MUSC 2019 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Andrew Loog Oldham, Mick Jagger, Mannish Boy
Lecture 8 - British Invasion (end), Counterculture
February 10, 2018
12:56 PM
British blues (London blues scene)
• Centered in London
• Aimed for a pure sound, more like an underground sound
Rolling Stones
• Manager is Andrew Loog Oldham
o Gave the Rolling Stones a "bad-boy" image
• The Beatles had more of a working class background but had a middle-class image,
while the Rolling Stones went to Art School (anybody who goes to art school was
considered an elite) and were middle-class, but had a working class image
• Art school was placed in between trade school (lower tier) and university (higher tier),
where anyone who couldn't get into university could go to - it is considered better
than trade school
• Remained a cover band much longer than the Beatles - writing their own music wasn't as
important to them
• Band consists of Mick Jagger (lead vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), and Brian Jones (guitar,
harmonica)
o Don’t need to know the others
o Mick Jagger was "locked in a room" by the manager to make him write his own music
• Band members look a lot more surly and ugly, they don't look at the camera most of the time
o They look disinterested in the poster images
• Wrote a few albums, mostly their own cover songs
o They aren't worried about hiding meanings in lyrics, and instead just say it out right - unlike
the Beatles
• Part of success is from repackaging African-American music, and presenting it by white-performers
• Song: "Satisfaction"
o First hit they wrote by themselves
o Riff-based song
• Repetition of a melody is played over and over in the background
o Lyrics and music makes it seem like they're expressing a sneer, a dissatisfaction
o Riff (like with Mannish Boy) gives the song a sense of urgency
• Drummer emphasizes all 4 beats, not just the back beat - gives a more sense of
urgency
The Kinks
• Lead by Ray Davies and Dave Davies
• Plays riffs in songs
• Power chord is played on guitar instead of the piano
o A chord played without the 3rd on the guitar - gives a sense of power
o Power chord is played with distortion (by a damaged speaker) - distortion ("fuzz") is
associated with things that exceeds what is proper
• Song: "You really got me"
o Riff gives an increased sense of urgency
o Bumping up the pitch every few lines increases urgency
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