Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with musichistory

Sha-boom Sha-boom, sha na na na na na na na na na na (repeat)

phylum sinter — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:46:44 -0800

Where does Doo-Wop come from? Both the Etymology of the word and the music it represents are a bit of a mystery to me. Merriam-Webster claims 1969 as when it first came about, but that seems way later than the copyrights of some music I would otherwise consider as Doo-Wop.

Anybody have some anecdotal or academic evidence regarding the source of this sound?

Favorite examples (as close to the origins) are appreciated as well.

A musician needs rock n' roll high schoolin'

pedmands — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:52:42 -0800

You-Knowledge-of-music-sucks-for-being-a-musician-filter: I would like to be better-versed in the history of modern (western) rock. Much more inside. I am what you might call an indie-pop musician. Let me start by saying that I'm not even sure how we have arrived at having a genre for 'independent' musicians- I'm vaguely familiar with the movement in the nineties, but that's as far back as my (not very) comprehensive knowledge of modern rock goes.

I am often awed at conversations in which music nerds will talk at-length about influences on eras of rock, the careers of musicians (I'm talking the bassist on this album who also worked on this album sort of thing), the rise-and-fall of a multitude of labels, and even historic television appearances on shows that I had never even heard of (i.e. The Old Grey Whistle Test).

As a musician I am really ashamed at not having a better understanding of all the whirlwind of activity that has led to this (what now feels like a stagnant) era of 'rock'. What routes can I take to build a working knowledge from the ground up?

By rock I'm really wanting to encompass UK and US mostly, from the 1950's to modern day. I use the term rock to loosely describe most all of popular music.

I'm looking for books, sites, and any additional resources that give an overall outline of progress as well as detailed information. I have looked on amazon and google, I have tried this on my own, through sites like allmusic.com, and books like Music Lust... but I need something more syllabus-like, I suppose. Some guidance that can only come from experience...

Help me appreciate what I could one day contribute to! Thanks, hivemind.

Help me spice up the story of string quartets

bassjump — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 12:33:15 -0800

StringQuartetFilter: Help a non-string player find interesting string quartet facts: important ensembles, historical trivia, significant accomplishments, etc. I'm not looking for specific compositions - those are easy for me to find. I'm looking for info on ensembles: who they are/were and why they're important/intriguing/compelling. I've read the New Grove entry on string quartets, but while it mentions certain ensembles, it doesn't say much about them. Funny/quirky stories welcome in addition to plain old historical info. All eras are game, from Haydn & co. to present day.

What blues/jazz songs to teach my EFL class?

alidarbac — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 20:03:46 -0800

[SchoolOfRockFilter] I'm teaching an EFL class of four high school students in rural Taiwan. There's a reading on music history about early African-American musical idioms (blues, gospel, ragtime, early jazz). It's TERRIBLY dull reading, especially considering names like Duke Ellington and Ma Rainey mean absolutely nothing to them. To liven it up a bit, I'd like to make a mix CD with 5-6 songs, print up the lyrics, and teach them that. What songs would you suggest? Criteria: 1.) Safe for high-school students (no talk of "squeeze my lemon until the juice runs down my leg" or anything) 2.) the more intelligible the lyrics, the better 3.) at least one early jazz song (Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington), one blues song, one gospel song, and one ragtime song 4.) it'd be nice if it shows a clear evolution from the earliest forms to something they'd recognize in modern-day rock.

Super bonus points if you can, um, help me find these songs and their lyrics.

Who fired the first musical shot?

weirdoactor — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 18:17:22 -0800

[TriviaFilter] What could be considered the first insult/dis/call-out song? I was talking with a friend who is a big Neil Young fan; and we got to talking about the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Sweet Home Alabama", which calls out Neil for his songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama". We tangentially started talking about the genesis of the insult/dis/call-out song, a popular past time in the rap world. Another example would be the Rainbo (aka Sissy Spacek) release, "You've Gone Too Far This Time, John"; referring to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's full-frontal cover for their "Two Virgins" album; but I'm not sure that was intended as insulting, but as a "shame on you". I didn't think that the practice was terribly popular outside of rap, but not knowing for sure, I started researching the topic.

This list was helpful, and that led me to this list. Unfortunately, these lists only catalog references, not insults. I still can't seem to get a definitive chronological picture of who was first. I should qualify my question; I'm only interested in songs that insult other singers/bands. Does anyone out there have an answer?

need good music for play set in ireland 1936

GhostintheMachine — Tue, 04 Jan 2005 07:01:47 -0800

Any music historians out there? A friend is producing a play at a community theatre, and needs help with the music. It's set in northern Ireland in 1936, so I need help identifying what the radio would likely have played at that time. Anybody know of any resources for this sort of thing? I've heard that US music was more popular in the north, and UK music in the south of Ireland at the time, but I don't know how much faith to place in that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.