The Music of the 1970s

[efiebke]

Yesterday, my wife and I went to a wedding of a young lady who works with my wife. They hired a DJ who played a wide variety of styles of music. This DJ, who also works in the same hospital where my wife works, told my wife that he'll be starting the dance set with music for "older folks". "Older folks" where his words, not mine. (I wanted to slap him, but he was much bigger than I was. LOL! ) Specifically, he started the dancing set with music from the 1970s.

 

Amy, my loving wife, and I immediately went out onto the dance floor, with a whole bunch of other people, I might add, and proceeded to "boogie down" to the disco beat. LOL! We had fun. We enjoy dancing, and we enjoy dancing to a wide variety styles/genres of music. But dancing to some of the BeeGees music was fun. I did the usual CPR-motion to their tune, "Staying Alive". (It's an inside nursing thing, I guess. LOL!) There were other non-disco tunes played from the '70s as well. It was great listening to a couple of Stevie Wonder tunes that the DJ played. I've always like the music from Stevie Wonder. Although often times quite repetitive, Stevie Wonder does write great melodies with great band arrangements with much groove.

 

About 1/2 hour after the DJ started the set with the 1970s music, he started to play more recent pop music.

 

It cleared the floor. Well, at least it cleared the floor of us "older folks". LOL!

 

Soon, the "younger folks" took to the dance floor and began to "boogie" to "their music".

 

Lately, my wife and I have been listening to an All '70s music channel that's offered from DirecTV. I tell you, the music of that era was generally well-written and interesting to listen to. Yes, even much of the disco stuff. I would say this of most genres of music from the 1970s: rock, disco, folk, progressive-rock (of course!!!), and the "Top 40" stuff that played during that decade. Especially with the more commercial "Top 40" and disco stuff, there was deliberate formula writing and arrangements. There's not doubt about that. I can remember getting tired listening to the formulaic/cliched music that the radio stations were churning out back then. But I tell you, at least to my weary ears, even the formulaic "Top 40" music of the 1970s is WAY more interesting to listen to than much of the "popular pop" music that's produced now. From the group, Yes, to singer/song-writer, Jim Croce, to the BeeGees, to Chicago, to Joni Mitchell, to Earth Wind and Fire, to Three Dog Night, to Stevie Wonder, a whole lot of GREAT music came out of the 1970s. I would argue that most of the music of the '70s was well-crafted musically, despite genre.

 

There's an album that I would recommend that, to my ears, gives example to top-quality writing, arranging and singing of that era. If you get an opportunity, listen to the album, "Wings" by Michel Colombier (lyrics by Paul Williams). I would say that this album gives great example to great song-writing of any era. But it came out in 1970.

 

Good Times! Good Times!! 8)

[tristancalvaire]

Ya know, DJ could've probably appealed to everyone the entire night by playing some modern sounding 70s remix stuff

 

Actually, this may have made cleared the older individuals out.

 

Maybe something horrible like this!

 

I may be a youngin' but I absolutely love 70s music, disco/funk and the modern derivatives of them. It likely has something to do with my father playing it exclusively in the car when I was younger!

 

Earth, Wind & Fire is coming out with a new album soon ^.^

[Beer Moth]

'twas the last decade when music was still organic/analog.And the last decade that still had a memory,at least,of the glory days of working musicians,as opposed to would be rock stars.Sigh...

[tristancalvaire]

'twas the last decade when music was still organic/analog.

 

Daft Punk's new album sounds pretty organic

[Beer Moth]

8) I meant it was more or less the only option.

[efiebke]

tristancalvaire -

 

I do appreciate the YouTube videos. Thanks. Listened to them both. There is no doubt that there's craft involved in creating the sampled & heavy-beated music as what's found in both videos. They're also quite predictable too. And, to my ears, very monotonous. But I do appreciate the craft. The "production" value is note-worthy. It "sounds" good. It's just a genre of music that I don't find interesting.

