Nature’s Best, New Zealand Popular Music, and New Zealand Identity

Nick Braae University of Waikato [email protected] Nature’s Best, New Zealand Popular Music, and New Zealand Identity Paper presented at IASPM-ANZ conference, Wellington, New Zealand, 23-25 November 2011 This paper is drawn from a large-scale analysis of New Zealand popular music. The research project took the 100 songs on the three Nature’s Best albums and subjected them to various forms of musical analysis.1 The elements examined included harmony, melodic structure, form, time and beat, introductory hooks, instrumental solos as well as a cursory examination of lyrics and production elements. This analysis created a substantial amount of musical data from which it was possible to draw a range of conclusions. These conclusions fall into two broad categories: how the findings relate to other analytical theories of popular music, and how the findings relate to wider socio-cultural ideas. This paper will present a selection of these findings. I argue that the structural elements (or roots) of the Nature’s Best songs are similar to the structural elements of Anglo-American popular songs from a similar timeframe. The second part of the paper focuses on the instrumental solo findings; it is proposed that there is an anti-virtuosic trait within this group of artists. Further, it is argued that this feature is rooted in the identity and traits of New Zealanders. Before examining the results, it is necessary to provide a few words on Nature’s Best. The project was organised by Mike Chunn and the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 2001 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of APRA. All songwriting members of APRA plus a selected panel of 100 critics, industry personnel and others were invited to vote for their ten favourite New Zealand popular songs, in no order of preference. There was no shortlist, but only original compositions were eligible. From approximately 8000 votes cast, the top 100 songs were ranked and ultimately released on the three Nature’s Best albums in 2002 and 1 The full list of songs with release dates is included in an Appendix on my blog, http://nickbraae.blogspot.co.nz. The Appendix provides details of the songwriter, artist, year of release, peak chart position, as well as a link to a YouTube clip of the song. 1 2003.2 These songs ranged from the Fourmyula’s ‘Nature’ at number one to Dave Dobbyn’s ‘Naked Flame’ in 100th position. The Nature’s Best albums can be viewed as a sample of New Zealand pop/rock songs from around 1970-2000. Thirteen of the songs had reached number one on the New Zealand charts when originally released, although 38 songs were less commercially successful, charting outside the top twenty or not released as singles at all. It is for this reason that the albums should not be dismissed as a cheap marketing ploy that commercializes nationhood by repackaging old hit songs. The albums are important because they were determined primarily by songwriters; this has arguably led to a body of songs that are valued in part for their musical construction compared to, for example, artist image. Whether this sample is representative of New Zealand popular music is another matter; a sample it is, nonetheless. It offers, if not complete, then a particular view of New Zealand popular music during the period 1970-2000; thus, it is an appropriate body of music from which to make inferences about the musical aspects of New Zealand popular music. This section examines the results in an analytical context. Recent work (for example, Everett 2004, 2009; Moore 2001; Temperley 2007) has sought to uncover the musical principles of popular music. De Clercq and Temperley (2011) have approached this issue systematically by harmonically analysing 100 songs from the Rolling Stone “Top 500 Songs” list. Their results are presented in terms of harmonic distributions and common chord progressions. For example, the tonic chord appears approximately thirty percent of the time in their sample and the most common three-chord progression is IV-V-I (de Clercq & Temperley 2011, pp. 59-63). The harmonic distribution method was borrowed and adapted for the present study. As shown in Table 1, the findings from Nature’s Best were similar. 2 This figure is derived from an interview between Mike Chunn and the author, 10 May 2011. 