Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Professor Johnson
April 20 2017
gorgeous melodies, exotic rhythms, and the overall atmosphere that the music creates.
While I do spend most of my time listening to classical music of the 19th up to the 20th
century, there are a few bands and groups that I highly respect and believe are on a
higher ground of musical culture than the majority of pop singers and other artists.That
group for me, is Thievery Corporation. Originally from Washington D.C, the group
consists of two Djs and 10+ featured singers on all of their albums. Thievery has proven
underground musical culture. There is a phenomenon why this group is not as popular
as many other artists because they have proved to be more sophisticated and original
A surprising fact is that this group has been successful for over 20 years without
producing a top radio hit, music video, or flamboyant public appearances. Nevertheless
they have collaborated with high profile artists and have had their music featured in a
great movies and series such as Garden State, Six Feet Under, Better Call Saul, Cruel
and Unusual, and The Vampire Diaries. Rob Garza and Eric Hilton are the two
producers of this group and always bring in talented little known artists to enhance their
music and flavor. Back in 1995, both Eric and Rob resided in Washington D.C, at the
time they were both partners in owning a lounge and were very close and personal
Kazandzhidi 2
friends, more than business associates. They shared a common passion for Jazz,
Bossa nova (A brazilian jazz form that grew popular in the 1950s with leading artists
such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, and Stan Getz.) and both wanted to
incorporate this into modern club life. The next year they started their own record called
The Eighteenth Street Lounge Music. Since 1996 the duo have become more and more
popular with sold out concerts mostly all over Europe as well as both North and South
America.
The music style that they produce vary from album to album on purpose. A
general overview of their styles, their songs and albums represents blends of; electronic
downtempo house, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Bossa Nova, Persian, French,
and Middle Eastern influences. With 9 studio albums and 18 compilation albums they
are able in incorporate a common theme and musical genre into each album. For
which is what most of the songs lyrics show.) they incorporate lots of Brazilian
influences and Latin jazz rhythms which ironically almost 20 years prior is what brought
Rob and Eric together. French, portuguese, and English languages are used in this
album. In contrast, an earlier album titled The Cosmic Game has influences of
classical indian harmonies and instruments as well as reggae inspired songs and even
shows political anger on the Bush administration and corruption in the world through
their lyrics.
Kazandzhidi 3
The lyrics they chose to write their songs in varies from English, Portuguese,
Spanish, French, Persian, and several others. Most of the lyrics have very strong visual
influences and comparison between nature and the human mind. Their lyrics can also
be looked at as short poems. For instance in one of their songs Depth of my Soul from
the album Saudade the female singer vocalizes a line You believe what you see, all the
things that you know, but oh, you don't know. The depth (perhaps even playing with the
word death and depth) of my soul.Karma's just a key, unlocking every gate. Eyes are
just mirrors, putting us to our fate. Short lines like this shows a much more meaningful
message than most pop songs do now. In another song from the same album we have
Natalia Clavier singing in spanish the song Claridad (clarity) the listener is engaged in
strong visual imagery. Clarity. It's spring in this blue winter. Night sky dyed by your
light. Pink and violet mutating color. Perfect vision, healing reflection. In every night of
an unreal brightness. Fulfilled heaven, divine glow. Magical silence, of pale glow. Most
of their songs regardless of the language they use have a divine and unique meaning
that is most pleasing to listen to in comparison with very basic lyrics and four chord
progressions.
