The Bryds: Artificial Energy

We've already looked at one great B-band via The Beach Boys. Now let us move on to another infamous B-band. The Byrds!

 

The Byrds were the product of strong egos, the LA folk scene, and lets be honest here: The Beatles.  The Beatles come into play in a couple of different factors.  American record companies were desperate to put out bands that had the same look, feel and groove as those wonderful lads from Liverpool.   They also happened to be the coolest thing going in 1964, so of course American bands were going to feed off that. 

 

"Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Legendary Neighborhood" chronicles the rock scene in L.A. from the early 60's onward. Author Michael Walker describes how The Byrds were kind of a rag tag band thrown together quickly to meet the sudden and dramatic rise in the popularity of Rock and Roll. 

 

Chris Hillman played bass for the band. He literally had never played electric bass before joining The Byrds. Before that, he was a bluegrass mandolin player.  In the book he describes how none of the guys in the band even knew anything about rock and roll.  They all came from the folk scene. 

"The Byrds weren't a rock band," Hillman says. "We didn't know anything from that stuff. We didn't even know how to act on stage."

His statements can be confirmed by looking at their early singles of 1965. On their first hits with "Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)" the entire backing instrumental tracks were played by seasoned L.A. session musicians. The only actual member of The Byrds to play on the recordings is Roger McGuinn.  Oklahoma's very own Leon Russell played the piano on the sessions for "Tambourine Man." 

While they may have had a rocky start and an even rockier career, The Byrds solidified the folk rock movement and bridged the gap between Bob Dylan and The Beatles quite nicely.   

Here are some links:

Tambourine Man, 

Turn Turn Turn, 

Artificial Energy. 

The first two tracks are early byrds.   The last track is later on in 1968. 

Neil Young: Out On The Weekend

So you wanna be a rock star?  Neil Young's got the perfect song for you then. 

 "Out on the Weekend" is about Young's life and his decision to head to California.

It is the first track off of his wildly popular "Harvest" album.  It has a dusty other worldly feel and is introspective in nature. Young was dealing with all of the trappings of fame and celebrity as he wrote this song.  He had just done a stint with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and was moving into the realm of super celebrity rock star.   The search continues....

Here is a live version.

Pet Sounds

Pet Sounds:

The Beach Boys made some wonderful contributions to pop music. They were led by the creative talents of Brian Wilson.  He was the band’s only songwriter, producer, and arranger. Brian was extremely groundbreaking.  Almost all bands at the time had separate musical arrangers and producers directing their albums.

            Most people think of fun in the sun, or hot rod songs when the Beach Boys are mentioned.  As Brian’s talents expanded, he wanted to put out more serious songs.  He was an extremely bright and thoughtful writer, but the other members of his band wanted him to continue composing songs they thought their young fan base would like.  In early 1965, Brian began smoking grass and taking LSD.  He has said that during this period of time he grew intellectually and started to search for a deeper meaning in life.

             He became introspective and started composing brilliant new pop songs that sounded like small symphonies. Strings and horns started to show up in his songs, and his percussion section continually came with some of the most innovative rhythms of the day. Most of his songs during this time period sound very large, with multiple layers. Some of the songs actually sound like classical music with pop lyrics and rhythms. He considered his music to be spiritual and an extension of his own life. 

            Brian grew up in an abusive home.  Because of this, he was much more sensitive to the world around him than others his age. That sensitivity became more apparent in his work as he became more interested in growing both spiritually and intellectually.  He had always found relief in music, but with Pet Sounds he was putting all of his emotions out there for the world to see. Brian wrote songs that give the listener vivid visual images and feelings that the music conjures up.

            It is apparent just from the song titles that he was a young man on a search for meaning and identity.  Titles such as “Wouldn’t it be Nice,” “You Still Believe In Me,” “I know there’s an Answer,”  “God Only Knows” and “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times,” all give clear signals that he was searching and exploring his thoughts and emotions.

            This is also a groundbreaking album in many ways.  This is one of the first “concept albums” ever to be made.  A concept album takes a single idea or group of interlocking ideas and expands on those themes throughout the album. The main theme of this album is a search for meaning in life, in relationships and within one’s self. The songs themselves are groundbreaking as well. No one in the world of pop music, especially rock music, was making songs as shatteringly honest as Brian. 

   The most famous example of a concept album is “Sgt. Peppers” by the Beatles.  Paul has said many times that “Pet Sounds” inspired him to think up “Sgt. Peppers”.  In turn, Brian has said that he was inspired to make a whole album of really great tracks because of The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul”.  I love the way the two groups fed off of each other’s work. Rolling Stone magazine named "Pet Sounds" the second best album of all time, just behind Sgt. Peppers.

            "Pet Sounds" has been very influential to me.  I identify with Brian’s search for deeper meaning in life.  He has said that he wanted to put a whole lot of love into his music and I think he achieved that goal.  The music on this album makes me more aware of myself and reinforces my belief that music has a powerful energy to convey feelings and emotions.  This album is a classic example of an artist using his craft to express himself. 

Here is a link to the first track: Wouldn't It Be Nice

Hi-PoP plus Early Beat.

So Hi-PoP's production unit consisting of Zach and Spencer have been working on Early Beat's new album for quite some time now. Zach has spearheaded the project with Spencer helping on percussion and mixing .  

Early Beat is from Norman Oklahoma. Zach produced their first self titled album in 2008.  

The new album is called "A Crashing Melody of Color in Silhouette."  The group is expanding their song writing capabilities and exploring new sound textures via more harmonies and exotic percussion.  Stay tuned for some previews as they arrive. 

For now, here is a link to their myspace page with songs from the old album. 

The Duct Tapes

Also here is a link to our myspace page. The tracks are from our upcoming album "The Duct Tapes" We make music ya know. So holler one time when ya see us coming!

In the Heat of the Night

The first murder mystery movie I ever remember watching is "In the Heat of The Night." It stars Sidney Poitier from a "A Raisin in the Sun" and Rod Steiger from "Docter Zhivago"

Its a great murder mystery based around a small southern town in Mississippi. Poitier is a detective from Philly visiting family. He gets mistaken for a murder suspect and is taken down to the county sheriff's office to be questioned. When the chief finds out he is a detective from the north, the deputy who arrested him is chastised and Poitier is set free. 

The plot thickens when Poitier's chief in Philly has told the chief in Mississippi that he is the top homicide detective on the squad and that he would allow Poitier to work on the murder case that the small town is obviously not prepared to handle.  

The film addresses many social factors that are still relevant today, but were extremely hot topics in the 60's. Please search this movie out! 

This film is also a great example of why the Miranda Laws were put into place.   The police arrest the suspect and give him no warning of his constitutional rights to remain silent, seek legal counsel or that anything he says can be used against him in court.

Here is one of the great (but not greatest) scenes in the film. 

HoLLeR! Hi-PoP!

Hi-PoP, is a collective of like minded, creative individuals in Norman Oklahoma. Our focus is music.  We provide production for outside projects, and are involved in our own hip hop project as well.   

Check for more updates soon. 

Hi-PoP!