2 Harmonies I, IV, V Major Diatonic3 bVII Rolling Stone 71.9% 84.4% 8.1% Nature’s Best 60.3% 73.3% 6.7% Table 1 Harmonic Distributions from Rolling Stone and Nature's Best The slight differences can likely be attributed to two factors. With regards to the first row, there is a lack of rock and roll (which tends to only use chords I, IV, and V) on Nature’s Best compared to the Rolling Stone list. With regards to the second row, de Clercq and Temperley do not make finer chord distinctions, as was done for Nature’s Best songs.4 Table 1 supports the view that popular and classical music share fundamental harmonic foundations, by and large, being based on the diatonic triads in any given key (see Everett 2004). The main area of divergence between the two idioms is the prevalence of chords built on flattened scale degrees. Temperley (2009) found that chords built on the flattened seventh degree are almost non-existent in tonal classical music; as Table 1 shows, the same chord is relatively frequent in popular music. This chord and other ‘flat’ harmonies derive from the blues and pentatonic minor scales. Table 1 can be seen to embody popular music’s ancestry with equal footing in the Western European tonal tradition and the pentatonicism of Afro-American music. De Clercq and Temperley also argue that popular music’s harmonic language “matured” from blues-based rock and roll in the 1960s and has changed very little since then (2011, p. 64). The findings from the current research corroborate this trend; there is no significant change in distributions when the Nature’s Best list is segmented into decades. Both studies support Moore’s earlier view that pop and rock music synthesized its various influences in the 1960s and has since been founded upon a “static language” (2001, p. 215). This observation can be compared to the modernist trajectory of classical music, which has been traditionally viewed in terms of developing and expanding tonality. 3 This refers to major chords on the first, fourth, and fifth scale degrees (I, IV, and V), and minor triads on the second, third and sixth scale degrees (ii, iii, and vi). 4 De Clercq and Temperley only measure the root note of each chord; I have differentiated between minor and major chords. 3 Other analytical findings include the prevalence of arch melodies as well as basic tension-and-release strategies within the melodic structure, which was analysed in terms of sectional contour. Thus, most songs with a static verse changed shape in the subsequent section. A good example is the Netherworld Dancing Toys’ ‘For Today,’ in which the declamatory verse vocal lingers around the tonic and third before moving into a small arch in the chorus. In terms of formal structure, nearly all songs had a verse-chorus foundation, although this terminology was less applicable to songs in hip-hop and related styles where “break,” “sample,” or “rap” would be more appropriate. 93 of the Nature’s Best songs used a beat in 4/4 time,5 although there was some variation in the type of beat used, ranging from straight-eights to rock shuffle, such as in ‘Counting The Beat,’ to a type of half-time shuffle, such as in ‘Can’t Get Enough.’ The average tempo, 114 beats per minute, is comparable, if a little slower, to average tempi found in studies by Everett (2009) and Bowman (1995). Finally, the songs clock in, on average, just under four minutes, the typical length for a pop single. The question is whether these findings render all the songs on Nature’s Best heterogeneous spin-offs of overseas models. This issue has provoked writers on New Zealand popular music. Geoff Lealand made the boldest claim: “all New Zealand music…is derivative…Styles, themes and sounds are all borrowed” (1988, p. 75). Shuker and Pickering (1994) broadly agree with this position; Mitchell (2010) later challenged this view. Unfortunately, these views are asserted without any detailed musical evidence. Lealand is correct that ‘Poi E,’ for example, borrows its beat from American disco styles, however, his overall pronouncement is sweeping and generalized. Neither Mitchell nor Shuker and Pickering overcome this problem. Mitchell contends, amongst 1960s bands, “strong indicators of a local identity…[were] always…evident in the performance of the music, in the interstices between the texts and musical and lyrical idioms of the songs and their receptions by audiences” (2010, p. 23). Yet there is little suggestion of how the “local indicators” can be heard in musical terms. 