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JJ's Bizarre Blog #57 - United We Stand Part 1 - Land of the Free
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JJ's Bizarre Blog #57 - United We Stand Part 1 - Land of the Free
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Howdy, yall! The time has come for yet another bizarre blog inclusion and what an entry it's going to be! After taking you far east with the last blog, let us travel to the farthest west! On the heels of the 4th of July, allow me to undertake the insane challenge of presenting you arguably the biggest cultural powerhouse in the world. Strap in, this will be a doozy. Salute the flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Welcome to the United States of America!
I'm sure I don't need to explain in detail what the country of the USA is about. No matter where you're from or where you live, American culture has touched your world in some way. All you need to know to get us started is that the United States is one of the largest nations on Earth, covering every biome imaginable, and has one of the largest populations on Earth, composed of people from every background imaginable. From this, they've been able to cultivate an incredible variety of sounds that has captivated over the ages. They've left their mark and spread their influence to basically every corner of the globe, a favourite activity of theirs. I know you know them, but do you KNOW know them? Let's become modern day pioneers and find out!
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Despite being a relatively young nation on a global scale, the US have several centuries of history to draw from, dating even before the Declaration of Independence. The earliest examples of American folk music were derived from the traditional songs of the various cultures this land's new inhabitants came from. Eventually, these styles would be extrapolated to cover the current events and woes of their time, becoming the foundational building blocks of this newly forming culture! The first wave of Americana!
This naturally leads us to one of the most definitively American styles - country! With it's catchy acoustic riffage and catchy vocal hooks, it retells infectious tales of cowboys, sheriffs, shootouts, bandits, outlaws, train robberies and more, a romanticized interpretation of the formative years of the nation, the ever beloved Wild Wild West. These stories captivate the imagination like few can and with over a hundred years at this point, say what you will, country has been a backbone of the preservation of the American zeitgeist.
Among the style, few have found as much success as the legendary Johnny Cash. His popularity stretching far beyond the boundaries of just country music, he is a cultural phenomenon, an institution within American music. Capturing the hearts and minds of generations, to me he is one the most qualified to take the title of "The Voice of America".
A similar style to country would be bluegrass. A folky and campy style, using the ever popular banjo and harmonica for that instant old timey folk vibe, it was the melancholic tune to soothe the souls of the everyman for many years in the distant past with modern revival acts serving to preserve both the genre and the culture it represents, a cornerstone of the formation of the USA.
From this, we come to another vital pillar of the American sound - blues! This guitar-driven style with an instantly recognizable sound, born in the Deep South, is without a doubt one of the most fundamental genres in musical history! Not only was it the tune to the lives of countless since before the dawn of the 20th century, it would go on to lend its characteristics to countless other styles over the decades. It's no exaggeration that almost all guitar-focused genres today can trace some part of their roots back to classic blues. The genre itself is still catchy and infectious today, having never lost any of that magic that made it special to begin with!
If you want to experience the peak of what this iconic genre can bring, look no further than the three Kings of blues - B.B. King, Albert King and Freddy King! By pure divine serendipity, these three men rose to the top and were the biggest stars of their era, helping push the evolution of guitar playing further with new techniques and peerless passion! For nobody can match a King!
This leads us to yet another legendary and influential genre born in the US of A - jazz! I've been meaning to talk about this for a long time as this genre holds a truly special place in my heart! Employing exquisite musicianship and band chemistry partially taken from blues, jazz is based on the formula of taking a central melody, called an "idea", and then having all musicians improvise around it and form their own unique interpretations. Difficult to define due to its innate variety and the fact that each song is essentially an extended jam session, jazz expresses an extensive array of sounds and vibes and has also been insanely influential to popular music as a whole. Over the years, many musicians have achieved legendary status - saxophonists like John Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins, pianists like Dave Brubeck or Thelonious Monk, trumpeters like Miles Davis and Chet Baker have all rocked the American scene in their own way and left an eternal mark on the whole world of music!
We can't neglect to mention vocal jazz, which itself influences the techniques in pop singing to this day! Being based on improvisations, many singers who didn't also play an instrument would pioneer scat singing as a way to add flourishes and spontaneous energy to their performances. Legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, not to mention the instantly recognizable voice of Louis Armstrong, have become divinities in the entire realm of music!
All of this until now is just a glimpse into just some of the styles born in the United States that have gone on to become worldwide cultural phenomenons. There are many other styles that can be discussed like soul, R&B, funk, swing, charleston and many more, but I'll just leave you some breadcrumbs here and let you discover those on your own. Be bold and explore forth!
As we move into more modern times, the tight knit communities of the Bronx in New York would prove a fertile melting pot to birth many new musical styles and in the 70s, a genre would be born that would change popular music forever - hip-hop! Taking ideas from jazz and R&B, mixing in electronic beats and samples disco rhythms, disc jockeys of the era created these catchy tunes that served as the perfect backdrop for pioneering rappers to spit their lyrical prowess while breakdancers laid it all down with their moves. This simple mix of pounding beats and fast rapping to deliver socially potent lyrics proved an incredible versatile formula that exploded in popularity before spreading all over the world. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Being that it formed in the Bronx, the so called East Coast Hip-Hop out of New York would be the earliest movement. Characterized by fast and intricate rap delivery, powerful lyrics and jazzy beats, focused more on making you to sit down and think rather than get up and dance. Grimy, moody and thought provoking, capturing the tales of tribulations of the streets it was born on, East Coast material always left an impression. It was the foundation from which all other hip-hop genres spawned and to this day, iconic acts like Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy and Notorious B.I.G. remain at the zenith of what hip-hop can be!
