Addressing question 2 of module eight, I do believe that Led Zeppelin is the perfect band to introduce metal. The three songs that I will focus on are When the Levee Breaks, Immigrant song, and Kashmir. However, I believe several other songs of theirs deserve recognition in contributing to metal such as Fool in the rain, whole lotta love and Good Times Bad Times.
Now, I was introduced to Led Zeppelin at a rather young age since my father an avid rock fan and was prone to “get the Led out.” Which, pushed me to grow a love for the music. It led me down a path to becoming an admirer of thrash metal bands like Megadeth and Metallica. Whether it was the intensive sound of a distorted guitar, the solid backbone of a group being the drummer solid performance, to all other aspects that comprise a metal band. All of these components are created and birthed by Led Zeppelin. If metal music could be hypothetically viewed as a family, one could say that Led Zeppelin is the great-grandfather of the genre. Without Led Zeppelin, the metal family wouldn’t be anywhere close to what it is today.
As the course textbook describes the band line up it is indisputable that the band is formed by some of the most iconic musicians in rock/metal history, and for that reason, both the group and individual styles of the musicians was a keystone of metal as they influenced many if not most bands to follow to some degree.

When the Levee Breaks and Fool in the rain are two songs that anyone can listen to, and recognize the solid and tight drumming style of John Bonham. The clean and concise sound of his simple yet complex art is unavoidable. As those two songs can influence and earn the respect of all drummers the song that changed the game for drummers in metal was Good Times, Bad Times. The reason for that is John Bonham integrated what is known as a triplet into his kit, and that gave him a “double bass sound.” This technique was very new and soon mimicked and copied by Bonham’s peer drummers. The significance to the double bass is it rapidly became a necessity for almost every metal band.
One of Led Zeppelin’s arguably most iconic and recognizable songs, Immigrant song could be seen as the groundwork for the faster thrash metal of the 80s. in fact, it’s intro is very similar sounding to The Skull beneath the skin by, Megadeth, an Iconic thrash metal band. Also, with Megadeth on topic the band’s original line up comprised of Dave Mustaine (rhythm guitar and vocals), David Ellefson (bass), Chris Poland(lead guitar), and Gar Samuleson (drums). Poland and Samuelson come from jazz backgrounds making them very meticulous musicians, and heavily influenced into rock and metal by Led Zeppelin. Needless to say Fool in the Rain a song by rock/metal icons with a jazz sound would’ve been a song that could’ve made or broken Megadeth as its what bridged the gap of its critical members into the metal world.

To many, metal is viewed as an aggressive collection of noises played through instruments at an above tolerable volume. The truth is that it’s a very technical type of music played in a very intensive fashion. Led Zeppelin is no exception to this fact. Many of their songs utilize several scales like the Pentatonic to create their riffs. This act has been done by several bands to this day, although today most metal bands down tune their instruments for a different sound but the chords, scales and methods remain reasonably constant. The majority of Metallica’s Master of Puppets album was created using the pentatonic scale. Now I cannot claim that they got the idea to craft the album from Led Zeppelin’s use of the scale in communication breakdown or another track, but it shows the integrity of the artists is passed down to sub-genres from metal’s forefather.

Kashmir may not be known to many by name but the intro riff has been used since the song’s debut to introduce a formidable character in several movies. It is a perfect example of a slower moving metal song that almost every band in history and in the future will have.Another band mentioned in the course textbook, Black Sabbath’s Iron Man was released just five years previously and both tunes embody a slower but powerful type of metal.
I cannot think of any other band that has had as more of an influence as both individual members and as an entire group then Led Zeppelin. As a guy that has seen Tom Petty, Kiss, Guns and Roses, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder and several others. I would Happily trade it to watch Led Zeppelin with John Bonham behind the kit. To be in the presence of arguably the genres most magnificent musicians. It would be an experience like no other.

Biamonte, Nicole. “Triadic Modal and Pentatonic Patterns in Rock Music.” Music Theory Spectrum 32, no. 2 (2010): 95-110. doi:10.1525/mts.2010.32.2.95.

“Jazz, Death, and Megadeth: A Conversation with Chris Poland.” מאשין מיוזיק. September 21, 2017. Accessed August 11, 2018. https://machinemusic.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/jazz-death-and-megadeth-a-conversation-with-chris-poland/.

Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes on. Boston, MA: Cengage, 2019.

Addressing question 2 of module eight, I do believe that Led Zeppelin is the perfect band to introduce metal. The three songs that I will focus on are When the Levee Breaks, Immigrant song, and Kashmir. However, I believe several other songs of theirs deserve recognition in contributing to metal such as Fool in the rain, whole lotta love and Good Times Bad Times.
Now, I was introduced to Led Zeppelin at a rather young age since my father an avid rock fan and was prone to “get the Led out.” Which, pushed me to grow a love for the music. It led me down a path to becoming an admirer of thrash metal bands like Megadeth and Metallica. Whether it was the intensive sound of a distorted guitar, the solid backbone of a group being the drummer solid performance, to all other aspects that comprise a metal band. All of these components are created and birthed by Led Zeppelin. If metal music could be hypothetically viewed as a family, one could say that Led Zeppelin is the great-grandfather of the genre. Without Led Zeppelin, the metal family wouldn’t be anywhere close to what it is today.
As the course textbook describes the band line up it is indisputable that the band is formed by some of the most iconic musicians in rock/metal history, and for that reason, both the group and individual styles of the musicians was a keystone of metal as they influenced many if not most bands to follow to some degree.

