Plainsong Babblespeak? What are your intellectual leanings about the Aeolian cadences in 'Not A Second Time' like Mann pointed out? How about your favorite songs with a hemi-demi-semi-quaver nuance? I felt like I should have been wearing a lab coat and be in a sterile room reading that post.
Plainsong Babblespeak? What are your intellectual leanings about the Aeolian cadences in 'Not A Second Time' like Mann pointed out? How about your favorite songs with a hemi-demi-semi-quaver nuance? I felt like I should have been wearing a lab coat and be in a sterile room reading that post.
JR, I love your Chicago bluntness. And I like the lab coat image.
I was kidding about plainsong.
Anyway, I did read Mann's article. It's a little pedantic (and sad to say, I can't imagine anyone writing about pop music--or even classical--in a newspaper like this today; sometimes Alex Ross in the New Yorker will do a little of this).
But I do think it's cool that a classical music critic of the early 60s Britain was able to see the revolutionary nature of the Beatles songwriting (which came to them "naturally" rather than via some over-intellectualized music theory).
Despite his "aeolian cadences" and "chains of pandiationic clusters," Mann does a decent job of explaining why the Beatles' songs sounded so different from the competition. Unlike most blues-based and country-based rock, the Beatles were throwing in chords that didn't fit in the I-IV-V structure. Thus, the C to Aflat at the end of "Not a Second Time"--the song not resolving in the fadeout, but maintaining a tension that is unreleased.
Those girls might not have known why they were screaming, but those melodies, harmonies and chord changes had something to do with it. Otherwise the Beatles would be no different from the boy bands.
And now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to my laboratory.
I was more intrigued as to why they suddenly became popular in 1965/66. Or were the charts habitated by riff songs I've not heard? I Feel fine, Daytripper, Last Time and Satisfaction all seem to show they were a fad in the charts for that brief period. Was I Feel Fine a trend setter? (My early Beatles knowledge is meagre, but I can't recall them writing or covering any others (and I'm not talking about songs with riffs in them, but songs powered by a guitar riff). Or were they already popular on the pop/rock scene? so many questions.
Ricky Nelson had alot of riff songs in the early 60s (and a great guitarist in James Burton, who also played on some of E's early sixties songs like "Little Sister," one of the greatest riffs of all time).
The Everly Brothers had none other than Chet Atkins producing and playing guitar riffs on their songs.
The Beach Boys incorporated nifty riffs into early songs such as "I Get Around" etc.
The bottom line is that Decca passed on the Beatles since they thought guitar groups were going out of style.
Little did they know how wrong they were.
Another thought: when you listen to some of the early live recordings you realize how integral George was to the show. His riffs or fills get some of the biggest cheers in the songs. I think the Beatles for the most part didn't think of a song as "finished" until it had some kind of guitar "part" or "riff" to anchor it.
I think the Beatles definitely popularized the use of riffs in white popular music. And the Invasion groups that followed--Stones, Kinks, Who, Animals--all had strong guitar parts.
Things might have been totally different if the Beatles had been a piano band (imagine Paul and John at duelling baby grands!) Scary! Although "Hey Bulldog" shows their proficiency in creating great piano riffs.
And, Mr. Professor, don't forget that people like Glenn Campbell played a big part of the Beach Boys music as a backup musician, as did Jimmy Page with the Kinks and even Tom Jones.
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DM's Beatles forums › Other music forums › Various Artists, Lyrics, Discographies, URLs › Who started riff songs?