The music of the 80's and 90's are what I call landmark music. By this I consider the variations of music from the 80's and 90's to make a huge impact for vernacular music. I have always loved listening to music from the 80's and 90's. However, throughout this course I have gained a much larger appreciation for vernacular music and realized the pathway in which such music has helped listeners embrace American popular music.
One music artist that I feel has made a huge impact in American popular music is Madonna. Some may argue that Madonna is a great vocalist and others may beg to differ. Some people may consider Madonna to be a great stage performer. Meaning that she may lack the necessities of a true vocal and lyrical musician. This is where the rubber meets the road for the great debate to whether or not visual and video appeal takes away from the musical craft of the musician. "Like a Virgin" is a song performed by Madonna near the beginning portions of her career and instantly catapulted her to the top of the music pop charts. Although the song was not written by Madonna, her performance of "Like a Virgin" sold records. I feel that the song itself is bright and has an upbeat dance groove. The synthesized instruments along with the drum set pop and fills gives the song a typical 80's style. It has great rhythm that accompanies Madonna's light yet strong voice.
Prince is another landmark music artist from the 80's era of music. Prince is what I consider an all around musician. I have yet to see an instrument that Prince could not play. I recall watching a television performance by Prince. He began on the lead guitar then he performed a duet with Sheila E and then he finished the performance on the piano. I was thoroughly amazed because Prince was known for his stage presence and crowd appealing performances. I just didn't realize how musically talented he really was. I can vividly remember listening to "When Doves Cry" growing up as an adolescent. My dad bought me the 45 record and would wear that record out on my little record player. I absolutely love the instrumental value that the song has. There is a well balanced mix with the lead guitar, drums, and synthesized keyboards. Prince shows great vocal range with his voice by singing some low somewhat bass sounding vocals and eventually up to higher pitched vocal sounds in the song which are thought to be sighs and groans. I always felt as if Prince's intent was to imitate the sounds of doves crying yet in a musical aspect with his higher pitched sighs.
Who can ever forget "Smells Like Teen Spirit" performed by Nirvana. This particular song definitely brings me back to my school days in the early 90's. What made "Smells Like Teen Spirit" so special is that it blended pop lyrics along with heavy metal instrumentals. As I listen to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" I am actually taken on a ride on an instrumental roller coaster. The solo guitar plays the introduction for 4 measures and then the remaining instruments comes in hard, loud and heavy to the point where your want to aggressively bob your head to the rhythm. Then just as quickly the instruments gets soft again yet keeping the same pop/heavy metal groove to make room for the vocals. Then yet again for the chorus the band cranks back into heavy metal mode to accompany the loud growling vocals. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is definitely a song that in my opinion help lead the way for pop music vocals with heavy metal instrumentals.
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