MH2 Podcast #2

Here's a download to this week's MH2 Podcast. This week, I talk about Brian Eno and I show how he has indirectly influenced me even before I knew who he was.

Download Link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?lcy633qaam07cc4

Peer Comment #3

I truly enjoyed Ryan’s post on Tool. While I’ve never been a huge fan of Tool myself, Ryan gives me a reason to give them another shot. There’s something about how in-depth he gets with this post that makes them seem that much more interesting. It really shows how experimental Tool’s music is and how much thought is put into the songwriting process. His explanation of the Fibonacci sequence they used to write a song pretty much blew my mind. It’s a great post that once again shows the depth capable of musicians. It’s a good read for both fans and non-fans.

Brian Eno

In an industry where re-invention is the key to success, it’s rare to ever see anyone actually innovate so much as to create an entirely new genre. Producer and musician Brian Eno was able to do just that. It’s because of Brian Eno that we saw the birth of an entirely new genre known as ambient music in our generation. After testing the waters of the popular glam rock music scene as a keyboardist with the band ‘Roxy Music,’ Eno went off into a different, more artistic, direction with his musical abilities. As his solo career progressed his music began to become more and more experimental until he finally released the milestone of an album known as “Ambient 1/ Music for Airports”. The album was often described as a ‘sonic landscape’ that was able to paint a picture in people’s minds. Eno was a true pioneer in the genre that remains popular to this day.

Ambient music is one of the only genres that doesn’t follow a structure and isn’t about a main hook or a memorable guitar riff. Ambient music was more about being minimal and creating an atmosphere that allowed the listener’s mind to drift into its own imagination. Tracks were often long and simply built on each other to the point where an album felt like one long song. It was unlike anything that had been heard at the time and it wasn’t long before the genre caught on and created a scene for itself. To this day, many popular artists, both mainstream and experimental underground, cite Brian Eno as a big inspiration.

Along with experimenting with songwriting, Eno has also been recognized for his unique production techniques. Brian Eno was one of the first to propose the idea that a studio could be used as an instrument rather than simply just a tool to record music in his essay, “The Studio as a Compositional Tool.” His unique production style has landed him the role of producer with many big name bands such as U2, Coldplay, John Cale, Devo, and Talking Heads to name a few.

Brian Eno did not stop his innovation there, however. Eno is also partially responsible for the further development of generative music, which is now used even more than ever before to create music in video games. Generative music consists of music that is never the same and offers a unique listening experience every time it is played using computer-generated code. Brian Eno composed music for the popular video game, Spore, using this method.

As a listener, I’ve always loved what Eno has done musically and I fell in love with the genre he created before I even heard of who he was. I’ve always been more interested in painting a picture with music than writing a catchy chorus or an impressive guitar solo. I sometimes wonder where music would be right now without Eno’s innovations. His works have clearly indirectly influenced me ever since the day I started playing guitar. As a recording professional, Eno’s production value is stellar. I’m a huge fan of Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’ and part of that reason is because of how big the entire production sounds. The whole album is breath taking and it takes me on a mental ride each time. Using the studio as an instrument is probably one of the best approaches to production I’ve ever come across, in my opinion.

Peer Comment #2

Ryan Boda's MH2 Blog Peer Comment

This is a pretty good blog entry that describes The Velvet Underground & Nico in good detail. If I hadn't of heard the album prior to reading this blog entry I think that I would been more inclined to listen to the album. I always like reading more in-depth about any album because they give more insight on an album and even give it a little bit more meaning. Ryan's blog entry about the album gives me just that. I don't have a lot of constructive criticism to give Ryan because it was a good post all-around. The grammar and spelling was good and the entry was easy to read and never really dragged on any sentences. It gave the information needed and gave enough background on the band that I felt more connected to their music. I keep coming back to Ryan's blog because it is really well written and quite informative.

Daft Punk

Daft Punk has left a huge impact on today's electronic music scene. They are true innovators and have managed to hit the mainstream market in ways that few other electronic musicians have been able to. They have innovated by taking sampling to another level by messing with sounds from other songs and meshing them together with their own sounds to create undeniably catchy songs. The French duo keeps a somewhat of a mysterious image, choosing to always perform with costumes and helmets on. Daft Punk first saw success in France and they have often been accredited for helping shape the sound of the 'French House' music genre by many other successful artists.

After trying out the whole guitar-driven band with a couple of rock tunes and becoming bored with the concept, the duo disbanded their rock band, 'Darlin' and went onto to trade in their guitars for drum machines and synths. They wanted to go beyond making music that everyone had already heard. Daft Punk was able to take old songs that had already run their course and bring them back to life in a completely new light. Their highly successful "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was a direct sample off of Edwin Birdsong's 1979 song, "Cola Bottle Baby". While many people haven't even heard of Edwin Birdsong, Daft Punk was able to take the hook of the song and make it highly successful. Something Edwin Birdsong wasn't able to do as well as Daft Punk did.