5 The seven remaining songs in Nature’s Best were: ‘Andy’ and ‘Blue Smoke’ in 3/4 time; ‘Julia’ and ‘Not Given Lightly’ in 6/8 time; ‘Oughta Be In Love’ in 12/8 time; and ‘Sensitive to a Smile’ and ‘I Hope I Never’ in 2/2 time, which, even then, is based on similar metric divisions of a bar. 4 The current research cannot answer the “derivative” dilemma as the analysis has not looked closely enough at stylistic traits. That said, I doubt one can speak of a singular New Zealand style evident on Nature’s Best. This is based on listening and comments made by the Nature’s Best songwriters during interviews.6 All the songwriters interviewed took their musical bearings from overseas examples; as Larry Morris said regarding their arrangement of Roger Skinner’s ‘Let’s Think of Something,’ it was “typical of what was going on at the time. We [Larry’s Rebels] were definitely influenced by what we were hearing in the Top 10” (Interview with author, 17 June 2011). It is appropriate, at this point, to turn to Richard Middleton (1990), who distinguishes between different levels of musical coding. This idea, drawn from structural linguistics, asserts that different musical features operate on different levels, which are hierarchically arranged from, for example, langue to style to idiolect. Thus, the langue operates at a deep structural level; Middleton considers the langue to be a “general Western musical code” (1990, p. 174). This structural organisation can give rise to an infinite number of surface features. Jerry Lee-Lewis’ ‘Great Balls of Fire’ can be analysed crudely according to the various levels. The song uses the primary triads, I, IV and V, which operate according to the laws of functional tonality; this detail operates on the langue level. The chords are arranged into a repeating eight-bar form with a stride piano accompaniment; this signals the rock ‘n’ roll style. LeeLewis plays frequent glissandi, which forms part of his idiolect, or the feature associated with a particular artist. Using this model of musical organisation, it is possible to develop and refine Leland’s argument. My analysis has uncovered a number of “derivative” features, but at a structural level. The harmonic details of Nature’s Best songs are similar to those of overseas artists, but then again, almost all popular music has comparable harmonic structures to Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. The same might be said of arched melodies, which have been prevalent throughout Western music history in a range of 6 I talked with 13 songwriters, who had contributed song/s to Nature’s Best, during the research either in person, by phone or by email. The interviews covered analytical interpretations and more general discussion about New Zealand popular music. Details of the interviews are provided below the reference list. 5 styles. From Stefani (1987), one could argue that this is the case because an arched melody mirrors speech with its rising and falling inflections. 4/4 time signatures and four-minute songs may not function on a langue level, but they could be considered fundamental to the popular music “norms” (Middleton 1990, p. 174). Therefore, the analysis, on these levels, indicates that New Zealand popular songwriters are conforming to the principles that govern Anglo-American popular songwriting. Moving from langue to style to idiolect levels, one shifts, in general, from structural to surface details of the music. It is in latter stages that one can find elements of ‘New Zealand-ness.’ Again, it is doubtful if there exists a New Zealand idiolect; this would imply that a listener faced with two songs of a similar style could discern the New Zealand example. This seems a tenuous claim. However, analysis of the instrumental sections of Nature’s Best songs revealed an anti-virtuosic trait across different styles. I propose that this trait may reflect an aspect of New Zealand identity. As with most surface elements, instrumental solos were more difficult to analyse because the focus turns to details outside pitch-based domains. The following conclusions have therefore been drawn cautiously. Guitars and keyboards predictably dominated the instrumental sections; more interesting and relevant is the content. Of the 85 instrumental sections, only 28 featured new melodic ideas. 25 were derived from previous material within the songs, such as in the Exponents’ ‘I’ll Say Goodbye,’ while 28 played through a harmonic progression, such as in Straitjacket Fits’ ‘Down In Splendour.’ Robert Walser states that guitar solos “take the form of rhetorical outbursts” and “create a sense of perfect freedom and omnipotence; they model escape from social constraints, extravagant individuality” (1992, p. 53). In musical terms, this often equates to fast, technically-challenging playing that covers wide registers and sometimes features particular effects. He cites the work of Hendrix, Blackmore, van Halen and Malmsteen as epitomizing the guitar solo spirit. Walser is concerned with heavy metal music, but there are two important and widely applicable ideas in his definition of virtuosity. The first is the sense of freedom; the second is the notion of individuality and using the song, or sections of the song as a platform for individual performance. 