Glyn Johns Producer Podcast

I chose to discuss producer/engineer Glyn Johns because he has played a major role in the realm of rock music and has worked with many bands/artists that I listen to. As a student studying Recording Arts, Glyn Johns is a major inspiration and influence towards working in the music industry and is someone that I look up to. Out of all the producers that I wanted to pick for this assignment, he was one of the producers that I knew the least about and I wanted to find out more interesting facts about his work. I believe that Glyn Johns has not received near as much production credit then he has actually been credited for and I wanted to discuss how he has established many of the bands/artists styles that he has worked with and how he has contributed towards their overall success. Overall, I enjoyed researching Glyn Johns and discovered a lot of interesting facts about him and the work that he has done throughout his career. Enjoy!

REFERENCES

Howard, D. N. (2004). Sonic Alchemy. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation.

Glyn Johns. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyn_Johns

Glyn Johns. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from Artist Direct: http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/glyn-johns/436251

Glyn Johns. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from Record Producer: http://www.recordproducer.com/?a=143

Jimmy Miller/Rolling Stones Podcast

Peer Comment Post

I agree that Steve Albini has played a major role in the music industry and maintains a connection with how popular music sounds and is recorded today. He is a very influential producer and has worked on many albums. I like how you gave a background about Steve Albini for those who might not be too familiar with him and his work. I was not aware that he was in the band Big Black. I also like how you discussed Steve’s work and accomplishments with Nirvana. He had a very significant impact on the band and you described his relationship and involvement with the band well. Overall, this was an excellent post and it was very interesting to read.

Independent Research Entry - Jimmy Miller & The Rolling Stones

Jimmy Miller is a music/record producer who has produced and worked on hundreds of successful albums. He has worked with many bands around the 1960’s to early 1990’s including Traffic, The Spencer Davis Group, Motorhead, and The Rolling Stones. Jimmy Miller’s work with The Rolling Stones had a very significant impact on the bands career and success. Miller contributed to the albums Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, Goats Head Soup, and many other Rolling Stones songs such as “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Brown Sugar”. Before the recording of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, The Rolling Stones were struggling to get their albums to achieve high commercial success. They were in trouble and needed producer Jimmy Miller to produce their music. With the help of Miller and engineer Glyn Johns, the Rolling Stones would soon launch their career to the next level with the release of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”. It was a huge success and went to the top of the charts in the United Kingdom.

The success of Jimmy Miller’s work is made up of many characteristics. One of the main characteristics of his success in the music industry includes the highly skilled and professional engineers that Miller knew. He worked with legendary engineers Eddie Kramer and Glyn Johns who are both very respected and well known in the music industry. The engineering talent of Eddie Kramer and Glyn Johns allowed Miller to focus on the overall big picture while they focused on the technical aspects. Another characteristic that led to Jimmy Miller’s success is the passion and dedication he devoted to his work. Miller was positive, encouraging, and creative when it came to producing music. He was very passionate and detailed with his work and wasn’t afraid to try new things in the studio. All of these characteristics as well as many more helped The Rolling Stones create great albums and allowed Jimmy Miller to produce great music.

Jimmy Miller leaves a strong impression on me as a listener and industry professional. I am a big fan of The Rolling Stones, but I was not that aware to how much Miller contributed to the bands work. He was one of the main reasons for the success of The Rolling Stones and shows how a producer can take a band that was struggling to sell their records, and put their albums at the top. Jimmy Miller is well recognized for producing great albums and influences myself to one day be a music producer.

Comment Entry

I enjoyed reading your post about Kraftwerk. I like how you discussed each album the band recorded and released between 1974 and 1981. I completely agree with you that the band possessed a distinctive sound that greatly set them apart from other bands. I also like how you introduced the new instruments Kraftwerk utilized starting with the album Autobahn. I think that it is amazing how many artists and bands Kraftwerk has influenced since their release of Autobahn. I really enjoyed your input on how the band transitioned from Radio-Activity to Trans-Europe Express and how they began to write more pop electronic songs compared to experimental electronic music. This was an interesting post to read and was well put together.