When the Levee Breaks and Fool in the rain are two songs that anyone can listen to, and recognize the solid and tight drumming style of John Bonham. The clean and concise sound of his simple yet complex art is unavoidable. As those two songs can influence and earn the respect of all drummers the song that changed the game for drummers in metal was Good Times, Bad Times. The reason for that is John Bonham integrated what is known as a triplet into his kit, and that gave him a “double bass sound.” This technique was very new and soon mimicked and copied by Bonham’s peer drummers. The significance to the double bass is it rapidly became a necessity for almost every metal band.
One of Led Zeppelin’s arguably most iconic and recognizable songs, Immigrant song could be seen as the groundwork for the faster thrash metal of the 80s. in fact, it’s intro is very similar sounding to The Skull beneath the skin by, Megadeth, an Iconic thrash metal band. Also, with Megadeth on topic the band’s original line up comprised of Dave Mustaine (rhythm guitar and vocals), David Ellefson (bass), Chris Poland(lead guitar), and Gar Samuleson (drums). Poland and Samuelson come from jazz backgrounds making them very meticulous musicians, and heavily influenced into rock and metal by Led Zeppelin. Needless to say Fool in the Rain a song by rock/metal icons with a jazz sound would’ve been a song that could’ve made or broken Megadeth as its what bridged the gap of its critical members into the metal world.

To many, metal is viewed as an aggressive collection of noises played through instruments at an above tolerable volume. The truth is that it’s a very technical type of music played in a very intensive fashion. Led Zeppelin is no exception to this fact. Many of their songs utilize several scales like the Pentatonic to create their riffs. This act has been done by several bands to this day, although today most metal bands down tune their instruments for a different sound but the chords, scales and methods remain reasonably constant. The majority of Metallica’s Master of Puppets album was created using the pentatonic scale. Now I cannot claim that they got the idea to craft the album from Led Zeppelin’s use of the scale in communication breakdown or another track, but it shows the integrity of the artists is passed down to sub-genres from metal’s forefather.

Kashmir may not be known to many by name but the intro riff has been used since the song’s debut to introduce a formidable character in several movies. It is a perfect example of a slower moving metal song that almost every band in history and in the future will have.Another band mentioned in the course textbook, Black Sabbath’s Iron Man was released just five years previously and both tunes embody a slower but powerful type of metal.
I cannot think of any other band that has had as more of an influence as both individual members and as an entire group then Led Zeppelin. As a guy that has seen Tom Petty, Kiss, Guns and Roses, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder and several others. I would Happily trade it to watch Led Zeppelin with John Bonham behind the kit. To be in the presence of arguably the genres most magnificent musicians. It would be an experience like no other.

Biamonte, Nicole. “Triadic Modal and Pentatonic Patterns in Rock Music.” Music Theory Spectrum 32, no. 2 (2010): 95-110. doi:10.1525/mts.2010.32.2.95.

“Jazz, Death, and Megadeth: A Conversation with Chris Poland.” מאשין מיוזיק. September 21, 2017. Accessed August 11, 2018. https://machinemusic.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/jazz-death-and-megadeth-a-conversation-with-chris-poland/.

Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes on. Boston, MA: Cengage, 2019.

