In the 1980s there were many avenues that were explored, which one had not ventured to do too often. The music of the 80s is still popular amongst today's society. In "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics, there is a big integration of different pieces of technology that were not used before. In this song, the synthesizer is heavily used and prominent throughout. One of the most interesting pieces of information about this group is that it is made up of two individuals, a key player and a singer. The entire song is made with vocals, drum machine, looper, and milk bottles...yes, milk bottles. The use of the synthesizer was used during the beginning of the 80s, as the new sound of synth-pop became defined. The advanced use of a looper and over-dubbing voices is what made this song interesting. The vocals were sung, harmonies, and back-ups were all performed by one person. The drum machine continued throughout, and the sense of feel with this piece was hypnotic. This new type of music at the time was transitioning into dance music for the time. There was a sense of the strong beats on two and four just as we continue to hear today and was from previous eras also. So, now I am going to fill you in on the milk bottle comment from earlier. During the chorus, there is a clinking sound, yes those are the milk bottles. These were just like wine glasses in the sense that you fill them with water to get different pitches, the same was done with these milk bottles for this song.
"When Doves Cry" by Prince is similar to "Sweet Dreams" in the fact that Prince wrote, produced, and performed "When Doves Cry" all by himself. He sang all the vocals, played all the instruments including electric guitar, synthesizer, and the drum machine. There is another connection, the both used synthesizers and drum machines! One instrument that Prince left out was the bass. Originally, the bass was in this song and then he decided to get rid of it. Without bass, that anchor of low sound is missing. Also, bass usually grounds everything tonally. Prince also crossed a few different items hear with the electric guitar rhythm and distortion making it a heavy metal feel, synthesizer screaming 80s, and drum machine, with more of a funk feel. The song is consider long for the time being almost six minutes in length. As heard in the 80s, the layering and looping is used in Prince's recording also. The song could be broken in two main sections. Section one, which would consist of alternating chorus and verse, section 2, consisting of eight-bar phrases with instrument solos, sung phrases, and other vocal effects.
"Walk This Way" originally performed by Aerosmith was re-mastered and recorded by Run-D.M.C. The song opens up with the typical hook from Aerosmith's original version with a drum beat laid down followed by scratching of a turntable. After, the entrance of the electric guitar, which acts as a second hook enters. This is the most known from "Walk This Way", the drum beat and guitar riff. The alteration that Run-D.M.C. made on this recording was that they sang all of the verses except for one, and Steven Tyler from Aerosmith sang all of the choruses. His high-pitched-strained voice for the chorus depicts what many would categorize as a heavy metal/rock sound. As you continue to listen, the vocal interaction between Run-D.M.C. and Steven Tyler become more intertwined and a collaborative work. When listening to the words of the song many may find them offensive or vulgar in the manner in which they come out. The words are very sexually influenced. This song was a cross-over between the white and black race at the time.
Alternative rock was a genre of music that many flocked towards. This was a mix of punk and heavy metal. The mix of the two created a sound that wasn't too hardcore and wasn't too light. Nirvana was one of the groups that led the way with this type of rock. They sold millions of copies of records along with dominating the record charts at the top for many years. Musicians are always connected to looking back to their roots. In this, Nirvana was apt to looking back to the creativity of the Beatles for their music. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a single that reached the platinum charts and was a top 10 hit. When listening to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" there is a mix of heavy metal instrumental playing and timbre and the sound of pop songwriting in the lyrics. Most rock music consists of power chords and in Nirvana's song there are four major chords in it. It is also broken down into four, eight, and twelve-bar phrases. The song primarily follows the form of Intro, A, B, C, interlude. The Intro four bars, A section is eight bars, B section eight bars, C section twelve bars, interlude four bars. With each section, there is a change in musical sense and feel. In the intro, there is the bass line and drums with guitar chimes added in. The A section includes vocals, which are rather quiet with a depressed tone in the voice and light instrument playing. The B section is made up of a one word repetition. The word 'hello' is repeated in a spacey way with the accompaniment of guitar chords and the crescendo with vocals and instruments. The C section is very aggressive. The vocals are sung in an angry voice with heavy metal power chords and loud, distorted instruments. The interlude includes a stop-time effect, which is hear very often throughout music. In the stop-time the guitar is the response.
The 80s opened many doors especially with the use of electronics and layering of music. This helped to introduce many new avenues with drum machines, synthesizers, looping, etc. The fusion of new sounds in the late 80s early 90s is what advanced some of the alternative rock sounds as well. The up and coming rap music was also an important genre of music that was included in this also.
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