clapton - Unplugged (‘90) - 17 Grammy Winner; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Live Blues and Blues Revue publications were distributed, more outdoor blues festivals were common
• “Blues Brothers” movie (1980) - starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi - resurgence of John Lee Hooker
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHV0zs0kVGg]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQIqTFKM7Ws]
Heavy Metal
• Guitar riffs - weapon of choice; dark/violent lyrics screamed by male singer considered attack to mainstream pop & yuppie culture
• Led Zeppelin is a precursor to Heavy Metal (hard rock)
• Page interested in occult; accused of adding subliminal satanic messages to some songs (band
denied the accusations)
• Black Sabbath - one of the first
• Tony Iommi (guitar), Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Geezer Butler (bass), Bill Ward (drums)
• Originally Polka Tulk Blues Band - changed their name to Black Sabbath after seeing a billboard with a movie of the same name
• Osbourne and Butler wrote the song “Black Sabbath” which sounded ominous and dark and used the “Devil’s Interval”
• Songs focused on occult, drugs and Satan worship
• Other bands - Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Metallica, Motley Crue
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg92QpjRcJk]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7viY-K4Twlg]
Hair Metal
• Mixture of glam rock & heavy metal
• Lots of makeup, over-the-top clothing, long styled hair
• Heavily distorted guitars and screaming vocals
• Converted huge amount of rock fans before popularity declined due to the Grunge movement in the 90s
• Borrowed image from artists like NY Dolls & glam rock but music was heavy metal. Used MTV to promote themselves
• Bands: Poison, Warrant, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLlrY6waifo]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK9QqIzhwk]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xmckWVPRaI]
Alternative
• Umbrella term for underground music
• Rejection of commercialism; played in small clubs; recorded for indie labels - non-mainstream
• Play a lot on college radio stations, not regular radio play
• Bands: REM, Violent Femmes, The Velvet Underground, The Replacements, They Might Be Giants, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Jane’s Addiction, The Cure
• Another genre that got pushed aside by the grunge movement of the 90s
Evaluation
Write a two paragraph response to the question below. You will type your response and e-mail it to kmccarthy@attleboroschools.com. This response is due today (10/5) before you leave class.
Which sub-genre of rock and roll that you read and listened to today is the most interesting? Why do you think this sub-genre moved rock and roll forward in the 1980'?
Find three new facts about the sub genre, as well as three songs by artists of that sub- genre that were not listed on the previous page.
Please type your response in Word and then e-mail it to kmccarthy@attleboroschools.com. When you are done, click the Conclusion button.
Conclusion
Did you...
- Fill in your graphic organizer?
- Fill in your Song Chart?
- Complete your two paragraph response?
If yes, you can do one of the following options:
- Listen to any of the songs on the "process" tab again that you are unfamiliar with
- Study your 1970's and 1980's Graphic Organizers for our quiz on Tuesday, October 11
- Look up any of the songs or artists from the 1970's Graphic Organizer/Song Chart to study