6 It is possible to hear the solos on Nature’s Best as being opposed to this notion of virtuosity. There are exceptions to this argument, one case being Eddie Rayner’s keyboard solo in ‘I See Red.’ Rayner takes the verse melody and embellishes it with crushed semitones and semiquaver arpeggios, all at a fast tempo. Other solos, however, such as those from ‘Beside You,’ ‘Distant Sun’ and ‘Six Months In A Leaky Boat,’ are much closer to the original melodies. The instrumentals featuring new material also seem to eschew “extravagant individuality.” Notable in this context is Th’ Dudes’ ‘Be Mine Tonight.’ The original recording7 ends with a lengthy instrumental section, providing a platform for Dobbyn’s lead guitar. The basic pitch and rhythm structure of the first eighteen bars is presented in Example 1. Example 1 Lead Guitar, 'Be Mine Tonight,' Instrumental Coda, 4'06"-4'41" The solo begins with short pentatonic phrases, succeeded by held notes with slight bending on the guitar string. This phrase structure is repeated multiple times without launching into more expansive phrases. Further, the lead guitar line begins each phrase on the fourth beat of the bar, ending on the third beat of the subsequent bar. This works in counterpoint with the rhythm guitar, which also displaces its quaver 7 This version appears on the Nature’s Best album. 7 accents throughout each bar. One can also note the way in which the oscillating crotchet pattern in Bar 16 (of Example 1) concludes the second phrase and is then used as the riff for the third phrase. This type of development, combined with the other features, promotes the solo section as a moment of craft rather than rhetoric. A sense of anti-virtuosity is also identifiable in the vocalists. According to Ken McLeod, rock audiences have “witnessed an equal fascination [with opera] with high register male vocalists…and female pop divas” (2001, pp. 189-190). This idea is exemplified by, for example, Freddie Mercury, Brad Delp, Robert Plant, Ann Wilson, and Mariah Carey.8 Like guitar solos, McLeod argues this fascination arises because the high vocal ranges represent a transgression of social norms. Further, these artists’ songs often appear to serve as a vehicle for the singer. This is especially pronounced for the female divas, in which the pitch apex normally arrives in the final or penultimate chorus, sometimes after a grandiose modulation, bringing the notion of individuality to the fore. The Nature’s Best singers do not fit this framework. One must acknowledge that the aforementioned singers possess “unnatural” technical abilities and, therefore, it is unreasonable to expect the male singers to reach the heights of Freddie Mercury, for example. This is where the idea of virtuosity as an attitude is useful; for singers, this may involve pushing registers to their limits or reaching the higher notes in a strong chest voice. The Nature’s Best vocalists appear anti-virtuosic because they rarely extend themselves in this way. This trait is particularly marked in the female vocalists, who instead tend towards their lower registers. For example, Julia Deans in ‘Lydia’ pushes to C#59 in a shaky head voice, reflecting the song’s persona, but descends as low as E3. The same contained range is evident in other songs with female vocalists; ‘Part Of Me’ is more remarkable in that Boh Runga reaches only G#4 yet comfortably sinks to C#3. The highest singer, Leza Corban, reaches Ab5 in ‘Sweet Disorder.’ Her melismatic vocal line concludes the bridge section but does not seek attention; rather it is sung in a light 8 9 See the Discography for a selection of relevant songs. C4 is middle C. 8 head voice that floats above the washed synthesizers below, almost like a soprano saxophone. The same tendency is evident in the male singers. A brief examination of Dave Dobbyn’s vocal technique is instructive. At the climax of ‘Language’ he ascends to A4 in his chest voice. In multiple other songs, his highest notes are reached through octave leaps into a falsetto as notated in Examples 2-6. Example 2 Vocal, 'Language,' Coda, 3'02"-3'10" Example 3 Vocal, 'Slice Of Heaven,' Pre-Chorus, 1'18"-1'22" Example 4 Vocal, 'Beside You,' Chorus, 2'04"-2'11" Example 5 Vocal, 'Loyal,' Chorus, 1'23"-1'30" Example 6 Vocal, 'Oughta Be In Love,' Chorus, 1'23"-1'28" The contexts of this falsetto technique suggest it is intended to add colour to the melody by varying the repeated note in the phrase. Given Dobbyn finds A4 in his chest voice in ‘Language,’ a conscious decision is being made to use a falsetto for notes of a similar register. One should note that the examples provided stem from 9 Dobbyn’s solo career as a