Thievery have gone out of their way to show their protest for war, corruption,
while being a big advocate for human rights and food assisting programs. In an
interview with Rob Garza in 2005 he states Radio Retaliation is definitely a more overt
political statement...There's no excuse for not speaking out at this point, with the
suspension of habeas corpus, outsourced torture, illegal wars of aggression, fuel, food,
Kazandzhidi 4
and economic crises. It's hard to close your eyes and sleep while the world is burning
around you. If you are an artist, this is the most essential time to speak up In one of
their songs called Amerimacka (a play on North Americas name, almost mocking it)
the featured singer Notch sings lyrics such as Miss Liberty turn inna Jezebel. All of the
dreams you go sell turn inna hell. Her bed of roses are filled with thorns. Her righteous
robes are tattered and torn. If she had only stood for love, that would have been
enough. She wouldn't have to hide in her shame, but now we all burn in her flame. that
send a powerful image playing on America's symbols. For instance, when he says Ms
Liberty turns into a jezebel it can be implied that Lady Liberty that represents freedom,
the United States, turns into a jezebel. Jezebel was a Phoenician princess, a shameless
and wicked woman who encouraged sin and later was killed for her actions. America
has changed its original good intention of values to corruption and war. When Notch
says now we burn in her flame it is a clear indication of Lady Liberty's flame that she
holds up and that we as a population now burn in it. In the chorus section the lyrics are
Amerimacka, oh what a beautiful lie. It's like licking honey off of a knife. Amerimacka,
oh what a beautiful sight, oh what a beautiful lie. In reference to licking honey off the
knife this comes from a saying by Buddha in which he states People are unable to
renounce wealth and sex. They are just like a child who cannot resist honey on the
blade of a knife. Even though the amount is not even enough for a single meals
serving, he will lick it and risk cutting his tongue in the process. In the same album, the
first song titled Marching the Hate Machines the lyrics go Well let's start by, making it
Kazandzhidi 5
clear, who is the enemy here. And we'll show them, That it's not them, who is superior.
It's gonna be bad, It's gonna be wrong, and It's gonna feel good. This is a clear
message that America wants to make it clear that they are never the enemy and that
America will assert its dominance and ego onto whoever they go to war with. In an open
confession America is saying that it is going to be a bad war for the wrong reasons but
in the end it's going to feel good and fuel the country's ego. In an interview with Eric
Hilton he states I feel our music can sometimes sound political, but I think its much
different than politics in terms of right, left, Republicans, Democrats or surface level
politics...We touch on subjects that are taboo, but I think our messages are beyond
politics, theyre more about how the world is organized on a grander scheme than just
every four years, or this or that administration. There are power structures that survive
administrations. Although there are other groups who have shown protest in their
songs, Thievery is able to blend it in with good taste of background music and subtle
Thievery has received little to none negative reviews and critics on their live
concerts, albums, or a group as a whole. The L.A Music blog says Thoroughly
instruments, and in that respect, these ladies and gents are sitting pretty with the best of
them. When you add to that the sheer variety of influences the band employs, you have
all the makings of a set thats eclectic and utterly delightful. If youre in for something
thats both cerebral and accessible, look no further than Thievery Corporation. Adam
Kazandzhid i6
Parker from Live Music news and reviews had similar compliments to say. With
admittedly little experience in concerts in the electronic, rap, and hip-hop genres, I was
completely blown away. The sound, musicianship, and overall experience were far
better than I ever expected. They sounded just as good and precise live as they do on
shows that I have trouble finding words for because nothing really happens. No
standout moments, no crowd interaction, nothing that takes you to that special happy
place. That is not the case with Thievery Corporation though. Their album Radio
Retaliation earned them the nomination of a grammy award along with high profile
singers like Perry Farrell, David Byrne, and Wayne Coyne. According to critics from
popmatters on their use of politics they say Their politics however go beyond
partisanship and focus on issues that affect the whole world, making it ironic and wildly
subversive to hear their music sometimes played in decadent lounges and luxury
clothing shops, their potent messages disguises under their sophisticated beats.
Looking at their tours and schedules they are most popular in Sweden, Switzerland,
Greece, Germany, Hungary, Budapest, and of course some shows in major American
cities. Perhaps the reason for their popularity abroad is their diverse musical style that
States as it is in foreign countries? Their music is enjoyable, tickets are about 50 dollars
for great seats, and they help out many good causes. Why are people willing to spend
Kazandzhidi 7
500 dollars or more on a ticket for Adele and Beyonce rather than enjoying good music?