 

interestingly, I have all of the software in my happy Mac Pro that can be used to create such music. I just never thought to try to "write" something like what's found in these YouTube videos. Actually, I probably wouldn't "write" down anything except cryptic notes that would let me know when and for how long I'd develop some modulation of sound and when and for how long I'd repeat some sampled phrase of pre-recorded music. If you listen carefully, the phrasings are usually 4 or 8 measures in length. LOL! But for dance music? There's certainly "The Beat". As what's found in the Disco Music of the '70s, the beat goes on and on and on. And, that can all make for fun dance music. But from a compositional point of view (verses a "produced" point of view), this genre of music is every bit of boring as long-playing disco music was 35 to 40 years ago. LOL! Without a doubt, though, there's craft to be found in creating this music. It seems that the company, Native-Instruments, caters to those who create such "Beat/Electronic/Sampled/Whatever" music. So, there's certainly $$$$ to be made with this genre, especially for companies like Native-Instruments (and Logic Pro, which can be used to lay it all down).

 

I have to wonder if the "producers" of these pieces paid any royalties to the original writers. I remember reading, a while back, royalty issues involved with sampled-beat music. (What's the genre called, by the way? Electronica? I honestly don't know.) Actually, melodies have been copied for ever. Great composers of 200 or 300 (and longer) years ago would "borrow" melodies to their works. It ain't new. But thanks to technology, it's just easier to do now.

 

I know that you're going to college to study music. Please don't let my comments discourage you as you learn, practice and grow your own music-making chops. It really is all good! I just know what I like and what I don't like. But, I ALWAYS appreciate well-crafted music of any genre.

 

By the way, my loving nieces, who are both school-aged kids, think music from the 1970s is BOOORING! LOL! They consider it "old-folks" music! LOL! Sigh. . . . .

 

 

'twas the last decade when music was still organic/analog.And the last decade that still had a memory,at least,of the glory days of working musicians,as opposed to would be rock stars.Sigh...

 

Beer Moth -

 

I think you hit the proverbial "nail on the head" with this. The music of the 1970s is "organic" in that everything was recorded with reel-to-reel tape and played by real-live musicians. Often, there was a person who orchestrated/arranged the music as well. Nowadays, you can have the sound of a whole orchestra written by, played by and recorded (sequenced) by one person. To be honest, I can't complain. It's what I enjoy doing. LOL!

 

But nothing beats the sound and energy of real musicians playing well-written music, produced by a talented sound-engineer.

[tristancalvaire]

interestingly, I have all of the software in my happy Mac Pro that can be used to create such music.

 

Psh, the person who made the second song (who is TOTALLY NOT ME AT ALL THIS ISN'T SELF PROMOTION OR ANYTHING >_____>) Used a Moog Slim Phatty analogue synth to create the cheesy solo at 6:02! Can't recreate a real Moog in Logic!

But yeah the rest is almost entirely Logic stock effects and processing.

 

I have to wonder if the "producers" of these pieces paid any royalties to the original writers. I remember reading, a while back, royalty issues involved with sampled-beat music. (What's the genre called, by the way? Electronica? I honestly don't know.) Actually, melodies have been copied for ever. Great composers of 200 or 300 (and longer) years ago would "borrow" melodies to their works. It ain't new. But thanks to technology, it's just easier to do now.

From what I've heard, if you start to make any money on a piece and it gets famous enough to bring the original copyright holders' attention, you definitely need to have paid for sample royalties. Kill Paris is well-known and signed to a label, so it's more than likely royalties were paid. I know Daft Punk's paid royalties for a lot of the Discovery (Very Disco!) album, and that some of my favorite artists will release tracks for free due to issues with acquiring proper royalties.

 

Regarding genre name- if you want an overarching title, 'Electronica' or 'EDM' (electronic dance music) tend to be popular. Just don't ever call it techno, unless you want a bunch of fanatics to start yelling at you about how it isn't techno but rather House. The following website is very humorous if you ever have some free time, and beautifully demonstrates how people get way too deep into semantics-

http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/

 

It's usually French music that has a heavy disco and funk influence; the House subgenre French-House has also been labeled as 'Nu-Disco' or 'Post-Disco' and for good reason-

 

 

By the way, my loving nieces, who are both school-aged kids, think music from the 1970s is BOOORING!

Whilst the anecdote I'm about to share is a decade late in terms of musical stylings, I feel it is conceptually relevant- I was on a cruise vacation and an individual kept buying me drinks to get me to travel back to their cabin for the night. It was all fun, until 80s night came along and they expressed their distaste for the entirety of 80s music- that statement killed any interest of mine of bedding with them. So I continued to awkwardly dance to a night filled with great music, including music videos on a big screen where my aesthetic would actually fit into.