Electronic Music Innovations Entry

Overall, Kraftwerk has had a tremendous impact on electronic music with their use of music technology innovations. Kraftwerk had many self-made instruments and electronic devices that were custom built that defined the electronic and robotic style of the band. The main members/composers of Kraftwerk were Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider. They created an electronic drum kit that had sensor pads and was played with metal sticks to trigger the electronic sounds. The use of electronic drum kits, as well as other electronic devices, created very new and unique sounds that would interest many artists to create similar sounds that Kraftwerk produced.

The musical style and image from composers Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider can be heard through various genres of music. The use of synthesizers and electronic sounds from Ralf and Florian have influenced several artists to create similar styles of music. For example, Gary Numan mimics the style/image of Kraftwerk in his song Cars. David Bowie tributes Kraftwerk and member Florian Schneider on his album Heroes and artists such as Chris Martin from Coldplay have requested permission to use certain melodies created by Kraftwerk in their music. One innovation that defines the musical style of composers Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider is their use of the vocoder. This effected the band’s vocals and added to the list of why Kraftwerk greatly impacted electronic music. Another innovation that Kraftwerk composers Ralf and Florian used was a music sequencer. This was used on their album Trans-Europe Express for more control over the rhythmic electronic sounds produced.

The creativity and distinctive sounds from the Kraftwerk composers holds a strong impression on me as a listener and industry professional. They brought a whole new style of music to the world and showed how computer/electronic sounds can produce very powerful music. Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider have inspired many musicians, including myself, to utilize synth and electronic sounds into music. 

Electronic Music Entry

Kraftwerk is a band from Germany that played and tremendously popularized electronic music. The primary leaders and songwriters of Kraftwerk consisted of Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider. Other members that joined/contributed to the band include Karl Bartos, Wolfgang Flur, and a few others that rehearsed and acted as studio musicians. Kraftwerk was very experimental with the electronic music they produced that included electronic instrumentation, very catchy melodies, classical styles of harmony, simplistic lyrics, repetitive rhythms, synthesizers, and the use of vocoders for vocals. The image of Kraftwerk was very robotic. The band members wore suits or matching shirt and ties for their album pictures and when they performed live shows.

The albums put out by Kraftwerk between 1974 and 1981 were extremely revolutionary and influential for electronic music and contained conceptual themes. These albums consisted of Autobahn, Radio-Activity, Trans-Europe Express, The Man-Machine, and Computer World. Road travel was the conceptual theme for the album Autobahn, and was inspired by American pop group The Beach Boys. Kraftwerk involved nuclear energy and the radio as their theme for the album Radio-Activity and used European connectivity/train travel as the theme for Trans-Europe Express. The rhythm and beat of the Trans-Europe Express track was created to emulate the sound of a train.

Overall, Kraftwerk has had a huge impact on electronic music and has influenced many artists/bands over the years. One characteristic of Kraftwerk that earned them the position of the biggest influence of electronic music was their overall performance, use of instrumentation, and album/lyrical themes. The band utilized themes for most of their albums about everyday life, technology, and travel that was present during the time they released each album. Their instrumentation was very electronic based and they used electronic drums and synthesizers for songs and performances. A lot of their albums were released in different versions for other languages then German. Another characteristic that put Kraftwerk at the top of electronic music is how much influence the band has had on other artists/bands and various genres of music. From David Bowie to Afrika Bambaataa, there are many similarities of the musical style of Kraftwerk that are found in other artist’s music.

As a listener and industry professional, Kraftwerk is a very influential band. Their style of music is very catchy and represents their own style of music. I am very impressed with the albums and themes that are portrayed by Kraftwerk. I like how there experiments with music led to massive success and how inspiring they were for other artists. I am a fan of Kraftwerk and personally like the albums Autobahn, Trans-Europe Express, and Computer World.

