Singer-songwriters, EDM, country, pop

Question 1

Describe the female singer-songwriter scene in the early 1990s.

Answer 1

It was similar to that of the 1970s singer-songwriter era but with more edge to it due to the influence of punk and grunge. They also incorporated the influence of the riot girl scene, with frank discussions about sexuality, discrimination, violence, and politics.

Question 2

What were the major musical features of singer-songwriters in the 1990s?

Answer 2

Usually self-accompanying on piano or guitar, presence of more electric instruments than in the 1970s, often backed by a full band.

Question 3

What is Lilith fair?

Answer 3

It was a concert tour started by Sarah McLachlan in response to radio station programming practices. This was in the context of unprecedented success for female musicians in the mid-1990s. It was seen as an alternative to outdoor festivals like Lallapolooza with overwhelmingly male lineups.

Question 4

Who is the two major female singer-songwriters discussed?

Answer 4

Tracy Chapman.

Question 5

Describe the musical features of Bjork.

Answer 5

Singer-songwriter who combined pop song structures with elements of electronic music, such as techno and hip hop.

Question 6

What is EDM?

Answer 6

It is characterized by the rapid evolution of many subgenres and hybrid genres. The sound centers around sounds produed by analog or digital technology.

Question 7

Describe the geography of EDM.

Answer 7

EDM is very site-specific, with each sub-genre originating from a different place and a different club scene.

Question 8

Name the 4 major EDM precursors.

Answer 8

Disco (esp. Eurodisco), Kraftwerk, Dub, and British synth-pop.

Question 9

Describe the influence of disco on EDM.

Answer 9

Repetitive patterns and beats being played over and over again throughout the song

Question 10

Describe what Kraftwerk is and its influence on EDM.

Answer 10

It is a German electro-rock band. It made use of repetitive patterns, synths, had limited melodic material, and used simple musical textures.

Question 11

Describe the major musical features of EDM.

Answer 11

Textures are more important than the chords and harmonies. Melodies are simple and rhythm is the #1 focus. It is also focused on the celebration of machine-made sounds. The beats also tend to have a timbral component (metallic).

Question 12

What are the 4 main subgenres of EDM discussed?

Answer 12

Chicago house, detroit techno, jungle/drum n’ bass, electronica

Question 13

Compare Chicago House, drum n’ bass, and detroit techno in terms of main musical inspiration.

Answer 13

CH: disco
DNB: Hardcore
DT: Kraftwerk and Chicago house

Question 14

Compare Chicago House, drum n’ bass, and detroit techno in terms of typical BPM.

Answer 14

CH: 120-130 BPM
DNB: 130-150 BPM
DNB: 160+ BPM

Question 15

Describe the musical characteristics of Chicago House.

Answer 15

It has the four on the floor beat of disco, and is slower and denser than techno. It is also more reliant on melody than the other types of EDM.

Question 16

Describe the musical characteristics of Detroit House.

Answer 16

It is slightly more up tempo than house and has darker, more ambient textures with less of an emphasis on melody than Chicago House.

Question 17

Describe the musical characteristics of Drum n’ Bass.

Answer 17

It has very fast tempos and combines deep, rolling bass lines with hyper-fast moving drum beats. It is often made of chopped beats from other songs.

Question 18

What is electronica?

Answer 18

Electronica is the term coined in around 1996-1997 to promote EDM in the US. It doesn’t distinguish between different subgenres, and some electronica artists found mainstream success.

Question 19

Name 2 subgenres of Electronica.

Answer 19

Big beat and downtempo/ambient

Question 20

Why did country music become particularly popular in the early 1990s?

Answer 20

Because Billboard changed the way it calculated popularity to an automated system that recorded sales at large chain networks rather than just individual retailers. This revealed that country actually had a very large appeal, which created a receptive context for the mainstream acceptance of country acts who could also appeal to pop audiences.

Question 21

Who are the main 3 country stars discussed?

Answer 21

Garth Brooks, The Chicks, and Taylor Swift.

Question 22

Describe how Boy/Girl bands worked in the pop music landscape.

Answer 22

Shared some similarities with boy/girl groups from previous eras: typically made up of members of a single gender and almost always of a single race (except for the Spice Girls). They were marketed to appeal to a largely ‘‘tween’’ audience (8-14 years old). The songs typically written by teams of professional songwriters and the members were typically chosen as much for their appearance as for their voice.

Question 23

The setup of Boy/Girl bands in the late 90s and early 2000s can be compared to which 2 other setups?

Answer 23

The Brill Building and Tin Pan Alley.

Question 24

What was the major boy band discussed?

Answer 24

The Backstreet Boys

Question 25

What are the major musical features of girl/boy bands?

Answer 25

Slick pop productions with synthesizers and drum machines, sing-along choruses, smooth and melismatic singing inspired by R&B, conventional song forms, lyrics about love/romance.

Question 26

What are the major extra-musical features of girl/boy bands?

Answer 26

Marketed to teenagers, use of music videos to sell the fantasy, pseudo-individualization by giving them different (stereotypical personas), tightly choreographed dance routines.