 

Seriously though, I get what you're all saying about the music of the 70s. There's something beautiful about fluctuating tempos, imperfect notes and imperfect rhythms, the saturation of tracks being recorded to tape, and whatnot- I envy all of this. I wish I had the dexterity to play an instrument like guitar or elec. bass decently (I've tried and failed), or the lung capacity for horns or a sax (which I've also failed to learn, albeit that had to do with a lot of lack of practicing >_>)

 

Disco divas also have some damn good vocal chords on them. Including the guys- you just don't get falsettos like that anymore.

 

I really should thank my father for the musical tastes he brainwashed me into liking as a child Even when it comes to the modern electronic music I tend to enjoy, there's always a disco/funk influence-

Straight up samples (or steals, in elderly lingo) Disco violin sounds from Boney M's 1976 track, Sunny!

 

I will now stop hijacking your 70s thread and let those from the actual 70s speak

[efiebke]

Tristian -

 

Don't mind me. . . my head is clearing from a lot of fog. I listened to the two music videos that you shared late last night. I am just NOW realizing that you created the second music video.

 

Yes. It's not necessarily a genre of music that I would listen to, but you did a GREAT job in creating it. You have a good ear. If you know this already, then that's all the better. I wish you much success with your music. I hope you learn lots in college and that you meet lots of other musicians (network, network, network!).

 

I'm glad that you enjoy 1970s music. But the music of that era has its place in time. It's history. At least it's history filled with nice memories for me. The wonderful thing about the world of music is that there are people willing to explore its boundaries. Actually, there really is no boundaries to be found in creating music. Rather, what's nice is having control. What's nice is being able to write Bach-style fugues and writing electronica. THAT's control. Many who claim to be composers don't have such control. I don't have that much control. It takes time and practice, both of which is rare in my life at present.

 

My wish for you is that you continue to gain control and mastery in your music creation. I hope you continue to learn the basics. I hope you're always wanting and willing to learn. And, just as important, I hope you continue to explore new and different ways to create music that interests and satisfies YOUR tastes and creativity. It seems that you're already ahead in the game with regards to music creation. That is very cool!

 

I may be "older-folk" . . . but I be damned if I squash enthusiasm. If I did when I blabbered on about my personal tastes in music then please forgive me. Don't let us older-folk stand in the way of you exploring. And, don't stop learning and experimenting! It's fun! And, it's all good!

[camillo jr]

I read an interview with Wendy Carlos and she made the point that modern pop music was like we're all on this giant checkerboard and everyone's standing on the same square. I think that analogy is true as far as it goes. We've all had the experience of hearing some pop tune and thinking how derivative it sounded.

 

But it's also true that there is far greater variety of music available to us now than ever before - and growing. So yeah, we've got these tight little genres, especially in EDM, where people are saying "you've got to have this and this and that element or it's not (insert style/genre of your choice)". And then there's people who take those elements and turn it into something else.

 

I was a huge prog fan in the 70's, particularly British prog. I still love some of that stuff! There was other music going on at that time that I didn't like very much but now, when I listen to it, I can totally hear the variety, the creativity, humanity and the organic qualities of it. Some of it's out of tune but I never heard that back then. Now, I hear all kinds of things I never noticed before. It's like, once Logic got Flex, my sensitivity to timing "issues" went up, waaay up. Now I can hear and feel when my band drops 1 or 2 bpm while we're playing.

 

I take my hat off to 70's musicians. Those guys really knew how to play.

[tristancalvaire]

Tristian

Thanks for the stream of compliments / motivational quotes o_o I'm really not too proud of that song or my music, so it means a lot.

 

I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to post anything like that outside of the music showcase page, so my apologies >_> I did so as I felt it was relevant to the topic, not for any promotional reasons.

[efiebke]

I read an interview with Wendy Carlos and she made the point that modern pop music was like we're all on this giant checkerboard and everyone's standing on the same square. I think that analogy is true as far as it goes. We've all had the experience of hearing some pop tune and thinking how derivative it sounded.

 

But it's also true that there is far greater variety of music available to us now than ever before - and growing. So yeah, we've got these tight little genres, especially in EDM, where people are saying "you've got to have this and this and that element or it's not (insert style/genre of your choice)". And then there's people who take those elements and turn it into something else.