Some may argue that sampling is cheap. Some may argue that it isn't even real music. The proof is in the numbers, however. People really liked what Daft Punk had to offer. They were taking songs that didn't do entirely too great in the past and giving them a second chance. Daft Punk has had a huge influence on the electronic music scene and all sorts of musicians are drawing creativity from their music. Daft Punk was even asked to create the entire soundtrack to Disney's latest blockbuster film, "Tron". Being asked by Disney to create a soundtrack in an industry where composers have to work hard for years to even be considered to create the soundtrack for a half decent movie is not an easy feat. Clearly, Daft Punk has something innovative going on for them.

As a musician, listener and recording engineer, Daft Punk definitely speaks to me on many levels. They are both musicians and producers in the sense that they can take old songs and bring them to life in a totally different perspective. They really know how to sample a song without stealing it. They make the song theirs. Their production value is like ear candy and just gives you something fun to listen to the entire ride through the song. Daft Punk is definitely a milestone in electronic music.

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk was one of the first acts to ever make completely electronic music on an internationally successful scale. While most people, at the time of their arrival, were still stuck on listening to bands and singers backed by a complex arrangement of instruments, Kraftwerk was trying something radically different. They began making music while the Krautrock scene was beginning to take off. Some might say that Kraftwerk looked like a somewhat futuristic group due to the way they presented themselves on stage. Everything was organized and uniform and nothing was on stage apart from synthesizers and four men. The sounds that were produced, even early on, from them were definitely ahead of their time. We now live in a world flooded with synths and electronic music. It's almost impossible to hear a single on popular radio that isn't driven by synth. Down to their concept albums and the whole futuristic feel of their music, Kraftwerk definitely looked and sounded ahead of their time.

Kraftwerk really began to take off as a group after the release of Autobahn (1974). This concept album really pushed the experimental boundaries and opened up with a 22-minute song named "Autobahn". The album was also one of the first times they decided to use non-electronic instruments. Despite it's experimental factor, the single version of "Autobahn" still did really well on the sales charts. Kraftwerk continued riding on the success of their concept album and followed it up by another one named, "Radioactivity". It featured both German and English lyrics throughout the album. This album was a milestone for them because it was entirely produced and recorded by the two leaders of the band, Ralf and Florian. Throughout the years, Kraftwerk continued their success with the release of Trans-Europe Express (1977), the Man Machine (1978), and Computer World (1981), each time bringing something new to the table and innovating the electronic music scene.

Kraftwerk made an impact on the electronic music scene by creating music that very few were creating at the time and doing it in style. While most would normally look like they were pulling off some sort of fluke when creating a new sound, Kraftwerk looked and sounded like they knew exactly what they were doing from the start. Their concept albums strengthened the fact and gave even more meaning to their music. I can imagine that people felt as if they were listening to the future when they listened to Kraftwerk in their early years. Looking at how big electronic music has become today, that thought feeling might not have been too far fetched.

Kraftwerk has definitely influenced me in one way or another. Although I'm not too big into electronic music, it has become a big part of today's industry and it is important to acknowledge their contribution to music as a whole. As an industry professional, I am pretty impressed with the electronic sounds that they were able to craft at the time of their birth as a group. I love and respect people who aren't afraid to experiment with new sounds and ideas. Their production value was top-notch. The self-produced and recorded, Radioactivity, proved that to me as well.

Revolver Podcast

Take a listen to this podcast I did on The Beatles' 'Revolver' album to listen to some insight on how much this album has had an impact on today's modern pop music.

To download, wait for the QuickTime player to load or just download the file for free by clicking "Download this file".

http://www.zshare.net/audio/8040252121c6f100/

Peer Comment

To Ryan Boda's Blog about 'Revolver':

This blog post was really informative and expanded on the things I already knew about 'Revolver'. It's a great album and I love reading people's different perspectives on what made it such a great album. Ryan clearly knows the Beatles well and the post flowed really well. He really went in-depth with the details of the production and songwriting. I also liked his perspective on the influence that drugs had on the Beatles. He made a good point when he said that too much attention is given to the influence of drugs when we are actually influenced by everything around us at all times. If I had to give constructive criticism to Ryan, I wouldn't be able to. It's a great post all around that was both informative and fun to read.

The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground was the first rock band to really go above and beyond what people were used to hearing. They were definitely the artistic type of group, making music for the sake of making music. They weren't too interested in money early on. The original drummer of the band actually ended up leaving the band when they finally did decide to take up their first paying gig and called the rest of the band 'sellouts'. They had a close-knit relationship with the famous artist, Andy Warhol, and played as the house band for his studio, 'The Factory'.