Soon after, we'd travel to the other side of the country where West Coast Hip-Hop was taking shape. In contrast to the sharp, lyrical and jazzy NY scene, the new movements in LA and SF went in a more funky and groovy direction with their beats and a smoother, catchier rap delivery. It was much more upbeat and fun, like a refreshing pina colada on Venice Beach. Many artists from these areas, especially a certain magical place called Compton you might've heard about, became foundational to the future growth of hip-hop and laid the groundwork for many movements to come, from the mainstream to the underground and the iconic gangsta rap. Like on the East, West Coast legends like NWA, 2Pac and Dr. Dre are institutions of hip-hop to this very day! The two coasts didn't tend to like each other, but that's all water under the bridge, so there's nothing stopping us today from appreciating both.
From then on, American rap remains one of the most widely listened to musical styles all across the globe with titans like Eminem, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and more being household names from Bangkok to Bogota. You can jam to the mainstream stuff or enter the underground into the more obscure, such as the lesser known Midwest scene lead by my favourite man Tech N9ne, emphasizing maximum speed and inhuman technical ability to push the English language and the human mouth apparatus to its absolute limits. Crunk, underground, chopper, the choice is yours, the variety is all there for those ready to give it a spin!
Naturally when we talk about the United States, pop music is probably the first thing to come to mind. It makes sense, absolute divinities like Michael Jackson, Madonna and countless others have presented all of the variety within the American musical kaleidoscope in an approachable and instantly memorable form and have thus dominated the charts like nobody else! Anywhere under the Sun, these songs have touched and left an eternal mark!
As the decades have rolled on, the momentum hasn't ceased and new artists keep coming on to keep the flame alight and keep planting the US flag at the top of the charts over and over again. From the days of radio and MTV, to the lovely global services of Spotify today, the endearing qualities of these tracks cannot be denied and their place in musical history is all but guaranteed.
A lot of the prowess of modern pop is derived from electronic music and while it can be argued that this realm definitively belongs to Europe, the USA has contributed to the growth of it in many vital ways. During the 80s, techno revolutionized what music can be after it was forged in the nightclubs of Detroit, while house became the spawn point of EDM and popular electronic music as we know it today from its home in the underground scene of Chicago. From then on, countless electronic genres were either born within the US or were imported and improved upon there. You may not think it, but there is noticeable American influence on every facet of the electronic sphere!
Now let's swerve back into a different lane, one that started all the way back in the 40s, would also define the spirit of America before turning the tides of the entire world - rock 'n' roll! Drawing once more from blues and jazz, rock 'n' roll was the pinnacle of the rebellious spirit that defines the "Land of Opportunity". Being yourself, standing up for what you believe in and having a good time while doing it. Rock 'n' roll inspired generations and became the first push into more aggressive guitar-driven music!
Few men would define this sound better than the King himself - Elvis Presley! He captivated millions, he was the voice and face of generations and his name lives on in legends! During a time when young people were starting to gain independence from their parents for the first time, Elvis was rejected by the old generation. Too provocative, too controversial, too outlandish. But the youngins loved him and a new generational divide was formed. The modern rebellious teenager was born! As time went on, Elvis' legacy would be written into history with golden letters. While he is most associated with rock 'n' roll, the King's discography was far more varied and unpredictable, exploring many more genres than most might think. Even today, you might be surprised with what you find!
Rolling into the 60s and 70s, in the midst of the British Invasion, rock would evolve into wider influences and carve an ever stronger niche, with blues rock maestros like the immortal Jimi Hendrix bringing on a revolution in guitar playing and songwriting that continues to have ramifications today. Rock became an ever stronger countercultural cornerstone and a vital element of the heart and soul of the new American identity! This also helped it grow, cementing rock as a mainstay genre on the global musical stage!
Over the years, rock would continue to evolve and the United States was always at the forefront, being both the biggest stage in the world for this growth and the breeding ground for genres and movements to evolve and thrive! From soft rock to hard rock, progressive rock to folk rock, catchy mainstream bangers and introspective instrumental pastiches. Anything and everything was possible and it these possibilities have only grown over time. One key to rock's enduring power is its versatility and with so many influences to pull from and so many iconic historical genres to build off of, the only limit is the imagination!
This without even going into details on the many unique genres that have sprung up over the years. Such as the moody heaviness of Seattle grunge. Or the bopping fun of funk rock such as from the aggressively Californian legends Red Hot Chili Peppers. Or the upbeat summertime party of surf rock, pioneered by the equally aggressively Californian greats Beach Boys! And of course the distinctly American, homely vibes of Southern rock, uniting basically every genre I talked about at the start together with rock music and reminding every rebel that no matter where your adventure takes you, there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home!
There is so much more to explore, but that's all the time we have for this entry! As expected, the USA has one of the largest cultural footprints on a global scale and with so many genres originating there or being massive there, a single blog could never be enough. Next year, they'll be celebrating 250 years of existence, so that's a lot of history to pull from! All these varied genres have gone on to have massive influences on the whole of popular music with some of the big umbrella genres of pop, hip-hop and rock all finding their footing here. Say what you will, the importance cannot be overstated. Even when you peel away the veneer of the mainstream, you can find the rich tapestry of influences deeply rooted in American culture and how the unique circumstances that the nation provided were the perfect breeding ground for music to grow and thrive. Not to mention their contributions to musical technology and forming the modern musical industry as we know it. So tune in next time for part 2, where we get into the really heavy stuff! Until then, take care!