Podcast Project One - Revolver

Peer Comment Post

Overall, I enjoyed watching and listening to your podcast project about the innovations found in the song Tomorrow Never Knows. You did an excellent job of putting together a very productive podcast. I really like how you included the lyrics of the song as one of the innovations used. I've never thought of it that way. Reading through all of your blog posts, I was especially interested with your Pet Sounds and Revolver posts. I like how you compared the Pet Sounds album to their previous album before it, Beach Boys Party. I also agree that it was a huge leap and transition of sound/music between the two albums. I like your focus towards the end of your Revolver post of the different studio/recording techniques that were used on the album. It seems that you know a lot about The Beatles. You are doing a great job with your posts and you know your music history well. Keep up the good work Spencer!

Marvin Gaye What's Going On Entry

Prior to the recording of What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye performed with The Moonglows, Motown’s Motortown Revue, and had many solo/duet hits that led to his recognition of being the prince of Motown. Marvin Gaye also worked with artists such as Tammi Terrel, Chuck Berry, and played a handful of instruments including drums and the piano. His music was very soulful and spiritual. Before What’s Going On was released, Marvin attempted to try out for the NFL with the Detroit Lions, but failed to make it on the team. What’s Going On had a different approach of music than his usual song formats.

Social and national concerns around the time What’s Going On was released, influenced it’s lyrical content. These concerns included the Vietnam War, the abuse of drugs, the shooting of Martin Luther King, police brutality, poverty, political corruption, street violence, protesting, riots, and other events that affected Marvin when he was younger. With Marvin’s brother involved with the Vietnam War as well as other occurring events, Marvin Gaye wanted to write songs that reached people about what was going on in the world around them.

One of the main obstacles that Marvin Gaye faced when recording and releasing What’s Going On was his brother in law Berry Gordy. Berry was the CEO for Motown Records and refused to release the album due to the material it portrayed. Berry thought that the song was way too political for radio play and so called it the worst thing that he has ever heard in his life. However, the song was eventually issued without Berry knowing, selling 100,000 copies in one day. It’s success quickly changed Berry’s judgment about the songs on the album.

One main characteristic of Marvin’s album that set it apart from others was it’s overall success and impact on listeners and other artists. The ratings went through the roof and caused many different artists to cover songs from the record. The subject matter of What’s Going On went into a different direction then Marvin Gaye’s previous work, and included accompaniments from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

As an industry professional and overall listener, I am extremely impressed by the content on the album. I like the overall arrangement and instrumentation throughout the record and the mood each song sets. The songs are very moving, relaxing, and easy to listen to.

The Velvet Underground & Nico Entry

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band that consisted of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker, and Nico. Nico was a German singer/pursuing actress that joined the band in the 1967 The Velvet Underground & Nico album. During the 1960’s, the band was a very influential aspect of music involving experimental/punk rock that sparked interest in pop artist Andy Warhol who became The Velvet Underground’s manager for their 1967 album.

The primary songwriters of the band were members Lou Reed and John Cale. John came to America to take up the Bernstein Scholarship in 1963 and proceeded to work with composer La Monte Young in New York City. John played the viola by putting guitar strings on the instrument and played it with a bass bow that created a very unique sound for the band. Lou Reed attended Syracuse University and his main instrument was his vocals and the electric guitar. Lou was extremely passionate about incorporating reality into his rock music and played a major role in songwriting for the band.

Andy Warhol was the man who supported, managed, promoted, and produced the band’s album The Velvet Underground & Nico. He suggested that Nico be apart of the album and wanted to combine music, art, and film into one media. The band performed many shows for Andy and worked at his studio the Factory. Andy Warhol’s reputation really helped the band get recognized and had a significant impact on the band’s achievements.

The Velvet Underground’s music tremendously stood out from other pop bands during their time in the 1960’s. The band created an overall unique sound with Maureen Tucker’s simplistic drums, John Cale’s specialized viola, Sterling Morrison’s bluesy guitar, and Lou Reed’s vocals. The band wanted to stay away as well as stand out from the pop music scene back then by doing their own style of music and not participating in matched suits and choreographed routines. Another aspect of the band that set it apart from other popular recordings was the collaboration and vocals from female singer Nico. She sang a few songs on the album with a very interesting approach that made the band much different then other bands.