The First wave of Rock n roll met its Apex in the mid to late 50s, and essentially two events led to its decline. The first being a plane crash on February 3, 1959, that claimed the lives of the Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. The second reason was the Payola scandal of 1959.
So, what exactly is payola? Similar to advertisements on radio or television, it is the act of making a financial transaction based on controlling and promoting a musical talent. In short, paying Disc Jockeys to play specific artists regardless of public demand. The two Jockeys who were on the front lines of the payola scandal were, Alan Freed and Dick Clark.
Alan Freed as known to had “accepted bribery in return for guaranteed airplay” unlike Dick Clark who was according to himself very diversified in the music industry. Regardless both Freed and Clark to the lion’s share of the brunt when the U.S. government lead investigations to pursue the scandal. According to Clark who fully cooperated with the federal government, he had his home broken into and phones tapped, as well as warned by senators regarding the matter at hand.
Dick Clark on the Payola Scandal
The investigations led to an Amendment of the Communications Act of 1934, which heavily regulated all forms of media mainly at the time, radio broadcasting. Thus, ending the corruption of radio, until 1996. The Telecommunications act of 1996 was designed to deregulate media, to break down barriers to entry into the market of media. This was done mainly due to the recent development of the internet. To some who are unfamiliar with government intervention in markets, it creates far more loops for firms to jump through in order to be successful and in order to be successful you must be very well established. So, by deregulating the industry, doors are open to any new potential entrepreneurs eager to start a firm in media.
What is also created was an opportunity for large corporations to dominate the industry by buying up competitors and seizing the majority of the market. Clear Channel or now known as iHeart Radio, controls just shy of 50% of the U.S. radio market (1,200 stations) and spent $30 billion to acquire them. Also, now that the market is unregulated the broadcasting firms are able to choose without interference from the government what they can play and are also able to be incentivized financially.
What we see in today’s radio in regard to payola is a large sum of independents approaching record labels of all types with artists varying in talent and offering these labels more artist exposure via radio time. In return, the Independents or “indies” receive a large “payola” bonus of cash. Once the transaction is made the “indies” approach a company like iHeart Radio and offer to give them help in tracking down firms to buy radio time or provide iHeart Radio with more exposure through different marketing tactics. What the “indie” will demand in return for a firm like iHeart is to be able to control a stations playlist.
This is a very unorthodox method of payola. It is far less black and white than the original form in the 60s. However, it is a loophole that is exploited greatly in the industry today. It also is visible in the opposite effect when artists are blacklisted in order to preserve the popular fan base of a station. The prime example of that is the Dixie Chicks when their lead singer spoke out against former president Bush. Every Dixie Chicks song was pulled off the radio and it did serious damage to the band. It may not be an exact form of payola, but it proves the radio companies can control the public interpretation of the music industry.
As a man who believes in a free market economy, I support the media industry being unregulated. However, music is one of those industries where someone could spend countless hours working and never achieve success and is simultaneously competing with someone from a wealthy background that can be fast-tracked to stardom. It may not be fair but is the nature of the beast. As a concept, Payola was not overly shocking, and through studying it certainly became interesting has it plays more than just a roll in the music industry, but rather is affecting the economy, government policy and social interpretation is truly fascinating.

Crossroad Blues, by Robert Johnson. As Michael Campbell’s Popular Music in America (The Beat Goes On), Robert Johnson is arguably the most mysterious figure in the history of popular music. From his still undetermined death, which most hypothesize is being poisoned by his supposed paramour’s jealous husband to the way in which one man with a guitar can create a sound that could effortlessly grapple listeners of then and today.
Incorporating an enticing style of picking into the intro riff of Crossroad Blues, Johnson sets the scene for a song that’s lyrics to depict a broken man begging for guidance. Johnson’s vocal tone is that of strife, Eric Clapton Viewed Johnson’s singing as “the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice”. Lyrics such as, “I went down to the crossroad, fell down on my knees”, continuing to ask God for forgiveness on behalf of “Bob”. When first listening to the Crossroad Blues I initially thought Johnson had a second guitar player as rhythm only to discover that he was so talented he was capable of covering both sections. In fact, Keith Richards was under the same impression until later corrected and then described Johnson as “an orchestra all by himself”.
The textbook certainly is capable of describing and breaking down the “ins and outs” of Johnson’s music and all types of music for that matter. Musical terms such as his “lazy tempo” style of rhythm or the pitch alteration in his melody are all accurate descriptions of Johnson’s music. But as a listener who is not a musician, I tend to focus less on chord progressions and more on the feel or emotion that is in the song or the emotion that resonates inside of me as the listener. The feelings that pulsate through me when taking in Crossroad Blues are that of reflection and understanding of what may be yet to come. For example, how cruel and unforgiving life really is. In the line “I tried to flag a ride. Didn’t nobody seem to know me, babe, everybody pass me by”. describes how in life, relying on the kindness and support of others may prove futile, as it seems the truth is that life both then and now is difficult. except, back then the strong survived.

Some say this is the moment Johnson “sold his soul to the devil”, given the time and the culture I personally believe the opposite is more realistic. Similar to the book of Jobe, in which God makes an example of one of his faithful subjects in a time when faith was at an all-time low. in order to see if “Jobe”, the man tested by God would remain faithful to the lord. Perhaps Crossroad Blues is of a similar effect putting a man’s test in song to then which all who hear it can relate and better cope with their own personal challenge.
Personally, the fashion in which the song is presented is the most personal it could be. In the sense that it seems most real can make the listener think and reflect best as a solo act. A version with a full band or added music just wouldn’t do the message or the artist justice. As many artists have covered Johnson’s works, they haven’t been 100% successful in recapturing exactly what Johnson was enduring. Although, perhaps the point of the covers may not have been to recapture exactly the essence of the original, but rather to both pay homage to an icon and describe the cover artists grief or struggle through a man’s words from a different time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A

Myers, Marc (April 22, 2011). “Still Standing at the Crossroads”

Wald 2004, pp. 178–179.

Campbell, Michael. Popular music in America: The Beat Goes On, Fourth Edition. Schirmer Cenage Learning, 2013.

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