 

I was a huge prog fan in the 70's, particularly British prog. I still love some of that stuff! There was other music going on at that time that I didn't like very much but now, when I listen to it, I can totally hear the variety, the creativity, humanity and the organic qualities of it. Some of it's out of tune but I never heard that back then. Now, I hear all kinds of things I never noticed before. It's like, once Logic got Flex, my sensitivity to timing "issues" went up, waaay up. Now I can hear and feel when my band drops 1 or 2 bpm while we're playing.

 

I take my hat off to 70's musicians. Those guys really knew how to play.

 

Yep! I do like those '70s musicians (and '60s and '50s and '40s, etc.) that didn't have to rely on special computer-based/software-based gadgetry to sound good. Accomplished musicians that are pre-computer-aged had to rely on practice and talent to sound good. Nowadays, they have freakin' software to make a singer sound in tune. LOL! There's just something WRONG about that! Want to sound good as a singer? Take proper vocal lessons and practice!!

 

On one hand, the convenience of computer-aged music software can make a "musician" or "composer" freakin' lazy. On the other hand, there's probably more well-written, great-sounding music being created and shared in the 21st Century because of the computer and music-based software. I was just listening to your music on SoundCloud, camillo jr,, and I must say that you write great stuff. Your one work of using "just" Logic's plug-ins is phenomenal both compositionally and production-wise. During the past several years, I've heard many, many great compositions by talented people like you on bulletin boards like this one. In fact, it can be argued that because of the computers (with the associated software and internet and web-sites) that there's MORE great-sounding music created and "distributed" now than ever before. Computers and associated software has provided many-a-composer and musician to fine-tune their chops and become better at the craft of writing and performing music. And, of course, there are more talented sound-engineers, too, because of the computer and DAWs like Logic.

 

I would argue that this is a great era to be a composer/musician/sound-engineer. But the music tools of the 21 Century is no substitute for education and practice. Similarly, computers (but with different software) has made some phenomenal advances in healthcare and surgery. My wife is an OR nurse and her specialty is neuro-surgery. She comes home and tells me how the neuro-surgeons are performing brain and spinal-cord surgery with the aid of computers and specialized robotic tools. Because of these specialized tools available for the neuro-surgeon, the surgery is more accurate with less loss of blood and (hopefully) less "mistakes". This is VERY COOL, especially for the patient!!! LOL! But I sure as hell would not want a "surgeon" who hasn't learned and practiced their craft!!!

 

Finally, I have a pretty good sense of timing, too. I got mine from practicing the piano and keyboards with a metronome. (It was an electronic one, by the way.) I've maintained my sense of time because of doing midi-stuff for 25+ years. (My first sequencer was a Yamaha QX3.) Sadly, I've stopped practicing a long time ago. Life is just too busy for me, presently. My piano chops are very, very sloppy. So, if I want to create that fast-sounding piano or violin "riff" for a composition, I sequence those 16th notes at around 65 or 70 BPM and "crank" up the tempo to the desired 120 BPM setting. Thank goodness for computers and DAWs! LOL!!

 

Happy composing, folks. . . and remember to "play that funky music right, boys! (and girls!)"

 

PS. . . to Tristan - This is a WONDERFUL time to be a composer and musician! Keep on writing, keep on playing (network, network, network) and ENJOY!!!

[tristancalvaire]

Happy composing, folks. . . and remember to "play that funky music right, boys! (and girls!)"

 

Isn't it white boy? >_>

[efiebke]

Isn't it white boy? >_>

 

ROFLMAO!!!

 

I have no idea! LOL! I could never really figure out what's being sung in most of that tune!!

 

". . . . right boy" or ". . . . white boy" Could be either one for all I know! LOL!

 

[tristancalvaire]

ROFLMAO!!!

 

I have no idea! LOL! I could never really figure out what's being sung in most of that tune!!

 

". . . . right boy" or ". . . . white boy" Could be either one for all I know! LOL!

 

 

The song's title (and chorus) came from drummer Ron Beitle's observation during a break between sets at the 2001 Club in Pittsburgh. The group performed mostly hard rock, but disco was popular, and some of the group's loyal followers were asking for more dance songs. While taking a break between sets, Beitle uttered, "play some funky music, white boy". Parissi decided they should, and he wrote down the phrase on a bar order pad. They later recorded it in Cleveland with a funk sound.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_That_Funky_Music