As a listener and industry professional, The Velvet Underground & Nico album shows how bands stay true to the music they want to perform. The band stayed clear from the poppy sound back then and introduced a style of music that would affect many bands to come. The music that the band played isn’t my favorite type of music, but I can hear the huge impact it had on the music industry in the 1960’s, especially with the involvement with Andy Warhol. 

Revolver Entry

The very popular English rock band The Beatles, wrote very catchy pop classic songs about love romances prior to the recording of Revolver. Up until Revolver, The Beatles used the same set up including two guitars, bass guitar, percussion, and vocals for all of their work. As the members of The Beatles grew up, they looked for new innovative and psychedelic sounds that lead to the creation of Revolver.

LSD, as well as a few other drugs was a non-musical interest that influenced both music and lyrical content for Revolver.

During the recording of Revolver, The Beatles used the studio as an instrument. A perfect example of this is the introduction to their song "Taxman". You can hear the band in the studio counting down before starting the song off. This made the listeners aware of the studio and the recording process. While recording Revolver, The Beatles also used the studio as an instrument by utilizing advanced technology including double tracking, phasers, flangers, harmonies, and compression.

There are many innovations that are found on this album, including strange tape loops to backwards guitars and vocals. The song "Tomorrow Never Knows" includes loops, psychedelic instruments, and sped-up guitars that sound like screaming seagulls. Double tracking of guitars is utilized in the song "She Said She Said" and the song "Love You Too", focuses on the genre of Indian Raga.

As a listener and industry professional, I am blown away by the musical and production quality of this album. I believe that this album, as well as Rubber Soul, really shows the musical and creative intelligence of the band. By accompanying different instruments such as sitars and strings on certain tracks of the album, like "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Eleanor Rigby", The Beatles expand upon their usual guitar and percussion arrangement and introduce different styles of music production. I especially like all of the innovations that were put into this album.

Pet Sounds Entry

Overall, the teenage boy band The Beach Boys, established the California sound by singing about surfing and hot rod cars with rich vocal harmonies. Prior to the recording of Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys played Surf Rock music and had fun in the sun songs about California beaches, girls in bikinis, hot rods, and surfing.

Brian Wilson was very passionate about music, recording, and playing/working with The Beach Boys. He was the eldest brother to Carl and Dennis, became The Beach Boys sole producer at the age of 21, and helped The Beach Boys reach as much success as they achieved. He played a major role in writing, arranging, and producing the music for The Beach Boys.

The Beatles album Rubber Soul inspired and influenced Brian Wilson to write and record Pet Sounds. The consistency of all of the songs on The Beatles album caught Brian’s attention and intrigued him to create a similar album for The Beach Boys. He worked and collaborated with Tony Asher to achieve his ambitions with the creation of Pet Sounds.

There are many characteristics of Pet Sounds that set it apart from other previous recordings that made The Beach Boys popular. The Pet Sounds album was recorded without any musical contributions from any of The Beach Boys except for vocals and harmonies. None of the songs on the album were about surfing or hot rods, and all of the songs were linked to a theme from adolescence to adulthood. The use of unorthodox instruments was also present on Pet Sounds, including a theremin, bicycle bells, and unusual percussion sounds.

As a listener and industry professional, I am extremely impressed with the work that Brian Wilson put into this album. By listening to Pet Sounds, you can tell how powerful a producer Brian Wilson is and his ability to perfect a completely different approach of music compared to The Beach Boys earlier songs. 

Welcome Entry

Hello everyone! My name is Justin Michael Thomas. I am from Kansas City, Missouri and I am enrolled at Full Sail in the Recording Arts Bachelor's Degree Program. I am 22 years old, tall, and enjoy playing/producing/mixing music, watching movies, watching/playing sports, hanging out with friends, and learning more about audio at Full Sail. I have many interests in music including genres such as hip-hop, rock, metal, and classical. Classical is my favorite type of music. My primary focus in the music industry is to successfully make it into the music industry. I am very interested in many different fields that make up the music industry including engineering, mixing, mastering, and live shows. The main fields involved within the music industry that I am most interested in and would love to pursue a career in include composing music for film, video games, and any visual media that needs music, working in a recording/mastering studio, working with audio post production, and becoming a successful music producer/composer.