Categorized | Pop Academy, The Guru Zone

POP ACADEMY 1 – A Jangly History – Part One

Posted on 29 September 2011

POP ACADEMY will seek to dig deep and explore with earnest conviction &  passion, the many sub-genres inside the power pop genre.

Initially, we’ll try to look at the topics covered here as a college-level 101 course…and then accelerate the learning to higher, more intense level.  The goal will be for Pop Pioneers to gain a deeper understanding and encounter new information with the subjects explored — and then unearth a sparked-up, fully amped desire to check-out new bands and new releases that, before ‘taking’ this course, we were unaware of.

That encounter with ‘the new’ is the goal.

In the future, Pop Academy will become more interactive with video ‘lessons’ and utilize some new, interactive technologies.

For now, let’s begin with the first Pop Academy put together by Professor Eric Sorensen, where he’ll focus on a life-long obsession with the 12-string, Rickebacker-infused sounds that we call ‘jangle’.  (By the way, he collects cover versions of “Feel A Whole Lot Better” – so if you have any of your favorites with this song, feel free to share in the comments below…)

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JANGLY MUSIC PRIMER – COURSE DESCRIPTION

  1. I.                    BACKGROUND
  2. II.                  HISTORY OF THIS GENRE – BY DECADE
    1. a.       MAJOR ARTISTS IN THIS GENRE OF MUSIC
    2. b.      MAJOR/IMPORTANT RELEASES IN THIS GENRE OF MUSIC
    3. c.       NUGGETS – OVERLOOKED, RARE AND UNKNOWN WORKS
    4. d.      TOP 15 MUST-OWN ALBUMS
  3. III.                REVIEWS OF ALBUMS/DISCS
  4. IV.                INTERVIEWS

 

This course will explore the history of jangly music – from the 1960s to the present.  Every decade, to include the current decade, will be examined to identify: the major artists in this genre of music; major/important releases in this genre of music; nuggets – overlooked, rare and unknown works; and the top 15 must-own albums/discs released in each decade.

Reviews of artists, albums, songs and concerts will also be included in the course.  In addition, spreadsheets that chronicle featured musicians and material will be provided.  Links to useful reference and artist websites will also be provided.

 

JANGLY MUSIC PRIMER – BACKGROUND

 

When “Mr. Tambourine Man” hit the AM radio airwaves in the spring of 1965, I became hooked on the sound of a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, and any group that could emulate the wonderful vocal harmony of Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark and David Crosby.  During that eventful year, the Byrds’ original five-member lineup released two outstanding albums titled after their two #1 hits – “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”  Those albums included timeless jangly tunes like “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better,” “Chimes of Freedom,” “Bells of Rhymney” and “The World Turns All Around Her.”  The b-side to “Turn! Turn! Turn!” was also one of the Byrds’ finest jangly songs – “She Don’t Care About Time.”

Since then, I have collected music that I often refer to as “Byrdsian” – meaning, it sounds like the Byrds.   For purposes of this course – the Jangly Music Primer – we will expand the subject matter to include ALL jangly music, whether it is performed by the Beatles, Byrds, Searchers … or more contemporary groups like Tom Petty and REM.  Over the past fifteen years, I have written numerous reviews of CDs for pop magazines and music websites, and I also wrote a column –dedicated to jangly music – for three different pop music websites.  During the past decade, I have also endeavored to compile a monthly sampler of “Jangle Pop” tunes … and a close friend of mine (Ray Verno) has similarly compiled “Byrdsian” samplers.  The Jangly Music Primer course will: examine jangly music in every decade starting with the 1960; focus on both major and more obscure artists; provide lists of “must-own” albums and songs; and include album and concert reviews.  The course will feature much of the material that has appeared in previous columns, and it will highlight music that has been included in the “Jangle Pop” and “Byrdsian” sampler discs.  At the conclusion of the course, we will make every effort to provide a comprehensive spreadsheet of the artists/songs featured on all of these discs.

The material covered in this “course” certainly won’t be comprehensive … but it should be helpful in filling in some gaps in a jangly music collector’s library.  There are many INTERNET resources available to jangly music enthusiasts … and we hope that this “course” will augment those other resources.  Put on as paisley shirt, some granny glasses and some bell-bottomed jeans; dust off your record player; and set the Wayback Machine for our first stop – the 1960s!

As a special bonus – the Pop Geek Heaven site will be offering a downloadable Jangle On! disc that includes 22 excellent examples of jangly music to Pop Pioneers.  This will become available near the end of the course.  When it arrives, don’t hesitate to add this chiming compilation of tunes to your music library!

In a few days, we’ll explore the decade of the 60s.   That will appear here on Wednesday, October 5th.

 

Eric Sorensen is a Baby Boomer music enthusiast who is passionate about jangly music and pseudo-60s pop.  He has written CD reviews and authored pop music columns for the past fifteen years.  Eric was also the Project Manager for three tribute compilations: the 36-song Full Circle: A Tribute to Gene Clark; Five Way Street: A Tribute to Buffalo Springfield; and the four-CD Timeless Flyte: A Tribute to the Byrds.

5 Responses to “POP ACADEMY 1 – A Jangly History – Part One”

  1. Andy Hartley says:

    Do we get a certificate to print out when we’ve completed the course to hang on the wall or for prospective employers ! ;-)…..just askin’ is all !

  2. Andy Hartley says:

    Hell yeah if the price is right !

  3. Mark Boersma says:

    My favorite article on the site so far. Unsurprisingly, I own a 12-string Rickenbacker that is featured in my band.

  4. Bryan Barrow says:

    This series alone is reason enough to be PGH Pop Pioneer!

    I too, have a Rickenbacker 12 string…