Discussion: The 40 Noises That Built Pop

Ace Reject

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/40noises

Thought this would be interesting.

You're welcome!

Mean Trees

Quote:

4) Fretless Bass
Japan: Talking Drum (1981)
On a bass guitar, the frets tell you where the notes are. The fretless bass, by contrast, gives players room to indulge themselves with additional vibrato, harmonics and sweeping up or down the fretboard in search of the note. The instrument has had a bad rap, synonymous with overindulgence; it's certainly difficult to listen to early Paul Young singles without wishing that bassist Pino Palladino would tone it down a bit. But it can be tastefully deployed - as per XTC's English Settlement album - and the sound of a virtuoso player really going for it can be exhilarating, as per Percy Jones's vigorous duelling with Phil Collins on albums by Brand X.

Ace Reject

That low-pass filter is like the greatest thing ever.

Gui Blackout

Love this.

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1) Piano Glissando
Jerry Lee Lewis: Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (1957)
Modern European composers such as Ravel occasionally used the piano glissando (essentially, dragging a finger up or down the white notes of the keyboard) as a delicate piece of ornamentation. Nothing delicate about Jerry Lee Lewis, though - his battering of the keys transformed the glissando into an exhilarating build to a musical climax, and it subsequently found its way into the armoury of any pianist working up to a big chorus. Perhaps the most famous lurk at the start of Abba's Dancing Queen and I Want You Back by The Jackson 5; feel free to emulate them next time you see a piano. It requires virtually no skill - although it starts to hurt after three or four attempts.

Thanks Ace.

Harry

Sorry sis, heard no more than 5 of these.

Patrick

Quote:

Originally posted by Ace Reject

That low-pass filter is like the greatest thing ever.

Agreed. It will never get old. It will always sound amazing.

Dephira

Quote:

Originally posted by HarrySapphire

Sorry sis, heard no more than 5 of these.

You've probably heard close to all of them.

Michael

Quote:

Originally posted by HarrySapphire

Sorry sis, heard no more than 5 of these.

Ikr.

I should've listened more in Music lessons.

Dephira

Anything with 808 in its name is great

And the freakouts in A Day in the Life are legendary. Probably the best pop song ever.

eli's_rhythm

This is amazing!

Duca

I love this.

Sunderland 4ever

Excelent article. So many classic sounds being complied. So far I've checked the fist ten, and my favorite was definitely the Reverse Tape. I actually remember some actual rock songs using this kind of effect, the intro of "Sail Away" from The Rasmus, for example. One of my favorite songs of the 00's decade.

The guitar feedback is another common used 'noise' I listenend on many rock songs, especially at the end of songs with powerful guitar chords. I love that combination.

Swaggie

Freakouts.

Lipton

Donna Summer. Get into it.

BoyOnBoy Wonder

LOVE this. The Theremin

Sunderland 4ever

My god. '38) Opening lo-pass filter' is such an eargasm

I actually remember that effect on Cher's voice. I knew that if I remembered something from a very little age, I knew it was something important. That effect is so used (and sometimes overused) on many current electro-pop songs.

Quote:

Originally posted by La Musique

Freakouts.

Horror movies would be nothing without them.

Swaggie

You telling me that Herbie Hancock made the scratch record sound, and not some struggling DJ from the Bronx.
I'll be dammed.

andresg770

Quote:

39) Hey!
The Prodigy: Firestarter (1996)

The clipped, very English and much-sampled "Hey!" that decorates The Prodigy's blistering number-one single was originally recorded by The Art Of Noise. In the liner notes to their compilation And What Have You Done With My Body, God, Anne Dudley recounts the story. "That was Camilla. JJ [Jeczalik, fellow AON member] was going out with a schoolteacher who taught at quite a nice public school in Berkshire. And there were all sorts of very posh-spoken young ladies at the school and it was his idea to sample somebody... so Camilla came in with her friend and we sampled her saying ‚'Hey!' and ‚'Can I say something?'" JJ describes this female vocal as "much loved and, I think, in later years iconic..."

Damn right it's iconic!! The Art of Noise was such an innovative group!!!!!

Since they mentioned the Prodigy song, here's the original song to feature the "Hey!": "Close (To the Edit)" by the Art of Noise.

GaGaFan

Slap Bass!

You need not look further than California Gurls to see that influence in modern music.

mons†er

31) 808 Cowbell
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (1987)
Clang! There's a famous Saturday Night Live skit in which Christopher Walken, playing the producer of Blue Öyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper, repeatedly demands "more cowbell" from a bearded Will Ferrell, much to the annoyance of his bandmates. But TR-808-owning producers in the 1980s needed no such encouragement. The 808 cowbell pierces the mix of hundreds of dance records made during this time - particularly ones produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, SOS Band). The sound was, no doubt, partly responsible for one early review of the 808 criticising the machine for sounding like "marching anteaters" - but it still has retro appeal, and constantly threatens some kind of re-emergence.