Of course the term good music is subjective According to science, pop music is going
extremely downhill in the United States. Is it because of their anti political lyrics of
America? The country is in an epidemic of being infatuated with glamour, looks, and
songs about heartbreak or violence. If we compare rap from its origins to current day,
we can see it went from spoken poetry to a beat to lyrics of rape, killing, shooting, and
gangs. Another comparison would be Burt Bacharach's era of pop music. He composed
beautiful melodies with beautiful lyrics that also encompassed love and struggle.
Present day, it takes almost 5 people to write one single song. Most producers and
vocalists are not trained in theory, harmony, and composition and rely strictly on a
computer to input music for them. This implies a lack of critical thinking and originality in
modern day artists. The same thing happened with classical music in the 1990s. In
1989, when Vladimir Horowitz died (considered the last pianist of the romantic era) soon
came a drastic decrease in classical music yet a surplus of pianists. Up until Vladimir
Horowitz, pianism and classical music had more emphasis on the actual interpretation
and music created by the artist. In recent years it has changed from beauty of
interpretation to a contest of skill. It is who can play faster, harder, cleaner than the
previous pianist. In the 18th and 19th century there were no such thing as piano
competitions or even judging pianists for wrong notes as long as they got their
interpretation across. We can hear this from examples of Alfred Cortots recordings in
the very early 20th century. He was regarded as one of the great pianists and was
Kazandzhidi 8
famous for the mistakes of notes he made during his performances but still was revered
as a God in the classical music world. In present day the classical music economy is
producing a surplus of very well trained pianists mainly from Asia and Europe who can
play perfectly clean and fast but can not move an audience. The classical artists that
adapted a different mind set such as Lang Lang, Ji Kim, and Joshua Bell realize that in
the present day musical world looks and visual attraction is very important and they
incorporate this into their performances. Although the public considers them good
musicians, they are often look down by other serious classical musicians for their lack of
musicianship and emphasis on visual attraction. The same is tied to the current world of
pop music. SInce the creation of music videos, artists have gone to spend millions of
dollars on trying to attract the viewers attention. The most expensive being Michael
Jacksons song Scream which costed seven million dollars to produce. Kanye West
spent one million dollars on his song Touch the Sky and 1.2 million dollars on Stronger.
Although these artists have big bank accounts this is still a lot of money invested into a
visual aspect. Tying this back to Thievery, they have not nor I think they will go to such
lengths to attract audience through the use of visual stimulation, even though they have
some low budget music videos. In other genres of music in Europe, especially classical,
house, jazz, and alternative you will find a greater attraction and demand for this style
and perhaps this is the reason why Thievery has more concerts there.
There are lots of reasons to consider why one should listen to Thievery
Kazandzhidi 9
one types in a yoga playlist search on apple music they will find several songs of
Thievery on there. In a recent study it was proven that listening to half an hour of
classical music will have similar results on your brain as a benzo (Xanax, Clonazepam,
Valium) will have. Of course we can not assume everyone wants to listen to Mozart or
Brahms but a modern form of relaxing music can be beneficial to our health. Another
Advocating reason for listening to their music is that it is more complex and colorful than
the average pop song. From a music theory standingpoint, Thievery uses unusual
chords that are heavily jazz influenced and the instrumentation they use is varied. It is a
fact that in the two worlds between classical and jazz harmony and theory, jazz has
been proven to be more complex and creative. When classical music stopped evolving
in the middle 20th century, early jazz musicians took over and expanded on it. By
adding additional harmonies and extensions to chords this enabled the capture of
attention to the listener's ear and this is exactly the type of stuff Thievery does. Another
advantage of attending their live concerts is the fair price per ticket in comparison with
other large hit artists that can charge up to one thousand dollars for a ticket. For less
than 50 dollars a person can enjoy good live music featuring many different people and
genres of music from reggae, jazz, indian classical, brazilian, and house. Not to mention
their openness of opposing war, corruption, and world hunger should motivate people to