The primary songwriters of the group, John Cale and Lou Reed, had a huge influence on the sound that ended up becoming the Velvet Underground. Lou Reed was an American songwriter and was a pioneer of using lots of feedback and distortion on the electric guitar. Up till the point of The Velvet Underground's arrival into the music scene, nobody had really tried anything like it. John Cale, on the other hand, was a more classically trained musician from the UK. Having begun his musical endeavors on the viola, Cale had a different perspective on making music. When the two came together as a creative force, we were given some of the most unique music that anyone had heard at the time and alternative rock was essentially born.

Andy Warhol had a huge influence on The Velvet Underground in their musical and artistic direction. He noticed them for their unique sound and took them under his wing in order to help promote them and develop their artistic image. Lou Reed never failed to give Warhol credit for his influences in interviews about the band. Warhol became the band's manager in 1965. He was also responsible for the addition of former European model, Nico, collaboration with the band. Although they were against the idea at first, Warhol eventually got them to agree and they began writing songs for Nico to sing on.

'The Velvet Underground & Nico' was an album that was definitely ahead of its time. The album sales are proof enough. Although they barely sold any records while they were still writing with the original band line-up, they are now considered one of the most influential bands of all time. The combination of art and music really put music in a different perspective for the band. It wasn't so much about making money or getting famous. It wasn't about singles and getting radio play. It was about art and telling a story through music. It was beyond what anyone was trying to convey through their music. They weren't afraid to experiment with instruments on this album and it paid off in the long run. In today's industry we can't get enough of experimentation through music. 'The Velvet Underground & Nico' wasn't afraid to let a guitar sound too distorted or purposely feedback. Nobody was doing that at the time.

As a musician, this album felt as if it was released in recent times. It's impressive to me that it was released so long ago and that so many bands have been so clearly influenced by their sound. Even as someone who had not previous heard 'The Velvet Underground & Nico,' the way I make music has clearly been influenced by musicians who have been influenced by it. Their sound has impacted so many musicians in such an extraordinary way that their sound has even been carried on through them. The production of this album is organic and honest in my opinion. It wasn't as clean cut as some of the other records coming out at the time and it adds to the mood of the songs in my opinion. 'The Velvet Underground & Nico' is clearly a milestone in rock music.

Marvin Gaye's What's Going On

Before the release of What's Going On, Marvin Gaye was a sex symbol and a Motown icon. Everyone saw him as a clean cut, fashionable guy who sang songs about love. He fit the perfect description of a Motown star. He was exactly what you would expect to come out of Motown. Nobody ever expected him to drop the image completely and start writing about things that were more serious in their lyrical content.

There were lots of social and political issues going on at the time when 'What's Going On' was conceived that fueled Gaye to change his direction and use the power of his music and celebrity status to express his emotions towards the war and the ever changing politics of the United States. The war had a huge impact on Gaye and he felt compelled to write songs about how it all needed to stop. It became quite clear that he no longer cared about making songs to sell records and re-write the same love songs that he had written before. His new outlook on songwriting wouldn't come without a cost, however.

The strict people over at Motown didn't like the new direction, claiming that nobody wanted to hear a song about war and that it wasn't a love song. Gaye fired back by saying that it was in fact all about love and how the war needed to stop and people needed to come together. While skeptical, Motown ended up funding the record so that it could become a reality. When the record was done and ready for release, it was rejected by Motown's quality control and Berry Gordy claimed it was the worst thing he'd ever heard. Motown refused to release 'What's Going On' until Gaye left them with an ultimatum: "Release the record or I'll never record for Motown again." Motown had no choice but to release the record. Fortunately, the record sold 100,000 copies within the first day, quickly changing Motown's mind about the record.

What's Going On was really quite different from other soul recordings of its time. The lyrical content expanded beyond the topic of love and looked at it on a greater scale. The instrumentation was rich in content and the arrangements were complex. The studio musicians claimed it was definitely a different type of playing than they were used to in contract to their work on other Motown records. As jazz musicians who felt that Motown arrangements were easy and sometimes dull, they were actually impressed with the arrangements that "What's Going On" had to offer.

As a listener, "What's Going On" has a classic sound that I've heard all my life growing up. The complex string arrangements and overall grooves throughout the album have always interested me the most and always stand out to me when I'm listening to the album. As a recording engineer, the production is superb. It's never easy to mix a song with so many things going on at once. Again, I'm most impressed with how well the strings were mixed throughout the album.

Revolver

The Beatles took music to an entirely new level when they released their multi-platinum selling album, Revolver. It changed both the face of music and the face of The Beatles as musicians. While respected by the music industry early on in their careers, The Beatles always came off as a clean cut, fun, boy band. Girls would scream so loud over at their concerts that it was hard to even hear the music at points. They wrote pop hits about love and holding hands and all sorts of other cheesy scenarios. Revolver really took everything that everyone knew about the Beatles and threw it out the window.

