Rise of Alternative Music

Underground rock music arguably began in the late 60s/early 70s with bands like The Velvet Underground and The Stooges and artists like Frank Zappa and David Bowie. But in the mind of most rock music fans alternative music popularly originated in the late 1970s when punk bands like the Ramones, The Clash, and the Sex Pistols hit the music scene and had a huge impact on the future of rock music. This punk music appealed to certain groups of mainly young people because of its energy, rebelliosness, and simplicity. The guitarists in punk bands were known for playing primarily power chords. The bassists and drummers were known for playing minimalistically as well. The singers often shouted. After a couple years of straight punk, a new form of punk known as post-punk came to prominence. Post-punk took the simplicity and energy of punk, yet explored territory rarely if ever explored in punk and added a new level of intelligence to rock music.

Many people knowledgable in modern music think of Joy Division as being the first true post-punk band. Joy Division is defined largely by the deep baritone voice and often dark lyrics of the lead singer Ian Curtis, who was known to experience seizures on stage. He ultimately commited suicide, which led to the remainder of the band changing their name to New Order. Other prominent post-punk bands of the era include Television, Wire, and Gang of Four. Post-punk gained a new prominence when U2 came to the music scene in the early 1980s and later became one of the most successful bands in the history of rock music. The minimalistic and ambient guitar sounds produced by guitarist The Edge took rock music to a level of perhaps spiritual awareness rarely heard before. Then bands heavily influenced by post-punk but not neccesarily a part of the scene directly such as The Cure, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and The Smiths gained popularity in the more "indie" movement. By the late 1980s, bands like U2 and R.E.M. were some of the most popular in the world which showed that alternative music had really hit.

In the late 80s a new scene of alternative music began which can be disected into various subgenres like shoegaze and noise rock. Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr,  and My Bloody Valentine are prominent bands of the genre. Then the grunge movement began, primarily in Seattle. Bands of the grunge movement were highly influenced by all of the alternative forms of music I have discussed previously in this blog. Among the most popular grunge bands are Nirvana , Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. Also emerging at around this time were bands like Radiohead, Placebo, and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Pachelbel

Johann Pachelbel was a German Baroque era composer, teacher, and organist. He was born on September 1, 1653 in Nuremberg, and died on March 9, 1706. During his lifetime, his music enjoyed great popularity. Though, today Pachelbel is mainly known for the Canon in D. He was influenced by German composers like Johann Kaspar Kerl, Italian composers like Alessandro Poglietti, and the composers of the Nuremberg tradition.
As a young man he recieved musical education from Heinrich Schwemmer. In 1667, Pachelbel moved to Eisenach and found a job as a court organist. He later moved to Erfurt, where he became friends with the Bach family. By this time he was one of the most respected organists in Germany. He was married several times over his life. He died at age 52.Although he did not greatly influence many other Baroque composers, he was an influence on Johann Sebastian Bach, arguably the most famous composer from that era.
Pachelbel's most famous work, Canon in D, remains hugely influencial in the world of music to this day. It experienced a strong surge in popularity in the 1970s and has since been used in many popular songs since.

Rennaisance Explorers

The most well-known Rennaisance explorer is Chroistopher Columbus. He "discovered" America in 1492. He was born in Italy in 1451, he died in 1506. He believed the world was round, not flat, which was the popular belief of the time. Columbus sailed on the Santa Maria to America where he found America and residents who he called "Indians" because he believed he had discovered India. Fredinand Magellan went to offer his his services to the king of Spain in 1512. He was inspired by Columbus to prove that the Spice Islands were on the Spanish of the line of Demarcation between Spain and Portugal. In 1521 Magellan was killed in a fight between local natives while on the Spice Islands. Marco Polo was an explorer who slightly precede the Rennaisance era, but he was a great influence on the explorers of the Rennaisance era, such as Columbus. Sir Walter Raleigh was an explorer, but more than that he was a real Rennaisance man. In addition to being an explorer he was also an artistrocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, and explorer. He was executed  He was executed by beheading 1618. He funded his own voyage. He planned for colonation in the "Colony and Dominion of Virginia" ended in failure at Roanoke Island, but it paved the way for subsequent colonies.

Going Medieval

Medieval music is music creating during the Middle Ages. The exact beginning and end of this era is hazy and not definite. Very few pieces of manuscript depicting written music from this era exists. Little was produced at the time because of the cost associated with it. And no, Keith Richards isn't a relic from the Medieval era. hahahahahah ....that wasn't funny. In the medieval era they upgraded from the bone flute to the wood flute. The foundations of music theory originate in this era, as it made it easier for music to passed around the world. Most people think of Medieval music as being European. While a majority of it is indeed European, there is Medieval music from Asia and other parts of the world. Little is heard about this or known about it, but it was there. The troubadors and trouveres made music was a vernacular tradition of monophonic secular song.

I lay traps for troubadours who get killed before they reach Bombay. - Sympathy for the Devil - The Rolling Stones

Let's all get up and dance to a song that was a hit before your ancient ancestors were born

In the days before the banana bass and the theremin... there were bone flutes and kitharas.

Ancient music is the very origins of music in general and the basis of all music that has come since. Ancient music can be dated from the very beginning of man (or man-like creatures) to 600 A.D. Bone flutes are the first instruments ever, at least according to recent discoveries. Gregorian chants are among the first form of music which date back to around 5000 BC. Stone tablets have been discovered in Mesopotamia dating back to 2000 BC that depict an early form of written music. These depict the earliest form of melodies ever discovered. The kithara, a precursor to the guitar, came into existance around this general era as well. Pieces of harps have been discovered in the ancient city of Ur.

Bone Flute Picture

And here is an image of one of those legendary bone flutes.

Got Me a Bone Flute

Here's an interesting article from National Geographic about the bone flute.

Here you go with the bone flute jazz


Plug 1 has dandruff.