singer-songwriter, but the same technique appears in the chorus of ‘Outlook For Thursday’ (“Otherwise just dan-dy”) and the backing vocal of ‘Whaling,’ both of which were recorded when Dobbyn was part of DD Smash. Tim Finn’s vocal for ‘I Hope I Never’ features a dramatic leap at the end of the chorus to B4, but again the falsetto is fragile not extravagant. Other male singers, such as Jordan Luck and James Reid, seem content to remain within a conventional tenor range. Lest this point be misconstrued, the vocal anti-virtuosity does not reflect poor vocal technical ability. Considerable skill is required to execute octave leaps and to maintain a clean lower register. Likewise, the crafted guitar solos require a sense of musicality. It thus appears that musical talent is being deployed to ends other than showcasing an individual. This anti-virtuosic trait could reflect aspects of New Zealand identity. This is a difficult relationship to initially establish because, as Frith notes, “identity is mobile, a process not a thing, a becoming not a being” (2007, p. 297). In practical terms, it is hard to claim a singular identity for New Zealanders at any historical moment, let alone over thirty years. But, one can agree with Meehan in that there may be “a few traits that we can cautiously advance” as belonging to New Zealanders (2011, p. 135). He cites humility as one characteristic; Sir Edmund Hillary and Willie Apiata are put forth as examples of humble New Zealanders. British rugby writer Stephen Jones (2011) shared a poignant story from the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand that held Dame Lois Muir in the same light. Frith is again useful here; he argues that “an identity is always an ideal, what we would like to be, not what we are” (2007, p. 308). Few New Zealanders could likely confirm that Hillary, Apiata or Muir are in fact humble, even if their actions certainly suggest so. Rather this idea has been reinforced through media representations because it is how we would like to see these national heroes. Returning to the music, Meehan found that Wellington dub-reggae bands used instrumental sections for timbral contrast rather than showcasing an individual, a similar principle to that uncovered in the Nature’s Best analysis. This is not 10 necessarily to say that the artists in question are humble, but the musical feature may serve to intimate this characteristic. Bannister (2005) provides a potentially opposing explanation for the anti-virtuosic trait. His concern is New Zealand masculine identity, although his ideas may be more widely applicable. He argues for an egalitarian undercurrent within New Zealand males, which “relate[s] more to a fear of standing out than a positive belief in consensus” (2005). The so-called ‘Kiwi Bloke’ is often considered a man of few words and is unwilling to express himself emotionally. This point may require more evidence, but one could construe the anti-virtuosic singing, in particular, as a form of emotional restraint. This could be compared to Robert Plant, whose high-pitched and non-worded sounds convey overflowing emotions. For Plant, and other American divas, this stylistic trait derives from blues and gospel traditions, to which New Zealand singers have not historically had close access. It seems, therefore, that Meehan and Bannister provide two sides of the same coin. One can point to an anti-virtuosic attitude within the New Zealand artists on Nature’s Best; whether it reflects a positive characteristic (humility) or a more negative suppression of emotion is a matter for further investigation and debate. This musical feature is not unique to New Zealand — plenty of songs would return similar analyses — but given its presence across a wide collection of songs, one can argue that it is a component of New Zealand popular music. I will conclude with reference to James Reid of New Zealand pop/rock band The Feelers. He grew up learning music in the church and in social settings — in short, it was a community activity. His view of bands has centred on notions of fraternity and camaraderie, rather than treating them as a vehicle for individuals (Phone conversation with author, 1 June 2011). In Walser’s (1992) discussion of virtuosity, a fundamental idea is power — power over the instrument (or voice), the power of rhetoric, and the power to transcend social forces and boundaries. By extension, anti-virtuosity could be conflated with a lack of power. This resonates with Bannister’s comments that New Zealand egalitarianism is based on the “apparent absence of immediate authority” (2005). But 11 one can also connect the absence of power with a strong sense of community, as suggested by Reid. If my