A big part of what may have caused The Beatles to drastically change their sound into more of a psychedelic vibe was the use of psychedelic drugs, mainly LSD. In many interviews The Beatles admitted to using various drugs when writing songs although John Lennon claims to not have ever written any better or worse because of them. Some lyrics off of Revolver even derived from conversations that happened during acid trips. Whether or not it made them write any better, it clearly had some sort of influence to the way they went about writing and recording their music.

Revolver showed everyone that the studio could also be used an instrument rather than just a mean to record audio. With the help of George Martin, The Beatles really pushed the limit to what a studio was capable of producing. On the very first track, 'Taxman,' we can hear what sounds like the beginning of a take alongside some other weird sounds that you might hear in a studio. Within a matter of seconds the listener is subconsciously transported into the studio and they become aware of an entity. The song became more than just a song and the listener's mind begins to image just what is going on in the studio.

Some of the interesting techniques used in the studio for the recording process for Revolver included reversing tape and the vast arrangement of instruments. The Beatles were the first to try reversing vocals and instruments on a commercial release. They added an extremely unique vibe to songs and is most evident on the track, "Tomorrow Never Knows." They relied heavily on overdubbing multiple instruments to create a rich listening experience by bouncing back and forth between tracks. Once a track had been bounced, there was no going back, making the entire process impressive on its own. They also used an interesting technique on vocals to add a higher pitched tonality to certain sections. They would record vocals while running the tape at a slower speed than usual. When played back at normal speed the vocals would have a higher pitched tonality. These are only a few of the various experimental techniques that they used while recording Revolver.

As both a lover of music and a professional in recording engineering Revolver is an highly impacting album. Not only are all of the songs masterfully crafted in a musical aspect, they also shine on the production side. It still baffles me how complex these songs were for their time. It makes me realize that we rely too much on technology now to fix our mistakes rather than just trying and trying again until it's right. I love how unique this album still sounds in today's industry. It's definitely an album to look up to and has set standards for musicians.

Pet Sounds

The Beach Boys left a huge impact on the music industry and have inspired many modern artists in today's industry to make music. Early on in the Beach Boy's career, their music was all about having a good time and going to the beach and surfing. It was a simple, like-able, and commercially appealing image that thousands of fans would grow to fall in love with. The image was even in their name. You didn't even have to listen to one of their songs to know what they sounded like. One look at one of their early album covers said it all. Clearly, their main goal was to appeal to a large audience. Considering this was the early 60's and surfing was becoming extremely popular, they filled that goal quite well.

Brian Wilson was the leader of the band. He was the creative force behind all that was The Beach Boys and can be claimed to be responsible for most of the hits they came out with. Brian Wilson was known for having a great ear for harmonies and was greatly inspired by his favorite group growing up, The Four Freshmen. Brian Wilson wrote some of his most experimental and brilliant arrangements when he wrote Pet Sounds. Pet Sounds was written in response to The Beatle's Revolver which also proved to influence Brian Wilson to push his creativity to break away from their old easy-going beach image.

Pet Sounds is rich in instrumentation and ran with Phil Spector's idea for the 'wall of sound'. The arrangements were complex and really stood out amongst other songs that were out at the time. The album also played as a whole rather than a collection of singles; A first for the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson was keen on writing lyrics, alongside lyricist, Tony Asher, that were deeper than anything they had previously done. The songs dealt with issues beyond love and really touched down on a psychological level.

As an audio engineer, Pet Sounds struck me as an impressive work of art. In contrast to some of their earlier releases, there was an obvious amount of work and thought that was poured into Pet Sounds. Listening to the session recordings showed how brilliant Brian Wilson's direction really was. The album is pieced together like a puzzle and the arrangements work together perfectly to create some outright great music. Pet Sounds was definitely a milestone in music history and is worth a listen to any lover of music and audio engineering. It's impressive in both mindsets.

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About Me (Welcome Entry)

Hello fellow bloggers, my name is Raul Garcia. I'm a student at Full Sail University studying to becoming a recording engineer. I've been involved in the process of making music since the early years of high school. I became interested in recording music when I decided to record a demo for the first band I was in and realized that I had a lot of fun doing so. I also received a lot of positive feedback and felt that I had potential to really learn the ins and outs of audio.

My musical interests range and touch down on many genres of music but I've always leaned more towards the rock side of things. I'm more into bands rather than solo artists and I enjoy an album as a whole in contrast to an album with a bunch of singles on it. I'm open to all kinds of music and I really try to appreciate them for what they are. Some of my favorite bands are The Mars Volta, Circa Survive and The Fall of Troy.

My primary focus in the industry is to help create the most honest and exciting listening experience to an audience in whatever project I may be working on. The last thing on my mind is money. I would rather be struggling to pay rent and doing what I love than working in an office, bored out of my mind, and making millions.