analysis is accurate, then it may be that the sense of community is valued across the Nature’s Best list of artists. Again, one returns to the notion of valuing a characteristic because it is how we like to perceive ourselves. Musical anti-virtuosity has been tentatively suggested as a characteristic of New Zealand popular music, as typified by the Nature’s Best songs. This relationship requires more detailed investigation; the initial forays would be well complemented by studies of more recent New Zealand pop10 or of musical sectors not highly represented on Nature’s Best, such as progressive rock or hip-hop. But within this musical context, one that has been appropriated by mainstream New Zealand since the albums’ release, the anti-virtuosic trend is evident. Thus, while New Zealand songwriters may build upon the same musical foundations as their American, Australian and British counterparts, there are musical components in their songs that arguably belong to their home country. 10 Especially given the rise of Idol-like television programmes in New Zealand in the last decade. These talent shows promote the diva style of singing absent on Nature’s Best. 12 Reference List Bannister, M 2005, ‘Kiwi Blokes: Recontextualising White New Zealand Masculinities in a Global Context’, Genders, vol. 42, viewed 2 December 2011, <http://www.genders.org/g42/g42_bannister.html>. Bowman, R 1995, ‘The Stax Sound: A Musicological Perspective’, Popular Music, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 285-320. Everett, W 2004, ‘Making Sense of Rock’s Tonal Systems’, Music Theory Online, vol. 10, no. 4, viewed 15 November 2011, <http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.04.10.4/mto.04.10.4.w_everett.html>. Everett, W 2009, The Foundations of Rock, New York, Oxford University Press. Frith, S 2007, ‘Towards an Aesthetic of Popular Music’, in Taking Popular Music Seriously: Selected Essays, Aldershot, Ashgate, pp. 257-273. Jones, S 2011, ‘The Day I Met a Real Dunedin Dame’, Stuff, viewed 2 December 2011, <http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/our-experts/5679241/Jones-Theday-I-met-a-real-Dunedin-dame>. Lealand, G 1988, A Foreign Egg In Our Nest?: American Popular Culture in New Zealand, Wellington, Victoria University Press. McLeod, K 2001, ‘Bohemian Rhapsodies: Operatic Influences on Rock Music’, Popular Music vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 189-203. Meehan, N 2011, ‘‘Sounds Like Home’: TrinityRoots and “Jazz-dub-reggae” in Wellington’, in Keam, G & Mitchell, T (eds.), Home, Land and Sea: Situating Music in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Auckland, Pearson, pp. 134-144. Middleton, R 1990, Studying Popular Music, Buckingham, Open University Press. Mitchell, T 2010, ‘“Kiwi” Music and New Zealand National Identity’, in Johnson, H (ed.), Many Voices, Newcastle upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 20-29. Moore, AF 2001, Rock: The Primary Text, 2nd edition, Aldershot, Ashgate. Shuker, R & Pickering M 1994, ‘Kiwi Rock: Popular Music and Cultural Identity in New Zealand’, Popular Music, vol. 13, no. 3, Australia/New Zealand Issue, pp. 261-278. Stefani, G 1987, ‘Melody: A Popular Perspective’, Popular Music, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 21-35. Temperley, D 2007, ‘The Melodic-Harmonic ‘Divorce’ in Rock’, Popular Music, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 323-342. 13 Temperley, D 2009, ‘A Statistical Analysis of Tonal Harmony’, viewed 15 November 2011, < http://www.theory.esm.rochester.edu/temperley/kp-stats/>. Walser, R 1992, Running With The Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music, Hannover, University Press of New England. 14 Interviews Bannister, Matthew. Hamilton, 8 June 2011. Chunn, Mike. Hamilton, 10 May 2011. Deans, Julia. Auckland, 18 August 2011. Finn, Tim. Email, 23 October – 9 November 2011. Flaws, Fane. Napier, 26 August 2011. Karaka, Dilworth. Email, 29 November – 9 December 2011. Luck, Jordan. Auckland, 19 August 2011. McArtney, Dave. Auckland, 5 July 2011. McLennan, Andrew. Phone, 6 July 2011. McGlashan, Don. Auckland, 16 September 2011. Morris, Larry. Auckland, 17 June 2011. Reid, James. Phone, 1 June 2011. Sturm, Sean. Auckland, 30 June 2011. 15 Discography Boston. ‘More Than a Feeling.’ Epic Records, 1976. Carey, Mariah. ‘Hero.’ Columbia, 1993. Heart. ‘Alone.’ Capitol, 1987. Led Zeppelin. ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You.’ Atlantic, 1970. Queen. ‘Somebody to Love.’ EMI, 1976. Various. Nature’s Best: New Zealand’s Top 30 Songs of All-Time. Sony, 2002. Various. Nature’s Best 2: More of New Zealand’s Top Songs of All-Time. Sony, 2002. Various. Nature’s Best 3. Sony, 2003. 16